Posted March 29, 200718 yr some new music reviews: An exclusive preview of next month's album releases By Andy Gill Published: 29 March 2007 Artist: Kidz In The Hall Title: School Was My Hustle Label: Rawkus Jabari "Naledge" Evans and Michael "Double-O" Aguilar don't have hip-hop's usual surly chippiness, probably because they're already high achievers - college graduate Naledge was a published author at 15, while Double-O was part of the USA's 2004 Olympic track team. As Naledge says, "It's good to be alive, dog, it's great to be me/Black, educated, gettin' paid to MC". His style has striking similarities to Kanye's, which doesn't harm, and he's not too removed from the streets to escape the familiar temptations, admitting, "I know I preach a lot of $h!t - I guess I'm just a hypocrite". But there's wisdom in rhymes like "Jesus ain't died for me to drive a Lexus/He died for me to save the world". The horn samples and soul-flute loops of Double-O's grooves, meanwhile, subtly underscore the tracks' anxieties. Artist: Bill Callahan Title: Woke On A Whaleheart Label: Drag City The Smog frontman seems fascinated by the Great Wheel Of Life on this solo debut, from the opening track "From The Rivers To The Oceans" employment of the interaction of rain, river and sea as the motif of an eternal cycle ("We are swimming in the rivers of the rains of our days"), through the tree/life metaphor of "Sycamore", to "The Wheel" whose turning "[drives] bad deeds six feet deep". Elsewhere, there are songs about the sexual urge ("A Man Needs A Woman Or A Man To Be A Man"), the improvement of society ("Day"), and the notion of doing something with such absorption it effects a physical change in you ("Diamond Dancer"), delivered via country balladry, spiky new-wave rock, tack piano stomp and sinister twang. Very much like a Smog album, in other words. Artist: Porcupine Tree Title: Fear Of A Blank Planet Label: Roadrunner Prog-rock has always been at its most potent when leaving the myths and legends behind and confronting societal unease and its dystopian outcome. Porcupine Tree, in which the talents of ex-Japan keyboardist Richard Barbieri are harnessed to the guitars, vocals and vision of songwriter Steven Wilson, grapple on this ninth album with our drift towards jaded desensitivity, regarding sex as "one of the empty ways of using up a day", and in the 18-minute centrepiece "Anesthetize" attacking the demotivating effect of TV: "I'm totally bored, but I can't switch off". Powered by the virtuoso drum barrages of Gavin Harrison, the dark keyboard backdrops, heavy riffs and nimble guitar solos combine in what might best be described as an atmosphere of sleek, euphoric gloom. Artist: The Indo British Ensemble Title: Curried Jazz Label: Harkit In America, John Mayer's pioneering Sixties band incorporating Indian modes into jazz went by the self-regarding name Indo-Jazz Fusions; in Britain, our attitude was rather less precious, as witness the terrible title and tawdry sleeve of this reissued album by a group put together by Victor Graham to play compositions based on Indian ragas. The results, though, weren't too bad. Kenny Wheeler's flugelhorn traces intriguing lines around the drums and tabla of "Yaman", and Ray Swinfield and Sitara Kumar's flute and tamboura herald the stately progress of "Lalit", which recalls Sun Ra. The closest it gets to Graham's aim of "happy, exotic music", however, is "Pahari", a flute-led groove sounding like a soundtrack from a Sixties Euro-thriller. Artist: Grant-Lee Phillips Title: Strangelet Label: Cooking Vinyl Strangelets, apparently, are some form of subatomic particle that can pass through the earth in 26 seconds. The same couldn't be said of the songs on Grant-Lee Phillips's latest album, which need time to unfurl their meanings - especially since his languid delivery leaves their lyrics partially obscured. But there's plenty to enjoy here, from the mandolin and guitar in gentle collusion on the anthemic "Fountain Of Youth", to the lilting guitar, vibes and fiddle that comprises "Killing A Dead Man". Along the way, the singer's influences leap out: the Bolan inflections and T. Rex swagger of "Hidden Hand" and "Johnny Guitar", the dry "Instant Karma" tone of "Raise