Kristin Hersh - Paradoxical Undressing - St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh - Wednesday 20th August

Wednesday night saw a return visit to Kristin Hersh’s ‘Paradoxical Undressing’ after I saw the premiere in Glasgow back in March. For newcomers, the show principally features Kristin reading from her autobiography with songs dotted throughout. The show principally covers the early years of Throwing Muses and deals with not just the band but also Kristin’s relationship with her music.

Everything I said about the première remains true but, since March, the show has been evolving and the most immediate change is that husband Billy gives an introduction to the show to break the ice (as suggested by JC). It’s a big help– at the St Andrews in the Square show it took a long time for the audience to work out how to react. But on Wednesday that happens straight away (although no-one takes up Billy’s offer to be on their worst behaviour!)

The structure of the show has changed too, particularly in the first act. The changes give the whole a more cohesive feel with a greater focus on the early years of the band. The original show was somewhat fractured with the extracts (initially at least) seemingly compiled almost at random and this was perhaps Kristin’s intent as a way of reflecting the fact that she was overwhelmed by the music.

However the changes provide a more direct narrative with fewer mood switches and the changes are more graded. One significant consequence is that the first half is much funnier than previously despite containing the same passages. But it’s worth remembering that this isn’t light entertainment and things take a much darker turn just before the interval.

The second half deals with the demons that Kristin faced and the depths that she reached remain quite shocking. If you require any proof that Kristin is not your run of the mill musician it is surely in the fact that, after a failed suicide bid, it’s her re-engagement with her music which helps her turn the corner. An optimistic conclusion is reached with the band winning a record deal and the birth of her first son. The fact that Kristin sings the final song in the spotlight rather than shrouded in darkness is surely designed to indicate that Kristin is finally in control of her music rather than the other way round.

It’s worth pointing out that the songs are a bit different too – there’s abbreviated versions of ‘Hook In Her Head’ and ‘Mania’, neither aired in Glasgow, and a song I don’t recognise at all. But again 'Poor Wayfaring Stranger' is the song that raises the most hairs on the back of the neck (no mean feat) - it's impossibly poignant after the cutting scene.

The Fringe should really be a natural home for this show but I can’t help but feel that being marketed as part the Edge Music Festival will have limited the audience to a rock audience. This is a show that could reach out to people beyond those boundaries.

I'm not doing this justice. There’s one more chance to catch the show tomorrow at St Cecilia’s (Saturday 23^rd). Take it if you can.

Here’s a Throwing Muses version of a song which Kristin played on Wednesday:

Throwing Muses – Mania (from ‘Live in Brussels’) [Get it]

Other Paradoxical stuff

Broadway Baby

Edinburgh's Festivals

La Terrasse

Hydragenic

Shaky hand held footage from London.

Get tracks from Kristin’s forthcoming LP here

The venue itself is something else. It may not be as ornate as St Andrews In The Square was but it's apparently the oldest purpose built concert hall in Scotland. It also houses a remarkable collection of old guitars with an exhibition dating back to the modern guitar's Restoration era predecessor, the gigue.

Also worthy of a mention is the show I saw before Kristin. Going to see a work colleague perform is always a little fraught but I'm delighted to report that Andrew C Ferguson and Friends was good enough to avoid subsequent any embarrassment at work. A mixture of slightly surreal stories (mainly about Glenrothes, which is surreal enough in itself) and songs it proved to be an entertaining hour.

Minha estréia como colaborador do ForTeens aqui!

I've been pondering the posting of lists. This will be the first in a series of thematic collections relating to floats my boat. Today's list was inspired by a humid drive into the barren heart of Delaware County where Peter Jefferies' depressing Electricity album placed me in one of those pensive moods that went perfectly with the blur of chain restaurants dominating my horizons. Therefore, this led to this list of songs that always make me feel like a maudlin chump. Sorry that these are individual tracks, but I broke it up so you may pick and choose. There will probably be a sequel since I gave up at twenty.

