Filed under: album, review | Tags: moth in the motor, rachael dadd, richard steele
Rachael Dadd
Moth In The Motor •••½
Broken Sound Music
Okay, so maybe you shouldn’t judge a record by its cover, but Rachael Dadd definitely knows how to make her music pleasing on the eye. Previous releases have been packaged in hand-sewn textile pouches, and for this new mini-album she’s letting fans create their own covers, which will be printed and sold with the 10” alongside her own hand-painted version. In this era of, some might say, disposable digital music, it’s refreshing to see someone put so much love and care into how the fruits of their labour are presented to the masses. Having said all that, it’s the music that really counts, and we are in safe hands. Dadd is already a seasoned performer in her hometown of Bristol and has toured as far afield as Japan, both as a solo artist and as one half of bands The Hand and Whalebone Polly. Equally adept with a piano, guitar, banjo, clarinet or harmonium, for Moth In The Motor she’s decided to concentrate on the piano, turning in a stripped-back set that lets the songs speak for themselves.
Filed under: album, review | Tags: angie stone, best of, carly simon, never been gone, richard steele, sara silver, simon christopher, vanessa paradis
In this month’s roundup, we’ll be looking at a bunch of stragglers from last year that we ran out of time to publish before Christmas, plus a few early 2010 releases in brief.
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Vanessa Paradis
Best Of •••
Wrasse
In many ways, Vanessa Paradis’ 1987 hit ‘Joe Le Taxi’ still sums up how the English regard French female popstars: the heavy accent, delivered with a babydoll pitch, cute as a kitten with a little bit of vixen thrown in. Such was its provocative, innocent-girl charm that, out of nowhere, the song launched Paradis, then just 14 years old, on the path to a lengthy career. Next came a slightly more sophisticated album, Variations sur le même t’aime. Produced by Serge Gainsbourg, it ushered in a second wave of huge success in France, with the wonderful ‘Tandem’ barely off the airwaves, helping to really nail a credible career for the still young ingénue.
Filed under: free music friday, mp3 | Tags: richard steele, talking to you talking to me, the watson twins
The Watson Twins
‘U-N-Me’
The Watson Twins are back with the first single from their forthcoming second album, Talking To You, Talking To Me, out through Vanguard Records in February. Having made their name poking out of the pockets of Jenny Lewis’s Rabbit Fur Coat, Leigh and Chandra Watson took centre stage in 2008 with Fire Songs, their debut full-length album. Talking To You, Talking To Me promises to expand the country-folk scope of that record with R&B, bossa nova, indie-pop and classic soul. ‘U-N-Me’ (whoever let them run with that title needs a good talking to) has a touch of the latter but is more US drivetime rock than anything else. It’s a straightforward but pleasing enough tune that cruises its way through two minutes without taking its foot off the accelerator or changing direction. The twins are as strong vocally as ever but lack much of the character and verve they showed with Lewis. Leigh Watson has said of the new record, “We wanted your body to move with every song”. They’re unlikely to achieve their goal with ‘U-N-Me’, though you might feel the urge to tap your fingers on the steering wheel. MP3 after the jump.
Filed under: first listen, review | Tags: kathryn williams, richard steele, the quickening
Kathryn Williams
The Quickening
[not final artwork]
Due for release in February 2010, The Quickening will be the seventh solo studio album from Kathryn Williams, and her first since 2007′s Leave To Remain. For an artist with such a consistently strong catalogue and a Mercury Prize nomination under her belt, she remains something of a well kept secret, while other lesser artists have ridden into the mainstream on the back of the recent ‘new folk’ resurgence. That could all be set change next year, with the help of a new deal with One Little Indian and perhaps the most accomplished album of her career. The Quickening was recorded live at Bryn Derwen Studio in North Wales in just four days, with a self imposed limit of three takes per song. Incredibly, Kathryn did not allow the other musicians to hear the compositions before entering the studio, giving a palpable sense of immediacy to what must surely be recognised as some of her best material to date. A full review of the album will follow in February. For now, here’s our track-by-track preview:
Filed under: EP, review | Tags: christmas thanks for nothing, richard steele, slow club
Slow Club
Christmas, Thanks For Nothing EP •••
Moshi Moshi
A Slow Club Christmas is starting to become something of a tradition. Last year, Charles and Rebecca treated us to a rather lovely festive single in the shape of ‘Christmas TV’ and a knees-up at London’s Union Chapel. This year they’re repeating the event at the same venue, but with a Santa’s sack of five additional Christmas delights in their repertoire. Or should that be lumps of coal? As implied by the title, Christmas, Thanks For Nothing sees the band continuing to temper their characteristic humour with heavy doses of heartbreak that some might find a little hard to swallow.