The Spirit", and most impressive of all, the Sgt Pepper psychedelic strings and horns on "Dream In Colour" and "Chain Lightning". Artist: Hoodz Underground Title: Bringin' It Back Label: Trackshicker Having seen virtually every local act, from Arctic Monkeys to The Long Blondes, score chart success, Sheffield hip-hop collective Hoodz Underground have decided that after 15 years, now is the time to stop whinging about the unfairness of the UK rap scene, and finally drop their debut album. Employing sinister string and horn samples, the eight-strong team offer stark sketches of urban life, most vividly in the joyrider tale "Twockers", alongside thoughtful denunciations of policing attitudes and racial disadvantage in "How Do You Feel" and "Home Of The Streets". There's a range of decent skills on show - I particularly liked the line in "Havoc" about having "more spit than El-Hadji Diouf", although the same track's rhyming of "Taliban" with "McManaman" rather dates its origin to five or 10 years ago. Artist: Golden Smog Title: Blood On The Slacks Label: Lost Highway Alt.rock supergroup Golden Smog has always suffered from being an afterthought in the careers of sundry Jayhawks, Soul Asylums and Wilcos, and is further depleted here by the absence of the latter's Jeff Tweedy. This leaves the songwriting burden on the shoulders of Gary Louris and Marc Perlman, who eke out the handful of new songs with a couple left over from the Another Fine Day sessions. But it's easy to understand why the janglesome "Can't Even Tie Your Own Shoes" and "Look At You Now" were leftovers. A cover of "Starman" likewise lacks Bowie's charismatic swagger, though there's some compensation in the Tropicalismo-style instrumental "Magician" and "Scotch On Ice", a Dylanesque tribute to a lover who "likes it rough, with handcuffs and stuff", who turns out to be a blow-up sex doll. Artist: Reeta Rio Title: Karma Kab Label: Ruddy Dog A concept album supposedly drawing on the "musical essences" of all seven continents, Karma Kab is an exercise in what used to be known as "intelligent house music", which is effectively just ambient house that makes too many demands on one's attention. In this case, the demands are ill-founded - as is the concept itself, few of the tracks having any connection with their avowed location. "Ka" (Africa), for instance, is just an ersatz reggae groove with noodling electric piano, while the mundane keyboards of "Maya" are far too dull (and unsubtle) to represent South America. The album's main fault is that despite the geographical intentions, none of the tracks actually go anywhere: once the grooves are set up, the guitar and keyboardsmeander aimlessly around, with no sense of musical narrative. Artist Various Artists Title Goodbye Nashville Hello Camden Town Label Castle Pub-rock is often dismissed as the John The Baptist-style herald to punk-rock's Messiah, rebelling against glam, prog and metal, and seeking to narrow the gulf between bands and fans by returning to the roots styles of early rock'n'roll. But as this anthology illustrates, compared to punk's three-chord trick, its proponents employed a range of styles, from the western swing of Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Peppers to the proto-punk of Eddie & The Hot Rods. Much pub-rock was rooted in R&B, with old stagers like Zoot Money and Big Jim Sullivan joined by a new wave exemplified by Dr Feelgood; while The Kursaal Flyers, Fabulous Poodles and particularly Kilburn & The High Roads developed distinctive new strains, marked by a coarse, quirky Britishness. Artist: Black Cab Title: Jesus East Label: Stickman Sounding like Primal Scream in the throes of a dark psychedelic seizure, Altamont Diary, the 2005 debut from Black Cab, was a sonic montage evocation-cum-tribute to the 1969 festival. This follow-up has no such unifying concept, but comprises a comparable blend of psychedelic elements, with backward guitars, heat-haze sitar and organ drones, rolling drum tattoos and slithering lead guitar figures congealing into chugging Neu!