1. Skip Spence-"Broken Heart" from the Oar LP

-he sounds broken down before his life even began. There are many worthy choices on this album, but this captures the weight of love gone wrong.

http://www.mediafire.com/?dxntyjgtxyv

2. Beck-"Lost Cause" from the Sea Change Lp

-he has devoted so much time to being the most wiggity-wack Scientologist in the club that you forget how great he can be without the fixins'. A vivid snapshot of regret, lost friendships and the worry that goes along with new beginnings.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2tst2o2jbts

3. Bread-"Look What You've Done" from the On the Waters LP

-a soft-rock classic where the protagonist is pitiful and pissed at the same time. Who knew Bread had such issues with passive aggressive behavior?

http://www.mediafire.com/?nfzg1c4gg91

4. Camper Van Beethoven-"All Her Favorite Fruit" from Key Lime Pie LP

-domesticity gone awry.

http://www.mediafire.com/?r69tkztryc2

5. Codeine-"3 Angels" from the Frigid Stars LP

-I could probably pick any of their songs, but this one crushes you more than the others.

http://www.mediafire.com/?3005tccwn42

6. Galaxie 500-When Will You Come Home" from Peel Sessions

http://www.mediafire.com/?mauo9b1cnem

An old chestnut that deals with those times you miss the company of other humans.

7. Gary Stewart-"She's Acting Single(I'm Drinking Doubles) from The Essential Gary Stewart

http://www.mediafire.com/?dgibufxxzum

-Oh Gary, lemme give you a big old hug. Nevermind, let's finish the bottle.

8. Gene Clark-"Life's Greatest Fool" from the No Other Lp

http://www.mediafire.com/?39z1yp4mmog

-an exploration of powerlessness, then hope. Actually, this is kind of uplifting in its own way.

9. Go-Betweens-"Dive For Your Memory" from 16 lovers Lane LP

http://www.mediafire.com/?ify3xjmnyyw

-A man willing to do anything to regain the past. Kind of romantic, but tragic.

10. Graham Nash-"Military Madness" from the Songs For Beginners LP

http://www.mediafire.com/?hiyftjm9pdn

-Sad only because its Vietnam era warnings seem relevant again.

11. The Jayhawks-"Take Me With You When You Go" from Hollywood Town Hall

http://www.mediafire.com/?1tcummrzuyd

-I always imagined this to be about Mark Olson's worries about his wife's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis.

12. Kristin Hersh-"Beestung" from Hips and Makers Lp

http://www.mediafire.com/?pqdg46mvcky

-I don't know what the hell she's talking about, but it seems to deal with her struggles with mental illness and her pleas for a lover to assist her.

13. Lisa Gerrard-"Sanvean" from Live in Dusseldorf bootleg.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ndelmnjn9an

-I hope these are the sounds I hear as my life enters its last minutes.

14. The Magick Heads-"Before We Go Under" from Before We Go Under Lp

http://www.mediafire.com/?lmy9qzbtgzo

-A song about drowning from a side project of Robert Scott of The Bats.

15. Michael Hurley-"Sweedeedee" from Armchair Boogie(the best album ever made)

http://www.mediafire.com/?axmtoxymmuc

-another tale of lost love and the attempts to regain it.

16. Mickey Newbury-"The Future's Not What It Used To Be" from 'Frisco Mabel Joy

http://www.mediafire.com/?lxmd2y1ddij

-a man discovers that travel and booze won't solve his problems. Go figure.

17. Peter Jefferies-"Scattered Logic" from the Electricity lp

http://www.mediafire.com/?el1jtm1ej3n

- my favorite song at the moment. A heart-wrenching three minutes.

18. John Cale-"I Keep a Close Watch on My Heart at Night" from Music for a New Society

http://www.mediafire.com/?nxtwsbscisl

-somebody not only broke this dude's heart, but squashed it into a pulp.

19. Peter Hammill-"Been Alone So Long" from the Nadir's Big Chance Lp

http://www.mediafire.com/?semmnz2ejsd

-This is a close second to the John Cale song in terms of crushing hopelessness. A song about a man who has been isolated so long that he's forgotten how to relate to humanity.

