(My Weekly magazine, 26 February 2005)
Saturday, 26 February 2005
A real find
(Morning Star, Saturday 26 February 2005)
ALBUM: M Ward - Transistor Radio
(Matador)
M Ward is an artist of pedigree, most notably his background touring with Conor Oberst's soul-searching Bright Eyes.
This is Ward's fourth album and the personnel involved are an eclectic mix of the great and the good from the softer side of disaffected US alt-country.
There are appearances here from My Morning Jacket's Jim James and the fantastic Vic Chesnutt, as well as musicians from Rilo Kiley and PJ Harvey's band - all of which is testament to the high esteem in which Ward is held.
And the songs more than live up to the inevitable expectations - opener You Still Believe in Me is a gently strummed lullaby, while One Life Away is a torch song with overtures of Old Orleans.
Ward's voice alone is truly something special, enigmatic and aloof and never more intriguing than on the fuzz-soaked, melodious Sweethearts On Parade and album highlight Radio Campaign.
M Ward is a real find and, after four albums, an artist who should be a driving force of creativity.
Technically proficient, lyrically romantic and experimental as anything, Ward's Transistor Radio is anything but static.
ALBUM: M Ward - Transistor Radio
(Matador)
M Ward is an artist of pedigree, most notably his background touring with Conor Oberst's soul-searching Bright Eyes.
This is Ward's fourth album and the personnel involved are an eclectic mix of the great and the good from the softer side of disaffected US alt-country.
There are appearances here from My Morning Jacket's Jim James and the fantastic Vic Chesnutt, as well as musicians from Rilo Kiley and PJ Harvey's band - all of which is testament to the high esteem in which Ward is held.
And the songs more than live up to the inevitable expectations - opener You Still Believe in Me is a gently strummed lullaby, while One Life Away is a torch song with overtures of Old Orleans.
Ward's voice alone is truly something special, enigmatic and aloof and never more intriguing than on the fuzz-soaked, melodious Sweethearts On Parade and album highlight Radio Campaign.
M Ward is a real find and, after four albums, an artist who should be a driving force of creativity.
Technically proficient, lyrically romantic and experimental as anything, Ward's Transistor Radio is anything but static.
Saturday, 19 February 2005
A new breed
(Morning Star, Saturday 19 February 2005)
ALBUM: Willy Mason - Where The Humans Eat
(Virgin Records)
MUCH has been made of Willy Mason's age - the casual listener would be hard pushed to deduce that the gravelly voice showcased here belongs to a 20-year-old from white-bread New England haven Cape Cod.
But the soul and the strength that runs through every track shows that Mason is a prodigious talent.
He hails from strong folk singer stock and this is never more obvious than on the Loudon Wainwright-flavoured Still a Fly.
The title track sees him in mellow mode and album opener Gotta Keep Moving has more of the blues about it than Jack White could dream of.
The anthemic single Oxygen is the album highlight, a new wave of musical and lyrical brilliance, with the essence of "now" baked right in: "We can be stronger than bombs if you're singing along and you know that you really believe/ We can be richer than industry as long as we know there's things that we don't really need."
Mason delivers the musical equivalent of his home town's famous chowder - hearty fare that's full of goodness.
Saturday, 12 February 2005
Fortuitous timing
(Morning Star, Saturday 12 February 2005)
LIVE: The Kills, Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
THE Kills came along at a fairly fortuitous time in the world of music.
Retro is in. Male-female duos are in. Tune-distorting feedback is in - and these are the makings of the transatlantic band The Kills.
Guitarist-vocalist Jamie Hince comes on rocking with the full-on Domino Records standard look - all retro blazer and messed-up Coxon-like mop.
Vocalist-guitarist Alison Mosshart is lithe-hipped and long-haired, with a growl to make PJ Harvey cower in shame and the most unearthly dancing since Kate Bush hung up her red shoes.
The band's first album, Keep on Your Mean Side, is in fine evidence here, with high point Cat's Claw getting an outing early doors and single Fried My Little Brains garnering a fantastic response from the crowd.
With this tour in sponsorship of the newly released No Wow, it's clear that the fans have journeyed with them onto the difficult second album - and they love it.
The act between former lovers Alison and Jamie is a sexually charged theatre as they thrash their bodies into each other and finish one track with a violent kiss.
As fascinating for their onstage antics as their music, this is, sadly, where they let us down a little - after all, the music should be enough.
But it would be a terrible crime not to admit it - The Kills are one of the best bands around today. And it ain't just cause they got lucky.
Saturday, 5 February 2005
A new buzz
(Morning Star, Saturday 05 February 2005)
ALBUM: Rooster - Rooster
(Brightside Recordings)
THE buzz that surrounds Rooster is something of a pop circus - the new Busted, the new McFly - they have all the appropriate tags from neophiliac style-mongers.
Whether that's a blessing or a one-way ticket to the Woolies bargain bin remains to be seen.
This debut opens with Joy Ride, a track with a nu-country influence and shot through with the ghost of Reef.
In fact, those West Country Britpop also-rans are a heavy influence throughout the record and this is never more clear than on debut single Come Get Some.