-beat grooves behind spacey vocal chants and murmurs of lines like "I'm in a future I don't understand" and "My heart is on fire". There's a heartfelt tribute to Syd Barrett in "Underground Star", and Grateful Dead member Sam Cutler reminiscing on "Valiant" and "The Path" about "those magic moments, indescribably beautiful". Recommended for Spacemen 3 fans. Artist: CocoRosie Title: The Adventures Of Ghosthorse And Stillborn Label: Touch & Go The main gimmick of duo CocoRosie resides in the contrast between Sierra Casady's opera-trained singing and sister Bianca's ickle-girly vocals, which occupy the fairytale territory between Joanna Newsom and Stina Nordenstam. But on this third album they've still yet to reach a satisfying accommodation between the two, which alternate with each other on tracks such as "Japan", whose singalong chorus "Everybody wants to go to Japan/Everybody just hold hands" illustrates the kind of faux-childlike whimsy in which the sisters traffic. Their songs, set to limp hip-hop beats and garlands of tinkling music-box, harp, pump-organ and piano are intriguing, even lovable in small doses, but infuriatingly twee after a few minutes. Artist: Wild Billy Childish Title: Punk Rock At The British Legion Hall Label: Damaged Goods Touchy blighters, painters. Although in Wild Billy Childish's case, one suspects it's something of a career choice, fuelling rants about everything from reality TV, to Britain's nightlife, to just about anything on "Joe Strummer's Grave", a tirade set to one of several pilfered Kinks riffs. Mostly, though, Billy rails against the cult of celebrity. "I was asked to appear on Celebrity Big Brother," he reveals, "but only because I was some two-bit artist's lover." (He's one of the names in Tracey's tent.) Kurt Cobain and Jack White, meanwhile, are lambasted for "p***ing on us from a great height" - an act repaid with interest by his appropriation of the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" riff - while poor Kylie is savaged for the crime of quoting Billy's poetry. She'll know better in future, I'm sure. Artist: The Kamikaze Hearts Title: Oneida Road Label: Tangled Up! Hailing from Albany in New York State, The Kamikaze Hearts deal in the kind of janglesome alt.country music that avoids the margins, settling instead slap bang in the middle of the mainstream thanks to tracks like "You Can't Just Get Up And Leave", a mandolin-rocker in the mould of "Losing My Religion", and "Wolfert's Roost", which captures the mood and sound of Asylum Records' heyday, albeit without David Geffen to drive their career along. Which is a shame, as songs like "No One Called You A Failure" and the attempted spirit-reviver "Top Of Your Head" develop a mysterious momentum of their own that hints at deeper resonances. "Guyana Central High School Class of '78" - which one presumes refers to the mass-murderer Jim Jones - is rather less engrossing, however. Artist: Efterklang Title: Under Giant Trees Label: Leaf Efterklang are the Danish equivalent of Sigur Ros, a resemblance emphasised on this follow-up to 2004's Tripper by the addition of string players from Icelandic quartet Amiina. They do, however, use proper words in their songs, with "Himmelbjerget" ("Sky Mountain"), for instance, based on childhood memories of a great mountain which in later life is revealed to be quite small. The tone is somewhat sombre, with the ghostly choral murmur of "Falling Horses" appearing from a haze of shimmering strings like an oil tanker looming out of a sea mist, and the tentative plucked-string and drone setting of "Towards The Bare Hill" serving as backdrop for a male-voice choir. It's all beautifully rendered, with a little light respite coming at the end in the form of the kora, violin and marimba of "Jojo". Artist: The Bishops Title: The Bishops Label: 1-2-3-4 Young R&B blades The Bishops clearly have a thing about the Sixties. They're to be found emulating the harmony vocals of The Hollies and The Searchers on "Sun's Going Down"; essaying a convincing impression of The Yardbirds on "Breakaway"; approximating the Stones' chunky fuzz-bass sound on "Will You Ever Come Back Again"; and even recalling Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich with the oompah-polka riff of "I Can't Stand It Anymore" - an unpardonable act of disinterral that one can only imagine was accidental. Just as well, then, that they recorded it at Liam