The Cave Singers - No Witch (**)
‘Authenticity’ is fetishised in folk and rock alike. It’s a vague, unempirical concept, the application of which relies upon a paraphrasing of Potter Stewart’s assessment of pornography: “I know it when I see it”. It can’t be measured, but those suitably steeped in a scene’s canon recognise it at once. The Cave Singers’ avowedly traditionalist debut passed the sight-test, but follow-up Welcome Joy faltered by introducing less convincing rock numbers.
Third album No Witch finds them move closer to the resolutely retro likes of The Dead Weather and further from the folk icons referenced at their outset. They mimic multiple Mojo cover-stars – Led Zep-esque blues drives Black Leaf, while Outer Realms echoes Summer of Love psychedelia – but no guise feels natural, save quieter moments like Distant Sures. They’re stretching their sound, but in the process they’ve diluted their identity, and it’s difficult to get excited by the residue.
Out 22nd Feb
Sam Kills Two - Pretty Ugly (***)
The chat surrounding Sam Kills Two’s 2009 debut tended to focus on the involvement of Dodgy frontman Nigel Clark, noting the absence of chirpy Britpop repeats amidst the London quartet’s melancholic produce. Singer/songwriter Fred Bjorkvall can’t have appreciated being overlooked, with his doleful delivery (reminiscent of Midlake’s Tim Smith) shaping Sam Kill Two’s sound a heck of a lot more than bucket hats and VW campervans.
Second album Pretty Ugly indicates an Elliott Smith infatuation both in its title and sombre atmosphere, and over the course of an hour the influence is successfully embodied frequently enough to stave off boredom. But there are production issues: the drums often sound flat, and the radar-like chimes in Bright Eyes come off like an interesting idea poorly executed. Factor in some pedestrian arrangements and Pretty Ugly goes down as a flawed effort, but a step towards brighter and better things.
The chat surrounding Sam Kills Two’s 2009 debut tended to focus on the involvement of Dodgy frontman Nigel Clark, noting the absence of chirpy Britpop repeats amidst the London quartet’s melancholic produce. Singer/songwriter Fred Bjorkvall can’t have appreciated being overlooked, with his doleful delivery (reminiscent of Midlake’s Tim Smith) shaping Sam Kill Two’s sound a heck of a lot more than bucket hats and VW campervans.
Second album Pretty Ugly indicates an Elliott Smith infatuation both in its title and sombre atmosphere, and over the course of an hour the influence is successfully embodied frequently enough to stave off boredom. But there are production issues: the drums often sound flat, and the radar-like chimes in Bright Eyes come off like an interesting idea poorly executed. Factor in some pedestrian arrangements and Pretty Ugly goes down as a flawed effort, but a step towards brighter and better things.
Luxury Car - When I Was Good (****)
Out 28th Feb
Biphonic seems an appropriate label for Luxury Car – partly because brothers John and William Robertson are audibly kindred with label-mates Swimmer One, but also because their sound sutures two aesthetics: plaintive ballads crooned by John, sewn to spiky electronics that have previously brought comparisons to Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada.
The result, on Discrete Packets, evokes an Angelo Badalamenti score left to deteriorate in the rain, allowing glitches and scratches to permeate its sophisticated membrane to settle at its core. The combination is novel yet familiar, and works well, though when the Perth duo claim zero affinity with the likes of Pet Shop Boys or Soft Cell, they may be overstating matters (for instance, there’s a definite echo of Depeche Mode in the chorus of new single I Play The Guitar). Affecting lyrics hit the heart while the electronics hit the rest, resulting in an intriguing synthesis worth multiple visits.Out 28th Feb
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