by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is King Creosote’s first album release on the Domino label for seven years. He has certainly not been idle in the meantime, however, continuing the prodigious level of work he has always invested into his Fence label in Fife, Scotland. There he is free to make instinctive albums at unusual speed, works shot through with his trademark lyrical imagination and instrumental colour.

Since Astronaut Meets Appleman was released in 2016 on Domino, the King – real name Kenny Anderson – has been exploring a more electronic approach to his music, bringing keyboard player Des Lawson into the spotlight. While they were musing over a title for the album, they saw how a play on words could bring I Des (of March) into being.

What’s the music like?

Everything good about King Creosote is here, with I DES taking an emotive look at the songwriter’s life as he approaches his 50^th birthday. Not all is rosy, that’s for sure – and themes of life and death, not to mention other preoccupations, furrow his brow as he sings. Music, however, is his strength and consolation.

This is his most adventurous ‘mainstream’ release to date, ending with two tracks that between them last 50 minutes. Before we get to that, though, there is music that is uplifting in language if not always chipper in its lyrics. The instrumentation has a silvery edge, rather like the hair of its creator (and also, increasingly, what remains of this reviewer!)

“The drugs only made me cry, when I was having such a good time!” Anderson notes on the opener, It’s Sin That’s Got It’s Hold Upon Us, but by Blue Marbled Elm Trees there is a serenity in the face of anxiety, and Burial Bleak reaches full strength. “I’m thinking that maybe dying’s just not for me”, he sings, backed by Hannah Fisher and a resolute cello. “You’ll see how hard I can cling to my life!”

In the middle of the album the music loses the plot entirely. Susie Mullen is a riot, the kitchen sink thrown at the production in what turns out to be a right old Fife knees-up with no musical rules adhered to. It is hugely enjoyable, and complemented by the haunting Love Is A Curse and beautiful, introverted thoughts of the piano-led song Ides.

The epic closer, Please Come Back I Will Listen, I Will Behave, I Will Toe The Line is also unlike anything Anderson has done before, moving from minor key darkness to major key light, finding grace and power as it does so. The stature at the end suggests a kind of accordion-powered equivalent to M83. This is realised even more fully in the substantial ‘bonus’ track, Drone in B#. This is a meditation of over 36 minutes, developing slowly as the fuzz of the accordion makes itself known as the pedal note. The approach works very well, Anderson taking his time to gather musical power, and delivering a musical statement that seems initially disposable but becomes a lasting tale.

Does it all work?

It does – provided the listener gives I DES several hearings. Then the treasures are fully unfurled.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. King Creosote prefers to shun the limelight, but releases like this show why it is essential for him to keep making music. I DES provides many moments of joy, consolation and genuine uplift.

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Published post no.2,019 – Friday 24 November 2023

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Silver is the second album from Say She She, the Brooklyn trio escorting their listeners (and dancers) back to the 1970s. Their second album is set up to make the most of disco, soul and funk in the spirit of Chic, after who they are named in the phrase, “C’est chi-chi!: It’s Chic!” But do they deliver beyond mere pastiche?

What’s the music like?

Exactly as the blueprint says it should be. This is so much more than tribute music, for Say She She have absorbed the music of the 1970s and brought it to us as though they are still there. Anyone new to the party in the wake of the band’s triumphant Glastonbury set will be mightily reassured to learn that their much-loved single C’est Si Bon is no one-off – even though there is understandably nothing that quite gets to that level through the album.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t good though. Astral Plane is a treat on several levels, with its soaring vocals and sighing refrain showing just how good the trio are with their voices. Forget Me Not and Bleeding Heart go the other way, surprising with their depth of emotion and meaningful lyrical content.

The jewel in the crown, though, is the magnificent C’est Si Bon, the funkiest treat imaginable with a blend of mischief and good times that are impossible to resist. It is the party anthem of the year.

Does it all work?

Pretty much the whole way through. The only criticism would be that the album is a little too long, the intensity dipping at times in the middle.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. When it hits the highs, Silver is a party treat, music that feels as good as it possibly can. Add emotional depth, and Say She She are a band who deliver on many levels.

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Published post no.2,009 – Tuesday 14 November 2023