reviews: miyagi, edwyn collins, for a minor reflection

Miyagi - Electrosaurus (***)

Christening your second album Electrosaurus and adorning the cover with axe-wielding thunder-lizards and a drumming diplodocus is undoubtedly awesome, but it also creates expectations that go unfulfilled: neither rock titans nor electroheads (as the cover might imply), Miyagi also unfortunately fall short of ‘awesome’. The Edinburgh five-piece specialise in sixties-inspired sedate folk-pop, and although not quite Jurassic, the results sound fairly ancient. Echoing historic influences isn’t necessarily to their detriment: for example, the gorgeous harmonies of Faithful Retainer are delivered with an astutely sensitive touch, while Sheep (amongst others) successfully evokes Big Star. But the results are occasionally bland, the ingredients beautifully sourced and combined skilfully, but the product undifferentiated. To quote the band’s wise karate-master namesake, “Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later get squished like grape.” As it stands, Miyagi’s middle-of-the-road tendencies are putting them in danger of extinction.

Out Now



Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep (****)

Indie-legend Edwyn Collins is pretty extraordinary by any yardstick. It’s disappointing, however, that recent expressions of amazement have focussed less on the quality of what he does, than on the fact he does it at all following 2005’s brain haemorrhages. Losing Sleep, by contrast, generates astonishment not because he’s ‘bounced back’ – let’s avoid patronisation – but because songwriters in their fourth decade of recording rarely sound so fresh. Credit goes partially to the young(er) guns enlisted to assist. They leave fingerprints – What Is My Role? features Ryan Jarman vocals, while Do It Again (co-written by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy) has a Franz-esque beat – but considering Collins has influenced them and their kin for decades, a reversal seems fair. The results don’t always gel, but individually, songs stand proud: from the soul-stomp title track to closing ballad Searching For the Truth, Collins proves remarkable for all the right reasons.

Out 13th September



For A Minor Reflection - Heading Towards Chaos (***)

For about fifteen minutes, For A Minor Reflection are the best instrumental post-rock band to reach these ears in years. Obviously for some, this will sound like faint praise – the relative lack of variation in the genre can make it feel like a style long peaked, but for those partial to a bit of evocative bluster, bombastic opener Kostljos and the palette cleansing Fjara are real treats.

Yet such early enthusiasm soon resides – while masters of the genre’s craft, balancing light and shade, loud and quiet, both the storm and its eye – the Icelandic quartet follow the rule-book so closely there’s little room to challenge or surprise. In the end, they’re closer to the soaring populism of Coldplay than the shiver-inducing likes of Explosions in the Sky, and as such ‘only’ deserve the epithet Mjög Góður (that’s ‘Very Good’ if your Icelandic is rusty).

Out 6th September