On the record

7:00am Saturday 19th July 2008

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A LOOK at the latest music releases and news

By Andy Welch

A SOLID line-up this week and while the names may not be instantly recognisable, the quality is high. Albums by She & Him, The Hold Steady and Liam Finn will be among the finest released this year.

She & Him - Volume One

THE list of great albums recorded by Hollywood stars is a short one. Earlier this year, however, Scarlett Johansson raised the bar with Anywhere I Lay My Head, an album of Tom Waits covers. Now Zooey Deschanel is proving that records by silver-screen stars don't have to be dismal vanity projects. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy star is the She in She & Him - the Him is Portland singer songwriter M Ward. Together they've crafted a truly wonderful, near-flawless album that doffs its cap to influences as far and wide as Paul And Mary Ford, Linda Ronstadt, The Carter Family and The Ronettes. That in mind, it has an understandably old-fashioned sound and is the sort of album you'll want to cherish before the masses get hold of it. Sentimental Heart is as fragile the title suggests, while the self-deprecating Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? and the glorious This Is Not A Test, complete with mouth trumpet solo, are just two of Volume One's many other highlights. Let's hope Volume Two isn't too far behind.

Rating: 9/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

The Dodos - Visiter

San Francisco band The Dodos create blissed-out acoustic folk music with more than just a touch of psychedelia. First UK release Visiter mixes up short and sweet musical vignettes amid more sprawling and hypnotic efforts and rarely misses the mark. The lush Fools and pitch-perfect pop of Jodi are particularly impressive. Logan Kroeber's percussion - which takes in everything from subtle brushstrokes to surprisingly intense tribal rhythms - drives the album. The band's secret weapon is chanteuse Laura Gibson, whose pretty backing vocals are employed sparingly and to great effect throughout. An instantly likeable record which reveals more with every listen.

Rating: 8/10

(Review by Simon Harker)

Nas - Untitled

Nas wanted to title this album with the N-word. In many ways it's a shame he couldn't. The album's preoccupied with said word's uses and abuses and it would have warned off anyone who dislikes hearing it. Nas remains a conscious, supple rapper, an adept observer of modern society whether slating media lies on Sly Fox or expressing his hopes for Obama on Black President. Alas, like most hip hop albums, except his own peerless debut Illmatic, this album's too long. The Mark Ronson-produced Fried Chicken is among the tracks one could easily cut. Rating: 7/10

(Review by Alex Sarll)

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

Coming across like Bruce Springsteen might if he'd arrived after punk and grunge, The Hold Steady's fourth album is rife with tales of small-town desperation, dreams of leaving and petty disorder. In among the "excuses and half-truths and fortified wine", there's also a persistent sense of something more - as shown by track titles Lord, I'm Discouraged and Two Crosses. There's a notion of finding faith in the gutter here which would be familiar to Graham Greene fans, while people who don't pay too much attention to lyrics will think The Hold Steady sound like a perfectly rocking party band. Rating: 8/10

(Review by Alex Sarll)

Micah P Hinson - Micah P Hinson And The Red Empire Orchestra: The Texan singer-songwriter hitches up with Antony & The Johnsons producer John Congleton on this album of measured country-edged tunes. The songs include sparse lo-fi tracks that sound as if they were recorded a hundred years ago, heavy vamped piano ballads resonating with echoes of Nick Cave and orchestral, gospel-choir augmented swooners. Hinson's gravelly tones are calm, soothing and weary in a dreamily uplifting way. With an unusual waltz rhythm repeatedly coming to the fore in an old-folk style this album will be please an old bar-room crowd as well as contemporary audiences.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Delia Barnard)

Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning

I'd give anything to be a fly on the wall at a Finn singalong - with Neil Finn for a father and Tim Finn for an uncle, it's no surprise that 24-year-old Liam took up the family trade. He might have grown up with access to the best music kit money can buy but there's no way this New Zealand native is just riding on daddy's coat tails. Finn's first band, Betchadupa, was critically acclaimed and I'll Be Lightning, his debut solo effort, proves he's one to watch. Gorgeous melodies, pounding drums, thoughtful lyrics - Remember When is the saddest break-up tune ever - this lad's got the lot. There are echoes of both Crowded House and Split Enz (especially on the frenetic Lead Balloon) but Liam is definitely his own man. Opening track Better Be is my pick for song of the summer. The future of Finn music is in good hands.

Rating: 9/10

(Review by Lucy Corry)

Thomas White - I Dream Of Black

Brighton-based Tom is best known as one half of The Electric Soft Parade, formed with his brother Alex. After their 2002 debut album was nominated for the Mercury Prize the duo went on to create side-project Brakes with British Sea Power's Eamon Hamilton. I Dream Of Black is Tom's debut solo album and showcases his multi-instrument talents. It's a mix of rocky riffs and mellow songs, from crowd-pleasing The Runaround to the smooth music hall sound and nostalgic lyrics of Wartime Love. At just over 37 minutes, it's a short album but best listened to all at once.

