CD REVIEWS
We give our verdict on the new albums from Homecut, British Sea Power, A Hawk And A Hacksaw and YPPAH
Homecut
No Freedom Without Sacrifice
Previously known as The Homecut Directive but now distilled down to the sole driving force of founder member Testament, Homecut hark back to the "golden age" of hip-hop when De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest ruled the roost and self-styled gangsta rappers were still concentrating on bunking off school.
Son of a Ghanaian mother and South London father, Testament spent time in Zimbabwe, London and Manchester before becoming a regular fixture at the dancier, jazzier end of the Leeds music scene.
On record, he's a warm, insightful character, with the easy charm of Will Smith, the laidback cool of Guru, the boundary-pushing of Roots Manuva and the conscious lyricism of Common. All big names, you'll note, but Homecut can stand proud alongside them.
Musically, the combination of of nu-jazz licks and addictive urban beats conjure something I want to call freaksoul, with special guests like Corinne Bailey Rae, J-Live and Soweto Kinch providing extra interest between Testament's ever-incisive imagery.
With every new emerging UK hip-hop artist heralded as the future, here's one that truly deserves the accolade.
Album rating 4/5
Check out Homecut here
British Sea Power
Man Of Aran
As a stopgap before their next album proper, eccentric indie national treasures British Sea Power have turned their attention to the 1934 drama-documentary Man Of Aran, composing a new, mostly instrumental soundtrack for American filmmaker Robert J Flaherty's account of the harsh existence lived by islanders off the east coast of Ireland over 70 years ago.
As you might expect, the soundtrack is a slowburner, stretching BSP's trademarked atmospheric guitars out to a sedate chime while mordant brass and fiddle melodies come and go. The most dramatic moments in the film – Spearing The Sunfish and The North Sound – see the band building, Godspeed You! Black Emperor-style, to a rumbling groove, but it's the mournful It Comes Back Again that's the highlight.
The CD comes with the rescored film on DVD.
Album rating 3/5
Check out British Sea Power here
YPPAH
They Know What Ghost Know
Tex-Mex music producer Joe Corrales Jr, AKA Yppah, follows up his 2006 Ninja Tune debut album You Are Beautiful At All Times with a selection of widescreen psychedelic soundscapes drenched with distorted guitars and synth arpeggios and fuelled by scuzzy big beats and huge dubby basslines.
It's a potent cocktail that's like a dash of Go Team's playfulness mixed with David Holmes's clever studio-made soundtrack wizardry and DJ Shadow's splice-happy dramatics, or what might have resulted if you'd sent Lemon Jelly, rather than The Doors' Jim Morrison, on a mind-expanding trip into the desert.
Highlights are the hypnotic Playing With Fireworks, the majestically mellow The Moon Scene 7 and the trance rock and glitchy beats of City Glow.
Album rating 3/5
Check out YPPAH here
A Hawk And A Hacksaw
Delivrance
You have to hand it to Albuquerque's A Hawk And A Hacksaw as, after accordionist, singer and drummer Jeremy Barnes and his violinist partner Heather Trost won critical acclaim for their quirky Balkan folk-inspired pop, they could have rested on their laurels.
Instead they relocated to Hungary to forge stronger links with the talented musicians of the Han Hangar Ensemble and further immerse themselves in the traditions of Eastern European folk music.
The result is Delivrance, a vibrant assortment of energetically delivered tunes full of gypsy folk knees-ups and melancholic Slavik refrains.
Featuring guest musicians like nimble-fingered cimbalom player Kalman Balogh, it all sounds breathlessly authentic, but there remains the pervasive whiff of an academic exercise. You can't say AHAAH are revitalising the sounds as they can't have been short of vitality in the first place, but credit to them for bringing the music to a wider audience.
Album rating 3/5
Check out A Hawk And A Hacksaw here
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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