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BOWS
Blush (Too Pure)
Bows is the new
project from Luke Sutherland ex of idiosyncratic Scottish lo-fi act Long
Fin Killie. The lucky few who heard anything of that band's queasy dream
pop will find much to relish here, and more besides. Sometime Mogwai collaborator
Sutherland has previously been responsible for music characterized by
a winning combination of sparse-but-eclectic instrumentation and quirky-but-touching
lyrics. His new project is a self-consciously contemporary development
of this style, providing a lush, electronically enhanced backing to LFK-style
tales of awkward outsider love.
This approach has its strengths and weaknesses. Many of the songs on Blush
are marred (like so many records nowadays) by the lazy deployment of dated
drum'n'bass and trip hop cliches. For the most part, though, Sutherland
makes good use of the new tools at his command. The beats are rugged-but-intricate,
the samples otherwordly-but-strangely familiar.
At a time when many musicians wrongly assume that access to high-tech
gear will open a gateway to strange, undiscovered sonic realms, imagination
and character are at a premium. Blush has just enough of these qualities
to mark it out from the crowd.
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BUGSKULL
Distracted Snowflake Volume Two (Scratch)
Bugskull's Sean
B is just one of a great many lo-fi space rock obscurists committed to
documenting the intergalactic travels of their narcotized minds. B is
clearly committed to boldly going where Stars of the Lid, Sabalon Glitz
(spelling ?), Windy & Carl et al have already been. But, seeing as this
is B's fifth LP and all, it seems unnecessarily glib to write the 'Skull
off as generic and indulgent.
What marks this Portland-based act out from the competition is an other-worldly
variant on that most treasured of qualities, namely soul. This, in turn,
may stem from a disconcerting mix of sparse, non- humanistic live playing
and organically gritty electronics. Either that or it comes from the B's
laconic vocals which evoke the stoned mumble of Spacemen Three/Spectrum/EAR
mainman Sonic Boom (who must be something of a godfather figure to acts
of this ilk).
It is indeed rather flaky stuff at times, with some tracks descending
into the realms of truly shambolic noodling. Nevertheless, as a whole,
it's surprisingly accomplished and, often, really very lovely.
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CADALLACA
Out West (Kill Rock Stars)
GUIDED BY VOICES Hold on Hope (TVT)
Two short EPS that
leave the listener entertained but somewhat unsatisfied.  Two
discs which remind us that credibility does not necessarily imply creativity
and that the line between alternative and merely unpopular is perilously
thin.
Cadallaca represents something of a post riot grrl summit, featuring,
as it does, Corin from Sleater-Kinney and singer-songwriter Sarah Dougher.
Their sound marries SK's ragged edginess with Dougher's haunting torchiness.
This four-track improves on their Calvin Johnson-produced debut Introducing...
where the two elements watered each other down more often than not. On
the title track here they ferment into a potent swampy brew.
Sadly, the rest of the tracks don't live up to the opener's promise. Moreover,
the EP, as a whole hints at unfulfilled potential. One suspects that Cadallaca
could be ripping up boy rock conventions like a heartbroken Le Tigre if
they set their minds to it. Top marks for the cover, though, which features
the girls in Old West honky tonk garb.
Top marks, too, for Guided By Voices' conciseness. Hold on Hope
manages to pack nine tracks into 20 minutes. If only this unconventional
approach to duration was applied to every aspect of their songs. Coming
from a band with a reputation for lo-fi quirkiness, this is a disappointingly
slick (produced by Rick Ocasek from the Cars) and straight-ahead effort.
The set opens in an imaginative vein with clever ideas and strong emotions
to the fore, then descends via, some solid indie rock, into the late Beatles
power-ballad pointlessness of the title track.
One could argue that these tunes are album cast-offs and not the best
looking in point for GBV neophytes. So why release them? There's a lot
of music out there, and the people responsible for both these discs have
enough talent that they shouldn't let their voices get lost in the din.
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