Paul Mosley and the Red Meat Orchestra - The Butcher - Folkwit Records
Concept albums aren't just there when progressive rock bands come out of hiding - folkies do it too and surprisingly well. Featuring various musicians associated with Benjamin Clementine, Jamie Lawson (the man himself), Florence and more, you'd be forgiven for presuming this is a warts 'n' all hodge podge of random songs. Actually, there's some fine acoustic-pop tunes to savour, not least the first half-dozen songs, all telling the story of a haunted lighthouse in some variant apocalyptic seascape not unlike the world-cinema hit Delicatessen. The waters get a little murky as the story unfolds and at almost 70 minutes, The Butcher does labour for a bit too long. Still, its vibrancy and story carries it all through to the rather earthy ending. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Eric Random - Words Made Flesh
Former Buzzcocks roadie and one-third of the now-legendary Tiller Boys with Pete Shelley and Francis Cookcson, Random had been a fixture on the so-called post-punk scene before steering his experimental ship into disctinctly more electronic waters. Words Made Flesh bears a resemblance to '90s era Cabaret Voltaire which becomes less surprising after learning that Cabs-now-Wrangler luminary Stephen Mallinder breathes all over one of the highlights on this Klangallerie release, Go Figure. Typically urbane and insistent, this track and the preceding Radio Silence signify something of a centrepiece - electronic beats delivered with minimal deviation yet possessing muscularity and beauty in its grooves with Koyaanisqatsi-style forboding. Those currently warming to Wrangler, Vessels, John Foxx and the Maths or Pantha du Prince might do well to invest in Words Made Flesh. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Larry Levan - Genius of Time
A double CD romp through the masterful Levan catalogue is sure to strength the sleevenotes' appraisal of this disco funkateer as being 'a Titan of the DJ booth'. Along with mate Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan carved out a niche amongst remixers and DJs of the late '70s era, connecting with a loyal clubbing audience at New York's Paradise Garage and stamping their name across a wide plethora of white-labels. So you get a couple of classic Peech Boys 12", a handful of stunning (and underrated) Gwen Guthrie extensions (including the glorious Padlock), hits from David Joseph, Loose Joints and Central Line, as well as tuff vocal dubs from Smokey Robinson, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Jeffrey Osborne and hard-to-find rarities from Syreeta, Jimmy Ross and Esther Williams. One can only imagine the euphoria felt every time Levan dropped one of these beauties on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Various - Punk 45, Chaos in the City of Angels and Devils
Continuing the Soul Jazz Records impeachable series of snotty, runty punk cuts from across the pond, attentions turn to the hottest melting pot of the lot, Los Angeles. Spearheaded by X, Iggy and the Stooges and Circle Jerks, Chaos in the City is a relentless barrage of flobbing, fighting and frenzied youthful triers all vying for the attentions of their local neighbourhood hop and DIY record-labels. As well as New York and London (and later, Manchester), punk filtered down to LA's hard-bitten mini-cults via legendary station KROQ and it's not hard to see why it struck a chord. Read the 64-page booklet and learn about the likes of The Urinals, The Dils and the superb Black Randy, whilst enjoying the rare photos and sleeve-images. It's hard to pick a highlight since some of the land-speed musicianship falls over itself in places but it doesn't matter. Long may this series continue, I say. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Smokey Joe and the Kid - Running to the Moon
Billing your band as 'hip-hop, jazz and electro-swing' might inspire you to throw a gardening implement at your own reflection in disgust. Mercifully SJATK have produced a stranger album than you'd first assume. The opening cacophony of blaring brass and pumping beats bodes well for the rest of Running to the Moon which is a musical fusion of bluesy samples, hard raps, scratching, New Orleans trad jazz and swing. The results are a mixed bag - Just Walking (featuring Chill Bump(!)) recalls Amp Fiddler on a drinking night out in Louisiana, Six Feet Below is more of the same but with a slightly off-beat drum-track and Funny Guy with hornsman Fred Wesley features requisite Goodfellas dialogue and not enough Wesley. And so it rolls. If you leap with joy when DJ Yoda releases a Cut and Paste album or Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer comes to town, you might last the distance of the light-hearted Running to the Moon more than I did. Fun while it lasted. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Die Krupps - Stahlwerk Requiem
35 years ago, German electronics industrialists Die Krupps unleashed their own Metal Machine Music to all intents and purposes, the fearsome landmark Stahlwerksinfonie. But if you thought that was a work of dark arts, check out the sequel. Issued on Bureau B and headed up by remaining founder Jürgen Engler, Stahlwerk Requiem fuses metronomic beats, a toe-deep, almost funky, bass-line, chopping and slashing guitars and a whole barrage of atonal cacophonous outbursts that sound like PiL, SPK, and Faust all performing at a party for the dead. Co-written by Engler, Guru Guru's Mani Neumeier, Der Plan's Pyrolator, Propaganda's Ralf Dörper, Faust's Peron and Diermaier and post-rocker Scott Telles, Stahlwerk is by turns a breakers yard, a smelting plant and a blacksmith's foundry rolled into one, before the whole thing changes tack after 16 minutes and reverts to bludgeoning type. You know, it's great to write reviews to - it's not annoying, it's just fucking loud. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Concept albums aren't just there when progressive rock bands come out of hiding - folkies do it too and surprisingly well. Featuring various musicians associated with Benjamin Clementine, Jamie Lawson (the man himself), Florence and more, you'd be forgiven for presuming this is a warts 'n' all hodge podge of random songs. Actually, there's some fine acoustic-pop tunes to savour, not least the first half-dozen songs, all telling the story of a haunted lighthouse in some variant apocalyptic seascape not unlike the world-cinema hit Delicatessen. The waters get a little murky as the story unfolds and at almost 70 minutes, The Butcher does labour for a bit too long. Still, its vibrancy and story carries it all through to the rather earthy ending. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Eric Random - Words Made Flesh
