reviews albums
ALELA DIANE **** About Farewell ( Believe )
This timeless LP has been crafted since 2011 , throughout the tumult of a divorce , with songs stemming from heartbreak and embellished by musicians from Efterklang and Joanna Newsom ’ s band . Colorado Blue sets the tone , building to a crescendo of exquisite sadness , enveloped by piano , glockenspiel and strings , while The Way We Fall evokes a classic late-60s folk sound . Capturing the mourning period of failed relationships while a new one unfolds , Diane crafts a masterpiece of elegy . CS
CAPTAIN ACCIDENT *** Slippin ’ Up ( Clumsy )
Captain Accident ’ s second album Slippin ’ Up sounds like summer . People are talking of reggae making a comeback ; what they don ’ t realise is it ’ s already back and going strong ! Acts such as Captain Accident are championing it , and with releases like this I ’ m happy to be witnessing this reggae takeover . Written , recorded and released by Captain Accident himself , and with pleasantly poignant songs such as Business and Stompin ’ Thru Twilight Captain Accident – real name Adam Parsons – is definitely the local boy who made good . LEJ
THE CRIMEA ***** Square Moon ( Alcopop !/ Lazy Acre )
Within 30 seconds of this album starting I have already listened to one of the most beautiful songs I ’ ve ever heard and as I continue to listen this album is slowly becoming my new favourite album of the year , if not the last few . The Crimea – reported to be splitting up after the release of Square Moon – excite you and make you hopeful that there are still talented , inventive people out there making beautiful noise . There are not enough adjectives to describe how pleasant , whimsical and poignant this album is . LEJ
DROWNER *** You ’ re Beautiful , I Forgive You ( Saint Marie )
Drowner are in many ways a reflection of their record label , Saint Marie : a Texan concern which tends to prize churchy guitars , lots of FX pedals and a certain sonic grandeur . You ’ re Beautiful , I Forgive You ( for being beautiful or because of it ?) is at the more accessible end of shoegaze , or dreampop or noise-pop or whatever marker you want to toss about . The 1980s looms large in its multitracked shimmer , with bass drum penetratingly loud and Anna Bouchard ’ s vocals just outside easy comprehension . NG
EMPIRICAL **** Tabula Rasa ( Naim Jazz )
There are elements of Empirical ’ s new two-disc record , Tabula Rasa , where sweet , sometimes folksy melodies and refined , understated strings wouldn ’ t sound out of place on a Bill Frisell record . Except here there ’ s no guitar , or even piano . No matter : with a vibraphone , a sax , a double bass , drums , and strings , Empirical prove that , not only is jazz alive , but that it doesn ’ t even smell funny ; simultaneously accessible and
progressive , Tabula Rasa ’ s sonic experimentations emit an odour enjoyable to all . PM
EVELYN THOMAS *** I Wanna Make It On My Own / Have A Little Faith In Me
TANTRA **** The Collection THP ORCHESTRA **** Tender Is The Night / Good To Me ( all Harmless )
Harmless Records ’ Disco Recharge series is doing amazing work in bringing down undervalued disco of the late 70s and early 80s . Not obscurities , exactly – a lot of this stuff sold in useful quantities at the time – but unlikely to be heard on yer TV-advertised Platform Shoe Boogie Fever comp , even if it ’ d fit like a glove . Evelyn Thomas , produced here by hi-NRG pioneer Ian Levine , helmed sweeping , soulful disco with big orchestral swoops and a tendency towards consciously feminine emotional anguish . The CD collects two albums ( more accurately EPs at five and four songs respectively ) and adds three bonus cuts , including the impeccable puffed-up nonsense of Love In The First Degree . Tantra , a three-boy-two-girl band assembled by Celso Valli , are more minimal and machinedriven ; Hills Of Katmandu , the astonishing 16-minute opener here , is the very height of post-Giorgio Moroder swank , as well as a prototype of sorts for Italo disco . Finally , THP Orchestra and their adaptable , bordering-onnovelty and notably Canadian take on the disco explosion . Tender Is The Night has funky Chic bass , ladies whooping it up and an unfeasible Amen Corner cover ; Good To Me scratched ‘ Orchestra ’ from their name cos orchestras were ‘ out ’ but remains an object lesson in slinky high camp , also a precursor of mid-80s hi-NRG . NG
FAT FREDDY ’ S DROP **** Blackbird ( The Drop )
You know those days when you ’ re rolling through the New Zealand mountains in your campervan , sun beating down , on your way to the next beautiful beach and you think “ I could really do with some rootsy dub / funk with catchy brass hooks , laid-back keys and a smooth , soulful vocal to make this experience nigh-on magical ”? Well THIS IS THE ALBUM FOR YOU . It ’ d also work pretty well as the soundtrack to a long British summer evening barbecue , but since when do those ever happen ? MC
GOGOL BORDELLO **** Pura Vida Conspiracy ( ATO )
As usual , Gogol Bordello deliver an album of fun fuelled anthemic ditties . Malandrino and Name Your Ship are my personal favourites , and are sure to get your head bobbing as if you ’ re performing a jig from only the shoulders up . I can ’ t help feel I should have a glass full of booze while elbowing someone to the beat and singing along . Gogol Bordello have delivered again on this album without straying from their personal style . But as they say , if it ain ’ t broke ... LEJ
GRANT HART *** The Argument ( Domino )
Along with Bob Mould , Grant Hart was the driving songwriting force behind punk legends Hüsker Dü . It isn ’ t fair to compare his solo work to Husker Du ,
but people inevitably will , including me . The Argument is a concept album based around an unpublished William Burroughs manuscript , and has a scattershot approach over its 20 tracks . Baleful and soulless drum machines collide with twee ukulele and there are some moments of greatness , but the record overstays its welcome by a few tracks . GM
