The National Jazz Trio of Scotland - Standard Vol. 2 (****)
As if the double fib in their name wasn’t enough (not jazz; not a trio), Standards Vol. 2 is not, as its title implies, an assortment culled from the songbooks of Gershwin et al. Rather, it’s a collection of bandleader Bill Wells’ original compositions (give or take a borrowed lyric and a Moondog cover), brought to life with the help of vocalists Lorna Gilfedder, Aby Vulliamy and Kate Sugden.
Try not to hold the dastardly deception against them though,
for no amount of misdirection can distract from the airy beauty stamped through
these thirteen pieces: from wistful opener We Grow Accustomed (sounding of a
piece with Wells’s Lemondale work) to
the hushed farewells of closer Unexpectedly, via such highlights as Hillwalks’s
winsome glide and Things We Got Up To’s tiptoeing bossa nova undertones. In
fact, add another lie to the rap sheet: work of this calibre is far from
standard.
Out now
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Fly By Wire (***)
With their moniker’s flippancy presumably lost in
translation, glibly christened indie-poppers Someone Still Love You Boris
Yeltsin were recently invited to Russia by the Boris Yeltsin Foundation (the
former President too dead to offer his gratitude personally). Gifted expensive
vodka and made US cultural ambassadors, the band returned stateside with a
spring in their step, and fourth album Fly
by Wire is the produce of their topped-up enthusiasm.
It sees the Missouri trio on reliably hook-filled form
(Young Presidents is a particularly deft slice of footloose guitar pop) but overall
their self-stated artistic rejuvenation shows through only lightly – in single
Nightwater Girlfriend’s crunchy chorus, perhaps, or the lush vocal layers of
Unearth. Otherwise, this is a strangely uninvolving listen, from listless (and inexplicably
titled) opener Harrison Ford to the frothily inconsequential Lucky Young. It’s
never so dull as to deter another listen, but they’ll have to work harder to
illicit sustained affection.
Out now
Sky Larkin - Motto (***)
Every track on Motto could
serve as a fine introduction to Sky Larkin’s brand of dynamic indie rock – and
given neither The Golden Spike nor Kaleide received half the attention they
deserved, such introductions are both valuable and necessary. Throughout,
brawny guitars serve propulsive choruses, in which Katie Harkin’s vocals
captivate via sharp lyrics and a forthright delivery that reaffirms her natural
front-of-stage role after time spent touring in Wild Beasts’ live band.
Having expanded from three-piece to four, Sky Larkin use the
extra hands to add bulk to their already-robust sound (see, for example, the scintillating
way Italics builds into a pop-rock goliath), and it’s only their over-fidelity to
their trademarks that prevents Motto
matching up to its predecessors. Hit the same buttons long enough and
something’s bound to jam, and so it is that Motto
manages to feel thrilling in segments, but marginally less exciting when
taken as a (slightly) repetitive whole.
Out now
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