2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

ewa

juLY 2019 • uNCuT• 33

EFRIMMANuELMENuCK
& KEVINDORIA
AreSINGSINCK, SING
CONSTELLATION

7/10

Post-rockdoomsayersspawn
a new project
Whilebestknownas
thenominalleader
ofGodspeedYou!
BlackEmperor,Efrim
ManuelMenuck
hasdistinguished
himselfmorerecentlyasa soloartist,
albeitoftenembeddedwithmusicians
fromtheextendedGY!BEfamily.Are
SingSinck,Singmarksthebeginning
ofa newprojectwithKevinDoria
ofNewYorkgroupGrowing,whose
glimmering,psychedelicdronesare
neatlytransplantedhere.“FightThe
GoodFight”and“AHummingVoid
AnEmptiedPlace”feellikesorrowful
hymns,Menuck’splaintivevoice
swaddledinelectronics,butthe
album’shighlightis “DoThePolice
Embrace?”,poeticpolemicthatrecalls
Springsteeninitsblendofmelancholy
anduplift.LOUISPATTISON

MARKMuLCAHY
TheGus
MEZZOTINT

7/10

Eloquentodestovagabonds
and ne’er-do-wells
Hemayhave
reconvenedMiracle
Legionin2016,but
Mulcahy’schief
focusremainson
a solocareerthat
continuestodeliverintriguingalbums
populatedbythree-dimensional
misfitswithstoriesworthtelling.This,
hissixthreleaseunderhisownname,
picksoverthemundanetorevealthe
extraordinary(thewearyprotagonist
of“WickedWorld”,thewarring
buddiesattheheartof“TakingBaby
Steps”).He’sathisbestwhensparse
instrumentationallowsthecharacters
tobreathe,whichis especiallyeffective
on“LaterForTheBox”andthepiano-
ledpaeantodisillusionedTrump
supporters“MrBell”.Analbumthat
revealsfreshlayers on every listen. 
TE R RYSTAU NTO N

QASIMNAQVI
Teenages
ERASEDTAPES

8/10

Pulsing,probingsetofmodular-
synth ecstatics
AmemberofDawn
OfMidi,Pakistani-
Americancomposer
anddrummerQasim
Naqvihasexplored
soloelectronics
througha numberofcommissions
accompanyingvariousvisualmedia.
OnTeenageshestepsinfrontof
thecamera,essayinga clutchof
juddering,strip-litpieces.Thiskindof
modular-synthworkisn’texactlyan
underpopulated field,butTeenages

offersplentytocommendit.Thepieces

areconfidentbutnotfilledwithhubris;

Naqvi’stouchis gentleandmeasured

whenit needstobe,morebrutishwhen

themusiccallsforit,andthebalanceof

sunblindedtextureandrough-housing

tactilityis spot-on.JON DALE

NOTS

3

HEAVENLY/GONER

8/10

BluffCitypunkspersevere

despite lineupchange

Perthatshortalbum

title,thisis indeed

theMemphisband’s

thirdfull-length,but

it’salsotheirfirstas

a trio.Keyboardist

AlexandraEastburnleftshortlyafter

2016’sCosmetic, whichforcedthe

remainingmemberstoretooltheir

knotty,gnarlyattack.NatalieHoffman

takesovermoreinstrumentalduties

yetremainsa volatilefrontwoman,

whiletherhythmsectionratchets

uptheintensityoftheirherky-jerky

post-punkgroovesonthepounding

“HalfPaintedHouse”.Inthis

configuration,Notssoundmore

streamlinedandfocused,which

allowsthemtoindulgetheirnew-

waveeccentricitiesontherambling,

psychedelic“InGlass”andtheweirdly

mesmerising“Floating Hand”.

STEPHENDEUSNER

OLDENYOLK

LivingTheatre

TROubLEINMIND

7/10

Lovelysecondalbumby

indie-via-folk-rockUSduo

OldenYolk’sco-

conspiratorsShane

ButlerandCaity

Shafferhaveswapped

coastssincereleasing

their 2018 debut,

movingfromNewYorktoLosAngeles

andalsodiscardingtheirpreviousfolk

rockfora moremelodic,indie-rock

approach.Thatworksfantastically

onButler’simmaculatepairof

“Cotton& Cane”and“GrandPalais”,

whichhavetheverbaldexterityand

chimingdriveofclassicPrefabSprout.

