Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Beard Singles Club!

Oh man it's hot today. Almost too hot to write. But enough of my feeble excuses: clap your hands and rustle your giros cos it's another exciting edition of Beard Singles Club. Yay!



National Park
The Only Stars/La Solara
(Yield Recordings)

It's been too long since we last heard from National Park. Never the most prolific bands, they've preferred to maintain an air of mystery, releasing the occasional single and playing the occasionl gig, most memorably on the roof of the old John Smith's book store in Byre's Road.
While his sidekicks Simon Shaw and Michael McGaughrin have gone on to make their own music with Lucky Luke and 1990s, head Park-keeper John Hogarty has been keeping a lower profile, storing up two albums worth of material (oh boy!). The first glimpse of this comes with The Only Stars, a dreamy piece of out-pop. A hypnotic tom rhythm and droney chord progression underpin a psychedelic smear of gauzy guitars, minimalist piano (courtesy of the great Bill Wells) and woozy flute and horn (Sarah Martin and Mick Cooke of Belle & Sebastian take a bow). Hogarty sings softly, the melody recalling Teenage Fanclub at their most reflective, before a more visceral, yet melodic, guitar break emerges from the haze. Far from ruining the song's atmosphere, it reveals the darkness lurking beneath the beauty.
A most welcome return.

Available from Monorail Music (Glasgow)
www.nationalparksite.com
www.yieldrecordings.com

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Napoleon IIIrd/Pagan Wanderer Lu
Hit Schmooze For Me/Repetition 1
(Brainlove Records)

If you like your pop warped and experimental Brainlove Records deserves a special place in your heart. Like Postcard, Warp or even early Def Jam, Brainlove is one of those little labels that delivers a diverse range of music, yet maintains a strong identity for itself, partly through its artwork but mainly through its comittment to underground pop that's sexy, arty and innovative. So it makes perfect sense that their latest wheeze is a singles club, a series of split 7"s featuring the label's extended family.
The series sets out its stall with afrom Napoleon IIIrd's brilliant one man and his laptop (not to mention his strobing acoustic guitar). I've raved about the Leeds based emperor of the DIY scene before and Hit Schmooze For Me Is no disappointment, immediately grabbing your attention with urgent multitracked vocals.
"This is not my life, it's just a day job that means I can pay the rent" our hero declames. Too many bands are milking the grimy reality cow, but this is several cuts above the dreary likes of Hard Fi. Like many a DIY artist or musician (or fanzine editor!) Napoleon subsidises his creative endeavours with a crap job. So while he's railing against the 9-5 drudge, he's aiming towards the stars. There's a bleary eyed sarkiness to lines like "Was that you that set my alarm to execute this morning". Yup, I can sympathise.
All this is accompanied by battered beats and a splatter of electronic fizzes, swoops and swirls, breaking down at the end to reveal a Kraftwerk-like sequence of insectoid notes and woozy backing vocals. Few artists capture the frustrations of urban life and work as well as Napoleon IIIrd.
Equally good is the contribution from new signing Pagan Wanderer Lu. Tapping into a similar sense of melancholy and frustration Mr Lu, as he shall henceforth be known, sings of jealous lovers and letters never sent over finger-picked acoustic guitars, Casio drones and clockwork beats. Showing a playful approach to arrangement, Lu decorates one verse with jaunty wap wap backing vocals and drops in an 8 bit Nintendo bassline for an instrumental break. Inventive, soulful and witty, this is a superb calling card from Mr Lu. Just don't call it folktronica, alright?

www.brainloverecords.com

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Hey You Get Off My Pavement!



Hey you!

You're losing your vitamin C.

No, that's not right.

I'll try again.

Hey you, get off my pavement!

That's right, scram!

No, hang on, don't go. Read this first.

Hey You, Get Off My Pavement is a day of music and fun held in the courtyard of Beard's favourite Glasgow hang out, Mono. It's on Sunday July 30th and hot damn, but if that lineup isn't a knockout then I'm the monkey's uncle.
Arab Strap top the bill, followed by everyone's favourite beardy brothers Herman Dune bringing their lovelorn songs and extremely tight trousers. Then there's Emma Pollock, unveiling her new solo material and hopefully throwing in some Delgados classics. Beard #3 cover stars Park Attack bring their gonzoid noise attack, while the bonkers and thoroughly ace Royal We go ape. And then there's Glasgow's favourite party band the 1990s, swamp blues mentalists Uncle John & Whitelock, groovy hep cats Bricolage. Topping it all off are The Parsonage, "Glasgow's only 30 strong country-folk choir", which sounds amazing!
Just when you thought things couldn't get any better, there's an outside bar with cheap booze and a barbecue! I'll see y'all down there!
Stew xx

Beard recommends

We at Beard love you. That's why we want to share a couple of new bands with you.

Something of a Glasgow underground super-group, The Royal We feature members of Multiplies, Dot To Dot and Pro-Forma, among others. They sound mental, but pop! Seeing as I enjoy both mental music and pop, this is undoubtedly a good thing. The tunes on their myspace page are rough around the edges but they offer a glimpse of their colourful riot of punk, pop, noise and art. There are definitely hints of such wonky pop practitioners Yummy Fur and Royal Trux there, but really, The Royal We are a law unto themselves. And no, I'm not going to make any weak puns like "long may they reign." Oh...

Next up, pop pickers, are Daddy & The Husband. Recommended to me by both Rachel BMX Bandit and Beard's own Ian MacBeth these ladies (and boy) have but one song up on their myspace profile, but jimmy wilickers, it's a wee beauty. My Darling You Smoke Crack, is cheeky, sexy, and stylish girl group electro-pop, with the best smoke blowing sounds this side of Snoop.

We'll try to keep this a regular feature, cos it's not like the magazine comes out regularly. Ha ha! But we are working on it, honest...