Latest releases reviewed
KINGS OF LEON
Aha Shake Breakdown Hand Me Down/ BMG
****
As The Strokes - close allies and friends of Kings Of Leon - will testify, the curse of the difficult second album is one of rock's enduring truisms. The New Yorkers' sophomore effort (Room on Fire) was hamstrung by frontman Julian Casablancas's tortured inner voice questioning every hand-clap, snare effect and syllable his band committed to tape. With KOL, the pressure to deliver was not so intense, but there was still a growing clamour to see if they could follow last year's raucous, deep-fried southern rock début, Youth and Young Manhood, with anything of worth. The Followill clan do not disappoint. Opener Slow Night, So Long has a curious calypso coda that is not in the least out of place. Closer Rememo sees them blitz through a waltz that carries welcome echoes of The Band at their best, while Day Old Blues is a wonderful off-kilter lament. Throughout, Kings of Leon sound like a confident group taking a massive leap forward, experimenting and finding a new sound. Sex and industry disillusionment are recurring themes, as you might expect from four young men who have spent 18 months on the road. And though they are not the most original subjects, they still help make this a bravura return and a late contender for album of the year. www.kingsofleon.com
Paul McNamee
THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES
Origin Vol 1 Warner Brothers
**
In 2002, Noel Gallagher was all over psychedelic retro-rockers TSOOL like nasty heat rash. He took them on tour to America, showed up at all their UK gigs and proclaimed début Behind the Music to be an album of genius. Though not always the most judicious in his choice of bands to champion, on this occasion Gallagher had a point. The Swedish six-piece, led by charismatic kaftan-sporting man-beast Ebbot Lunberg, mangled The Who, Syd Barrett and a touch of prog to create a clattering, spirited blitz of fun. On the face of it this, their fourth album (distilled, we're told, from 45 tracks; volume two comes next year), picks up where the last left off. Stand-out moments Big Time and Heading for a Breakdown thunder along at a merry canter, rolling drums and guitar licks like it's 1968. They even rope in Jane Birkin for Midnight Children, a cute reworking of Je T'Aime ... But too much of the rest feels like stodgy filler - a lot of bluster without much substance. It's a disappointment that even Noel would struggle to recommend. www.tsool.net
Paul McNamee
AUTISTIC DAUGHTERS
Jealousy and Diamonds Kranky
****
Who's that behind you? Why it's Autistic Daughters, the latest happy chappies to fetch up at Kranky records, a Montreal label that would probably turn Leonard Cohen away on account of his sunny disposition. The Daughters share the apocalyptic fervor of Kranky mainstays Godspeed You Black Emperor! but without the terrifying lack of subtlety. In fact, the seven acoustic ballads assembled here are wistfully understated, often teetering between silence and a single lingering chord, like a sliver of spider silk shimmering in the dark. Cleaving fastidiously to the Kranky sensibility, the three-piece appear palpably upset at the state of the world and would, you suspect, not be dreadfully surprised or disappointed were it to end suddenly. As long as records of such ethereal loveliness continue to be made, the rest of us should hope it doesn't.
Ed Power
STATE RIVER WIDENING
Cottonhead Leaf
*****
Multi-instrumentalists David Sheppard and Keiron Phelan (O Little Stars, Ellis Island Sound) and drummer Jon Steele are State River Widening, and the outfit third release is easily their best yet. Combining circular melodies and sinuous polyrhythms with shimmering acoustic colours (acoustic guitar, violin and harpsichord) and warm analogue tones, they have evolved the electro-acoustic collages of their previous albums (State River Widening and Early Music) into an exquisitely dense and complex soundscape: as post-minimalist as Steve Reich and as post-ambient as Susuma Yoktoa, with a knowing nod to the English folk tradition of Nick Drake. From the haunting vocal sample of 1960s trad revivalist Anne Brigg on Lowlands and the pulsing marimba of Desertesque to the evocative guitar filigree of Crown and the delicate violin of Touched, Cottonhead is that rare instrumental album - lyrical, experimental and playful. www.theleaflabel.com
Jocelyn Clarke
CHRIS STAMEY
Travels in the South YepRoc
****
The co-founder of powerpop legends The dB's has been hiding behind the production desk for the past dozen or so years, but he's stepped forward again with a potent reminder of what a great songwriter the world missed the first time round. Stamey has played with Bob Mould, The Golden Palominos and Alex Chilton, and this new album effortlessly conjures up a distant past when jangly guitar pop was wide-eyed, pure and carried a lot less baggage. He has a new circle of friends here, including Ryan Adams, Tift Merritt and Ben Folds, and he's also brought his old dB's buddy Pete Holsapple along for the ride. The exuberant opener, 14 Shades of Green, opens the door for a musical mystery tour that takes in sweet slide guitars, Beach Boys harmonies, extended funk-rock jams and smoky night-time piano jazz. www.chrisstamey.com
Kevin Courtney
THE DETROIT COBRAS
Baby Rough Trade
****
These retro rockers from the Motor City do cover versions, but chances are you've never even heard the originals, by such past masters as Bobby Womack, Hank Ballard, Steve Cropper and Isaac Hayes. You have heard the band on the Guinness ad (Ya Ya Ya) and the Coke ad (Cha Cha Twist, also featured here), and this new album features 12 old-school tunes (and one original) that sound like they've been fast-forwarded from a 1950s pulp crime novel or a 1960s Texas garage. Slipping Around, Weak Spot, Everybody's Going Wild, Mean Man, It's Raining and I Just Can't Please You swing nicely from rock 'n' roll to doo-wop to rhythm 'n' blues to Motown soul in just 32 minutes. This Tarantino wet dream is brought vividly to life by the guitars of Steve Shaw and Maribel Restrepo, and the lascivious vocals of ex-exotic dancer Rachel Nagy.
Kevin Courtney
