Clash Music - Issue 52

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07/05/10--07:36: Au Revoir Simone - Night Light (chan 1151928)



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Remix albums can destroy a perfectly good band’s sound. Au Revoir Simone create light, experimental and ethereal indie pop, music that should be easy to play with, but at the same time, equally easy to maim.

‘Night Light’, which features toyings from the likes of Jens Lekman, Silver Columns and Montag, is about as inoffensive (and astoundingly beautiful) as one of these things gets. From the absolutely aerial soundscapes of Your Twenties’ ‘Anywhere You Looked’ to Max Cooper’s haunting ‘Take Me As I Am’, ‘Night Light’ does absolutely nothing to disfigure ‘Still Night, Still Light’ - it positively enhances it.

7/10

Teri Williams







07/05/10--07:46: Ozomatli - Fire Away (chan 1151928)



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Sprawling LA collective Ozomatli return with ‘Fire Away’, their fifth full-length to date, and offer another rich dose of positive energy and musical diversity. The album provides some fairly easy - but not necessarily simple - listening throughout, infusing Ozo’s funk, hip-hop, Latin American and other global musical influences with plenty of slick, skin-tight grooves. The all-out party vibe of opener ‘Are You Ready?’ sets the tone for tracks like ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’, ‘Nadas Por Free’ and the one-fingered salute of ‘Malagasy Shock’, whilst ‘Love Comes Down’ and ‘Caballito’ help us go out the way we came in.

7/10

RYAN DREVER

Dig it? Dig deeper: Oso, O.A.R, Blues Traveller







07/05/10--08:01: Grasscut - 1 Inch / 1/2 Mile (chan 1151928)



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Found sounds and field recordings provide the source material for the latest shuriken chuckers at Ninja HQ, the music of Grasscut leant a quintessentially British quality by folk song samples, the plummy pronunciation of BBC announcers and plenty of talk about the war. The result is some distance from the entirely horizontal soundscapes of Jarvis Cocker’s recent National Trust project however, with composer Andrew Phillips and his multi-instrumentalist compadre Marcus O’Dair having thrown plenty of big beats, bleeps and buzz saw analogue synths into the mix for a record closer to MGMT than Eno ambience. Brilliantly bizarre.

9/10

Kingsley Marshall

Dig it? Dig deeper: The Memory Band, Parsley Sound, The Squire Of Somerton







07/05/10--08:22: I Am Kloot - Sky At Night (chan 1151928)



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It’s business as usual for the Manchester-based trio with their fifth offering of sedate guitar warbling. Mixed by Guy Garvey of Elbow, the whole timbre seems to have a Parisian flavour that conjures images of a less than positive continental existence.

Whilst each track delivers exactly what is to be expected from an IAK album it is a little disappointing that there seems to have been no development from the previous outing. So, if you are already a fan this record is for you, otherwise look elsewhere.

6/10

Chris Collington







07/05/10--08:38: Nigel of Bermondsey - London Dreamtime (chan 1151928)



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Former Gay Dad bassist Nigel Hoyle’s second solo album develops his gritty take on bedsit pop. Huge hooks on the excellent ‘It’s A Killing Thing’ counterbalance a requiem to street violence, while a spartan version of the Inspiral Carpets’ ‘This Is How It Feels’ is full of introspective candour, on an album that is immediately impressive and deceptively complex.

6/10

John Freeman







07/05/10--08:51: Larsen B - Musketeer (chan 1151928)



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A musical version of relaxation therapy; Larsen B make you lie back and imagine being elsewhere. Transporting the listener away from a world of the urban and mundane they weave pretty rural landscapes with a charming, if unadventurous, blend of pop and folk standards.

‘Marilyn’ and ‘Stitch’ are deep and rich, borrowing Mumford And Sons’ banjos and making something genuine and believable with aplomb. Elsewhere however, ‘Codeine’ is reminiscent of Grizzly Bear’s preppy majesty minus the ability to truly wow, a problem that permeates throughout, rendering Larsen B merely good; far from the band you dream of.

