CRITIC AUGUST 2010 SINGLE – ABSENT ELK • Let Me Know (Amazon) As city reporters on Brighton’s many musical excursions, it’s sometimes difficult to get a national picture of our bands – unfortunately it’s often because there simply isn’t one. Not the case with Absent Elk – we’ve heard them on Jonathon Ross, Dermot’s a big fan after hosting a live session, and it’s not hard to work out why. This is a band for whom the term indie seems too reductive, such is the expansive sound and effortless scaling of anthemic heights they achieve with each successive release. Radio edit and instrumental versions on our promo CD suggest they have serious ambitions beyond our city walls – with absolute justification. (NC)
EP: ALBATROSS • A Kind Of Folk (myspace.com/freethebird) Knowing Albatross’ gestation, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear how fully formed their first EP sounds – they’ve been opening for Mumford and Sons all round Europe, the USA and beyond for many months now. Unlike the Mumfords, you won’t find a country twang in Albatross’s kind of folk. The slice of Americana present here owes more to the classic sound of the late sixties / seventies folk rockers like Bread. Also like those bands, the delivery is deft without falling into virtuosity. As and when the UK’s Woodstock happens, Albatross should headline. (MB)
EP: THE BEAUTIFUL WORD • Mystery Pop (myspace.com/thebeautifulword) Much of what we review falls under some kind of flowery folk umbrella – hey, there’s a lot of it about. But it’s been a while since we’ve heard such a true exponent of the genre, vocally at least, as The Beautiful Word. Emily and Megan create definitive dictionary definitions of folk harmony, while their backing steers the sound towards contemporary and easygoing pop. It’s a bright package, nicely produced and packaged, which serves as a promising calling card for a sustained career. (NC) SINGLE: BLOOD RED SHOES • Heartsink (V2)
It seems ages since we had BRS on our cover, and a cursory glance through the SOURCE underground bunker archive says yes, it was April 08. It can certainly take non-Brightonians a while to catch on to our bands, but hopefully this will see off the doubters for good. A DFA1979 bass workout vies with some seriously caustic guitar, belying the song’s basic 4:4 pop skeleton in an infectious contradiction of directions. Hopefully this will be the cherry on the top of a busy summer treading the outdoor boards. (NC) ALBUM: BUCKET-JOY • Worth The Weight (myspace.com/bucketjoy)
Having introduced you to Bucket-Joy in February via their demos, it’s good to see some proper finished product so soon. We aren’t alone in using superlatives like brooding, epic and moody about them; it’s a lofty ambition to pull off when you’re not swathed in dry ice on a Pyramid Stage but on record at least this breathes a similar atmospheric air to the Radioheads and Talk Talks that have clearly informed its make-up. It’s an outstanding production, even more pointedly so for a self-release -get it in Rounder and Resident for a fiver. (NC) EP: CROOKED MOUNTAIN CROOKED SEA • I Watched It From the Roadside (STA)
I Watched It from the Roadside, their third release, is an accomplished-sounding record. Whilst still retaining the rawness of earlier EP’s, C.M.C.S have created their best record to date. From the more arresting, aggressive sounds of They Don’t Mean Anything to the introverted, melancholy of Out In The Dark, C.M.C.S display a well-trained ear for complex timings and driven guitar melodies, without being pretentious. Anyone who thinks post-rock is dead should get a copy of this and be proved otherwise. (L.S)
SAMPLER: HIT AND HOPE • (hitandhoperecords.co.uk) A lavish package with foldout posters and art cards all based around the H&H logo, the Hit And Hope sampler is a fanfare for the label and its artists, pretty much in that order. We haven’t seen the likes of this since the days when people actually bought music to offset the marketing costs. So what of the music? A five-track sampler showcases Naïve Machine and KLIC, both treading similar glitchy, 8-bit ground. The latter’s collaboration with PhilYourFuckingEars is the most approaching a traditional rhythm structure and, for us, the standout track in an introduction of a new label with some oomph clearly behind it. (NC)
SINGLE: THE HORNS FEAT. JO HARMAN • My Own Way (myspace.com/johannaharman) The ubiquity of plastic horns and cynical strings in the wake of Mark Ronson has muddied the waters a little for the true practitioners of the soul/funk/jazz craft, although when the real McCoy comes along it sticks out like a sore thumb. This previously unreleased gem from the pen of Horns bandleader James McMillan and Winehouse herself is given a timely airing by the latest great Brit hope vocalist Jo Harman. The pedigree of the backing provides this promising voice a perfect frame, the whole package breathing with a pleasing authenticity that’s impossible to fake. (NC)
EP: ILLNESS • Gifts From God (STA) A band for whom the White Stripes’ famed sparse arrangement of vocal/guitar/drums was just a bit too busy, Illness steadfastly desist with vocal distraction entirely. What began as a half-finished-sounding band has evolved, via just enough polish, into an irresistible exercise in minimal riffola; rhythm and rage entwined in a powerful embrace. It’s an arrangement that works perfectly over half a dozen songs, where the unmanned mic stand doesn’t draw attention to itself at all. (NC)
ALBUM: MARYSIA BAND • Sense (myspace.com/marysiaband) In the spirit of solidarno??, SOURCE welcomes Critic submissions from all walks of our diverse cultural and ethnic mix. Here’s a CD that meets the demands of Brighton’s Polish brethren (that’s folk from Poland, not Mr Sheen and Pledge aficionados). Formed around vocalist Marysia Nowiñska, the band have been punting their unique brand of Polish and Balkan jazz and folk at The Bradshaws pub, and this energetic CD, impenetrable lyrics aside, makes it all sound like a good night out. (NC) ALBUM: SILJE NES • Opticks (FatCat) For this follow-up to ‘Ames Room’, Silje Nes appears to have imbibed some elixir of vocal confidence. Her utterly enchanting voice still works in tandem with a wide range of instruments and effects but has come more to the fore than competing as just another sonic component. The result is a far more song-based and vocal-led collection than before, mixing traditional backings with understated electronica to create a compelling album whose every texture is like reclining upon clouds. This is one for dimmed lights and intimate nights. (NC) SINGLE: SILVERMAN • Can’s Stand The Rain (One4Ho Records) As with most things, the most interesting things happening in the monolith of a genre that is dubstep are happening at the fringes. Where dubstep meets semi-techy electronica is where Silverman is honing his shadowy, sinister Bladerunner-esque beats. Using the mournful vocal and drip-drop sample from Ann Peebles’ track of the same name, the wobble in ‘Can’t Stand The Rain’ sounds like a massive industrial turbine in some torrential dystopian deluge. Dark, heavy and relentless. (MB) FILM: TOM SANDS • Brighton – Die Sonfonie der Großstadt (Substantial) ‘The symphony of the big city’ aims to celebrate Brighton’s cumulative charms, while contrasting the fortunes of typical city residents. A bin man works along London Road, a stressed computer worker bemoans the digital age, a bus driver wants to work in a café because he hates driving and a busker works out her beer budget, All furiously intercut with monolithic flat blocks and random street reportage, the unsettling direction and sound manipulation are sometimes quite Chris Morris’ ‘Jam’ in tone. If there’s any moral message it’s all a bit muddied but it’s all nicely put together. (NC) EP HOLD YOUR HORSE IS – RAMMIN’ IT HOME (Big Scary Monsters)