20. Marc Ribot-"Saints" from the Saints Lp

http://www.mediafire.com/?qbadnytjjdx

-let's end on a wordless note. His cover of Albert Ayler's "Saints" is a dark, moody end to this self-indulgence.

Time to take a wee peek backwards on the year to date with (almost) all new songs. But frustratingly I can’t share with you probably the best song I’ve heard all year (‘Forever 22’ by TV21) since it hasn’t been released yet. So you’ll have to make do with this lot instead:

British Sea Power – Lights Out For Darker Skies (from ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’) [Buy the CD] [Download it]

These guys had passed me by until I took a punt on their 3^rd LP via emusic. And it turns out that it’s great – very strong throughout and difficult to pick an outstanding track. Highly recommended.

Kristin Hersh – Static (from ‘Speedbath’) [Get it]

Kristin’s ‘Speedbath’ LP has been drip fed via the web each month since the end of last year. These aren’t quite the final versions of the songs and there will also be additional tracks on the LP when it finally appears. ‘Static’ is one of the more recent tracks to appear and it’s the heaviest song so far.

Cathal Coughlan – Black River Falls [Buy the CD] [Download it]

I finally caught up with one of the former Fatima Mansions’ solo LPs and ‘Black River Falls’ is an excellent LP. The title track is one of the stand-out tracks on the record. CC is someone well worth checking out if you’re not familiar with his work.

The Big Sleep – Bad Blood (from ‘Sleep Forever’) [Buy the CD][Download it]

Another emusic discovery, the Big Sleep build on the strengths of their debut LP with a superb follow-up. Side one in fact is pretty nigh perfect whether with vocals or purely instrumental.

Malcolm Middleton – Blue Plastic Bags (from ‘Sleight of Heart’) [Buy it] [Download it]

SOH was a fairly low key release for Malky coming hot on the heels of last year’s ‘A Brighter Beat’. Stripped back rather than rocking out this time, nonetheless SOH did nothing to damage MM’s reputation in these parts as one of Scotland’s finest songwriters.

More soon ...

Throwing Muses

Live on MSN 1997

http://www.mediafire.com/?zoyyfccetca

I used to be a music director at a certain Western PA college radio station and many oddities would cross my desk. Some were horrific like a late 90s Jesse Colin Young album with a nude portrait of the artist, but others were kind of wonderful. One of these lovely occurrences was the day that MSN decided to jump on the alt-rock bandwagon and commission a series of live sets to be played on our station. Some sucked, but others ranged from amazing to interesting. The only one I still have in my possession is this one by  Throwing Muses in 1997 to support the underwhelming Limbo album.

Personally, I feel that the band ran out of steam after The Real Ramona in 1991, but Red Heaven and University had their moments. However, the band responsible for one of the best debuts in the 80s can slack all they want. Admittedly, much of this live set draws from the mid 90s, but there is a great version of "Two Step" from The Real Ramona" so all is well in my world. It is professionally recorded and sounds like an official live album, but you do have to deal with the occasional voiceover from a MSN tool.

Forse è semplicemente perchè dietro ci sono delle persone in carne ed ossa, però è singolare come il tipo di musica proposta rifletta spesso e signficativamente le modalità di approccio ai nuovi modelli di business musicale. Mi spiego: è un caso che gruppi sulla frontiera dell'innovazione musicale come Radiohead o Nine Inch Nails si siano lanciati per primi sulla rivoluzionaria distribuzione gratuita della loro musica? è un caso che il mecenatismo abbia ottenuto ottimi risultati prevalentemente in una nicchia caratterizzata da (relativamente) pochi e affezionatissimi friutori come quella dell' alternative country americano di Kristin Hersh e Jill Sobule? E che mi dite delle innovazioni nella registrazione dei concerti, portate avanti da due live band come Pearl Jam e Elio e le storie tese? 