6/10

David Renshaw







07/05/10--09:06: Milky Disco 3 - To The Stars (chan 1151928)



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The latest Milky Disco comp (confusingly the fourth installment, not the third) continues the series’ exploration of the outer limits of space disco. Black Devil Disco Club are here doing, well, much the same as they always do, but in brilliant fashion. Leo Zero brings perfect, precision engineered techno, and there’s a surprising wobbly acid detour from The Flying Sapphire. Top stuff. Disc one is the pick, with the tracks in their unedited form, though disc two - a mix by Jon Tye - ain’t too shabby, and manages to cram in a few extra cuts. Space is the place.

8/10

Will Salmon







07/05/10--09:18: Mystery Jets - Serotonin (chan 1151928)



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The Eel Pie Islanders' sees the band mature as songwriters, which should attract the mainstream attention that's so overdue them.

Opener 'Alice Springs' sees the band lace themselves in psychedelic heaven complete with fuzzy guitars and a whole lot of class, whilst instant classic 'Dreaming of Another World' is what The Drums would sound like if they weren't so lo-fi and had a penchant for synths.

A fantastic album from a band that deserve to be massive.

9/10

Kevin Angel







07/06/10--04:38: Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (chan 1151928)



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Gangster’s Paradise presents a dog-eat-dog existence amidst Johannesburg’s notorious slums. After escaping a life of carjacking, Lucky heads to the city for a fresh start. When his business is destroyed by a similar accident, he revisits his old schemes on a grander scale as he seizes control of tower blocks under the guise of taking from the rich to give to the poor.

Built around a social context that rises beyond a hackneyed morality tale and backed with a vibrant soundtrack, Gangster’s Paradise mixes grim realism with visceral thrills to create an involving underworld drama that approaches the standard of City Of God.

8/10

Words by Ben Hopkins







07/07/10--02:30: The Coral - Butterfly House (chan 1151928)



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There was some concern that the departure of Bill-Ryder Jones might mark the decline of The Coral. The good news is you wouldn’t know he’d left. Actually, that’s sort of the bad news too.

A perennial singles band, capable of euphoric highs but also rather a lot of chugging jangle when called upon to fill an entire album, there’s little here to suggest a radical rethink.

Album opener ‘More Than A Lover’ is the power-pop insulin of old while the title track offers a more malevolent, wonky, psychedelic backdrop. It’s all very ‘nice’ but only sporadically truly vital.

6/10

Words by Gareth James

Dig it? Dig deeper: Love, The Zutons, The Bees







07/12/10--02:00: Alan Pownall - True Love Stories (chan 1151928)



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London-based Alan Pownall might have an acoustic guitar and count Noah And The Whale among his friends, but he’s not the troubadour some might paint him as. Gentle summer pop, not folk, is the touchstone on his debut album.

More Jack Johnson than John Martyn, ‘True Love Stories’ is likely to be the soundtrack to many a bland barbecue thanks to its laid-back, off-beat strumming and the hint of soul in the Americanised vocals. But just when you think you have him figured out, Pownall still manages to pull out some beautifully warm melodies to catch you off-guard.

5/10

Words by Steve Harris







07/12/10--02:18: Daniel Johnston - Beam Me Up! (chan 1151928)



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The prolific Daniel Johnston can be forgiven for releasing a “best of” record, particularly when he throws in a couple of new tracks (‘Sarah Drove Around In Her Car’, ‘Last Song’) and recruits the B.E.A.M Orchestra as his backing band. Fans will appreciate listening to his lo-fi masterpieces with new, lush, hi-fi production values, but with that same warbling voice.

7/10

Words by Steven Garrard







07/12/10--02:20: Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul (chan 1151928)



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It’s taken a year or so, but the legal eagles at EMI have thankfully managed to resolve the problems which stalled the release of this astonishing collaboration between the ’Mouse and the ’Horse; Brian Burton and the late, great Mark Linkhous, respectively.

Amongst the army of incredible contributors, all unified by melancholic production drawn from the ether of another age, David Lynch’s star shimmers brightest. His delivery of the wonky title track is simultaneously spooky and sensual; if there were a jukebox in the Double R Diner of Twin Peaks, this would be playing. Continuously. Damn fine.

9/10

Kingsley Marshall







07/12/10--02:30: Tired Pony - The Place We Ran From (chan 1151928)



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Written and recorded in a week in New Orleans, ‘The Place We Ran From’ is a ten-song collaboration between Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and a host of other musicians.