Filed under: album, EP, review | Tags: charlotte richardson andrews, katy knight, kid sister, lady lazarus, richard steele, the kabeedies
Part three of our November roundup looks at debuts from Norwich indie-pop upstarts The Kabeedies, US sensation Kid Sister and the homemade charms of Lady Lazarus.
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The Kabeedies
Rumpus ••••
NRone
Norwich’s keenest The Kabeedies bounced onto our radar with a triumphant performance at Glastonbury 2008, and they’ve been picking up momentum ever since. Following on from an enjoyable pair of EPs comes the irrepressible band’s debut full-length, appropriately named Rumpus. A jauntily pop, heels-in-the-air, loop-the-flipping-loop of an album, it successfully marryies compulsively danceable rhythms with vocal melodies so infectious the government will no doubt soon be putting up posters in bathrooms telling you how to wash your ears.
Woodpecker Wooliams
Diving Down •••
Autumn Ferment
Woodpecker Wooliams is the homemade alter ego of a rather talented young lady more conventionally named Gemma Williams. Having given up training to be a midwife following some pretty nasty seizures, the Brighton native relocated to the Devon countryside and set her sights on crafting delicate tunes rather than catching babies on exit. Luckily, she turned out to be pretty good at it, employing a formidable array of instruments to create an immersive listening experience, if not quite achieving uniqueness (she’s been compared to Kate Bush and Joanna Newsom more times than is healthy for an up and coming singer-songwriter).
Filed under: album, review, video | Tags: 2009, cate le bon, music, richard steele
Cate Le Bon
Me Oh My •••••
Irony Bored
Cate Le Bon is the latest musical export from deepest, darkest Wales. Well, Cardiff anyway. Despite some attention gained from last year’s Welsh-language EP, Edrych Yn Llygaid Ceffyl Benthyg, and a self-released single, she remains relatively unknown across the border. Now, with a little help from her friends, that looks set to change very quickly. Super Furry Animals chief Gruff Rhys, whose Mercury Music Prize-nominated Neon Neon side project featured Le Bon on vocals, is repaying the favour by releasing the artist’s debut album, Me Oh My, on his brand new imprint, Irony Bored. Despite the cover depicting Le Bon holding a golden egg, there’s nothing embryonic about this accomplished collection of songs; Me Oh My is fully formed and well matured, showing just how far Le Bon has come since her early performances.
Filed under: album, review | Tags: 2009, cerys matthews, music, richard steele
Cerys Matthews
Don’t Look Down •••
Rainbow City
It’s been over a decade since Cerys Matthews crashed into the charts, champagne bottle in hand, as the bolshy frontwoman of Welsh Britpop band Catatonia. She’s ticked off quite a to-do list since then: rehab, marriage, kids, move to America, divorce, move back to Wales, appear on ‘I’m A Celebrity..Get Me Out Of Here’, helm a popular BBC radio show, and, most importantly, release a clutch of imaginative solo recordings. First she threw off the ladette pop singalongs of Catatonia in favour of a perfect slice of Americana on 2003′s confident, rollicking Cockahoop, then surprised again in 2006 with Never Said Goodbye, a polished, string-laden album of folk-rock charms. Following yet another curveball in the way of 2007′s light and loungey EP Awyren = Aeroplane, new album Don’t Look Down (and its Welsh-language counterpart Paid Edrych I Lawr) sends her stylistic journey into orbit with a veritable pick ‘n’ mix of musical textures and genres.
Filed under: album, review, video | Tags: 2009, beth jeans houghton, music, richard steele, the hooves of destiny
Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny
Hot Toast Volume One EP ••••
Static Caravan
According to her laudably bonkers biography, 19 year old Beth Jeans Houghton was born in Transylvania to a pack of albino werewolves who raised her on a diet of chewing tobacco and stuffed clams. Luckily, this feral existence doesn’t seem to have done her any visible harm. She clearly has the personality to win over the mainstream in a way that many of her fellow antifolk musicians might find more difficult. However, it’s her music that really deserves the attention. Spiking the safe waters of the new folk scene with something a little more edgy and less predictable, Houghton has the potential to cross genre lines and make a much bigger splash.