Spostandoci dalla frontiera e camminando verso le retrovie dei secondi arrivati non è che le cose cambino un granchè. D'altra parte, come dice mia nonna, chi si assomiglia si piglia. Così, tanto per dire, ecco che gli italiani Yuppie Flu, che ai Radiohead (musicalmente parlando) devono molto , distribuscono Fragile Forest utilizzando (in verità un po' annacquato) quello che ormai potremmo definire come il "metodo arcobaleno" del paga quanto vuoi. Lo stesso - come potete leggere dal titolo - fa il guru dell'elettronica Greg Gillis, altrimenti noto con lo pseudonimo di Girl Talk: la versione in Mp3 del suo nuovo album "Feed the animals" la potete pagare quanto volete, anche zero. Se gli date più di 5 Euro vi da anche i file Flac. Se gli date più di 10 Euro, quando uscirà, vi spedirà a casa pure il cd. Anche lui, come gli Yuppie Flu - e a differenza di Radiohead e Nin - fa tutto con la sua etichetta Illegal Art. Ah, le nuove generazioni...

L'altra faccia della medaglia di chi usa internet, è quella di chi - più vintage - usa i concerti. In questo caso, il gusto per il feticcio, sebbene corroborato da una buona dose di innovazione tecnologica, cresce esponenzialmente. Vale per i Pearl Jam (in bilico tra i vinili del Ten Club e i live che diventano suonierie per cellulare) e per gli Elii (tra cd brulè e chiavette usb). Vale anche per gli Hormonauts che hanno recentemente combinato l'anima vintage e quella tecnologicamente avanzata in un prodotto parecchio originale. Si tratta del supporto del nuovo disco dal titolo "Spanish Omelette": una musicassetta che funziona come tale, ma anche come lettore mp3. E che sarà in vendita quasi solamente ai loro concerti.

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Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton
Knives Don't Have Your Back ••••
Drowned In Sound

Best known for her achingly fashionable day job as frontwoman of chart-friendly Canadian indie dance-rock-pop outfit Metric, and not unregarded for her work with Broken Social Scene, Emily Haines can seemingly do no wrong. Knives Don't Have Your Back isn't going to change that. Following in the footsteps of her good friend Amy Millan of Stars and Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis, Haines has pared back her sound to produce a magnificently understated, mostly elegiac album that firmly cements her reputation as an excellent songwriter.

Who, then, are The Soft Skeleton? Quite simply, they're a bunch of players Haines put together especially for the album, including Scott Minor from Sparklehorse and various members of Broken Social Scene and Metric. Really though, the guests are just for musicianship and Knives... is all Haines. Her keyboard skills, which have barely been made use of up 'til now, are prominent. Indeed, aside from some tasteful string arrangements and some horns, the album is a showcase for Haines and her piano.

Haines's voice is well suited to piano-driven ballads and her vocals have a dry, sad essence not too dissimilar to Martina Topley-Bird's unusual style. With that in mind, Knives Don't Have Your Back couldn't be further from her muscular, vibrant work with Metric. Instead of being part of a slickly produced noise outfit, here Haines is laid bare, literally sounding as though her bandmates had upped and wandered away. A melancholic intimacy and darkness surround these lo-fi laments, the subject matter of which is often shadowy. Two songs - ‘Reading In Bed' and ‘Mostly Waving' - were recorded in the winter of 2002 as Haines was coping with the sudden death of her father, a famed poet from Montreal.

As refreshing as this downbeat peek into Haines's world is, the album is ultimately let down by the sameness of the tracks; none are standout tunes that are destined for radio (perhaps a brave move for someone so accustomed to receiving considerable airplay, in Canada at least). Not to worry. Given that Haines has very publicly announced that her day job with Metric is still her priority, Knives... simply gives her the space to stretch out and really show the breadth of her talents, and in doing so to make a bold departure from that which made her name.

Stephanie Heney

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Hannah
Everything Is Changing •••½
Snowdog

Big in Estonia. It sounds like an ironic putdown. One step less successful than the now legendary "big in Japan" - how good can that be? Well, not bad actually.

Hannah Ild really is big in her Baltic home country. Big in Kylie proportions. Big enough to need only just one name. Now the 26 year old singer, who already has five hit albums to her name back home, is taking advantage of Estonia's entry into the Internal Market and launching herself into the pop world across Europe. Everything Is Changing certainly presses all the relevant pop princess buttons, with expensive sounding production (courtesy of serious British and American studio time), lush string arrangements, heart-rending ballads and hook-laden uptempo numbers. And that's not just damning with faint praise. The songs - all self-penned - are strong and Ild's vocal delivery is positively luminous in places, catching with emotion at the peaks of the songs' restrained intensity.

