2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

ELLENARKBRO

ChordsSUBTEXT

7/10

Investigationsin dronebyyoung

Swedishcomposer

Stockholmis

hometoa thriving

experimental

compositionscene,

institutionslike

Elektronmusik-

studionandFylkingentrainingupa

newgenerationofcomposersworking

inelectroacousticstyles.Stillinher

twenties,Arkbrois alreadymaking

thoughtfulcontributionstothefield,

workingwithintonationandsynthesis

tomakerichandvibrantdronemusic.

Chordscomprisestwoextended

tracks,linkedbutdistinct.“Chords

ForOrgan”weavesa dense,powerful

tonefrommaterialrecordedatMalmö’s

StJohn’sChurch,while“ChordsFor

Guitar”usesdigitalsynthesistoturn

a strummedguitarintosomethingof

bright,magicalintensity.Chordsis a

stark,minimallisten– butonethat

rewardspatience.LOUISPATTISON

BAMBOO

DaughtersOfTheSky

UPSET!THERHYTHM

7/10

Londonduo’salluringly

off-centresynthpopthird

WithBamboo,

RachelHorwood

(alsoofTrashKitand

BasJan)andNick

Carlisle(Peepholes)

haveparkedtheir

post-punkinfavourofhypnagogic

pop.Butthere’smuchmoreto

themthantheglowofcollective

memory:usingvintagesynths/drum

machinesplusdigitaltechnology,

Daughters...mixeshistory,fableand

philosophicalthought,withvocalist

Horwoodswitchingbetweenthe

giddilyeuphoricandmournfully

reflective.ThereareechoesofDavid

Sylvian(channelledviaTune-Yards

on“DiamondSprings”)andeven

ThompsonTwins(in“MemoriesAllAt

Once”),butnostalgiabarelyfigures.

Mostintriguingis “EastOfTheSun/

WestOfTheMoon”,whereChinese

pop,Stereolab’sartfulshimmyand

Celticfolkblendinan11-minuteraga.

SHARONO’CONNELL

BITW

Bitw

KLEPDIMTREP

8/10

CateLeBon-approved

SuperFurryanalogue

Fortifiedbythe

homebrewpopof

R StevieMooreand

theCleanersFrom

Venus,Gruffab

Arwelretreatedtohis

Caernarfonlivingroomtomakehis

debutLP,inspired– atleastinpart–

byhisadventuresinGruffRhys’

backingband,andwithMatchOf

TheDay-approvedsurfgroupY Niwl.

ForeverChangesona CrassRecords

budget,Bitwfizzeswithwayward

melody;“DiolchAmEichSylwadau,

David”is a notablemashupof

“KnightsInWhiteSatin”and“We

ThreeKingsofOrientAre”,whileXTC

andMonochromeSetfetishistswill

swoonfor“HoneyMilkSaltyMiracle”

andthedot-matrix-printerpsychedelia

of“PoenTyfiant”.A tinytriumph.

JIMWIRTH

BLACKPUMAS

BlackPumas

ATO

7/10

Austinduosetoffa soulexplosion

A mainstay of Austin’s

music scene and

co-founder of the

much-treasured

Latin rock-soul-funk

ensemble Grupo

Fantasma, guitarist and producer

Adrian Quesada was searching for a

vocalist who could do justice to some

psychedelic-soul demos when a friend

connected him with a Californian

newcomer named Eric Burton. The

Black Pumas’ debut proves just how

fortuitousthepairingwas.Quesada’s

NormanWhitfield-via-Dap-Kings

groovesareimpeccablymatchedwith

Burton’svoice,whichcangofrom

butteryAlGreensmoothtoWilson

Pickettblusterinnotimeflat– just

try“BlackMoonRising”,“YouKnow

Better”andthewrenching“Oct33”

