easily fill more than just
a couple of pages of this
magazine. Sly & Robbie
have given their groove
to The Mighty Diamonds,
Bob Dylan and Grace
Jones, to name a few
and without forgetting their own albums, like
the seminal Rhythm Killers. Underwater
Dub, meanwhile, has Sly & Robbie’s distinctive
heavy bass, that without a doubt will have the
neighbours banging on the walls... again. DN
SWANS *****
To Be Kind (Mute)
At 120 minutes long, precisely one minute longer
than its 2012 predecessor The Seer, the 13th
Swans album showcases a band whose audience
not only indulge their indulgences, but positively
live for them. The first song lasts 17 minutes, the
closer blithely sails past half an hour, and – with
the help of John Congleton’s brutalist, exacting
production and several guest musicians – the
venerable noiserock apocalypticists achieve
peak poetic bludgeon. A punishing and moving
album, probably the apex of their 21st-century
incarnation. NG
singles
CASSY & D’JULZ ***
What U C In Me (Bass Culture)
A solid pairing of two of tech-house’s most
revered darlings, and as with their other releases
it comes with a quality kitemark. What U See In
Me’s D’Julz remix manages to be both deep and
minimal, with a sultry, panting vocal. There is
also a dub version featuring soaring strings. RH
JO BARTLETT ****
Highway Found EP (Strikeback)
This four-song EP is a
beautiful piece of work
by folk artist Jo Bartlett.
It’s intimate yet grand,
and could just as easily
accompany a glass of red
as it could a summer’s
drive. You could do a lot worse than giving this
record a few spins this month. IR
JOHN MOUSE ****
I Was A Goalkeeper (Crocfingers)
So you do a football-themed single and you want
a guest vocalist. Top of the list comes Gareth
of Los Campesinos!. John and Gareth make
this bind together like a vintage Brazil passing
sequence. With the bursts of energy you expect
from JM, the song would’ve been Wales’ Three
Lions had we qualified. JE
LETHAL BIZZLE **
The Drop (New State)
Grime stalwart Lethal
Bizzle returns with
The Drop; a song that
meditates on the pros
and cons of the “bass
drop”, and what impact
it has on society and the
generations to come. “If BS was a gas, would
you be the supplier?” asks Bizzle. This man is
indisputably asking the right questions. IR
LITTLE ERIS ****
Wreck N Rollin’ (Original Human)
I loved Cardiff pixie Little Eris’ debut album,
Molecules R Us, which was shaky but ballsy
bedroom DIY. Her latest single is two minutes of
electro-punk pop and great fun, albeit with an
unsubtle message about “people living on the
street”. Her live show is equally awesome – go
see her. RH
LITTLE MATADOR ***
Stitch Yourself Up (Fiction)
A disparaging eye for
the Snow Patrol guy, as
lead guitarist Nathan
Connolly does it his way
as vocalist for his side
project, and what the
press release refers to as
part of a “rock explosion”. It aims quite deftly
for QOTSA turf, with a chugging and stabbing
psychedelic melody. RH
SION RUSSELL JONES ***
Despite My Burdens (SARJ)
For the most part, this single employs Jones’
usual upbeat folk style to great effect: really nice
guitar work, meaningful lyrics, the works. Bit of
a shame about the chorus, which, though catchy
in the first iteration, will repeat on you until
you’re ready to eat your own face. JS
TRWBADOR ****
Breakthrough (Owlet)
This single sees the
duo diversifying in
their musical output.
Prominently featured
are the introspective
and insightful rhymes
of ESSA (formerly
Yungun). Trwbador’s hypnotic synth swells
and deep resonant bass lines generate a warm
undercurrent for ESSA’s rhythmical, eloquent
verse. Be sure that this is on your radar. CPI
demos
SOAP
soundcloud.com/soapbanduk
Jack Monopoli is an excellent name for a
frontman of a Swansea-based blues-rock band.
On this new three-song EP by Soap, who have
been active since 2012, he turns in a solid
performance on vocal and guitar, with the other
three members keeping a rudimentary rhythm
behind (notwithstanding the odd wiggy solo
by Argent Davies, another creditable name).
There’s a lot of this stuff around right now, in
south Wales and elsewhere, and Books strays
into skiffle-indie corniness, but Soap have a
certain spark. NG
ACROSSFROMWAIR
www.facebook.com/acrossfromwair
Acrossfromwair – they want us to write it in all
caps. DENIED! – display a banterous sense of
humour on their Facebook page, yet play music
which takes itself very seriously. Their four-song
EP Moments combines twiddly Son Of MathRock guitars, busy cowbell-heavy drumming,
slick crescendos and keening vocals; it’s all very
modish, and akin to what I assume Foals sound
like these days, despite not having heard their
last album or three. Wouldn’t surprise me if
Acrossfromwair found a wider audience, as this
is all rather accomplished. NG
HAAST’S EAGLED
haastseagled.bandcamp.com
These four songs, which Haast’s Eagled put
online late last year, have actually now been
pressed on CD by a label called Senseless Life.
I’m reviewing them here anyway, to clown
myself in public for not picking up earlier on
this terrific half-hour-plus of doom metal. The
Cardiff-based trio (since plumped Ѽ