Watson's celebrated analogue oasis, Toe Rag Studios: the warmth and immediacy thus instilled is nowhere better represented than on the opening "Menace About Town", a dead ringer for Dr Feelgood's "Roxette" riff. Artist: Various Artists Title: The Ref-O-Ree Records Story Label: SPV Blue Trying to run a record label specialising in soul and R&B in Nashville sounds as cockeyed as starting a bluegrass label in Detroit. So Ted Jarrett must have relished a challenge: Ref-O-Ree Records was the last of a string of labels with which he tracked Nashville's black music from the Fifties to the Seventies, their output anthologised on compilations from SPV Blue. The results show how reinvention played an important part in an era of swiftly-changing musical modes, as blues and R&B players like Roscoe Shelton, Gene Allison and Larry Birdsong adapted their approaches to match the changes in soul style, the latter in particularly tasty form on food-themed delicacies such as "I'll Pick My Own Chicken" and the deathless "Digging Your Potatoes". Artist: Abram Wilson Title: Ride! Ferris Wheel To The Modern Day Delta Label: Dune A New Orleans-reared jazz trumpeter based in London, Abram Wilson rejects the restrictions of genre on this concept album about a young musician whose greatest wish is to escape his familial destiny of running his father's nightclub. "I want to be on the outside, I want some of the things I see," he explains over the opening track's loping bass and percussion, before heading off with a hip-hop brass band more suited to his style. But removed from his roots, he quickly falls prey to drug addiction and unscrupulous bandmates. Told through a mixture of spoken dialogue, soliloquy, agitated jazz and folk-blues motifs, Ride! is a thoughtful, stylish parable about the persistence of temptation facing musicians generally, and black musicians in particular. Artist: The Detroit Cobras Title:Tied & True Label: Rough Trade Their first new record in three years finds the motor-city unisex combo delving further into their retro-rock influences, with covers of little-known songs by Gerry Goffin, Jerry Ragovoy and a pre-Dr John Mac Rebennack delivered in a mixture of Rachel Nagy's slinky, soulful femme-rock vocals, Mary Ramirez's rockabilly-metal guitar, and stomping Motown rhythms. There's a punchy version of American Breed's garage-punk anthem "Green Light", while James Brown's "If You Don't Think" is transformed into an out-and-out rocker; but the best is "Leave My Kitten Alone", in which Little Willie John's R&B standard becomes a driving rock number. By contrast, the more soul-styled cuts, such as "The Hurt's All Gone" just don't have the requisite bite. Artist: Cowboy Junkies Title: At The End Of Paths Taken Label: Cooking Vinyl The alt.country pioneers' latest album is based around the theme of family, with Michael Timmins' songs reflecting the experiences of bringing up children and caring for ageing relatives - a succession of "mouths to feed, shoes to buy, rent to pay, tears to dry," as his sister Margo sings in "Brand New World". Their stately, restrained attitude is sustained through songs dealing with encroaching senility ("Spiral Down") and the conflicting adorations and irritations of hyperactive kids ("My Little Basquiat"), which finds them pondering the possibility of peace once the kids have grown up. Ultimately, the concluding "My Only Guarantee" offers little by way of comfort, echoing both R. D. Laing and Philip Larkin in its assurances that "I will f*** you up". Artist: Patrick Cleandenim Title: Baby Comes Home Label: Broken Horse Crazy name, crazy guy. But neatly turned-out, one supposes. Neater than you'd imagine, as rather than denim, the Kansas-born songwriter sounds more like a sports casual kind of guy on this debut, his arrangements aping the MOR stylings of Sergio Mendes and Ray Conniff. It's fine for the opener "Baby Comes Home", all stealthy strings and cheesy horns, but the ghastly easy-listening vocal choir of "Cognac And Caviar" is simply beyond the pale. Tracks like "Birds Of Fashion" and "Until You Said I'm Gone" lack the relaxed command of easy-listening auteur Mitch Miller, and sadly, the saving grace of lounge music - the exotica experiments for which