reviews
albums
THE ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDSLEY SHOVELL
****
Check ‘Em Before You Wreck ‘Em (Rise
Above)
If all music writing took
place online, I could
have dazzled you with an
erudite, tightly argued
and long thinkpiece about
how The Admiral Sir
Cloudsley Shovell’s brand
of retro rock is objectively and morally superior
to Ocean Colour Scene/The Lumineers/whoever.
Obviously I don’t want all music writing to be
online, so I’ll just assert that this London band’s
oily hard rock chug of a second album is even
more conceptually immaculate than Wolf People
or Witchcraft, and if the hippies don’t like it they
can FACK OFF. NG
THE AMAZING SNAKEHEADS ****
Amphetamine Ballads (Domino)
The Amazing Snakeheads make a hideous
drunken racket that sends shivers up my spine,
and comes off somewhere between The Stooges,
The Doors if they were properly evil instead of
just poncing about, and The Birthday Party. This
music burns with a conviction as rare as it is
honest. Get this album, play it as loud as you
can, and when your neighbour asks you to turn it
down just laugh at him for being a square. DG
AVEY TARE’S SLASHER FLICKS ****
Enter The Slasher House (Domino)
The one out of Animal Collective who isn’t
Panda Bear has a new side-project with Angel
Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors) and Jeremy
Hyman (Dan Deacon) and all three audibly bring
elements from their respective bands to this
slow-burner of an album. On the first few listens,
the horror movie shtick is apt, but eventually the
noise and grating spectres drift away, unveiling a
beating weirdo pop heart akin to Ariel Pink. Lead
single Little Fang and Duplex Trip alone are
worth the ticket. SE
BEN WATT ****
Hendra (Unmade Road)
With Everything But The
Girl placed indefinitely
on hold, Tracey Thorn
has released some
solo albums, whilst
her partner Ben Watt
has concentrated on
club promoting and DJ work – not forgetting
the books that Thorn and Watt recently wrote.
Hendra is Watt’s first solo album in many years,
and with its songs about human frailty, backed
by a guitar and subtle electronics, comparison
can be made to both John Lennon and Pink
Floyd at their prime. Hendra is an absolute
stunner. DN
Puppet Loosely Strung (From Our Own)
There’s far too much
going on in this duo’s
debut to be able to
headlock them into a
certain genre. They are
touraholics averaging
three gigs a week, as
well as being Glasto regulars, all of which has
given them time to hone their unique hybrid
sound which spans jazz, blues (What Did I
Do?), electro and drum’n’bass (Back Again).
Other highlights here are second single ballad
Alarm Call and the geezer chants of Give You
Better. RH
FOSTER THE PEOPLE ****
Supermodel (Columbia)
A lot is expected from Foster The People’s
followup album, and it’s delivered. FTP have
added a psychedelic glow to their pop-sensible,
warming sound. Songs like Pseudologica
Fantastica – MBV-style sounds, distorted an