2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

juLY 2019 • uNCuT• 29

GuIDEDBYVOICES
WarpAndWoof
GBVINC

8/10

ShortandsweetfromPollard’s
one-manmelodymachine
Havingaccidentally
writtensixsongs
inanhour,robert
Pollarddecidedthe
latestGBVLPwould
beasoff-the-cuffas
possible,a policythathasresulted
in 24 tracksrecordedduringspare
momentsandwhichpassinan
unsettling 37 minutes.Fewaremore
than 90 secondslong– thelongest,
perversely,is a two-and-a-halfminute
instrumental– andthismusicaltapas
canbefrustratingbutoftenthrilling,
withPollardpackinggreatpowerinto
theshortestpossibleamountoftime
(“DeadLiquorStore”,“SkullArrow”,
“CoolJewelsAndAprons”,theclassic
“MyAngel”).AseverwithPollard,the
energy,convictionandimagination
areunnerving.P ete rWattS

LISAHANNIGAN
ANDSTARGAZE
LiveIn Dublin
PIAS

7/10

etherealIrishtroubadourteams
upwithclassicalorchestra
WhenHanniganmet
Andréderidderat
a festivalinCorkin
2015,theconductor
invitedhertoperform
a coupleofsongswith
hisEuropeanorchestralcollective,
Stargaze.Thecollaborationwasso
satisfyingthatit ledtoa seriesoffull
concerts,includingthemesmerising
performanceatDublin’sNational
ConcertHallinoctoberlastyear,
capturedonthisdisc.Drawingon
materialfromallthreeofHannigan’s
albums,butmostheavilyonher
exquisiteAaronDessner-produced
2016 setAtSwim, herantique-folk
arrangementsaredeconstructedand
brilliantlyreassembledassublimely
orchestratedchamberpiecesinwhich
simplicityandsophisticationwaltz
hand-in-hand.NIGeLWILLIaMSON

H ATC H I E
Keepsake
HEAVENLY

8/10

Bitterlysweetnostalgiaonaussie
dream-popdebut
If last year’s debut
EP, “Sugar & Spice”,
was the sound of
Harriette “Hatchie”
Pilbeam capturing
the giddy rush of
first love, its full-length follow-up
finds her rummaging through those
memories to pull out the bitter as
well as the sweet. While Pilbeam’s
gorgeous, dreamy melodies remain
her main strength, a longer running
time gives her the space to play with
different ideas. Nostalgic single

“Without A Blush” is Cure-like,

while “Secret” is a hazy, dream-pop

fantasy. Meanwhile, shimmery synths

underscore the romantic confusion

at the heart of “Stay With Me”.

