SWEET BILLY PILGRIM
Stars Spill Out Of Cups
No Cat#
CDS
Self-released

If the name Sweet Billy Pilgrim is at all familiar, it may be that you own a copy of David Sylvian’s recent album, The Good Son Vs The Only Daughter to which the group contributed a rather lovely remix. Let’s posit a quick theory (bound to be disproved) that where successful popular music is concerned it’s the particular angle of approach to subject matter, be it musical or lyrical, that’s crucial. A lifetime’s career may be built upon an original, convincing viewpoint. Stars Spill Out Of Cups, the first of three tracks on this 15-minute single suggests that they might be one of those relatively rare bands capable of achieving this. The music sets off at a tangent with off-kilter banjo accompanied by the pitter-patter of brushed drums, while the singer’s wavering voice pleads with his listeners, straining gently at the edges of possibility. There’s a streak of emotional nakedness married to a fairytale folksong feeling that’s original and mightily attractive. At the arrival of each chorus the gently nervy vocals succumb, with a rising swoop that gladdens the heart, to an almost unguarded joyfulness.

The singularity of this first song dissipates a little with its successor. God In Details is borne along on methodical carny guitar redolent of Rain Dogs-era Tom Waits. Even here though, in its latter third the music takes an unexpected turn towards mournful reflection, as if to say ‘this way fellas, let’s see where it takes us’. Misapplied, such an approach can be self-indulgent, but used sparingly as it is here, it can hint at a more expansive vision, create a wider sense of possibility than might otherwise be implied by a more cohesive whole. The final song, Atlantis, is a slight, gentle piece that requires to be played repeatedly to gain its focus. If Sweet Billy Pilgrim can play to their singularities, treat their music as a set of opportunities like Picasso’s cardboard and string guitar, rather than a granite block repeatedly chiselled away to reveal something less, then they have a chance of finding their individual voice, contributing something original to the sea of sound lapping at our doors.

Colin Buttimer

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE FEAT. VASHTI BUNYAN
Prospect Hummer
FATSP09
CDS
Splinter Series / Fat Cat Records 2005

It seems as if the Animal Collective’s capacity to surprise and amaze is endless. Following a string of very well received albums, including last year’s Sung Tongs, the Collective are now publishing this four track EP, fruit of a collaboration with legendary sixties folk singer Vashti Bunyan.

Now living in Edinburgh, Bunyan became known for having worked with Rolling Stones manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham. This partnership would however be short-lived, but Bunyan resurfaced a few years later with her sole album, Just Another Diamond Day, recorded by British producer Joe Boyd, originally released in 1969,. By then disillusioned with the music industry, Bunyan left London without promoting the album, which rapidly got forgotten. Yet, as years passed by, it gradually became one of the cult records of the late sixties, and was finally re-released in 2000, gaining hordes of new fans. Bunyan has since been spotted guesting on records by Piano Magic, Simon Raymonde and more recently Devendra Banhart.

Animal Collective met Vashti in Edinburgh while supporting Four Tet in 2003, Kieran Hebden having been part of her band when she played her first live set in thirty years at the Royal Festival Hall a couple of years earlier. Prospect Hummer documents the collaboration between Animal Collective, here as a complete formation, and Vashti. Beautiful and stripped down, this EP sits at the most delicate and ephemeral end of the work produced by Animal Collective so far. It’s You, which opens, is reminiscent of some of some of the most emotional moments of Here Comes The Indian. As Vashti Bunyan’s voice breaks the silence, a richly layered curtain of acoustic guitars gently slides in in the background, with an occasional piano adding discreet textures. Despite its sober attire, It’s You is a fresh and enchanting composition which finds its roots as much in Bunyan’s work as in the melancholic nature of that of the Collective. The title track, which follows, is more upfront, with some elements of pop infiltrating the sumptuous canvas created by Animal Collective. Vashti Bunyan’s voice is at once delicate and powerful and draws the listener right at the heart of the elegant melodic drapery. I Remember Learning How To Drive follows the instrumental Baleen Sample to close this EP. If Baleen Sample sees Animal Collective revisiting some of their earliest atmospheres, the short I Remember… is found somewhere between It’s You and Prospect Hummer, and is a superb conclusion to this stunning collaborative work.