forvividproof.Theduo’slessersongs

maynotstrayfroma familiarpocket

ofretro-soul,butit’sa veryfinepocket

nonetheless.JASONANDERSON

PIPBLOM

BoatHEAVENLY

8/10

Dutch,sensitive:buzzsawbelter

fromC86atavists

An Amsterdam foursome who know

the value of a sturdy anorak, Pip Blom

have been likened to Supergrass

and the Breeders, but have more

natural allies in the Crayola-punk of

Talulah Gosh or the have-a-go garage

of Hinds. Singer Pip Blom’s broad-

brush clank exploded onto Spotify

playlists in 2016, compelling her to

find a band to fit her vision. Boat shows

it in full effect: robust, sparkly and

with ocean-going choruses on the

clockwork Blondie of “Don’t Make It

Difficult”, “Ruby” and the rolly-

eyed “Daddy Issues”. Blom’s daddy,

incidentally, was in 1980s John Peel

faves Eton Crop. Float on. JIM WIRTH

BLUE ORCHIDS

The Magical Record

Of Blue Orchids

TINY GLOBAL PRODUCTIONS

7/10

Deepgaragecutsandswampy

psych-popfromManchestercrew

The Magical Record

Of Blue Orchids feels

like a reckoning

with history, in some

ways, for head Orchid

Martin Bramah.

It’s built predominantly from covers

of ’60s garage obscurities, an aesthetic

that’s central to the Blue Orchids –

their psychedelic ambitions have

always been kept in check by a no-

nonsense garage-pop/rock core. Two

more recent songs, by The Growlers

and Crystal Stilts, slot in perfectly, as

does a new song written to a poem by

the late Mark E Smith, Bramah’s former

Fall bandmate. There’s no excess

here, just Blue Orchids in excelsis,

all swirling organs, chiming guitars:

a hallucinatory everydayness.

JON DALE

KIRIN J CALLINAN

Return To Center

TERRIBLE RECORDS

6/10

TheAussieagentprovocateur

dropstheschtick

A covers album is

the last thing to expect

from this mischievous

and highly conceptual

Australian, but Kirin

J Callinan is nothing

if not unpredictable. Return To Center

is an existential gut check that trades

his jester’s cap for a spartan posture.

Straightforward arrangements of

songs by Public Image Ltd, Ultravox,

Momus, Robert Wyatt and others suit

his baritone crooning, which is silken,

sinister and occasionally ridiculous.

Callinan’s take on Randy Newman’s

“Pretty Boy” recalls Nick Cave’s

brooding and emphatic narrator,

while album highlight “The Whole

Of The Moon” by The Waterboys

channels Bowie’s tremulous panache.

Callinan’s past work has often read like

an inside joke, which has prompted

endless questions about his sincerity.

Though Return To Center has its campy

moments, he’s removed his tongue

from his cheek. ERIN OSMON

24 • UNCUT• JULY 2019

new albums

Pip Blom:

’Dam fine

lo-fi pop

BITW

A baroque-psychbaggage

dodger’smodestambitions

“I

t’sa baby-talkwordfor

tiny,”GruffabArwel

tellsUncut, explaining

thenameunderwhichhe’s

releasinghisself-titleddebut.

“Soundsquitetweeand

humble,butsomeonepointed

outtomethatBITWis widely

usedasanacronymfor‘best

in theworld’,sothatbalances

it out.”

Bitwis a micro-masterpiece,

theGruffRhysandeleanor

Friedbergerside-mouse

havinghand-whittleda Welsh

approximationofbaroque

psychedelia– intricate

melodiesandambitious

leaps,withtheconstantfear

ofrain.GuidedbytheDIY

ethos of Martin Newell and

R Stevie Moore, ab Arwel has

been getting credit in the

(reasonably) straight world

too, Cate Le Bon choosing

Bitw for Joyful Noise’s White

Label series, whereby an

established act recommends

underappreciated work.

“I told her I was planning to

release it myself but not

looking forward to the

baggage that comes with that

• ie, hassling people,” he says.
  “She misheard it as ‘hustling’
  and very kindly offered to do
  some hustling on my part.”
  However, if others are giving
  his work the big sell, BITW is
  keeping his ambitions modest.
  “If I make enough money from
  this record to fund another,
  I will be over the moon,” ab
  Arwel says. Give generously.
  JIM WIRTH

I’m

new

HeRe

DAFYDD OWAIN, PHIL SMITHIeS