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emical Brothers
rn in the Echoes
wouldn’t be a Chemical Brothers album with
me reliable pulse-raising, which comes right
ar the start with Go . Led by guest rapper Q-Tip,
e track supplies a candy-coloured hook, EDM
entifiers and an invigorating push. What’s most
interesting about Born in the Echoes, though, is
how often Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons opt for more diffuse territory over
block-rockin’ club anthems. Reflexion stacks on dragging layers of melody,
while St. Vincent brings a sleepy drawl and subversive edge to her vocals
on Under Neon Lights. Radiate is slow and romantic, while Taste of Honey
goes for a slow bubbling that befits its name. Best of all is the title track,
on which Welsh art-pop oddball Cate Le Bon contributes her usual elegant
boredom (think Nico), her voice naturally filling space without a touch of
bombast. Other tracks aren’t as successful, like the autopilot feel of Just
Bang and the weak raga inflections of I’ll See You There. Beck is oddly
bland singing lead on Wide Open, and EML Ritual feels like filler when Ali
Love isn’t at the mic. But the weirder turns mark Born in the Echoes as a
welcomely versatile return.
Doug Wallen
Also Spinning
Veruca Salt Ghost Notes
It’s been two decades between albums for ’90s champs Veruca
Salt, but Ghost Notes reunites them with their American Thighs
producer Brad Wood and reignites the Chicago quartet’s high-
powered bubblegum grunge. Co-leaders Nina Gordon and Louise
Post still lodge spiky lyrics in catchy anthems, as on The Gospel According to Saint
Me and The Museum of Broken Relationships, while Triage taps a quiet-loud
dynamic for fuzzy catharsis. Veruca Salt are still fairly one-note when it comes to
range, but they’re as emotionally potent as ever. Doug Wallen
Richard Thompson Still
Produced by Jeff Tweedy, this finds the great guitarist-songwriter
in top form (with members of Wilco and Thompson's touring
band). However, those who thrilled to his often blistering WOMAD
performance in March or the electrifying energy of recent albums
(Dream Attic, Electric) will find him more constrained here. Incendiary solos and his
sharp, slightly embittered worldview abound (Dungeons for Eyes) but are leavened
by the British folk tropes which remain close to his heart, and the focus is on the
economy of Thompson's songs (Broken Doll). Terrific. Still. Graham Reid
Ratatat Magnifique
Ratatat are as grabby as ever on their fifth album, with Mike
Stroud and Evan Mast still mingling squirrelly synths and guitar
solos. If Magnifique lacks the experimental bravery of 2010’s LP4,
it returns those standout guitars to the fore. Nightclub Amnesia
adds the bleacher-stomping muscle of Sleigh Bells, while romantic
pedal-steel guitar creeps into several tunes. The album can lose momentum as it
swings between fist-pumping celebration and soul-searching meditation, but the
duo’s twitchy, euphoric interplay thrives in both settings.
Doug Wallen
visit REVIEWS MUSIC
Distributed by Southbound Distribution |
New album from legendary songwriter/guitarist,
produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco
Available on CD, Deluxe 2 CD
and 180gram 2LP set
46 JULY 2015 JB Hi-Fi