Announced as something of a magical pairing, this collaboration between one of the most influential artists of the sixties and one of today’s more creative acts proves to be every bit as impressive and excellent as one would expect. Vashti Bunyan adds her own vocal textures and melodic influences to the music of Animal Collective, making this record one of the band’s best release yet. The only regret is that this fertile collaboration was not extended to a full album.

THE IVYTREE / CHRIS SMITH
Split #17
12FAT048
12”
Fat-Cat Records 2005

KONONO NO.1 / THE DEAD C
Split #18
12FAT050
12”
Fat-Cat Records 2005

The Fat-Cat Split Series comprises an ongoing string of split 12inch vinyl singles with different artists on the A and B sides. As the label’s website declares: ‘Curated by Obsessive Eye editor Dave Howell, the aim of the series has always been to mix and merge divergent sounds and styles (...) to chart a more abstract, leftfield terrain for the label, whilst giving a platform to new and emerging artists... ‘

No. 17 matches five tracks apiece by Chris Smith and The Ivytree. The Ivytree is San Fransiscan Glen Donaldson, whose music mixes acoustic guitar with bouzouki, windchimes, etc. So far, so nothing, but the fives pieces here explore drone-like folk settings with the sound of the acoustic guitar shimmering like a heat haze on a hot summer’s afternoon. There’s something hallucinatory about the occasionally keening vocals and instrumentation, as if Donaldson were harking back to the psychedelic cusp of the sixties and seventies, but there’s a muffled edge of danger to the music that eschews platitudes or banality of any kind. In Meadows has my two cats looking surprised at the ceiling trying to spy where the birdsong and insect buzzing is emanating from (when this passage is succeeded by gorgeous windchimes they give up and stalk away). With Bird Proof, Australian guitarist Chris Smith offers up a glorious noise that’s rich with activity that can never be more than half-spied, as if seen through lace curtains in the distance. Holding Tank (For Vice Criminals) is a little less dense, its squalling sheets of sound ebbing and flowing while it sounds as if Smith is slamming his instrument remorselessly in the background.

Konono No.1 are from Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic Of Congo. The group are made up of three likembe (thumb pianos) players, an unspecified number of percussionists, three singers, three dancers and a sound system. The music they produce is identifiably African in its loose-limbed intensity, but this very passion is magnified by the homemade amplification they use to push their sound out. Due to the paucity of money and available materials, the sound resulting from this electrification is gloriously noisy and messy, and the group exploit these characteristics to maximum effect. Their grooves are so infectious and deliriously overdriven that they make the likes of Fela Kuti sound positively polite.

The reverse of the disc barely contains three tracks by New Zealand noisy experimentalists The Dead C. It quickly becomes clear why Fat-Cat paired the two groups: both share a taste for the sort of intense amplification that’s like vivid rusting that threatens to eat through the song structures it simultaneously conveys. This is alternately blasted, spectral stuff; the two guitarists create a sound redolent of steelyards collapsing in hell while the drummer drives dogged beats through like rescue teams in search of survivors. Coruscating, but cathartic.

Colin Buttimer

CHRIST.
Seeing & Doing
BEN029
CDS
Benbecula Records 2005

The slightly mysterious Chris H, AKA Christ., finally returns, nearly two years after the release of his superb Metamorphic Reproduction Miracle album, once again on Scottish label Benbecula. Although Christ. has been very active in between releases, with numerous live performances around the world keeping him busy during 2004, proof of the man’s rising profile on the electronic scene, this new EP is the first sign of new recorded activity since the man released his debut LP back in 2003.