Rating: 8/10

(Review by Kate Whiting)

The Watson Twins - Fire Songs

Their first full-length solo outing (2006's Rabbit Fur Coat was a collaboration with Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis), Fire Songs establishes the Watson Twins as accomplished purveyors of gentle folk-pop. Too gentle for some, perhaps - this album wafts pleasantly over you rather than grabbing the attention. Given the apparently inexhaustible appetite for acoustic cover versions, it's probably their take on the Cure's Just Like Heaven that will get the most attention, even though it's far from the highlight. Hopefully other tracks such as Map To Where You Are and Sky Open Up will eventually find audiences too.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Alex Sarll)

Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard - The Dark Knight OST

We've still got to wait a couple of weeks before we can see the second instalment in the rebooted Batman franchise but this soundtrack offers the chance to get a feel for what's coming. As you might expect, it's a dark and moody score from Zimmer and Newton Howard, atmospheric and genuinely tense, if a little monotone. During Introduce A Little Anarchy, you can almost see the Batmobile racing through the streets of Gotham City, smoke rising from the grids, but like with most original scores, it doesn't stand up brilliantly away from the main film and by the end you'll be begging for some light relief. Rating: 6/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

La Fleur Fatale - Night Generation

Swedish four-piece La Fleur Fatale formed from the ashes of various promising bands and now release their debut Night Generation. Opener Straightway Ride is a trip through 60s psychedelic pop and loveliness, as is much of the rest of the album. There are nods to The Byrds, Teenage Fanclub and sadly overlooked Scots Cosmic Rough Riders, making for an album, that, even if isn't the height of originality, is at least glorious to listen to. Rating: 7/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

SINGLES by Andy Welch

The Raconteurs - Many Shades Of Black

The album it came from may be a little disappointing but there's nothing wrong with this emotional, brass-heavy song and the guitar solo rocks.

Annie - I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me

The first single from Annie's forthcoming album is a great taster of what's ahead - edgy pop with icy vocals and a infectious beat.

The Charlatans - Mis-takes

With its driving bassline and subtle vocals from Tim Burgess, The Charlatans' latest single could easily be New Order during their heyday. Which is never a bad thing.

LISTEN OUT FOR

Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart. The debut album from hotly tipped Norwegian singer Ida Maria is a blur of punk energy and pop melodies.

Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst. The much-lauded singer songwriter behind Bright Eyes releases a solo album in August. It's unsurprisingly great.

ON THE ROAD

Live Review

Madness - Hackney Empire

The Hackney Empire's grand music hall setting is perfect for Madness, who stand between the Kinks and Blur in London's lineage of art-pop storytellers. They're showcasing new album The Liberty of Norton Folgate, named for a district near Liverpool Street erased by statute and now threatened with lucrative, soulless “development”. The songs stand on their own merits, of course, but ever since their time as pop video pioneers Madness have liked to give people that little bit more. Tonight they rise to the occasion by bringing along a troupe of Dickensian ragamuffins and harlots, Pearly Kings and Queens, all the ghosts of London. The new material is recognisably Madness but the melancholy Madness of the later singles more than the madcap nutty boys of One Step Beyond. Predictably, some of the audience aren't entirely happy with this - "Play the hits!" one gent bellows repeatedly - but after the interval his patience is rewarded with storming, stomping versions of Our House, Baggy Trousers, House Of Fun and other favourites. Madness have still got it and they seem to have found something else along the way.

Paul Weller - Camden Koko

Since the release of 22 Dreams last month, the man they call The Modfather, now 50, has a new spring in his step. That joie de vivre is on full display as he saunters around the stage, thanking the crowd and appearing genuinely humbled by the rabid reactions to each song. The hits come thick and fast - Out Of The Sinking, The Changing Man and a reworked version of Wild Wood that has more in common with Portishead's Sheared Wood remix than his own creation. Songs from 22 Dreams, perhaps his finest solo effort, feature prominently too, with Have You Made Up Your Mind and All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You) the best of the recent crop. "Thanks," he says leaving the small Koko stage after an encore of The Beatles' All You Need Is Love. "We should do this more often." Too right.

UPCOMING TOURS

Fresh from his Glastonbury triumph, Gilbert O'Sullivan has announced a 2009 tour. He'll play York Grand Opera House on October 24, followed by dates in Birmingham, London and Manchester on the 25th, 26th and 28th respectively. Go to www.bookingsdirect.com for details.

MGMT have announced two sets of tour dates - a small warm-up run in August kicking off on the 19th in Norwich and another full set for November, which begins in Leeds on the 5th. Go to www.seetickets.com for info.