the likes of Les Baxter and Martin Denny employed instruments such as the marimba - are absent from this meekly conservative muzak. Autokat, The Windmill, London By Elisa Bray Published: 29 March 2007 Manchester's Autokat have built up a considerable local following since being signed byAkoustik Anarkhy Recordings whose famous unsigned bands clubnights added the likes of Nine Black Alps and The Longcut to their rosta. Judging by the packed crowd at the quartet's debut album Late Night Shopping launch party at the Windmill in Brixton it seems word has already spread south. From the beginning of "The Driver", lead guitarist Andrew Rowley's meticulous dexterous guitar picking shines. "Shot" has darkly atmospheric whirring guitars which Rowley transforms into compelling guitar psych. The glorious instrumental intro to "Dish Out" is reminiscent of Mogwai, preceding catchy Hard-Fi-esque vocals and an overall sound akin to a less frenetic Bloc Party. Their catchiest and most danceable song "Innocence" is saved for last. Live Reviews from the Indie: Dubbed Manchester's "best kept secrets", Autokat are unlikely to remain a secret for much longer. Los Campesinos! Spitz, London By Elisa Bray Published: 29 March 2007 "We're just a bunch of kids," lead singer Gareth quips about the seven-piece band who met while studying at Cardiff University. All the while singing with the urgency of Bloc Party's Kele Okereke, he runs his hands through his shoulder-length blonde hair and flails his arms about as he stabs the glockenspiel like a hyperactive child. The other six band members are as entertaining, bouncing around smiling, they produce exciting sunny bursts of indie-pop that makes you want to dance. At times, particularly in the catchy riffed "Broken Heartbeats Sound like Breakbeats" they sound like messy Pixies, then amid the chaos come moments of glorious instrumental post-rock. But Gareth talks too much. Citing books as inspiration for debut single "Don't Tell Me To Do the Maths" he launches into pretentious student waffle which grates against the fully fledged sound they produce. For "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks", Gareth joins the crowd and exclaims: "This is the most fun thing in the world". When he cuts the talking, it really is Findlay Brown, Bardens Boudoir, London By Elisa Bray Published: 29 March 2007 You would never guess that in his Yorkshire youth Findlay Brown was a bare-knuckle boxer. Since trading fighting for romance and poetic song-writing, "Come Home" has been played on a MasterCard tv advert and his singles played on Radio One and XFM - all before his debut album Separated by the Sea was released last month. Tonight in the intimate setting of Hackney's Bardens Boudoir, as soon as he begins his album's alluring title-track, an awed hush takes over the crowd. Eyes closed, Brown's fragile voice lilts over the lush acoustic guitar strings he interweaves, evoking the late Sixties and early Seventies folk of Nick Drake, Bob Dylan and Donovan. Acoustic psychedelia increasingly colours his set; by the end the bearded musicians who joined him mid-set are swaying and rocking. "Don't You Know I Love You", a seven-minute song steeped in psychedelia, is saved for last. Building up layers of guitar, tambourines and bass in an improvised crescendo, the musicians leave the virtuoso to end his set with a psychedelic medley of effects. Essential gig guide by the Independent Music Guide James McNair's pick of the best acts in April Published: 29 March 2007 The Horrors On tour 1-13 April Band members include Coffin Joe and Joshua Von Grimm, but while such pseudonyms and a list of influences that includes Boris The Spider conjure an act to be taken with a pinch of salt, The Horrors are the real deal. Big on pummelling garage rock, psychotic-sounding vocals, spooky organ and Munsters-friendly guitar-motifs, they have garnered much acclaim with curious little mention of the words "Goth revival." Joan As Police Woman On tour 11-15 April Indie music doesn't get much more sensual or soulful than "The Ride", one of the best tracks from JAPW's debut album, Real Life. It's been great, too, to see Brooklyn-based songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Joan