Uncut UK – October 2019

30 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019

KALIMALONE

TheSacrificial Code
IDEAL

8/10

ThirdfromUScomposer
based in Sweden
Adoctoralstudent
ofcompositionand
apprenticeorgan
tuner,KaliMaloneis
noorgandilettante.
Developingsome
ofthevibefromher“OrganDirges
2016-2017”EPoflastyear,this
engrossinghour-and-three-quarter
workpursueslong-formdronesat
thepipeorganina waythatis both
hypnoticanduplifting.Organ-fanciers
mightnotunreasonablyrecallAine
O’Dw yer’sMusicForChurchCleaners,
butasmuchasit is aboutmusicina
particularenvironment(onesideof
thealbumis recordedlive),thisfeels
moreself-reflexive,thelikesofopener
“SpectacleOfRitual”andthetitletrack
recallingthetranscendentchording
of’90sravemusic,asif slowedfor a
beatlessprivaterevelation.
JOHNROBINSON

RALPHMcTELL
HillOfBeans
LEOLA

7/10

Britishfolklegendreunitedwith
producer TonyVisconti
Viscontifirstworked
withMcTellon
his 1968 debut,
a creativeunion
rekindledfor1972’s
NotTillTomorrow.
Thesinger-songwriter’slatesthas
moreincommonwiththelatter,
offeringupa belatedcompanionto
“ZimmermanBlues”intheshapeof
“West4thStreetAndJones”,using
BobDylan’sdalliancewithSuze
Rotoloasa metaphorfordashed’60s
optimism.ThebeguilingHillOfBeans
findsMcTellinauthoritativeform
throughout,offeringsagenarratives
andpoignantmemoriesoffamily
(“BrightonBelle”;“TheShedSong”)
andpastloves(“WhenTheyWere
Young”)overjudiciousacousticguitar,
strings and accordion.ROB HUGHES

METRONOMY

Metronomy Forever

BECAUSE

7/10

Enjoyablysprawlingsixth

from new-wavedoyen

Havingrecently

movedbackfrom

Paristosettleinthe

Englishcountryside,

Metronomy’s

JosephMount

feelscomfortableenoughwithhis

lottodelivera meandering17-

songexplorationofsummertime

heartbreak,stackedwithslinking

synth-popandanxiousthrusting,

thatsuggestshe’swellonhiswayto

becomingoneofBritishpop’sgreat

eccentrics.BeyondtheLippsIncstrut

of“SaltedCaramelIceCream”and

“Lately”’sXTCfunk,Mountseems

primarilyconsumedbycommitment

issues,yearningon“WalkingInThe

Dark”and“LatelyGoingSpare”,and

comingonlikea PaigntonPrincefor

“SexEmoji”.Lotstounpack,andit’s a

pleasuretodoso.PIERS MARTIN

MISSJUNE

BadLuckParty

FRENCHKISSRECORDS

7/10

NewZealandpunksofferup

30 minutes oftightlycoiledrage

BadLuckParty

kicksoffwitha

curveball:album

opener“Twitch”

hassucha sunny

melodylinethat

youbarelynoticethesong’smurderous

undertonesasyou’rehumming

along.It’sa wholedifferentband

elsewhere,asfrontwomanAnnabel

Liddellswaggersandscreamsher

waythroughtherestofMissJune’s

ferociousdebutlikethedemented

lovechildofThurstonMooreand

KathleenHanna.Thejitteryenergy

of“Scorpio”and“DoubleNegative”,

withitsundercurrentofmenace,

arehighlightsbutformidableriot

rocker“BestGirl”providesthe

band’smissionstatement:“Anarchy

canonlybeabouta girl.”

LISA-MARIE FERLA

MONOCHROME SET

FabulaMendax

TA P E T E

8/10

Agincourtjesters:indiedandies’

medieval bodice-ripper

Arch-fantasists

for 40 years,the

MonochromeSet

graduallywarped

froma Salvador

Dalíapproximation

oftheSubwaySectintothepost-

punkMoodyBlues.Theirlatestfolly

is a conceptualpiecebasedonthe

HundredYears’WarmemoirsofJoan

ofArc’sfictitiousco-conspirator

ArmandedePange.FabulaMendaxis

equalpartsProcolHarumandSouth

Pacific, withthedevilishintricacies

of“SummerOfTheDemon”and“La

ChansonDeLaPucelle”makingit ever

moremystifyingthatfrontmanBid

hasneverhada culttomatchthoseof

fellowshape-shiftersRobynHitchcock

andAndyPartridge.Opulent,perverse

andreassuringly other-worldly.

