ALBUMS ROUND-UP FEB 2017 - The Dutch Uncles, The Evil Usses, Taos Humm, Ty Segall, Richard Pinhas, Ulan Bator, Coldharbourstores
Ty Segall - Ty Segall
The ever-prolific Ty Segall returns with another album of mildly psychedelic guitar-laden riffs and trippy lyrics, producing a sound that recalls Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr and Iron Butterfly locked in a dope-filled studio together, topped off by Segall's stoner tunes. This is actually not a reissue of his 2008 self-titled debut but a whole new full-length album that might just be his most accessible yet.
That's not to say Segall has gone all Radio 1 on us - Warm Hands (Freedom Returned) clocks in at 10 minutes-plus which, some may argue, is downright self-indulgent, while The Only One and Break a Guitar are swollen with some serious pedal and fret action that would have anyone armed with a clipboard cause to tremble in their belt and braces. Orange Color Queen seems to be the airwaves' favourite but for sheer straight-ahead crash 'n' burn rock and roll you'll want some Thank You Mr K in your life. Lots to like, Ty Segall's 19th release is perhaps his best since 2012's Manipulator. 7/10
Coldharbourstores - Wilderness
It's been 15 years since the last album from the London-based outfit and despite some line-up changes and a huge advance in time for any band, Coldharbourstores have finally delivered. Produced by Bark Psychosis' Graham Sutton, Wilderness has sonic chops and an ethereal atmosphere that resembles Goldfrapp, 4AD's swirling synth darlings Insides and even Factory's later-era Section 25 in places - basically we're talking late '80s/early '90s synth-pop with some contemporary gloss and dark melodies. The best of these tunes include the opening Sightless, the shimmering Kissing, the introspective and melancholic Broken and Bad and the recent video-single Genie which brings things to a sweet conclusion. The other half is a respectable mixed bag of emotional alt-pop that might make more sense 'live'. 6/10
Richard Pinhas - Reverse
Upon discovering Pinhas' associations with French avant-gardists Heldon, Japanese art-noise merchant Merzbow and American post-industrialists Wolf Eyes, it's fair to surmise that Reverse ain't gonna be a party-album. What it is however isn't entirely clear, even after trawling through its considerably uneasy 50 minutes. Space-rock doesn't quite sit, Krautrock is too lazy and industrial psyche drone is just bloody ridiculous a pigeonhole. Right? Well, not so fast because Reverse is all these things and more.
Dressed in an incredible sleeve designed by Yann Legendre, Bureau B's latest addition to its catalogue is like Cluster on acid, especially on 16-minute opener Ketter - random scattergun drum rolls, cymbal crashes and a wall of sound that builds into a portentous cacophony via explorative passages and white noise. Mutated synths, post-rock and free-form jazz beats smother The End in a fucked-up fug of phantasmagorical proportions while Nefesh combines one long radiophonic blizzard of bleeps and a tidal surge of percussion and drones that continues unabated throughout V2 which itself sounds like one long weekend spent sitting in a jet engine. Not pretty but kinda sublime all the same. 7/10
Ulan Bator - Stereolith
Formed some twenty-four years ago by Parisiens Cambuzat and Manchion, Ulan Bator don't sit easily within Bureau B's typical roster of proto-electronica and prog-rock. Instead the pair offer up a fusion of Pink Floydian epicness, busy percussive passages a la Can or Neu and a contemporary twist not dissimilar to Polar Bear or Peaking Lights, steered by a desire to explore atmospherics rathan than verse-chrous constraints. Thus the title-track ebbs and flows like something from The Division Bell, NeuNeu lumbers into earshot like something on Factory Records via Duseeldorf and Icarus is expansive urbane guitar-fuelled music that wouldn't sound amiss on a Mogwai b-side.