Typified by the single ‘I See' and ‘They Said', the arrangements are mostly acoustically-based with guitar and piano at the fore plus a myriad of subtle textures layered on top to retain the listener's interest. On both of these songs there's just enough Mitchell Froom-era Corrs-esque touches thrown into the mix to ensure that by the time the big chorus hits, the Radio 2 core audience will be hooked into submission. ‘You Are' finds Ild in full-on ballad mode with a swooping orchestral passage that kicks in during the chorus and could easily have graced any number of albums by artists from Anastasia or Kelly Clarkson to The Veronicas, but here it's Hannah's own in every way. Other standouts include the title track and ‘These Days', both of which are drenched with unrequited love and longing.

The sheer quality of Everything Is Changing is something of a pleasant revelation, showing that there really can be life outside of Eurovision (Hannah came second in the 1997 contest with ‘A Lonely Soul') for Eastern European pop exports. Ild deserves success beyond that which she's accrued back in Estonia, and if this is typical of what the expansion of Europe will bring, well, vivre l'esprit communautaire.

Trevor Raggatt

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Emmylou Harris
Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems ••••½
Rhino

From 1996's Portraits boxset through Rhino's 2001 Anthology to 2005's Heartaches & Highways, a significant number of ‘best of' compilations have been dedicated to reviewing Emmylou Harris's extensive and eminent musical catalogue. So many, in fact, that we may question the necessity of another collection that re-caps the career of the woman who, for nearly 40 years, has brought impeccable taste, grace and elegance - as well as a healthy dose of genre-bending daring - to the country barroom.

Songbird, however, is altogether a different proposition. As its enticing subtitle makes clear, this mammoth set - 4 CDs featuring 78 tracks, a DVD of TV performances, and a 200-page booklet including track-by-track commentary - is no standard greatest hits package but rather a generous selection of "personal favourites," hand-picked by Harris as a kind of alternative retrospective of her work to date. Don't expect to find the likes of ‘Boulder To Birmingham' here. Instead, Songbird showcases under-valued album tracks, live cuts, soundtrack and tribute album contributions, a whole host of collaborations, and thirteen previously unreleased songs. As such, this is very much a collection pitched at the Harris completist, or at those eager to dig deeper into a body of work that must rank as one of the most distinctive and remarkable in contemporary music. Whichever category you fall into, the opportunity to immerse yourself in some of the more obscure corners of the work of the Grace Kelly of country will prove a total pleasure.

Even so, for true Harris aficionados, quite a bit of the material featured on Songbird will be familiar, especially the songs spread across the first two CDs. These discs take a broad chronological sweep through the full range of her solo studio albums, assembling tracks from the classic 1970s Hot Band recordings, the neo-traditionalist releases Blue Kentucky Girl and Roses In The Snow and the denser textures of Wrecking Ball, Red Dirt Girl and Stumble Into Grace. The work with Gram Parsons gets surprisingly short shrift, represented by just two tracks, a heartfelt rendition of the Louvins's ‘The Angels Rejoiced Last Night' (a fitting choice given the brothers' influence on the famed Parsons/Harris harmonies) and an exuberant live version of ‘The Old Country Baptizing', while 1985's The Ballad Of Sally Rose - the self-penned song-cycle which Parsons inspired - is also poorly represented. 

Nonetheless, the pickings are rich indeed, and of primary interest for rarities fans is the opening track, ‘Clocks', an alternate take of a decidedly Clouds-era Joni Mitchell style ditty culled from Harris's deleted first folk foray Gilding Bird. But perhaps the greatest revelation of these discs is just how beautifully Harris's studio work has aged; the ‘70s and ‘80s work still sounds fresh and vital - much more so than anything that's emerging from the Nashville mainstream these days - and the Lanois/Burns-produced tracks retain their mysterious allure. While a number of these songs remain in her concert repertoire, these discs permit the pleasure of rediscovery and offer fans a valuable opportunity to reacquaint themselves with album tracks that they may have forgotten. Compelling renditions of Springsteen's ‘Racing In The Streets', Sandy Denny's ‘Like An Old-Fashioned Waltz', and Leonard Cohen's ‘Ballad Of A Runaway Horse' were particular standouts for this listener.

