Portico Quartet / Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Portico Quartet 'Portico Quartet'. 9/10. Originally published here. Shortened version in March 2012 DIY Mag.

Grand statements re how Portico Quartet are indubitably the success-bound new faces of jazz are ostensibly bandied about non-stop whenever they release a new album. Sure, they’ve come a long way: gone are the years and months spent busking outside the National Theatre; auspicious debut 'Knee-Deep In The North Sea' was nominated for a Mercury. But the crits’ predictions have never really foretold the truth: follow-up 'Isla' passed most of us by and the band has never truly broken down the barrier between jazz and pop. No one really ‘got’ mesmeric post-jazz.

But fast forward to now and the eponymous 'Portico Quartet' may have just flouted all that. For what we have here is an album which grabs the zeitgeist but still stays true to its roots: callipygously shuffling, painlessly seguing, mingling the darkest rags ‘n’ bones of dubstep, d ‘n’b and off-kilter jazz, all the while interweaving heck loads of new-found textures and electronics. It’s a forward-thinking game-change which feels rich, warm and – quite simply – astounding.

Fleeting opener ‘Window Seat’ is ambient but not exactly easy on the ear – creaking strings and spectral synths give way to clattering layers of fuzz. It’s spooky and cinematic like a curt Phillip Glass piece but as if its creator was brought up in a world teeming with Oneohtrix Point Nevers and Laurel Halos. Single ‘Ruins’, meanwhile, led by their trademark use of reverberating double bass and hang (the latter a 21st century Swiss-developed tuned steel drum-ish instrument), brings in a Jamie XX beat before a celestial tenor sax line soars high up above. Everything is beaten into a glorious pulp as the tune then climaxes in peals of Colin Stetson-worthy sax squeals.

And there is no subsequent chaff. Every track on this record is a standout, be it the booming bass swings and arpeggiating synths of ‘Spinner’, the 9-minute nuclear cacophony ‘Rubidium’, the croaky, morose narratives of guest vocalist Cornelia on ‘Steepless’ (“at the end of times…”, she ruefully repeats) or the wonky grooves of ‘City Of Glass’. In short – this record is a playful, daring and capricious listen, and one of the first truly remarkable records of 2012.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela 'Area 52'. 8/10. Originally published here.

Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero’s intricate, high-strung pageantries are never anything but exhilarating and extravagant, but this record is just absurd. Their unique busk-bred fusion of metal, jazz and flamenco has thus far sold them 1 million albums worldwide, but now, on this dive into the unknown, they’re backed by a youthful 13-piece Cuban orchestra (C.U.B.A) and bassist Carles Benavent (Miles Davis, Paco de Lucia). Having reworked and rearranged nine songs from their back catalogue at Abdala Studios in Havana’s Miramar District, their primal, formulaic guitar noodling has now been beefed up with a glorious, unrelenting mish-mash of horns, flutes and percussion. They’ve also brought in the cream of the world music cosmos to join them: sitarist extraordinaire Anoushka Shankar and Palestinian oud players Le Trio Jourban. The outcome? 'Area 52' is hands down the duo’s most grandiose, outlandish opus yet.
 
Their self-titled crossover was a bouncy, mellifluous two-guitar gem and follow-up '11:11' was more of the same. But that was where the trouble lay: were you as bored as I was? 'Area 52' – although simply collected re-imaginings of the old tunes – is a breath of fresh air and a bona fide LP par excellence. It’s the follow-up to 'La Revancha Del Tango' the Gotan Project never made, the voguish wah-wah-filled record Santana will never, ever make. Whether we’re talking the interminably insidious ‘Diablo Rojo’, ‘Juan Loco’, and ‘Tamacun’ from the eponymous record, now sped up, horned up Ronson-style and galvanised with whimsical piccolo solos, or the later ‘Santo Domingo’ and ‘Hanuman’ in which a gazillion different things ostensibly happen at once, it’s impossible to pick out individual standouts. Further – Shankar’s extended sitar solo on ‘Ixtapa’ is a peculiar yet entrancing addition, whilst jazzy number ‘Logos’ is a lot prettier than its previous embodiment. My advice: bang this record on, pretend you’re in a Havana-set spy film for a bit and then get bopping like madman.

DIY Local: Cambridge: Dan Wilde, Ill Murray, Annie Dressner

This is my first ever blog about wagwan in Cambs for DIY. Read in full (with music embeds etc) here.

January is quiet month in every city, but the past few weeks have seen a surprising amount of bustle in Cambridge as students return, bands start tours and frost bites.

So, I suppose I’ll start by extolling the great number of youthful rock ruffians currently rehearsing all around town. Take one White Label – a group of 18/19 year olds – whose album 'Funded In Mexico', set to materialise on bandcamp on February 8th, is a DIY indie rock delight. Their rollicking ‘Pedestal’, our foretaste of the record, in its exquisite Britishness, endearing scruffiness and droll wordplay, is insidious, fun and incredibly moreish. Expect gigs galore when guitarist Beni returns from Borneo in a couple of months time.