Former Buzzcocks roadie and one-third of the now-legendary Tiller Boys with Pete Shelley and Francis Cookcson, Random had been a fixture on the so-called post-punk scene before steering his experimental ship into disctinctly more electronic waters. Words Made Flesh bears a resemblance to '90s era Cabaret Voltaire which becomes less surprising after learning that Cabs-now-Wrangler luminary Stephen Mallinder breathes all over one of the highlights on this Klangallerie release, Go Figure. Typically urbane and insistent, this track and the preceding Radio Silence signify something of a centrepiece - electronic beats delivered with minimal deviation yet possessing muscularity and beauty in its grooves with Koyaanisqatsi-style forboding. Those currently warming to Wrangler, Vessels, John Foxx and the Maths or Pantha du Prince might do well to invest in Words Made Flesh. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
A double CD romp through the masterful Levan catalogue is sure to strength the sleevenotes' appraisal of this disco funkateer as being 'a Titan of the DJ booth'. Along with mate Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan carved out a niche amongst remixers and DJs of the late '70s era, connecting with a loyal clubbing audience at New York's Paradise Garage and stamping their name across a wide plethora of white-labels. So you get a couple of classic Peech Boys 12", a handful of stunning (and underrated) Gwen Guthrie extensions (including the glorious Padlock), hits from David Joseph, Loose Joints and Central Line, as well as tuff vocal dubs from Smokey Robinson, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Jeffrey Osborne and hard-to-find rarities from Syreeta, Jimmy Ross and Esther Williams. One can only imagine the euphoria felt every time Levan dropped one of these beauties on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Various - Punk 45, Chaos in the City of Angels and Devils
Continuing the Soul Jazz Records impeachable series of snotty, runty punk cuts from across the pond, attentions turn to the hottest melting pot of the lot, Los Angeles. Spearheaded by X, Iggy and the Stooges and Circle Jerks, Chaos in the City is a relentless barrage of flobbing, fighting and frenzied youthful triers all vying for the attentions of their local neighbourhood hop and DIY record-labels. As well as New York and London (and later, Manchester), punk filtered down to LA's hard-bitten mini-cults via legendary station KROQ and it's not hard to see why it struck a chord. Read the 64-page booklet and learn about the likes of The Urinals, The Dils and the superb Black Randy, whilst enjoying the rare photos and sleeve-images. It's hard to pick a highlight since some of the land-speed musicianship falls over itself in places but it doesn't matter. Long may this series continue, I say. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Smokey Joe and the Kid - Running to the Moon
Billing your band as 'hip-hop, jazz and electro-swing' might inspire you to throw a gardening implement at your own reflection in disgust. Mercifully SJATK have produced a stranger album than you'd first assume. The opening cacophony of blaring brass and pumping beats bodes well for the rest of Running to the Moon which is a musical fusion of bluesy samples, hard raps, scratching, New Orleans trad jazz and swing. The results are a mixed bag - Just Walking (featuring Chill Bump(!)) recalls Amp Fiddler on a drinking night out in Louisiana, Six Feet Below is more of the same but with a slightly off-beat drum-track and Funny Guy with hornsman Fred Wesley features requisite Goodfellas dialogue and not enough Wesley. And so it rolls. If you leap with joy when DJ Yoda releases a Cut and Paste album or Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer comes to town, you might last the distance of the light-hearted Running to the Moon more than I did. Fun while it lasted. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Die Krupps - Stahlwerk Requiem
35 years ago, German electronics industrialists Die Krupps unleashed their own Metal Machine Music to all intents and purposes, the fearsome landmark Stahlwerksinfonie. But if you thought that was a work of dark arts, check out the sequel. Issued on Bureau B and headed up by remaining founder Jürgen Engler, Stahlwerk Requiem fuses metronomic beats, a toe-deep, almost funky, bass-line, chopping and slashing guitars and a whole barrage of atonal cacophonous outbursts that sound like PiL, SPK, and Faust all performing at a party for the dead. Co-written by Engler, Guru Guru's Mani Neumeier, Der Plan's Pyrolator, Propaganda's Ralf Dörper, Faust's Peron and Diermaier and post-rocker Scott Telles, Stahlwerk is by turns a breakers yard, a smelting plant and a blacksmith's foundry rolled into one, before the whole thing changes tack after 16 minutes and reverts to bludgeoning type. You know, it's great to write reviews to - it's not annoying, it's just fucking loud. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