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Savages
Adore Life
It's like The Drones, only
younger, angrier, and rockier,
offering a cry of sex and
violence with punk-rock
militancy – like Fugazi fronted
by Siouxsie Sioux after a fierce
break-up.
Evil
is the epitome of
‘80s NY rough-club cool (even
though these wonders are from
London), and the urgency and
anger are infectious alongside
the shotgun drumming and
break-beat grooves. No less
vital is
Sad Person
– Gang
of Four would be proud, on
their knees and begging for
more. Buy it, share it, play it
loud and let’s make these cool
cats superstars, because they
deserve it.
Chris Murray
Aoife O'Donovan
In the Magic Hour
Ample books, films and Folkways
box sets have traced the lines from
the trad folk music of the British Isles
to Appalachian strings. The story
could hardly be clearer than here in
the hands of Aoife O'Donovan, best
known as lead singer for Boston's
Crooked Still. Here she follows her
heart back to Ireland in a kind of
Super 8 dream sequence steeped
in childhood memories and family
photographs. With a lilt and timbre
uncannily like Alison Krauss, she can
be as upbeat as
Magic Hour
and as
heartbreaking as
Porch Light
, with
its harmonising fiddles and childish
promises made to be broken.
Magpie
is haunted by Joni Mitchell, but not to
the point of distraction (hello, Laura
Marling) and
Donal Og
is a Celtic mist
of drones and echoing voices.
Michael Dwyer
Daughter
Not To Disappear
These days, when a British act decamps to Brooklyn
for recording purposes, they’d best be ready for
some jibing; home to angst idols such as Beirut,
Sharon Van Etten and The National, it's become a
suburb with easily mocked aesthetics. But in the
case of London trio, Daughter, a similar design was
already in place on their debut album
If You Leave
. This new record takes
their ghostly guitars and voices to another level, harking back to a 4AD glory
age that included the likes of Lush, His Name Is Alive and Lisa Germano.
Daughter’s lead singer Elena Tonra joins the label’s long list of nape-hair-
raising vocalists, with a lyrical bite to match.
Doing the Right Thing
deals with
dementia in a stark manner and might well be rock'n'roll’s first venture into
the subject.
No Care
serves up graphic details of a relationship on the skids,
whilst
NewWays
is also darkly obsessive. Tonra lays things bare again on
To
Belong
, sighing "I don’t want to belong to you, to anyone," though the ache in
her voice suggests otherwise. But it’s not all vocal-centric as the warped and
ringing riff on
How
confirms, or the crashing finale to
Fossa
. No point trying
to lock up this Daughter – it sounds like she’s been running wild for years.
GarethThompson
29
REVIEWS
MUSIC
MUSIC
Suede
Night Thoughts
The happy campers are back!
Yes, those tunes designed to fill
the void of Morrissey and Marr,
darken those lonely evenings
alone and fill your despair with
strings and lush production, no
less. Lost in Bowie’s never-
ending spell, Anderson doesn’t
disappoint with lyrical metaphor
and posture, while the band
sound, well, brilliant – as if we
were in the ‘90s on
Outsiders
’
dark groove; broody and nigh-on
a David Brent pantomime with
Pale Snow
; sex-groove-self-
deprecation on
What I’mTrying
to Tell You
… yep, it’s all here.
Kids may get confused, but akin
to a renaissance Roxy Music,
this is a damn fine album.
Chris Murray
Santigold
99 Cents
Santi White’s first solo singles
were
Creator
and
L.E.S Artistes
.
Blending new wave, electronic,
experimental club rhythms and
melodic dub pop, the two tracks
landed in 2007 like fully formed
musical manifestos. They were
prophetic titles too: Santigold
has remained one of the most
consistently creative and artful
songwriters in pop music over
the past eight years.
99 Cents
contains the same signature
energy, a vibrant palette of
modern productions, and a
melodic transcendence that sets
Santigold apart. The album name
refers to the commodification and
undervaluing of culture, but Santi
is fighting back with a constant
stream of ideas and songs that will
add immeasurable value to your
life by the second.
SimonWinkler
The Prettiots
Fun's Cool
This uke-fied
folk/punk trio
from New York
deal primarily in
winsome hipster
pop, although
its sugary outer coating hides a nice
line in sardonic humour. And while
they sing mainly about the ups and
downs of young love, they also find
room to name-check cult film star
Klaus Kinski (
Kiss Me Kinski)
and
Law & Order: SVU'
s E
lliot Stabler
(
Stabler
), and transform The Misfits'
thrash fave
Skulls
into a lovely
ballad. Utterly adorable.
John Ferguson
Hinds
Leave Me Alone
Close friends
and musicians,
Hinds formed
in 2011 in the
city of Madrid.
They've spent
the last few years writing infectious
garage pop singles, touring the
world, and generally becoming the
favourite new band of everyone lucky
enough to see them play.
Leave Me
Alone
is filled with a unique blend
of lo-fi rock, garage, soul and pop
influences, offering a vivid portrait of
modern life and love viewed through
a faintly nostalgic, psychedelic lens.
SimonWinkler
Cage The Elephant
Tell Me I'm Pretty
The four-piece's
previous three
releases have
gallivanted
through blues,
funk, punk,
and more traditional alternative;
however,
Tell Me I’m Pretty
is a
thoroughly canny rock album, which
thumps playfully from boot to boot
with jangling tambourine, multi-
layered half-shouted sing-alongs,
and a lot of bold guitar. Produced by
Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, it
needs to be on your summer playlist.
Zoë Radas
ALSO
SPINNING