Eschewing chronology, the next two discs collate a wide selection of rarities and hard-to-find material, and feature a roll call of collaborators and duet partners that reads like a veritable ‘Who's Who' of Americana. The many highlights include simply beautiful renditions of Beth Nielsen Chapman's ‘Beyond The Blue' (with Patty Griffin), Katy Wolf's ‘Love Still Remains', Woody Guthrie's ‘Hobo's Lullaby', and the Carters' ‘Wildwood Flower' (with Iris DeMent), as well as blissfully soulful takes on Parsons' ‘Juanita', ‘She' and ‘Sin City' (with Sheryl Crow, Chrissie Hynde and Beck respectively). The sequencing is immaculate, with thematically linked tracks frequently arranged together to form little cycles and suites. Issues and images recur: loss, grief, lonesomeness, spiritual redemption, the temptations of travel, the desire for homecoming. A pair of lovely Paul Kennerley originals from his 1980 The Legend Of Jesse James project (‘Heaven Ain't Ready For You Yet' and ‘Wish We Were Back In Missouri') are placed together, as are two memorable unreleased outtakes from the Trio sessions with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. In short, the advertised gems really are gems, showcasing Harris's genius for selecting material, her special gifts of interpretation, and her seeming ability to sing with anyone and make it sound as natural and effortless as breathing.

Harris can fully inhabit songs both ancient and modern, secular and spiritual, and her singing style combines burning passion and impeccable restraint in equal measure. Her voice reflects her rich amalgam of influences, merging country ache and folky nuance, breathy highs and grainy lows, and hearing its progression from girlishness to maturity across Songbird is a fascinating and quite moving experience. Her singing may be famed for its ‘angelic' qualities but there's much more to it than ethereal loveliness. Yes, Harris can soothe like few others but she can also freeze the blood, as her chillingly intense takes on Townes Van Zandt's ‘Snake Song' and Hank Williams's ‘Alone & Forsaken' (both included here) attest. There's tension, risk and a breathless sense of adventure to much of her best work, qualities that Lanois's production on Wrecking Ball brought right out into the open. She remains, quite simply, a consummate class act, retaining her poise and conviction even when the material proves unworthy of her (and just occasionally it does: cf. the corny self-abasement of ‘First In Line', the banal ‘Wondering' and the earnest but clichéd ‘Immigrant Eyes', not the finest lyrical moment of the usually reliable Guy Clark). As Joe Allison memorably wrote of the Louvins: "their sincerity reaches out and grabs you with such authority that you literally become part of the song." This same description may be applied to Harris.

What Songbird reveals most consistently is Harris's dedication and single-mindedness in pursuing her own wide-ranging vision of the "cosmic American music" to which Parsons first alerted her. Her music cuts through folk, country, rock and gospel borders not so much to tear down barriers as to demonstrate - and create - connections between them, allowing her, in her own words, "to draw on the past...and come up with something new." It's this exhilarating fusion of tradition and modernity that makes this collection - and indeed all of Harris's work - essential listening for anyone interested in the wonderfully broad and varied terrain of American roots music.

Alex Ramon

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Deborah Harry
Necessary Evil •
Universal

What can one say about Debbie Harry? That sensuous, cherubic creature; maybe not the most talented musician in the world, but possibly the most beautiful. So beautiful in fact, that whole music videos can be made focusing solely on her face...oh, wait! Stop everything. Wake up. This isn't 1977 anymore. It's 2007, and nothing stays the same forever. Deborah (as she prefers to be known these days) is a very different woman from the pouty young thing that stole our hearts with ‘Heart Of Glass' and ‘Call Me', however much she might otherwise wish.