Ulan Bator's strength is unruffled experimentation that isn't so far from pop but isn't catchy either - a distinctive balance between commercial and avant-garde. Last two tracks Lost and Dust recall some of AMP Stereo's most psychedelic works of late. 7/10
Taos Humm - Flute of the Noodle Bender
Stolen Body are slowly starting to carve their own notch on the bedpost of upcoming indie-labels and with Taos Humm (and The Evil Usses reviewed below) they've struck gold. Taosites (is there such a word? There is now) Matt and Sunny have a bit of musical previous with left-field songwriter Edward Penfold, a little of which has rubbed off on this utterly bonkers opus. Opener RC and the following Hi Hats Are For Post Punk Heroes are a bludgeoning of the senses in the style of Ty Segall in a strop on his way to a practice session with Keel Her and Wire, while Bluhr and Meek are stoned out cut-ups of spoken-word and drone rock that recalls Bark Psychosis or Low. Scarlet You're Handsome is sheer and unadulterated cacophony that dips its toes into psychedelia, all of which does leave the casual listener wondering what the fuck these peeps have on their toast in the morning. It ain't just hot butter, lemme tell ya. Oddly engaging. 6/10
The Evil Usses - Amateur Pro-Wrestling
Another psych-influenced outfit from Bristol, The Evil Usses aren't far-removed from other skronking art-jazzists Sons of Kemet and Blurt. So you get a barrage of parping brass, howling or scratched guitars and fearsome drumming that will either move your feet or your neighbours. Amateur Pro-Wrestling's opening trio might be as far as you'd want to get through but trust me, jewels abound as the album unfolds. Gambino for instance is a hazy atonal Zornesque racket to start with but morphs into a beautiful majestic psychedelic swan gliding by while Pre-op Pop goes all Deerhoof in places, with just a little hint of sludge-funk chucked into the blender for good measure. It's all a wondrous muddle when things seem to lose control yet somehow you imagine The Evil Usses know exactly what they're doing. Great sleeve too. 6/10
The Dutch Uncles - Big Balloon
Five albums in and Marple's Dutch Uncles continue to flirt with potentially bigger audiences, primarily by delivering sweetly-sung off-kilter indie-pop power anthems that ought to be entertaining large festival crowds, rather than intimate venues. No matter though - Memphis Industries keep sticking with them and Dutch Uncles keep firing all cylinders with quirky saccharine alt-pop nuggets such as the opening title-track and the frenetic Baskin'. Previous comparisons with XTC hold sway on Combo Box which could have been on the former's Go 2 album and Same Plane Dream has a spot of Roxy Music embedded in its lineage.
Things calm down on the piano and strings-led Achameleon, making one wish they'd do this sort of thing a bit more often while on Streetlight there's a distinct 4/4 beat and, dare one suggest, a nod towards the (ahem) dancefloor, albeit with an '80s bent. It's business as usual but business is still good. 7/10
Watch this space for more additions to this round-up
The ever-prolific Ty Segall returns with another album of mildly psychedelic guitar-laden riffs and trippy lyrics, producing a sound that recalls Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr and Iron Butterfly locked in a dope-filled studio together, topped off by Segall's stoner tunes. This is actually not a reissue of his 2008 self-titled debut but a whole new full-length album that might just be his most accessible yet.That's not to say Segall has gone all Radio 1 on us - Warm Hands (Freedom Returned) clocks in at 10 minutes-plus which, some may argue, is downright self-indulgent, while The Only One and Break a Guitar are swollen with some serious pedal and fret action that would have anyone armed with a clipboard cause to tremble in their belt and braces. Orange Color Queen seems to be the airwaves' favourite but for sheer straight-ahead crash 'n' burn rock and roll you'll want some Thank You Mr K in your life. Lots to like, Ty Segall's 19th release is perhaps his best since 2012's Manipulator. 7/10
Coldharbourstores - Wilderness
Richard Pinhas - Reverse
Dressed in an incredible sleeve designed by Yann Legendre, Bureau B's latest addition to its catalogue is like Cluster on acid, especially on 16-minute opener Ketter - random scattergun drum rolls, cymbal crashes and a wall of sound that builds into a portentous cacophony via explorative passages and white noise. Mutated synths, post-rock and free-form jazz beats smother The End in a fucked-up fug of phantasmagorical proportions while Nefesh combines one long radiophonic blizzard of bleeps and a tidal surge of percussion and drones that continues unabated throughout V2 which itself sounds like one long weekend spent sitting in a jet engine. Not pretty but kinda sublime all the same. 7/10
Ulan Bator - Stereolith
Ulan Bator's strength is unruffled experimentation that isn't so far from pop but isn't catchy either - a distinctive balance between commercial and avant-garde. Last two tracks Lost and Dust recall some of AMP Stereo's most psychedelic works of late. 7/10
Taos Humm - Flute of the Noodle Bender
The Evil Usses - Amateur Pro-Wrestling
The Dutch Uncles - Big Balloon
Things calm down on the piano and strings-led Achameleon, making one wish they'd do this sort of thing a bit more often while on Streetlight there's a distinct 4/4 beat and, dare one suggest, a nod towards the (ahem) dancefloor, albeit with an '80s bent. It's business as usual but business is still good. 7/10
Watch this space for more additions to this round-up