Latest releases reviewed

AUTAMATA
Short Stories Lefthand Records/N4
***

With his mind set to shuffle function, agile producer Ken McHugh will not limit the interests of Autamata's second album. Flirting with everything from a ragged live band sound to contentedly plastic beats, Autamata's commitment issues ring through to the verses. "Who's been sleeping in my bed?" sings Carol Keogh (co-writing most of the material) over the airy trip-hop of Goldilocks. The answer is evidently Sarah Verdon; her unabashed presence pushing McHugh to such thrillingly scuzzy heights as Bring It On. Keogh won't be outdone on the ferociously fun Dirtybird, but sometimes this record ain't big enough for the both of them. As the title suggests, the material is bound by author, not theme, and this may be the fate of the album in our distracted age: offering not stylistic coherency, but a sequence of gripping playlists. www.autamatamusic.com
Peter Crawley

VARIOUS
The Art of Flipping Channels Sanctuary
***

Not so much electro-clash, as electro mishmash; this is the brainchild of acclaimed bootleg/ mash-up artist Osymyso, the man behind such diverse sonic projects as Intro-spection (hundreds of classic intros mulched to taste), the soundtrack to Shaun of the Dead and - perhaps most famously - his EastEnders-based mash-up, Pat'n'Peg. This, then, is Osymyso's first legal-mix CD for a record label, and, boy, does it swing. As the title suggests, it's loosely based around the theme of television, but there are also movie themes contorted into all manner of shapes and sizes. The downside is that it's something of a novelty enterprise (just listen as Prefuse 73's Whisper in My Ear and Tell Me You Hate Me snuggles up to Bomb the Bass's Dynamite Beats, which in turn fuses with Elmer Bernstein's Ghostbusters theme); as novelties go, however, it's one heck of a cutie.
Tony Clayton-Lea

THE SUPERIMPOSERS
The Superimposers Wonderfulsound

Collating their singles on to one glorious album, this aptly named duo paste decades of influences on to a unique old school collage. Layering psychedelic folk (Over the Bridge), '60s pop (Heavy Sigh) and John Barry offcuts (Shadows), they sound like The Byrds fronted by Serge Gainsbourg. What saves this from wallowing in dusty nostalgia is the skilful production that is as epic as it is meticulous with tiny details. When it needs to be, it's glass-smooth; at other times, it fizzes and crackles, oozing atmosphere. As a result, it's a gorgeous and genuinely arresting clutch of tunes. Packed into these nine songs are guitars, sweeping strings, flutes, vintage synths and tight harmonies. Ignore all those current facsimile bands and indulge yourself with something that stands out on its own. www.wonderfulsound.com
Sinéad Gleeson

VARIOUS
The Sounds of Monsterism Island, Vol 1 Forever Heavenly
****

Besides creating visuals and videos for the likes of The Magic Numbers and Super Furry Animals, Pete Fowler is also the artist behind the hugely successful Monsterism toys. Naturally, his soundtrack for this bug-eyed world is every bit as psychedelic and crazed as the characters he creates. Those who dig the kind of way-out folky, freaky rock which The United States of America, The Silver Apples and The Rattles created in their heyday will fancy a day trip to Fowler's island. But there's something here for every space cadet in the audience, with stoner pop from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, space-age funk from Sagittarius, Hawaiian exotica from Martin Denny, and moonbeam harmonies from studio wizard Curt Boettcher and his fellow Millenium heads to savour. Unfortunately, they don't make them like this any more. www.monsterism.net Jim Carroll

THE WARLOCKS
Surgery City Rockers
***

The return of the seven Cureheads from LA, led by tortured taskmaster Bobby Hecksher, will be welcomed by goth grungeheads who like their doo-wop laced with lithium and burnt leather. Since 2003's Phoenix album, The Warlocks have been riven by illness, drug addiction, tantrums and all-out warfare. They've already gone through 19 members, but original bassist Jenny Fraser has returned to the fold for this new album, recorded with Beck producer Tom Rothrock. Songs such as Come Save Us, Gypsy Nightmare, We Need Starpower and Thursday's Radiation sound like The Ramones and Suicide marooned in Major Tom's capsule; Hecksher's devil's whine conveys the requisite sense of floating in space without a paddle, and the relentless drone of keyboards and distortion conjures up a glammed-up ghost of Spiritualised. A Cure-iosity worth checking out. www.thewarlocks.com 
Kevin Courtney

RUTH DILLON
Woken No label
***

Aimee Mann's morbid fascination with forensic explorations of the dark underbelly of relationships is echoed repeatedly on Galway singer-songwriter Ruth Dillon's second recording. There's a solemnity and austerity to Dillon's voice on Woken that conjures scorched, empty landscapes so beloved of Wim Wenders's Paris, Texas. With skeletal guitar lines underscoring the resignation of The Right Rain, where "even handsome love grows old", Dillon strikes a satisfyingly maudlin cord, one that lures the listener in by stealth, never once asking to be liked, as too many novitiates do. While at times she tries just a little bit too hard to jump through verbal hoops (particularly on the metaphor-laden Your Kryptonite), Dillon's musical instincts are highly focused and not afraid to admit to the human frailties that make life that bit more interesting. www.ruthdillon.com
Siobhán Long