Category Archives: On record

Switched On – Creep Show: Yawning Abyss (Bella Union)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The second album from Creep Show follows five years after their debut – in which time a great deal has changed. The line-up remains the same, with John Grant the charismatic vocalist to beats and soundscapes fashioned by Wrangler – who are synth and electronics wizard Benge (Ben Edwards), Cabaret Voltaire frontman Stephen Mallinder and Phil Winter, creator of many weird and wonderful sounds for Tunng. Their 2018 debut, Mr Dynamite, is described by the four protagonists as ‘a fairground ride into the dark corners of a world that was on the brink of being blitzed in a blender’.

With so much source material for the follow-up, Yawning Abyss would seem to be all about the impending disasters seemingly awaiting the world, as well as the one big disaster – Covid – which has been with us during the period of composition.

And yet, the quartet make room for optimism. Mallinder and Grant headed to Iceland to make some unfiltered vocals, while Winter and Edwards were given the task of bringing it all together for the final cut.

What’s the music like?

Creep Show make some incredibly varied music! At times this album feels like a reflection of the times in which we live, being wildly unpreditable and disfunctional, but then at other turns with an elegance and poise that shows the craft with which it was made.

The two immediate stand-out tracks are Moneyback, with a brilliant couplet from John Grant (“You want your money back? I don’t think so!”) and then the madcap Yahtzee!, which pretty much sums up the state of play in the media at the moment! Sitting on the more elegant side is Bungalow with a mellifluous and stately vocal, while Stephen Mallinder excels up front on Matinee.

Does it all work?

It does – assuming you have the bandwidth to accommodate the wide range of styles on offer!

Is it recommended?

Yes. While sometimes far from easy listening, Yawning Abyss is very much an album for our times.

Listen

Buy

Switched On – Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan: The Nation’s Most Central Location (Castles in Space)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Gordon Chapman-Fox moves onto his fourth album under the alias Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, which finds him in a conflicting position. “I’m nostalgic for an optimistic future”, he writes on his Bandcamp page, pining for the time when the future really did seem a boundless set of opportunities rather than a state in which to be fearful.

As before this is a wholly solo album, one man and his electronics – but painting vistas far beyond those means.

What’s the music like?

Wonderfully moody. There are some dark thoughts here, shot through with a windswept beauty that gives them impressive grandeur.

The stern countenance of Just Off The M56 (J12) sets the slightly industrial scene, and though the initial impressions are stern, the way Chapman-Fox works his ideas together brings out the optimism in his thinking as the synth line cuts through the cloudy texture.

There is a winsome elegance here, very English in its restrained but telling emotion, coming through most obviously in the excellent Rocksavage, with its steadily oscillating figures, and then allowed more mechanical energy on Thelwall Viaduct.

Chapman-Fox secures a wonderful ebb and flow, and on brooding soundscapes such as London’s Moving Our Way there is a sinister undertow bringing John Carpenter to mind, not to mention a powerful sense of occasion.

Meanwhile Europa Boulevard presents a colder climate, the airiness and relative dead air of industry captured in music, though it soon warms up when extra layers are added.

Does it all work?

It does. These are vivid evocations of cityscapes that we would maybe rather not have but which are an intrinsic part of English life. Chapman-Fox treats them with respect but also highlights their unexpected angles of beauty. There is also, in the closing A Brighter And More Prosperous Future, a stern yet assured hope for better times ahead.

Is it recommended?

Very highly. This music has its roots in the 1980s, and the likes of Cabaret Voltaire or John Foxx, but Warrington-Runcorn Development Plan is a gateway to some accomplished and very meaningful electronic music.

Listen

Buy

Switched On – Peter Kruder & Roberto Di Gioia – ,,——–,, (PEYO Records)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Peter Kruder and Roberto Di Gioia are old acquaintances, with a friendship going back nearly 20 years, but they have never worked together in music until now.

The two created a number of demos, with Munich-based Di Gioia playing piano against his Viennese-based friend on electronics. They discovered the impact of their music when playing to friends, all of whom were impatient to hear the new album. Said album was not a thing then, but thanks to good-natured nagging it became a project, culminating in the release of ,,——–,,.

The origin of the album name is not known, retaining its air of mystery.

What’s the music like?

Conversational. These two artists have a knack of finishing each other’s sentences, even though the musical means they are using are very different. Di Gioia, naturally, will often lead with his thoughts on the piano, but Kruder more than matches him with electronic insights and studio perspectives.

The music itself is deceptively simple but searching too. Bella Arp has softly oscillating arpeggios with a searching melody, while Endless has a bell-like figure that Di Gioia spins through some atmospheric sound patterns from Kruder. Sequenz shows that the pair can do movement too, spinning a syncopated figure that steadily gains momentum.

Kusine Limusene, the most substantial track on the album, contrasts a thoughtful piano phrase with very low electronics, the two elements striking up a conversation before the second stage of the track features block chords on the piano, which suggest Di Gioia to be an admirer of Claude Debussy. This is backed up by Rache, where those full-bodied chords assume greater prominence, before retreating to the background so that Kruder’s spacious backdrops can be admired.