It's all catchy guitars and singability for the Smash Hits readers and a great rock riff that you've heard somewhere before.
Standing In Line has something of the 1980s rock earnestness about it and belies Rooster's slower side which, if we're honest, isn't terrific.
Soaked in chugging guitars, it all owes more to '80s rock gods than the Busted-McFly axis and the overall impression is that Rooster love their rock influences.
It is the Chinese year of the rooster, but will it be the year of Rooster? If they're happy settling for a teenage fanbase, chances are good.
Saturday, 29 January 2005
Who is.... KT Tunstall?
(Morning Star, Saturday 29 January 2005)
IN FOCUS: KT Tunstall
RELEASING her debut album Eye To The Telescope this month, KT Tunstall is a truly original talent destined for great things.
Born in Edinburgh and brought up in St Andrews in Fife, Tunstall comes from the same burgeoning East Coast scene as the Fence Collective, The Beta Band and Dogs Die in Hot Cars.
The individuality of her voice has a strident quality previously heard from artists such as Norah Jones and others and the album's sexy torch singer elements will even interest many pop fans.
Her youth belies her gift producing harmonious dream-soaked soundscapes, often with a boozy, bluesy twist and her lyrics are always tough with a sensitive undercurrent.
"Don't want to be second best," she intones on Miniature Disasters and there is no way that she could be.
The vocal that she lends to all the songs on her debut album is rich beyond her years and the dark side of tracks like Another Place To Fall sets her apart from a lot of the nu-country folksy female vocalists that are so prevalent this year.
The intensity of her voice and the soulfulness of her music shows that Tunstall has a lot more to give, even after this incredible debut.
With celebrity fans including Jools Holland and a raft of positive reviews under her belt, Tunstall is the woman to kick Dido's bony behind off the top spot and enrich the charts - and our lives - with her truly extraordinary talent.
Solid rockers
(Morning Star, Saturday 29 January 2005)
LIVE: 22-20s, Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
THE 22-20s are a band that it helps not to know anything about - where they're from, who they are - none of this means anything when Devil in Me kicks in, rocking relentlessly.
The trio from Rock Central are kings of rocked-up blues, with riffs to die for and a bad attitude that would ruin McFly's career.
Singles like Twenty-two Days and Such A Fool are strong, but the difference between those and album tracks is barely noticeable - they're all ballsy old-school rock standards.
Their look is pure Tindersticks, all dark shirts and suits, probably with the smell of smoky venues such as this one buried deep in the fabric.
Singer Martin Trimble peers artfully from under a mop of fair hair and dares the most static of viewers not to move to the infectious blues rhythm.
Bassist Glen Bartrup is none more Jagger, all pouting lips and floppy hair, while drummer James Irving keeps it tight and yet oh so loose.
The bands sound is beefy and big, but surprisingly melodic, more so here than on record.
They are technically perfect and there's no reason why, in this age of chancers like Kasabian, the 22-20s should not be more successful.
Gigs like this will really put them on the musical map. And not a only map of Lincolnshire, which is where they're actually from.
LIVE: 22-20s, Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
THE 22-20s are a band that it helps not to know anything about - where they're from, who they are - none of this means anything when Devil in Me kicks in, rocking relentlessly.
The trio from Rock Central are kings of rocked-up blues, with riffs to die for and a bad attitude that would ruin McFly's career.
Singles like Twenty-two Days and Such A Fool are strong, but the difference between those and album tracks is barely noticeable - they're all ballsy old-school rock standards.
Their look is pure Tindersticks, all dark shirts and suits, probably with the smell of smoky venues such as this one buried deep in the fabric.
Singer Martin Trimble peers artfully from under a mop of fair hair and dares the most static of viewers not to move to the infectious blues rhythm.
Bassist Glen Bartrup is none more Jagger, all pouting lips and floppy hair, while drummer James Irving keeps it tight and yet oh so loose.
The bands sound is beefy and big, but surprisingly melodic, more so here than on record.
They are technically perfect and there's no reason why, in this age of chancers like Kasabian, the 22-20s should not be more successful.
Gigs like this will really put them on the musical map. And not a only map of Lincolnshire, which is where they're actually from.
Saturday, 8 January 2005
2005 alive
(Morning Star, Saturday 08 January 2005)
2005: Ones to watch
KIRSTIE MAY picks out the most promising music acts to look out for this year.
What was 2004 good for? In the music scene, absolutely lots, actually.
British music was flying high with the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight and the Libertines hoisting the national colours for indie, not to mention reality TV supergroup Girls Aloud going pop at every opportunity.
The same chart that brought us McFly's corking Obviously also sadly made a number one out of Three of a Kind's Babycakes, but, all in all, not too shabby.
So what of 2005? As far as wistful songstresses with a little spark, the music world's been a tundra of tiresome tweeting, all Melua and Winehouse, with only Bedingfield for respite and look how that turned out.
Happily, Jem is here to save us all. Welsh and lovely, she's been taken already to the bosom of our US cousins and signed to Dave Matthews's label, but don't let that put you off.
