Cathy Davey

Tales of Silversleeve
EMI

Tales of Silversleeve is a disorientating listen. Not merely because of Cathy Davey’s surreal lyrics- although they are little more than collections of suggestive phrases- or the sudden shifts in mood and genre- Davey jumps from countrified pop to minimalist electro within seconds. It’s the subtext of strange passions and carnal desire, more familiar from the likes of Nick Cave but here translated into pristine pop that Kylie could appropriate. Tales of Silversleeve is the album for anyone who enjoyed the dark sensuality of The Dresden Dolls but wished that they sounded just a little more like The Pipettes. more… “Cathy Davey”

Tokyo Police Club

Elephant Shell
Saddle Creek

Frantic drumming, a bass guitar wheezing as it chases a treble-heavy guitar, more ideas in a three minute song that most bands manage in a career and lyrics that weave between self-conscious obscurity and detail-obsessed poetry: it must be Tokyo Police Club.

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The Holy Ghost Revival

Bleeding Light
1965

“A thirteen-year-old boy … enjoys the liberties hard won by the alliance of philosophic genius and political heroism, consecrated by the blood of martyrs; he is provided with comfort and leisure by the most productive economy … science has penetrated the secrets of nature in order to provide him with the marvelous, lifelike electronic sound and image reproduction he is enjoying. more… “The Holy Ghost Revival”

Mary Ann Kennedy and Na Seoid

Na Seoid
Watercolour

It isn’t just sentimentality that makes the old folk recordings the best ones. The crackle and hiss of ancient field-recordings often hides the awkward musicality of traditional songs, emphasising the peculiar features of the form and performer. Modern recordings- like this super-group of contemporary Gaelic singers often sacrifice the authenticity- which can be tuneless or wheezing- to a production sheen and a notional good taste. more… “Mary Ann Kennedy and Na Seoid”

Kunt and the Gang

A Last Wank and a Last Cry
Disco Minge

Even if the Kunts were too tight to release the full album to the press- this review is based on a bundled CD featuring the greatest hits from the earlier albums in the ‘Wank and Cry’ Trilogy- ‘One Last Wank and One Last Cry’ is another future playground classic, destined to be furtively swapped round the back of the bike sheds or slipped on at adolescent house parties. more… “Kunt and the Gang”

Aye- An Affirmation of Martin Bennett

Eastwood Park Theatre
27 March

Because a string quartet is at the heart of this affirmation of Martyn Bennett, Aye doesn’t always do justice to the rip-roaring dynamism that marked the career of this folk, jazz, classical and techno experimentalist. Mr McFall’s Chamber guide the evening, occasionally including relevant pieces from their own oeuvre and ushering master piper Frasier Fifield on and off stage: inevitably, they concentrate on those pieces that showcase Bennett’s compositions for strings more… “Aye- An Affirmation of Martin Bennett”

Kathryn Williams and Neil MacColl

Glasgow Classic Grand
26th March

On the one hand, Kathryn Williams’ album with Neil MacColl is one of her weaker sets- it falls between a retreat into folkiness and a vague stab at the sort of light pop that Belle and Sebastian have reinvented. On the other, Williams’ exquisite vocals and MacColl’s confident multi-instrumentalism combined to make an album that would have been a career high-light for any other pastoral pop pretenders. more… “Kathryn Williams and Neil MacColl”

BWO

Prototype, Fabricator, Halcyon Days
EMI Sweden

These three albums represent the collected works to date of Euro-pop celebrities BWO. Massive in Europe- especially Sweden and Russian- they have been the vehicle for sexual politician and social theorist Alexander Bard, influencing the wave of Nordic pop electronic that is now seeing UK success. more… “BWO”

The Breeders

Mountain Battles
4AD

Is it just sentimentality that makes the return of The Breeders more important than any of the latest albums from the latest bands? Does Mountain Battles really have greater depth, more intense rockers and more left-field experimentation than all of the hip indie releases of the past year? And what does it say about the state of rock that the most vital album of the month comes from an artist who has been making music for over twenty years? more… “The Breeders”

The Galipaygos

The Demise of Gary Lipgloss
Unity

Unlike so many Scottish Americana bands – and there are many of them – The Galipaygos have a terrible name and a real grasp of Appalachian style picking: behind the apparent poppy gloss of ‘Shift Patterns’ or the folky ‘Man About the House’ there is a rippling, shimmering background of acoustic guitar or banjo. Perhaps being based in Inverness rather than Glasgow has made them understand what country is really about.

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