Their first release on cult label Big Scary Monsters shows that the band can be just as raw and energetic on record as they are onstage. Opener You Show Up is an anthem in the making: a tense build-up breaks out darkly catchy riffs, driving bass lines and shattering drums. Their live hit Mackerel Jason translates well onto record. In short, a well-produced record, even those who wouldn’t call themselves post-rock/hardcore fans may just be won over by this lot. (L.S)

EP: ELIZA JAYE & THE TARTS Black Heart Rum (Red Gum)
When Australian-born Eliza Jaye arrived in Brighton, she didn’t take the traditional route of hanging out in Walkabout getting pissed on Fosters, thankfully. No, she hooked up with her sister, former Bat For Lashes violinist Anna McInnery and made this smashing EP with the violin at the forefront of the arrangements throughout. The mix of vintage instrumentation and recording techniques with a kind of Kirsten Hersh vocal lends the whole thing a very current-sounding yet original air, like a kind of Bat For Breeders or Bat For Belly – the title track in particular rocks this kind of connection. Nice. (NC)

ALBUM: THE REVERENCE Momument (Big Cartel)
The promo CD we received didn’t work, so in a fit of devotion to the cause we fired up their MySpace player to check out a selection of the tracks. A wash of 1980-era synths greets our ears as ‘Expectation’ fills the headphones, crashing into guitar-heavy rock with an assured vocal – echoes of QOTSA, Interpol and Joy Division as suggested from their blurb. Elsewhere the band stray into slower, more melodic territory on ‘In A Place’, while ‘A Reflection’ sits comfortably between the two extremes. A bit of spit and polish and this is a bona fide big room proposition. (NC)

WORDS BY NICK COQUET, MATT BARKER, LYDIA STOCKBRIDGE