Although Seeing & Doing marks a definite progression from its predecessor, it also somehow denotes a return to the slightly more arid terrains of the Pylonesque EP. With just four tracks to quench Christ.’s fans thirst for new material, this EP doesn’t let much out on what the man’s eagerly awaited second album might sound like. After a short (one minute twenty-five seconds) intro in the shape of Fragile X, the EP really gets going with the superb Marsh Of Epidemics. The track opens with sounds and ethereal voices flying by before the beat structure materialises and the piece starts taking shape. Slowly, Chris introduces more layers and builds up the melody until fully formed, the track becomes a fine example of how his sound has evolved.

This track is later on given a much more organic touch in the hands o Alias, whose remix introduces guitars reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins circa Blue Bell Knoll, mixed with crisp hip-hop-infused beat giving it a totally new and fascinating dimension. Considering last year’s live collaborative performances between Christ., Robin Guthrie and other Benbecula artists, this could well be more than just a simple coincidence.

In between, Magic Piano and Alter Boy provide some more ethereal clouds. While the former is entirely built around vaporous beat-less shapes, with a melodic line snaking lazily from one end to the other, the latter is a far more defined and structured construction. Yet, although Christ. firmly roots these two tracks on classic grounds, the man also injects some interesting new elements, hinting at more earthy and tangible soundscapes.

Although nothing has filter as off yet about a second album, this EP shows Christ. in particular creative form. Building on his previous two releases, Seeing & Doing also suggests a slightly different approach to sound, with substance taking the step over pure ambience. This can only be good news.

MINOTAUR SHOCK
Vigo Bay
BAD2509
CDS
4AD 2005

Minotaur Shock first appeared five years ago with a first EP, Bagatelle, released on Manchester-based label Melodic, with a second, Motoring Britain, following a few months later. Both EPs, which were collected on the album Rinse in 2003, helped establish Minotaur Shock as one of the most interesting new projects around. The solo project of Bristolian David Edwards, Minotaur Shock explores sonic grounds set between the wonderful electronic world of Boards Of Canada and the folktronica of Four Tet. Edwards’s subsequent debut album, Chiff-Chaffs & Willow Warblers was released at the end of 2001 under critical acclaim.

Over three years on, Edwards has moved from Melodic to 4AD and is getting ready to release the follow-up to his first album, Maritime, at the end of May. The Vigo Bay EP offers a first glimpse into Edwards’s current musical garden, and although the Minotaur has kept his unique touch, there are some undeniable changes here.

The title track, which is taken for the album, is a rather upbeat and cheerful composition which seems to somehow find its roots in eighties pop, and features Edwards trying to play the guitar, according to him, like The Wedding Present’s David Gedge. Typical of some of his earlier work, especially in the particular attention to how the melody develops and to the multitude of discreet sonic details swirling around the main musical theme, Vigo Bay also defines a more mature and live sound, carried forward on the three additional non-album tracks presented here. This Side Of Vigo Bay, a track which features vocals by Dominic Jones, singer with Bronze Age Fox, a band Edwards is also the drummer of, takes the eighties influence a tad further, but it also evokes some of Erlend Oye’s Unrest album. Lady Gazelle and Original Savannah are very much in line with earlier material, yet there is an undeniable freshness to these pieces, with crystal-clear orchestration and arrangements providing the backdrop for slightly melancholic melodies to flourish and develop.

Vigo Bay sees Minotaur Shock returning with an excellent EP and paves the way for his sophomore album. Bearing all the trademarks of David Edwards’s previous work, this EP also hints at a more adult sound and approach, and is likely to satisfy fans and gain the man a army of new followers.

GLOBAL GOON
Junior Glue
JHOC2
CDR
J-HOK Records 2004

GLOBAL GOON
Pure Rock
JHOC3
CDR
J-HOK Records 2005

Johnny Hawks’s Global Goon is one of the funkiest projects on the electronica scene. His early releases on Rephlex have rapidly gained him legions of devoted fans, and, in the space of just three succulent albums and a handful of EPs for Richard D. James’s label, Hawks has defined a very unique sound while associating his work to that of the likes of Aphex Twin or µ-ziq. He proves once again that he is king of the groove with these two most recent EPs, released in the space of just a few months.

