God and renouncing his career. That klaxon
you just heard was informing you that a
shipment of RECORD COLLECTOR CATNIP has
arrived. ‘Course, Luaka Bop compiling nine of
Onyeabor’s finest moments gives us lower-class
nerds a chance to wig out too, and if you don’t
dig Good Name or Fantastic Man, check your
pulse, because you’re dead, because I murdered
you. NG
singles
BIG HARD EXCELLENT FISH **
And The Question Remains (One Little
Indian)
An update of a 1990 single, Imperfect List, in
which a Liverpudlian woman recited a litany
of complaints – political, social and personal –
over a backing track by Cocteau Twins’ Robin
Guthrie. He hasn’t remained, but many of
BHEF’s bêtes noire do: cancer, Conservatives,
The Sun. Sleaford Mods do a vaguely similar
thing with far more pizzazz in 2013. NG
CONGO NATTY *****
Get Ready VIP (Big Dada)
Subwoofers engage:
Congo Natty, aka Rebel
MC, has a new record
out. The original junglists
latest offering, Get Ready
VIP, contains five new,
fattened up versions
of tracks previously featuring on the critically
acclaimed Jungle Revolution, and it womps and
pulses in all the right places. Rise up. PM
MIRACULOUS MULE ***
Dangerous Blues (Bronzerat)
Raw, stomping rhythms and handclaps combine
with reverb drenched harmonica and the
sparsest of guitar lines to forge a menacing
take on the blues that smacks of, well, danger.
Simplistic it may be, but it’s dark, dirty and not
quite right, so ultimately well worthy of your
attention. NM
PLYCI ****
Mwgwd EP (Peski)
The second EP from Rhyl’s Plyci sounds like the
soundtrack to Tron: Legacy if it starred Joaquin
Phoenix, Jack Nicholson and whoever played
Lola in Run Lola Run, rampaging through The
Grid for the LOLZ dressed only in pants made
of electrical wire and drill bits... but in a good
way. SE
REVERE **
These Halycon Days (V2)
There’s nothing that’s
immediately unlikeable
about These Halycon
Days: spiky guitars,
engaging vocals and the
arrangement everything
that you think it should
be. Unfortunately this can’t disguise the feeling
that this is simply indie-by-numbers, the kind
there is a lot of in this world and with which we
could easily do without. NM
STRATEGY ***
Return From The Stars (Idle Hands)
Since 2003, Paul Dickow? ??s production alter ego
Strategy has taken him from spacerock label
Kranky to an assortment of forward-thinking
electronic imprints. Bristol’s Idle Hands have
been gifted some bubbly, dubbed-down house
which Peverelist beefily remixes on the flip. Who
would have thought that this former Blackburn,
Man City and Scotland centre-forward had it
in him? NG
THIRD PARTY ****
On Both Sides (self-released)
Fair play to Gruff Russell-Jones and line-up,
DIY releases don’t come much better than this.
Touting itself as a “satirical glance at the ailing
culture of the 7” single,” this two-track explores
upbeat ska, soaring hooks and jangly indie on
Copy A, while B-Sides is a mellow 50s diner
anthem. RH
TODDLA T SOUND ****
Flash (Girls Music)
Toddla T’s unique,
experimental sounds
make this a grower, when
you get past the initial
shock of it all. Carnivalesque dancehall vibes
(complete with whistles
and crowd noise) coupled with slightly bonkers
lyrics and a thumping kickdrum means it’s sure
to be a banger on the dancefloor. PT
VISION FORTUNE ****
THIS MONTH’S
DVD PICK
CREEPSHOW
15 (Second Sight)
If you like your special effects old school and your acting cheesy, then
a night in with Creepshow on the 31st is the way to go. With two horror
legends behind the camera (George A. Romero and Stephen King)
this anthology provides some good old 80s terror. Despite the Blu-ray
treatment Creepshow is a bit dated and nowadays feels a lot like
Goosebumps for grown-ups, but that’s half the fun of it. ***HA
BLACKFISH
15 (Dogwoof)
With a stronger feeling of uncovering a corporate cover-up than a
sympathy-ridden animal story, Blackfish is a documentary about the
captive killerwhales lashing out. The documentary intercuts insightful
interviews with heart-stopping real-life footage. A spine-chilling
documentary which will make you question animal captivity without
shoving a message down your throat. ****HA
Night Jukes EP (Cardinal Fuzz)
BRING ME THE HEAD OF THE MACHINE GUN WOMAN
This five-song meddler of the senses was
released on cassette last year, but as I’m clearly
not ‘down’ enough to have known, kudos to
London’s Vision Fortune for turning on the
slowcoaches. Night Jukes makes good use of
hypnotic repetition and Eastern ‘modes’, up
there with latterday Om and outperforming
Wooden Shjips. NG
18 (Clear Vision)
When Santiago, a videogame-addicted DJ, offers to hunt down the
bounty hunter known as ‘The Machine Gun Woman’ to avoid his own
execution, his life is transformed into the sort of violent mission he is
used to playing on his console. Don’t expect this grindhouse B-movie
to tackle any big philosophical questions. **JD
demos
TARSIERS
tarsiersmusic.bandcamp.com
Unsure where this trio came from (in the sense
of past bands or similar; they’re based in Cardiff)
but on the basis of this three-song demo, it would
be useful for all concerned if they threw their hat
in with local fans of psychedelia, valve amps etc.