Wasser emerge as a star in her own right after talent-for-hire shifts with the likes of Nick Cave and Antony and The Johnsons. These dates are your chance to see why Real Life made so many of 2006's Album Of The Year lists. The Pipettes On tour 17-22 April A viable alternative to meat-and-potatoes bloke-rock, or three youthful Jenny Eclairs in polka dot dresses? Either way, Becki, Gweno and Rose, aka Brighton's The Pipettes, pack a rather nice in Shangri-Las-meets-Bananarama-style pop, lacing their bubble-gum harmonies with spiky, post-feminist lyrics. Camera Obscura On tour 30 March-4 April Camera Obscura took a do-or-die approach on latest album Let's Get Out Of This Country, recording it in Stockholm with Jari Haapalainen (The Concretes, Ed Harcourt). Said producer took them out of their comfort-zone and into a magical, echo-soused space where front woman Tracyanne Campbell tips the hat to US songwriter Dory Previn and the former leader of The Commotions, Lloyd Cole. The Kissaway Trail Camden Crawl, London 19 and 20 April; 93 Feet East, London 23 April This stirring young Danish quintet has two lead-singers, Thomas Fagerlund and Søren Corneliussen taking it in turns to pilot euphoric, escapist anthems that join the dots between Brian Wilson, Radiohead and Arcade Fire. Far More Than Just A Sun Tan Festival 93 Feet East, London 22 April This free entry event organised by fledgling London label Naked Man Recordings showcases six up-and-coming Spanish acts including Biggot (think Spain's answer to Will Oldham), space rockers Aeropuerto, pop sweethearts La Costa Brava, and "Casio-punk" dance act Mendetz. Factor in Spanish cuisine at reasonable prices, plus a photography exhibition and DJ sets from Domino Records and the rather fetching My Ex-Boyfriend Ladies, and your Sunday's looking good. The fun starts at 1.30pm. Maria McKee On tour 23 April-2 May Best known for the somewhat unrepresentative "Show Me Heaven", Maria McKee is in superb form on her sixth solo album, Late December. The title track is a breezy, hip-hop-infused nod to Lou Reed, and together with her producer/husband Jim Akin she also revisits "A Good Heart", the 1985 Feargal Sharkey chart-topper that the Los Angeles-born McKee penned aged 18. Possessed of a magnificent mezzo-soprano voice, she remains a force of nature. These dates see McKee front a four-piece band. Espers On tour 25-29 April Espers' music echoes their moniker's whispering assonance, the Philadelphia-based trio specialising in acid-folk that owes more to Pentangle and Elizabethan song-structures than their native Pennsylvania. In lesser hands, it's an approach that could easily derail into comic pastiche, but Greg Weeks, Meg Baird and Brooke Sietinsons are masters of their craft. Come hear beautiful, yet foreboding sounds in which to lose your self completely.
March 29, 200718 yr Author this gets five stars!!! Artist: Various Artists Title: 20 Ways To Float Through Walls Label: Crammed Belgium's Crammed Discs has delved into hidden corners of modern music for 25 years, in the process transforming itself into a discerning world-music outlet. This compilation is a whistle-stop tour taking in modern Brazilian Tropicalismo from Apollo Nove, DJ Dolores and Zuco 103, febrile Congotronica from Kasai Allstars and Konono No.1, 21st-century Balkan gypsy music from Taraf De Haïdouks, infectious Tuareg trance from Tartit, Parisian downtempo from Snooze, and ambient-folk from the UK's Wise In Time. Of particular note are the transcontinental crossover combinations pairing Taraf De Haïdouks with British folktronicists Tunng, and Macedonian gypsy-funk band Koçani Orkestar with Chilean remixer Señor Coconut. -CcY3jr4lYs Señor Coconut - Tour de France
March 29, 200718 yr Author Some selected tracks from the above listed artists: Grant Lee Phillips "Soft Asylum (No Way Out)" 4tTCaz2sWLg Grant Lee Phillips "Raise The Spirit" Sj-L17hTFq4 Grant Lee Buffalo - Fuzzy ILpq6LDrUWQ Mockingbirds (this is a great song and actually reminds me of the Autuers) ko7FQ-_TBrI
March 29, 200718 yr Author XTa_RQC8ZxA Camera Obscura - Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken ztIWgEO0vRc Camera Obscura - If Looks Could Kill
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