Secondly, Ill Murray – one Cambs band that quite a few of you will know already – are well and truly blooming. Following on from last year’s unbelievable 'Fugu' EP, their debut full-length has already been recorded and should see the light of day in April (which is quite a feat considering they formed only half a year ago). At their recent Corner House headline gig, the band gallantly played the whole thing in its entirety. Predominated by Iceage-aping, hardcore punk numbers vaguely redolent of last year’s ‘March King’, it was an intense yet awe-inspiring listen. One standout was predestined single ‘False Prophets And Football Teams’, Pavement-esque in its throttling feedback, just as catchy as ‘Throats’ and vaguely akin to an early, cathartic The National. Another – the instantly likeable garage fuzz of ‘Hold Fast’. Another – the celestial, reverby chugs of ‘Slackline’, which recalls Galaxie 500 at their esoteric zenith. I could go on. Having gained the support of local promoter lynchpin Green Mind, Murray’s next gig is at the Portland Arms on 9th February supporting the Kate Jackson Group. After that, they play at the Man On The Moon on February 24th with support coming from local grunge tykes Forest, who are also fantastic. More on them another time.

Moving on, that recent Ill Murray gig also engendered my discovery of the quite frankly hilarious support Super Love Giant. A duo fronted by the charismatic Sam Boevey, who spearheaded proceedings with his preachery, effortless chant-talk, their sound was of humongous proportions considering their limitations as a two-piece. Their riffs were a bit Black Keys, their overall frolics were kinda like a funky PS I Love You and all in all they basically tore the frigging place down. One tune they played – ‘Jailbait’ (check Urban Dictionary) – was a comically lewd take on Jason Mraz’ ‘I’m Yours’. There was another one entitled ‘Wank Bank’. They’re a marmite band for sure.

Veering from one extreme to another – from distortion to folk serenity – let’s talk about Dan Wilde, one of the city’s most promising singer-songwriters. Having moved here from Blackpool around a year ago, he’s confirmed to work with producer Karl Odlum (Fionn Regan) on a second LP which will see him move away from the love songs of yore and take a more light-hearted, autobiographical stance: moving house, infuriating traffic wardens and job hunting. Many are already live standards: ‘Pictures’, ‘Demons’ and ‘On Previous Experience’. Indeed, it must be said that where Wilde really comes into his own is in the flesh. I caught him at the wonderfully effervescent Hot Numbers Café off Mill Road just before Chrimbo, never having heard of him before, and I was duly blown away. There’s something incredibly moving and captivating about his live presence: his introverted demeanour, his silver-tongued vocals, his svelte Martynesque finger-picking and his intrinsic knack for a hook. He later told me that he’s influenced by the all the greats – Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison – and this was no surprise given the classic, complex semblance of his sound. His gig at Hot Numbers in support of Mark Geary on 9th February is a must. Another plus? They cook up a marvellous onion bhaji panino.

Another mesmerising solo artist around these parts is one Annie Dressner. Originally from New York, she concocts beautiful, beautiful little paeans of down-tempo Americana. With a saccharine voice and an intricate musicality, her delicate sound ends up resonating like an alt-country hybrid of Jessica Lea Mayfield, She & Him, Gillian Welch and Maia Vidal. A debut album, 'Strangers Who Knew Each Other’s Names', was released last year, and is available from bandcamp now. She has tour dates all over the country lined up over the next couple of months, so I’d check her out if I were you.

Now onto to some longstanding Cambridge favourites, I reintroduce Fuzzy Lights. My favourite gig of the year so far has to be Lanterns On The Lake at Junction 2 a couple of weeks back. But this wasn’t because of their own enthralling folktronica, this was because support came courtesy of the ever-formidable Fuzzy Lights. Having been holed up in a Suffolk barn honing tracks for their new record (recording is pencilled in for later this year), they boldly came out of seclusion to preview new material. And what can I say? The songs played were loud, immaculate, sprawling, post-rocky conundrums. The live show featured heaps upon heaps of disparate instruments, girl-boy vocals, guitar bowing, FX, juxtaposing drone with pretty violin riffs. I couldn’t have asked for more. Apparently the album and preceding 7” should be released soonish.

Finally, one band whom I’m yet to see live are the epic, thunderous duo Model Staggs, aka Tom Miller and Ash Allerton. Their eponymous EP of reverb-laden blues was released at the tail-end of 2011 with a sound they describe as “layered with warped bass tones, sophisticated melodies and rhythms”, all of which is true. Charged by a central DIY aesthetic, their expansive tracks somehow manage to recall Wolf Parade despite their having half as many band members. Watch out for new material later this year, but in meantime download said incredible EP for free below.

First On: Carnivals

“It’ll come with time” is the mantra usually relayed onto young ones delving into sonic exploration early on, but Sheffield’s Stew Green, alter-ego Carnivals, is deviant. Unsettling, icy and promethean, his latest double A-side single ostensibly has it all already. Taking quantum time leaps from Eno-esque ambience to a glitchy smorgasbord of disparate sounds suggestive of Blondes or Oneohtrix Point Never, the hazy, lazy fuzz of 'Absences' is the best wodge of electronic wonk I’ve heard in some time. Its warped hollers, its piano dribbles, its emphatic chill... What wonder.

In a world chock-a-block with brash, maximalist producers like Rustie and Hudson Mohawke, this release provides welcome respite. Indeed, 'Ino (Parts 1 & 2)', the other track, is just as enthralling in its buoyant guitar riffage, spliced samples, trip-hoppy beats and all-round glitch. It’s all doleful, lugubrious and claustrophobic but totally, uniquely mesmerising. Green dropped an EP early last year, which, along with said tunes, is available as a free download on his bandcamp. Deal. All that’s left to say - join the carnival.

Originally published here. 

Dan Wilde interview

Here's my interview with Cambs singer-songwriter Dan Wilde.