Tarsiers’ psych leans more towards melody than
big riffs or feedback, but while they seem to be
gunning for a late-60s/early-70s vibe here, this
isn’t Foxygen-style pastiche – rather, something
at the nexus of proto-garage, hardrock and Kraut
dreamstate. NG
BLÅMANN
soundcloud.com/blaamann
Firstly, hat tip to Paul ‘Blåmann’ Denley for
keeping the ‘A wearing a little circle’ in band
name circulation, Norwegian noiserockers
Årabrot having changed theirs to Arabrot.
Denley records at home on a four-track, meaning
that while his guitar-pop songs are effervescent
and melodic, they’re also lent an air of fuzzy,
semi-private eccentricity that places him in a
lineage including Guided By Voices and The
Bevis Frond among others. Blåmann is not yet
writing songs to inspire comparable cult appeal,
but he demonstrates quite some charm. NG
OCTAVIANS
www.facebook.com/weareoctavians
Cardiff four-piece Octavians’ bio states their
ages as 16 and 17, variously, making it eminently
possible that I’ve lived for twice as long as
some of them. Less steely, similarly aged demo
reviewers would feel a bit weird about doling
out so-called critical appraisal, but a job’s a
job. This EP is rough’n’ready, but also kind of
swaggering; Sam Baker’s vocals have a probably
accidental Brian Molko tone, the music is upbeat
alternative rock which tips over into classic rock
soloing on occasion. NG
BANSHEE – SEASON 1
18 (HBO Home Entertainment)
Based in the fictional town of Banshee, Pennsylvania, the show follows
ex con and master thief Lucas Hood. By various machinations, ex
lovers, ex crime partners and hiding from gangsters, he ends up taking
on the identity of the town mayor. From the creators of True Blood it
follows a similar shock, blood, sex, violence theme throughout, which
(given the premise) is another winner sent over from the US. ***AL
POPULAIRE
12 (Entertainment One)
Spring 1958, and 21-year-old Rose Pamphyle travels to Lisieux in Normandy,
where charismatic insurance agency boss Louis Echard is advertising for
a secretary, the ensuing interview is a disaster. But Rose reveals a special
gift – she can type at extraordinary speed. So ensues Louis’s desire for her to
win he declares himself her trainer and will turn her into the fastest girl not
only in the country, but in the world. A visual candy store, oozing with 50’s
glamour, see this if you enjoyed Heartbreaker. ****AL
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
12A (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Though some beloved characters are now little more than catchphrases,
this sequel does contain many of the qualities that made the last one so
popular (a Spock/Kirk bromance, half-naked alien ladies and Simon Pegg
running).The only thing stopping this film from being a dull Hollywood
cash cow, however, is a good dose of Benedict Cumberbatch. ***HA
STORIES WE TELL
15 (Curzon)
Oscar-nominated writer Sarah Polley explores her ambiguous lineage
through a series of interviews with friends and family, producing a
poignant example of how we form our own reality through memories.
Interspersed with Super 8 family videos, the documentary plays like
a love letter to Polley’s parents and addresses our profound need for
family. *****JD
HALLOWEEN
18 (Anchor Bay)
John Carpenter’s horror classic gets its umpteenth re-release in time
for scary season. This time it’s escaped onto a Blu-ray steelbook
special edition (because nothing tempts viewers away from piracy
like metal). The direction, cinematography and score still scare after
35 years. One to watch from the closet. ****MM
UWANTME2KILLHIM?
15 (Entertainment One)
For a film based loosely on a true story it is ironic that believable scenes
in uwantme2killhim? are few and far between. Despite what could be
an intriguing plot-line a clumpy script and dull acting made this award
winning film was a struggle to get through. An interesting twist in the
tale was a redeeming feature but a little too late in a film that felt like a
‘beware of the internet’ PDA for teens. **HA
BUZZ 47