On Necessary Evil, Harry's latest electro outing, she goes at it as she always did, sweet and high as in ‘Sunday Girl'. But her voice is older than it was. It's 62 years old to be precise, and it simply can't hit the notes it used to. Thus our unfortunate ears are subjected to the likes of ‘Love With A Vengeance' and ‘If I Had You'. Painful stuff. It isn't that she can't sing - the title track shows that she's perfectly capable of sounding quite pleasant - she just doesn't seem to know how to use her new voice properly, too often trying to sing in exactly the same style as she was 30 years ago.

Opening track and first single ‘Two Times Blue' starts quite sweetly with a charming little fairground ditty; unfortunately, Harry ruins it by breaking in all too soon, croaking like one of Macbeth's Weird Sisters. The chorus is horribly strained, the words oddly stretched out as though the lyrics and music had been written in separate soundproof rooms and subsequently forced cruelly together, ‘Island Of Doctor Moreau'-style. The music itself is sometimes well written, as demonstrated in the opening bars, but this album is let down massively by its lyrics and content: every single song is about sex. Without fail. The old days of Blondie were never this explicit, but I suppose Harry didn't need to talk about sex to make people think about it back then. Imagine if you will your mum singing along to ‘School For Scandal'; "the devil's dick is hard to handle," apparently. Then imagine your granny singing it.

If this assessment appears ageist, or sexist even, it's not meant that way at all. Wears The Trousers is well aware that Jagger, Jones and Stewart get away with things that an older lady would be slammed for and that such an imbalance is mightily unfair. Nevertheless, after sitting through the 17-track long leviathan that is Necessary Evil, it's hard to believe that anyone won't find themselves wishing that Harry would sometimes act her years. And, after all, if The Rolling Stones wailed their way through a crass electro album like this one, you'd hope that they'd be torn to bits for it too. There are other anomalies lurking in the tracklist, for instance the deep mumblings of ‘Jen Jen'. Harry doesn't even sing on it so how it snuck onto the album we'll never know. Maybe she was on the decks. Then there's ‘Dirty & Deep', the title of which says almost all really, neglecting only to highlight the fact that a part of it rivals Madonna's ‘American Life' for the worst rap of all time.

So that's Necessary Evil in a nutshell - overlong, crude and performed by a woman far past her musical prime. All this album does is sully the memory of a once great songstress turned worn out, hyper-sexed harridan.

Hugh Armitage

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Victoria Hart
Whatever Happened To Love? •••½
Decca

Today's celebrity-obsessed world has seen the rapid rise of reality TV, and the attendant burst of homogenous, bland and short-lived manufactured artists. In such an environment, it can be difficult for niche music to prosper; would Kate Bush's fantastical songs have impressed the judges? Would Regina Spektor's subversive experimentalism endear her to an audience brought up with the Spice Girls and R'n'B? Perhaps not. It's always gratifying, then, when a new singer appears who is determined to change it all, and who has the star quality to succeed. Step forward Miss Victoria Hart, former Richmond waitress turned jazz-singing sensation. A trilingual 18-year old who counts Amy Winehouse among her friends and George Clooney among her fans, Hart claims that her album represents a return to the unabashedly romantic music of the past. Comprising 13 songs and a remix of the title track, it has been designed to showcase Hart's voice with a variety of different styles; it is in this that the album draws its strength and also, sadly, finds its weakness.

Hart's musical heroines include such luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald and Eva Cassidy, and her love of old-fashioned big band music shines through in some of the album's best tracks. ‘Two Time Blues' would suit Fitzgerald perfectly with its classy and deeply sensual style, Hart's youthful voice perfectly capturing the naiveté of the song's heroine. The more glamorous ‘Chocolates & Strawberries' shows off a highly developed sense of fun and wickedness, with some plainly suggestive lyrics set against a snazzy ‘70s-style backing rich with wah-wah trumpets and a thumping bass line. Hart's ability to draw a picture with her voice is quite remarkable, and is suitably demonstrated by perhaps the best song on the album - also its only cover - ‘Sunny Afternoon'. Toe tapping and deeply sultry, Hart's interpretation of the classic Kinks song evokes all the attendant vivid images of a languid, sun-drenched summer, managing to ensure that the song remains familiar while throwing in some throaty sax riffs to suit her jazz credentials. Other impressive tracks include the 1950s-style two-step jazz of ‘Wonderful' and the deliciously sexy ‘Je M'Oublie', which oozes French sophistication with its atmospheric accordion backing and Hart's voluptuous vocals.