Boasting a season finale appearance in teenage hit The OC, the kids are already there, but picking up her album Finally Woken (Ato Records) wouldn't be the worst thing you could do for your stereo.
Handsome young hipster Kevin Mark Trail has been honing his craft with The Streets - on Let's Push Things Forward - and Nitin Sawney and it's pretty damn near perfect now.
The 24-year-old MC released the most summery single of 2004, Perspective, to little attention, but the buzz is getting turned up this year.
He's a soulful reggae kind of guy, with a pinch of rock and a head for a well-crafted tune and, if it's good enough to set all his celebrity fans foaming at the mouth, it's good enough for your beat-up stereo.
Check out the debut album Just Living (EMI) to find out what all the fuss is about - and why he's much more than the new Craig David.
Leeds natives the Kaiser Chiefs have tried their hand at this fame game before, with previous incarnation Parva, a band more interested in haircuts than hit singles.
Second time lucky for frontman Ricky, though, as the Chiefs' I Predict A Riot has to be one of the catchiest pop-punk singles to hit the music scene full in the face for years.
Their energy live is a true delight and, while the fashionable fops still nurture the retro Leeds look, they are 10 times the band, with 10 times the potential.
Listen to Employment (B Unique) from March 7 and bop like you're in the best indie disco ever.
Rooster are not what you'd call unusual.
They're a West London four-piece being pitted against the Busted, McFly and Freefaller breed, but, in truth, the only common traits are guitars - oh, and good looks.
Picking up where 1990s blues-rock noiseniks Reef left off, these lads, all in their early twenties, know how to formulate a good melody – and dirty it up proper.
With the biggest big talk since Kasabian, Rooster think that they're the cock of the walk, but it's not misplaced arrogance.
If heavy guitars and an old skool swagger's your bag, Rooster's eponymous debut - featuring stonking hit Come Get Some - is available on Brightside/BMG from January 24.
When Broken Social Scene manage to squeeze their 15 or so members into the studio, a Canadian party ensues.
A band known in the US and bound to be big here, they're far from fledgling, but fresh as the day their debut You Forgot It In People (Mercury) was released in 2003.
This year, their more chilled-out Bee Hives (Mercury) will be the album to have, be you entertaining friends in the bedsit or burning mix CDs for the uninitiated.
The ambient, multilayered sound of Bee Hives has set the fans alight, with the same feeling of weightlessness as The Earlies and all the harmonies of The Shins.
The name's a bit of a mistake, but Broken Social Scene are an absolute dream of a band.
Check them out and you'll forget you every heard of the Polyphonic Spree.
Wednesday, 22 December 2004
Captivating production of favourite fairytale
(Morning Star, Wednesday 22 December 2004)
Beauty and the Beast
Byre Theatre, St Andrews
A single red rose centre-stage opens tonight's magical fairy tale and, as the motif that holds the play together, it's the perfect introduction, writes KIRSTIE MAY.
Rita Henderson's direction has the cast making the most of a minimalist set, the introduction of a few key pieces changing the atmosphere from Beauty's light, happy family world to the darkness of the Beast, played to frightening effect by Tober Reilly.
Francis Maston is the merchant father who offers his children anything and manages only to get Beauty's rose, damning himself to certain death, while Nicola Filshie plays the selfless Beauty, sacrificing her own happiness for her father's freedom.
The sisters, Ruth Brown and Jessica Robinson, are the characters that push the play over into panto territory - all grimacing faces and screeching voices.
The prevalence of music and dance in the production helps as well with the festive feeling, including inventive routines with the Beast's menacing horse and some nice ensemble dances with Beauty's whole family.
There are some bizarre additions - Richard Hollis as Beast's "tick-tock" man servant has the allure of a Buttons character for children, but a nightmarish quality that should interest the adults in the audience.
All in all, the show is a well-executed and captivating interpretation of a fairytale favourite, carried off with The Byre's customary professionalism.
Beauty and the Beast
Byre Theatre, St Andrews
A single red rose centre-stage opens tonight's magical fairy tale and, as the motif that holds the play together, it's the perfect introduction, writes KIRSTIE MAY.
Rita Henderson's direction has the cast making the most of a minimalist set, the introduction of a few key pieces changing the atmosphere from Beauty's light, happy family world to the darkness of the Beast, played to frightening effect by Tober Reilly.
Francis Maston is the merchant father who offers his children anything and manages only to get Beauty's rose, damning himself to certain death, while Nicola Filshie plays the selfless Beauty, sacrificing her own happiness for her father's freedom.
The sisters, Ruth Brown and Jessica Robinson, are the characters that push the play over into panto territory - all grimacing faces and screeching voices.
The prevalence of music and dance in the production helps as well with the festive feeling, including inventive routines with the Beast's menacing horse and some nice ensemble dances with Beauty's whole family.
There are some bizarre additions - Richard Hollis as Beast's "tick-tock" man servant has the allure of a Buttons character for children, but a nightmarish quality that should interest the adults in the audience.
All in all, the show is a well-executed and captivating interpretation of a fairytale favourite, carried off with The Byre's customary professionalism.
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