Shafferbringsa moreetherealvibe

totrackssuchas“Castor& Pollux”

and“DistantEpisode”,butwhat’s

particularlyimpressiveis theway

theirdistinctiveapproachescombine,

creatingsongslike“ViolentDays”

and“EveryArk”thatcontain

elementsofboth songwriting styles.

P ETE R WATTS

PEREubu

TheLongGoodbye

CHERRYRED

8/10

Thevibe’snovelisticonthis“endof

the road” album

DavidThomas

describesthisasPere

Ubu’s“endofthe

road”and,insteadof

theusualthrash-punk

racket,hisAnglo-

Americanbandaccompanyhimusing

TomWaits-stylejunkyardpercussion

andwheezyfairgroundorgans.

Thomaslurchesfromsurrealistpoetry

toimpressionisticshortstories,like

a hybridofCaptainBeefheartand

ErnestHemingway.“LovelyDay”

paintsa pictureofa seasidetown

(“Onionsarefrying,chipwrappersare

flying”);“FortunateSon”witnesses

a schizophrenicMartianina waffle

houseburstingintotearsatthestateof

Americabeforepayingsomeoneelse’s

bill;while“WhoStoleTheSignpost”

soundslikesynthpop made on

children’stoys.

JOHNLEWIS

MARKPETERS

NewRoutesOut Of Innerland

SONICCATHEDRAL

7/10

Wigan shoegazedoyenremixed

Lastyear’sInnerland

• Engineersfrontman
  MarkPeters’solo
  debut– causedripples
  ofexcitementbeyond
  thedream-popworld
  andledtothereleaseofa sisteralbum,
  AmbientInnerland. Forthisfinal
  instalment,Petersinviteslike-minded
  producerstoremixhiswork,with
  generallyexcellentresults.Shoegaze
  stalwartsUlrichSchnaussandJefre
  Cantu-Ledesmadelivermistyreadings
  of“MayMill”and“Ashurst’sBeacon”,
  whilenewcomersMoonGangs
  (WillYoungfromBeak>)andOlga
  Wojciechowskafollowsuitwithmore
  propulsiveofferings.Mostintriguing
  areAndiOtto’sPenguinCaféshuffle
  over“TwentyBridges”andEdRuscha
  V’slopsidedsaunterup“CabinHill”,
  eachtestamenttothequality of Peters’
  originals.PIERS MARTIN

PIXX

SmallMercies 4AD

7/10

Youngsynthpopsingergrowsin

confidenceandrange

Musingonloveinall

itsforms,23-year-old

BritSchoolgraduate

Hannah“Pixx”

Rodgerstrieson

multiplemusical

identitiesforsizeonthismostly

excellentsecondalbum.Expanding

theelectropoppaletteofher 2017

debut,AgeOfAnxiety, Rodgerslays

multi-trackedsneersoverneo-

grungeguitarson“Bitch”and“Mary

Magdalene”,hintsatStVincent’s

arched-eyebrowart-poponmannered

dittieslike“Funsize”,andhonours

her4ADlineagewiththespangled

Pixies/Lushhomagesof“Hysterical”.

Lyrically,Rodgerscanbestiltedand

adolescentattimes,butshehitsthe

sweetspotonthecompellinglystern

eletro-gothchant“Disgrace”andthe

terrifictitletrack,a swoonyromantic

reveriecloakedinnervy, surging synth

rock.ST E P H E NDA LTO N

PLAID

Polymer WARP

8/10

Warpmainstaysmakeelectronic

music for moderntimeson10th

Inspiredbytheir

manifestoof

“Polyphony,Pollution

andPolitics”

andexploring

“environment,

synthetics,survival,mortalityand

humanity’s(dis)connection”,Plaid’s

latestalbumstudiesmanyunsettling

goings-oninthemodernworld,and

reflectsthemina wordlesssonic

sphere.Theopening“MedsFade”

pulsesandgargleswithdystopian

dread,suggestinganentryintoa dark

andtormentedworld.However,all

droningindustrialhorrorthisalbum

is not.It burstswithinnovativebeats

andmelodictouches,suchasonthe

string-drenched“ThePaleMoth”.Its

rhythmicpatternsandtwistingbeats

aresurprisingthroughout,makingthe

recordasunpredictablea voyageasthe

times we livein.DANIEL DYLAN WRAY

Endofthe

roadfor

Pere ubu?

Nots:streamlining

theirknotty,

gnarly sound

ADELE C. WINN