LISa-MarIe FerLa

RICHARD HAWLEY

Further

BMG

8/10

Hawley’s exquisite vocals

embellishanothersetoffine

mid-tempoballads

Although he’s

abandoned the

Sheffield-themed

album titles that

have featured in

all his previous

LPs and introduces Further with the

unexpected rock’n’roll blast of “off

My Mind”, richard Hawley hasn’t

strayed too far from a successful

formula. What he does introduce is a

deliberate sense of brevity, keeping

songs tight and focused whether on

the country-tinged title track or the

lovely “Midnight Train”, which mixes

the swing of gospel with strings and

Spanish guitar. The best of these is

probably “Is There A Pill?”, which

undercuts the pure beauty of Hawley’s

vocal with an ominously growling

guitar. P ete r WattS

HONEYBLOOD

In Plain Sight

MARATHON ARTISTS

7/10

Glaswegian singer Stina

tweeddaleteamsupwith

USproducerJohnCongleton

Nowadays, when

most Scottish

bands seem keen to

assert their artistic

independence

by singing in a

homegrown accent, it seems almost

quaint to hear a group invoke an age

when the Mary Chain and orange

Juice were donning black ray-Bans,

declaring fealty to Lou reed and

singing in American accents. And

Glaswegian singer-songwriter Stina

Tweeddale is very good at this punky

Caledonian take on uS bubblegum

pop. “The Third Degree” is a perfect

Phil Spector-style stompalong; “A Kiss

From The Devil” is a fuzzed-up piece of

glitterbeat; while “Glimmer” is a hooky

piece of punk pop that sounds suited to

CBGB circa 1978. JOHN LeWIS

BRuCEHORNSBY

AbsoluteZero

THIRTYTIGERS

8/10

thewayit was...andtheway

it is now

Anyonewhostill

associatesHornsby

withtheheartland

rockof“TheWay

It Is”hasn’tbeen

listeningforthepast

30 years. Sincethenhe’sbeeninthe

Grateful Dead,becomeSpikeLee’sfilm

composer ofchoiceandcollaborated

with the likesofJustinVernonand

Brandon Flowers.It’sa longand

winding roadthathasbroughthimto

the thrillinglyeclecticdestinationthat

is Absolute Zero. ThelegendaryJack

DeJohnette providesthetitletrack’s

asymmetricalrhythms,Vernonadds

some Bon Ivermagictothebittersweet

“Cast-off”, theDead’slyricistrobert

Hunter co-wrote“TakeYouThere

(Misty)” andBrooklynchambergroup

yMusic gracefourofthe 10 trackswith

avant-classicalstrings.NIGeLWILLIaMSON

HOTCHIP

A BathFullOfEcstasyDOMINO

7/10

Outsideassistancehelpsdeliver

a slickseventhfromthe

evergreenmisfits

Thoughthey’reall

pushing40,HotChip

haveseldomsounded

asyouthfuland

carefreeastheydo

onseventhstudio

albumA BathFullOfEcstasy– a

consequence,perhaps,oftheir

decisiontoworkwithexternal

producersforthefirsttime.Philippe

ZdarandrodaidhMcDonaldhave

certainlyspruceduptheband’suSP,

withZdar’smaximalistmixensuring

thesynthsglistenanddrumspulse

crisply,tothepointwhereyoumight

mistakeHCforYears& Years(“Echo”)

orErasure(“Positive”).Shornof

ballads,thisis a sublimeexercisein

forwardmotion– “Spell”and“Why

DoesMyMind”areamongtheirbest

• thatleavesnotrace.
  PIerSMartIN

new albums

Eclectic

warrior:

Bruce

Hornsby

R

ichardhawley’s

Furtheropenswith

a bracingdoseof

rock’n’rollthatactsasa

reminderthattheacclaimed

velvet-voicedsingercuthis

teeth asa fuzz-seeking

guitaristin theLongpigs.It’s

an introductionthatcreatesa

recurringundercurrent,giving

the albuma littlemorebite

than previousofferings.

“I wantedit tobeuptempo,”

says hawley.“harder,faster,

louder andalsogentlerand

brief. threeminutesis a

perfecttimingforquitea lot

of thingsin life...especially

a song.I’vebeenplaying

rock’n’rollsinceI wassixyears

old, so nosurprisesthere.”

thealbumcomesin the

wakeofStandingAtTheSky’s

Edge, a sheffield-setmusical

abouttheParkhillestatethat

featuredhawley’ssongs.

Whatwasit likeseeinghis

musicusedthisway?

“It’sbeena strangebut

bossexperience,”says

hawley.“I gavefullpermission

forthemtotakeapartand

dowhattheywantwiththe

songs.theywantedmevery

muchinvolved,butI triedto

givethemasmuchspaceas

possible.tobehonest,the

mostfunI hadwassticking

in thingsI’doverheardin

pubsandbusstopsoverthe

years,withthescriptwriter

ChrisBush.”P ete rWattS

RICHARDHAWLEY

...on theperfectionofthreeminutesandpinchingpubchat

revel ations

ChRIs saundeRs, WaLOR hORnsBY