Herman Dune – Next Year in Zion

David-Ivar Herman Dune claims that this is the first album he’s recorded when he was happy, and the instrumentation bears him out; upbeat brass bubbles under the surface, Dave Tattersall of the Wave Pictures contributes clean, virtuoso lead guitar lines and bandmate Neman’s clip-clopping percussion would give Eeyore a spring in his step if someone surreptitiously added it to his iPod. Yet this is a record characterised by absence; brother André has gone off to start a new life as Stanley Brinks and with him have gone “the dots from the u”. The lead track is named My Home Is Nowhere Without You and the mournful Someone Knows Better Than Me with its naive disappointment at ready-made Ingmar Bergman obituaries, seems like it might also be a disguised eulogy. On its predecessor, Giant, André’s songs were the dark, brooding counterpoints to David-Ivar’s home-sick, love-struck but playful Dylan/Cohen wordplay. On Next Year in Zion there is only the latter, and enjoyable as that is, the absence is felt.

The Aliens – Luna

The Aliens clearly believe in the art form of the album – not as a collection of separate, well-defined singles but as an epic, sprawling magnum opus of Pink Floyd proportions. And Luna is a retro beast, each song reminiscent of something from the past – whether it be Theremin’s fragile Brian Wilson harmonies, the Neil Young guitar sprawl of Boats, or the psychedelic space odyssey of Blue Mantle. As well as replicating other sounds they reference their own; lead single Magic Man is the playful – but logicial – bridge between this and previous album Astronomy for Dogs. But there’s a sense that the Aliens are too busy playing at the past to truly find their own voice, perhaps leaving the casual listener short of patience to wait for the tunes to reveal themselves. Their hardcore fans however, will be delirious at the treasures contained here.

Rozi Plain – Inside Over Here

There is a problem when trying to review an album like this, which woos you with its easy charms, which stills your spirit with its banjos rippling like a bubbling stream. Rozi Plain’s catherine wheel vocal harmonies set your mind a-wandering and you begin to recline into the sound of her voice and melodies like you would a warm bath surrounded by candles and shared with a lover. Plain, the latest signing to Fife’s Fence Records, has made an album of such charm that there lies a problem in critiquing it effectively. Let me bathe in it, instead, let me reflect. Oh OK then, some facts: it was produced by a handful of folk including Fence brothers Kenny and Gordon Anderson, and a few friends from Bristol where she’s from; and it’s bloody good. There, now let me close my eyes and chill.

All written for the October 2008 issue of The Skinny Magazine.

The second part of a two-part special on Scotland’s Fence Collective.

1. King Creosote – Don’t Ask Me How My Weekend Went 
2. King Creosote – Houston Tharoule 
3. Rozi Plain – Stolen Shark 
4. The Pictish Trail – Into the Smoke 
5. Rozi Plain – Roof Rook Crook Crow 
6. King Creosote – On Esther’s Planet

www.fencerecords.com

illustration by Leigh Pearson http://thunderheart.co.uk

Read the accompanying column in the October issue of The Skinny

Photo by Alison H (more at flickr)

“I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member” Groucho Marx

Even though hipster’s fave Bon Iver is appearing up the road at
the Queen’s Hall, there are lengthy queues outside The Caves for
tonight’s Fence Club and a few unlucky souls are turned away due to a
last-minute sell-out. The subterranean den is absolutely rammed both
with the Fence faithful and a large contingent of curious newbies. It’s
a spacious venue, but unfortunately the layout makes it difficult for
everyone present to get a clear view of the stage.

The
performances and friendly atmosphere though, more than make up for the
squeeze. Things kick off with alarming speed with  a tantalisingly
brief joint set by The Pictish Trail and Rozi Plain and a well-received
guest spot from fence affiliate Malcolm Middleton. The main event
though is undoubtedly James Yorkston and the Athletes. Something about
the quiet confidence of Yorkston’s voice is enough to send a hush
throughout the venue for at least a few moments, before the drunken
rabble who can’t get close to the stage drift back into conversation. 
But those of us who continue to pay attention are rewarded with
luscious live versions of tracks from his new album such as Tortoise
Regrets Hare and the title track When the Haar Rolls In plus some well
chosen gems from his back catalogue including the gorgeous I Awoke. The
set highlight was probably his epic cover of Lal Waterson’s Midnight
Feast, with trusty henchmen King Creosote and The Pictish Trail giving
it laldy on backing vocals.

Creosote then tied things up
with an eclectic DJ set that made a pleasant backdrop to some last
minute boozing and bonding, before he and Yorkston drove off into the
night in a car held together with some sticky tape. And with an exclusive piece of vinyl on the way out, this is one club that
even Groucho Marx would have wanted to be a member of.

Published by The Skinny

1. James Yorkston – Queen of Spain www.jamesyorkston.co.uk
2. The Pictish Trail – I Don’t Know Where To Begin www.myspace.com/pictishtrail
3. Rozi Plain – The Lang Toun (James Yorkston cover)
4. David Thomas Broughton (James Yorkston cover)

See www.myspace.com/jamesyorkstoncoversalbum for more info.

See the September 2008 issue of The Skinny for my interviews with The Pictish Trail, King Creosote and James Yorkston of the Fence Collective. 

www.fencerecords.com