THE ICARUS LINE **** Slave Vows ( Agitated )
The powerfully on-trend sound of March 2002 kicks into life again , and if your interest in LA drug punks The Icarus Line waned over their last few albums ( which happened to me , as you can probably tell ), you might be pleasantly surprised by how much Slave Vows rocks . Averaging nearly six minutes a song , an opening dip in the depths of latter-day Swans ( Dark Circles ) gives way to droning psych-rock whirlpools and Mudhoney-worthy bangers , Laying Down For The Man perhaps the highlight . NG
JULIA HOLTER *** Loud City Song ( Domino )
Although LA-based avantmeets-pop composer Julia Holter had eluded my full attention prior to Loud City Song , this isn ’ t the fault of Domino , who released Tragedy and Ekstasis – her previous two albums – some months back . If this followup snares her a wider audience , it might be in the slipstream of the praise afforded These New Puritans ’ recent album ; Holter works with simpler tools , but shares a desire to infect starchy modern classical with prog peculiarity . Initially seeming po-faced , her sense of humour quickly emerges . NG
THE LAST HURRAH !! **** The Beauty Of Fake ( Rune Grammofon )
HP Gundersen , the primary brain behind The Last Hurrah !!, is something of a studio Renaissance man . In Norway , he ’ s best known as a producer of relatively mainstream fare . This project could see him dubbed the Norse Ethan Johns , except The Beauty Of Fake is heaps better : carousel-like psychedelic folk with lots of Eastern-sounding tunings and the dreamy , if possibly divisive , vocals of Heidi Goodbye . High In Hawaii stands out as a potential winner with early-20s stoner girls who ’ ve grown tired of Cat Power . NG
LAURA VEIRS **** Warp And Weft ( Bella Union )
Motherhood hasn ’ t stopped Veirs – her last album presented children ’ s folk songs and she recorded her ninth while pregnant again . In places , this is preggers goes pop , with America bringing Andrew Bird-style orchestral immediacy . Sun Song and Finister Saw The Angels are countrified folk , knitting the traditional with the electric , while ornate arrangements weave through other numbers . My only complaint : when she sings “ Motherless children have a hard time ,” she evidently hasn ’ t seen the state of my living room since parenthood . CS
MR HUW ** Cariad Afiach ( Cae Gwyn )
There ’ s an illustrious tradition to Welsh language rock , with behemoths such as Super Furry Animals having left rather large shoes to be filled , and Cariad Afiach is the latest attempt to join this tradition . Unfortunately for fans of the form , though , Mr Huw ’ s album just feels dated – his attempts to reinvigorate this musical tradition is severely undercut by the fact that most Welsh language rockers have left his particular brand of powerchord prog behind almost a decade ago . BK
PHILIP H . ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS **** Walk Through Exits Only ( Season Of Mist )
Former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo simply embodies metal with his unbridled rage , an attitude that would send Leatherface crying to mummy , and a scream that could melt tarmac . His debut solo album slays from the opening snarled note to the last and features every disgusting riff you could wish for . The drums blast and groove , the guitars pummel and squeal , and Anselmo is in particularly darkened sprits . This album is a must for anyone who loves their metal to be the filthiest of filth . IR
RAFFERTIE *** Sleep Of Reason ( Ninja Tune )
Raffertie has , commendably , released a debut album that could have only come out in 2013 . There ’ s a nice depth to his productions that takes in the current UK bass , post-dubstep and house scenes and contorts and distorts them into a deeply personal sound . I find he ’ s best when he drops his wispy , minimal falsetto vocals and lets his programming do the talking , as with the urgent and fraught One Track Mind and the crashing UNKLE-esque drums of Back Of The Line . SE
SCOTT & CHARLENE ’ S WEDDING **** Any Port In A Storm ( Fire )
Australian Craig Dermody , the songwriter and sole permanent member of Scott & Charlene ’ s Wedding , recently moved to NYC . As sounds and influences creep in , so lyrical references are mixed between the two countries ; overall , Any Port ... locates itself somewhere between Pavement and Television . Songs like 1993 and Jackie Boy send you into a timeless pocket of slackerdom that creates a pleasing earworm . I was really disappointed to miss them in Cardiff recently , but let ’ s hope they come back again soon . JE
SWIM DEEP *** Where The Heaven Are We ( Chess Club )
Manc melancholic indie lads Swim Deep ’ s debut follows a run of acclaimed singles , all of which fans will be please to know are here , including The Sea , King City , Honey and She Changes The Weather . Musically their appeal lies in the ability to pen a decent indie ditty while remaining suitably restrained , but I can ’ t work out if they ’ re serious or taking the piss with their ridiculous early-90s grunge garb . Either way , it suggests they don ’ t take themselves too seriously . RH
WASHED OUT *** Paracosm ( Weird World )
This second album from chillwave exponent , Ernest ‘ Washed Out ’ Greene , is a cool sat-inyour-pants summer listen . Like stonewashed jeans , overdo it and you ’ re on the wrong side of the 80s trend ; All I Know is more St Elmo ’ s Fire soundtrack than early 4AD , but elsewhere , It All Feels Right skanks sleepily along and the vintage keyboards in Great Escape and Paracosm successfully blend Harmonia and Cocteau Twins . Ernest by name , earnest vocals by nature , though this doesn ’ t derail the blissed-out train . CS
ZOLA JESUS & JG THIRLWELL FT MIVOS
QUARTET *** Versions ( Sacred Bones )
Don ’ t know about you , but if I was looking to make my music a bit more surface-level pleasant
BUZZ 40