2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

(singke) #1

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

Free download pdf