Clock Tick Tock is a little more sinister, its minimal material stripped back to suggest the onset of time. Meteoriten Schluckauf is more fragmented still, but even more effective, as the piano and electronics talk in a kind of musical morse code.

Shorty shows how effective and meaningful these two areas can be, with an elegant line on the keyboard in octaves from Di Gioia shadowed at a difference by a low bass drone. Lonely Jupiter has a similar balance, though Kruder pans out the production for a more expansive view. On occasion Kruder places the piano in a kind of weather system, or goes further still by suggesting the instrument might be falling through space, as in No Love On The Enterprise.

Does it all work?

It does, in a way that having an intimate conversation can make each party feel better. There is music of deep feeling here, and the relative simplicity of the music means it is expressed that bit more powerfully.

Is it recommended?

It is. A fascinating meeting of musical minds.

Listen

Buy

You can explore purchase options and listen to clips at the Decks website

On Record – This Is The Kit: Careful Of Your Keepers (Rough Trade)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Kate Stables and her band return with a fourth album, their first in three years. It is described as chronicling ‘a world of mistakes and mishaps, cruel circumstances, and universe-driven surprises. It’s a record that embraces the concept of outrospection – the idea that you get to know oneself by developing relationships and empathic thinking with others’. Lyrically the album looks at how to navigate change, and how we respond to it.

Realising the production is Gruff Rhys, who has at his disposal a surprisingly large ensemble, deftly used.

What’s the music like?

Softly compelling. Stables has a voice that draws the listener in, and because she sings clearly it is easy to relate to her thoughts. This is especially the case on the single Inside Outside, whose paired lyrics raise as many questions as they do answers. Similarly, Take You To Sleep, with its insistent vocal line and rippling guitar, has tension between the contradictions in its lyrics.

After these questions, More Change has a spring in its step, but is also playfully furtive. “If we hold hands, will anybody see?” asks Stables. Her voice is sweetly toned in the upward looking Scabby Head And Legs, a refreshingly straight talking number beautifully dressed by Rhys.

Then comes the title track, stripped back and revealing, seemingly set in a quiet room catching the light at the end of the day. Stables sings of ‘only just surviving’, but there is still resolve in her voice as the dappled light plays tricks in the arrangements.

Doomed Or More Doomed is a questioning number, Stables raising her voice to the sky, Rhys’ arrangement rich in colour. Stuck In A Room is also questioning, fretful even, before Stables lowers her voice for Dibs, a thoughtful coda.

There are some lovely production touches overseen by Gruff Rhys, such as the open air brass that cast their thoughts on Goodbye Bite halfway through, or the fluttering saxophone solo that breezily closes off Take You To Sleep.

Does it all work?

It does. Stables has the ability to draw the listener in to hang on every word, and while some of the music here is elusive, hers is a thought provoking vocal. The instrumentation is beautifully shaded to complement her unique voice.

Is it recommended?

It is – fans will take to it immediately, while those enjoying songs that are introverted and cryptic yet full of personality will find a great deal to enjoy here.

Listen

Buy

On Record – IzangoMa: Ngo Ma (Brownswood Recordings)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

IzangoMa are a 15-piece ensemble from Pretoria, South Africa, led by vocalist / guitarist Sibusile Xaba and the DJ and producer Ash Kgabo, whose credits also include keyboards, snare drum and drum machine.

Xaba had the idea of expanding their musical collaboration to include his students from Mozambique, who he had nurtured for years and had seen grow into experienced musicians.

Their debut album, whose name translates from Zulu as ‘from / by my mother’ is built on themes of creation, heritage and female energy.

What’s the music like?

Memorable. There is some remarkable music-making on this album, as IzangoMa embrace structures big and small to communicate compositions of striking intensity.

Right from the off this album is a call to arms, Agenda Remember throwing down the gauntlet with a herald-like vocal. This leads to a flurry of bird song and syncopated percussion on Birds (Of A Feather), then a descriptive evocation of the twinkling City Lights. Le Nna Mfana is more intense, with Xaba singing of “surrender to the almighty”.

These four compositions are effectively a prelude to the centre of the album, where two extended, compelling meditations take over. The first of these, Mgung u Ndlovu, starts with saxophone and guitar in extended conversation, before the vocals take over in what sounds like a hymn to nature. Ngo Ma is more animated as it tells its story, with Xaba’s intense delivery the feature.

After these there is still plenty to enjoy, especially the Tribute To Johnny Dyani, a tribute to the late member of the Blue Notes. “Yes you photo man, yes you video man, we love you, we really really do!”, sings Xaba.

Does it all work?

It does. Occasionally chaotic but never dull, this is an album full of musical invention and lyrical warmth.

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically. This is an inspirational collaboration, part celebration and part meditation. More please!

Listen

Buy