First in line is the sister release to last year’s excellent Family Glue album, Junior Glue. Faithful to its predecessor, Junior Glue shows Goon in particularly eclectic mood with the EP ranging from the electro-infused opener Gong Farmer to the light-hearted Chaplain and from the sleazy-jazz influences of Almoner to the dense experimentations of Cupbearer. As usual, Hawks maintains a high level of musical quality all the way through, ensuring perfect consistency from start to finish. Always keen on taking the listener by surprise, yet conscious of keeping contact with his audience, he creates with this EP the perfect companion to Family Glue as he pushes some of the ideas first developed on the album forward.

With Pure Rock, Goon appears to hint at various possible directions to follow with future records. Still churning groove patterns as if his life was depending on it, he presents here a slightly more abstract side of his work. Sometimes flirting with early Black Dog releases, there are also some obvious Aphex influences all the way through, especially in the playful way Hawks breaks his tracks into many different sections, all interconnected yet all totally unique. This is not to say that he simply reproduces anything heard before though. Quite the opposite in fact. Hawks creates here an impeccable soundtrack with enough creative moments to make his peers jealous.

Containing no less then eleven tracks and clocking at well over half an hour, it is fair to say that Pure Rock is a rather substantial EP. Less eclectic or hectic than its predecessor, this latest EP provides however an interesting insight into Goon’s constantly moving world, and, together with Junior Glue, is a welcome addition to an already splendid discography.

CONRAD NEWHOLMES
Conrad Newholmes
SB01
12”/CDS
Snakebird Records 2005 

The first noticeable thing about this debut EP by Conrad Newholmes is the beautiful artwork on the front cover of this very interesting EP. If the name Conrad Newholmes is not instantly familiar, the man already surfaced at the beginning of the new millennium as Smaze 1, with his first project, Beneath Autumn Sky, when Hefty Records released the Enki-Dus Mono EP. Newholmes consequently remixed Phil Ranelin and provided tracks for various compilations including Hefty’s excellent Immediate Action and Dublab’s equally essential Dublab Presents Summer.

Now transmitting from a Mennonite farm, Newholmes’s first release for his very own Snakebird label rivals with some of the best beat found on Ninja Tune or Mush in recent years. Kicking off in style with the vast sonic collage that is Epic Of Snakebird, Newholmes sets the tone here for at least part of this record. Collecting weird and intriguing vocal samples and shoving them up, together with an omni-present flute, right under the nose of a languorous sleazy-hop beat and crafts five minutes of annoyingly catchy lazy soul/jazz-infused groove.

While B-Boy Lilly Pad appears somewhat of a condensed version of the previous track, the EP then kicks off in a slightly different direction with First Breath to gain amplitude and depth. Done with the novelty mood of the opening two tracks, Newholmes builds up from there on a series of infectious compositions wrapped around luscious beat structures and clever arrangements. Although both First Breath and Anithma are kept short and sweet, they still provide the listener with very detailed soundscapes. Yohon De Imerzer, which opens the B side, shows Newholmes reinforcing the foundation of his music by setting complex layers against a relentless beat pattern. With barely a moment to breathe, Caves & Fields casts its shadow and unashamedly builds on the previous piece, providing a welcome transition with the closing track, Arctic Robot’s Demise. With these two compositions, the mood appears to change once again as vocal samples become almost totally inexistent and soundscapes become more overtly electronic.

With a debut album in the pipeline and collaborations with numerous MCs from all over the world announced, Conrad Newholmes is likely to rapidly become a familiar name. All along the seven tracks of this first EP, Newholmes defines interesting musical grounds only to throw them all away and start all over again. This would be a considerably risky manoeuvre in the hands of a less experienced producer, but Newholmes rises up to the challenge and presents a surprisingly consistent record. An extremely confident and promising debut.