A gentle and mellifluous set of songs, it’s an album that’s haunted by a deep and evocative sense of fragile melancholy. And although ‘I Am A Landslide’ suffers slightly from its somewhat repetitive, MOR refrain, ‘Point Me To Lost Lands’ is a jangly slice of resignation, and the near-seven minute muted insecurity and tension of ‘Pieces’ is a perfect end to an album for lost, lonely times.

7/10

Mischa Pearlman







07/12/10--02:39: The Boy Who Trapped The Sun - Fireplace (chan 1151928)



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The boy, twenty-five-year-old Colin MacLeod, eloquently brings you into his dreamlike world, mostly set in the Isle of Lewis in Northern Scotland. The glorious title track refers to the four days MacLeod was trapped in his Lewis home as a raging thunderstorm battled the island (“We have windows, a roof, and a bottle of brew”). What sets it aside from being merely a quirky folk album is MacLeod’s angelic voice, poetic lyrics, and some blazing piano playing. You can almost forgive the cheesy love letter ‘Thorn In Your Side’. Almost, but not quite.

6/10

Stephen Maughan







07/12/10--02:42: School Of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire (chan 1151928)



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‘Disconnect From Desire’ wastes no time in setting up School Of Seven Bells’ icy, futuristic soundscapes. From the chilling vocals of opener ‘Windstorm’ and the throbbing robotics of ‘Heart Is Strange’, the band’s second album begins a bracing journey through a dream-like world.

For all its forward thinking, the combination of shoe-gaze and synthy electronica leads the record inevitably back to the 1980s, mirroring the haunting sound that M83 have perfected so well. Though the luscious wall of sound becomes a bit predictable by the record’s second half, it’s still an interesting step forward.

6/10

Steve Harris







07/14/10--06:29: Mount Kimbie - Crooks and Lovers (chan 1151928)



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Mount Kimbie are a double hype band, being one of the most exciting proponents of the in-vogue dubstep genre. Their debut album splinters dubstep into a more percussive, more introspective and ambient experimental form, to strange and interesting effect; melancholic opener ‘Tunnel Vision’ sounds like a scout troupe playing camp fire songs in purgatory, with strange chanting and backwards guitar chords.

8/10

Words by Steven Garrard







07/14/10--06:39: Tokyo Police Club - Champ (chan 1151928)



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Canada’s Tokyo Police Club are the posterboys of heartfelt hard-and-fast indie pop. ‘Champ’ follows the release of the excellent ‘Elephant Shell’, and like its predecessor drips with North American boyhood and cajole. Openers ‘Favourite Food’ and ‘Favourite Colour’ are the first signs of songwriting maturity, but TPC keep their trademark sound snug against their chests - the sound that is at once warm, tight and breathtakingly exhilarating - following right through to ‘End Of A Spark’ and the bittersweet ‘Frankenstein’. Again, like their previous work, ‘Champ’ is a short and sweet affair - but not one to miss or forget.

8/10

Words by Teri Williams







07/14/10--06:49: Department of Eagles - Archives 2003 - 2006 (chan 1151928)



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That his ‘main’ band Grizzly Bear is currently white-hot ensures Daniel Rossen’s Department Of Eagles project gains elevated significance. Largely taken from (in their words) a “failed” January 2006 session, this dredge through their formative recordings is an unfettered joy; charting Rossen and sidekick Fred Nicolaus’ transformation from green-gilled college mates, to masters in the creation of dark, expansive Americana. A series of five ‘Practice Room Sketches’ outline a burgeoning sense of the grandiose, while the surging skiffle and soaring chorus of ‘Brightest Minds’ is positively euphoric. A magical insight into the development of Rossen’s creative genius.

8/10

Words by John Freeman







07/14/10--06:58: Oriol - Night And Day (chan 1151928)



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Oriol Singhji buffs up a tonic of ever-breezing synth funk and twittering broken beats to make you squint and hallucinate enough to divide reality from the weaving of chrome-plated tapestries. The danger of Oriol repeating himself, as he rides synthesizers like a futuristic waterslide, means it’s best to take ‘Night And Day’ as one idyllic tropic. Permanently wearing sunglasses, ‘The Process’ and ‘Kam’ ground slip ‘n’ slide beats amongst a plethora of dream sequences, fluffy clouds and schmoozing in liquid funk paradise. Just steer clear if optimism passes you by or you’re prone to dozing off easily.

7/10

Words by Matt Oliver