JIMWIRTH

MOONDUO

StarsAreThe Light

SACREDBONES

9/10

Trippydisco-lovingseventhalbum

from RipleyJohnson’spsychonauts

MoonDuohave

alwayshadtheir

headintheclouds

andoneeyeonthe

dancefloor,butthis

seventhalbumsees

thepairmovingevenfurtherfrom

neo-shoegazeintoa head-spinning,

feel-goodworldofdanceanddisco.

There’sanupliftingbuoyancytothese

eighttracks,withopener“Flying”

introducingtheconceptandstyle

witha ’70sfunk-discogrooveand

generalsenseofliftthatis maintained

throughthehazy“LostHeads”and

supercool“EternalShore”.A harder

danceelementsis alsopresenton

trackssuchas“StarsAreTheLight”

and“Eye2 Eye”,evokingelements

ofacidhouseand early techno.

P ETE RWATTS

THURSTONMOORE

SpiritCounsel

THEDAYDREAM LIBRARY SERIES

7/10

Three-CDboxsetcollectsguitar

compositions,large-scaleandsmall

Theinauguralrelease

onThurstonMoore

andEvaPrinz’snew

DaydreamLibrary

Seriesfindstheformer

SonicYouthnoisenik

inreflectivemood,payingtributeto

hisinfluences.EachCDis dedicated

toa singlecomposition.“AliceMoki

Jayne”is a dreamilyecstaticguitar

armypiecededicatedtoAliceColtrane,

MokiCherryandJayneCortez;the

second,“Galaxies(Sky)”,is a 12-guitar

orchestrationinspiredbya SunRa

poem; and the solo “8 Spring Street”

isa dedicationtoMoore’sformer

bandleaderGlennBranca.Come

forsongsandyou’llbeleftwanting,

butasa holydistillationofMoore’s

influences,SpiritCounsel impresses.

LOUISPATTISON

FAITHM USSA

Kalilima

BEATINGHEART

8/10

PulsatingAfro-housemusic,

createdin realtimeusing

looper pedals

Malawianone-man-

bandFaithMussa

startedoutplaying

gallon-canguitars

whilestompingout

percussionwith

hisfeet.Henowusesloopstations

tocreateslick,dancefloor-friendly

Afropopthat’soddlyreminiscentof

DavidByrne’ssoloalbums.Thetitle

tracksetsanacousticguitarriffandan

ecstatic,androgynousvocalagainsta

gallopingfunkgroove;“NdiKonkuno”

turnsa jazzyguitarpatternintoa

pulsatingsliceofAfro-house;while

“Ngoma”is a pieceofreal-timefiltered

disco,featuringa squelchybassline

anda janglyguitarriff.“Werenga”,

a collaborationwiththeMadalitso

Band,showsthatMussacanstilldo

hypnoticfolksongthattugsat the

heartstrings.JOHNLEWIS

MYLIFESTORY

WorldCitizen

EXILOPHONE

7/10

Welcomereturnforlost-in-action

Britpop heroes

MainmanJake

Shillingfordreckons

MLS’sfourthstudio

recording“progresses

wellfromourlast

album”– andyou’d

certainlyhopeso,giventhatwe’re

talkinga 20-yeargap.Thegroup

peakedwithlush,orchestral-pop

singlessuchas“Strumpet”and

“Sparkle”asBritpoppeakedand

declined,andShillingford’sepic

tendenciesremainundimmed.The

“progress”hedescribescomesmainly

froma rockieredge,providedlargely

byco-producerandwriterNickEvans,

whofavourssurgingindieguitar

riffsthatevokeDovescirca“Pound”

and“ThereGoesTheFear”.Trythe

insistentthrobof“TakingOnThe

World”orthehauntinggrandeur

of “#No Filter”.NIGEL WILLIAMSON

NEWALBUMS

StillLife:

Jake

Shillingford

Metronomy:

JosephMount

(centre, back)