Where the album falls flat is in trying to demonstrate the breadth of Hart's skills; several songs have been selected rather clumsily in an attempt to show that she can perform more mainstream work. This leads to the inclusion of some forgettable guitar-pop tracks such as ‘Some Day', a bland ballad that simply does not do Hart's unique voice justice. Fortunately, Hart is an accomplished jazz singer, and her wit, flair and talent pull her through the dross. Sassy, classy and unashamedly mushy, Whatever Happened To Love? marks the debut of a new and formidable force in modern jazz. Let's hope that Hart doesn't lose sight of what she's best at.

Andy Wasley

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PJ Harvey
White Chalk ••••
Island

Best known for her brutal blues and sophisticated punk, PJ Harvey's decision to trade her guitar in for a piano and her deep soulful voice for a choral falsetto looked unlikely on paper. But, true to her word, there is barely a six-string to be heard on the eleven tracks that make up White Chalk, her eighth studio album, which are largely based around gently throbbing keys and vocals piped in from a Victorian ghost story. Having explored urban life on 2001's vibrant Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, White Chalk is suffused with rural imagery - bleak landscapes and a pervading isolation - the title a reference to the bedrock of Harvey's Dorset home and its gothic ring compounded by the cover image of a pale and drawn shock-headed Harvey sat bolt upright in a lacy, spectral dress. And, of course, the stark minimal piano and newly shrill vocals that run through the album.

Whether the experience of working with keys has been entirely enjoyable for Harvey is thrown into doubt when ‘The Piano' - which knowingly features acoustic guitar and zither only - opens with the lyric "hit her with a hammer, teeth smashed in", and as the track plays out with snapshots of strained family relations and the refrain "no-one is listening", Harvey sounds like a truculent child trying to show off the results of her first few music lessons. For the most part the piano playing is naïve and childlike - motifs seemingly picked out with just two fingers - and while it's used to good effect to create sinister and atmospheric songs such as opener ‘The Devil' and ‘Grow Grow Grow', Harvey's lack of finesse sometimes tends towards monotony.

That the standout tracks are those in which the piano takes a back seat is perhaps somewhat telling. First single ‘When Under Ether' is a haunting, claustrophobic and sinister track, conjuring sensations of suffocation, intoxication and chemical preservation in which the keys combine with other instrumentation and an understated yet nuanced vocal. The title track features the most prominent appearance of a guitar. So effectively does the song evoke a rural isolation and the exposed Dorset cliffs that as Harvey dramatically switches from her distant, fluting upper register to intone deeply "and I know these chalk hills will rot my bones", you can almost smell the stone beneath the topsoil and the salt from the sea. ‘Broken Harp's sublime vocal arrangement and (presumably broken) harp tug at the heartstrings with economically affecting lyrics. Lines like "something metal tearing my stomach out if you think ill of me / can you forgive me too?" may not be delivered with the hue and cry typical of much of Harvey's earlier work, but surrounded by the minimalism and darkness of the album they are no less brutal.

Seven albums and 15 years into her career, Harvey remains one of our most continually interesting artists. For people who rely on such tawdry gimmicks her transition from booted proto-riot-grrrl to cat-suited vamp to urban punker and now to ghostly Victoriana would be called reinvention; in Harvey it is simply exploration. The piano-led tracks of White Chalk may not be to everyone's taste but fantastically evocative poetry and some truly great songs more than make up for the slow pace and the few monotonous moments to create an intriguing and rewarding album. There are few other artists who so successfully continue to push their boundaries, experience and style for our (well, primarily her own) pleasure, and we should cherish her for that as long as she continues to do so.

Peter Hayward

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Charlotte Hatherley
The Deep Blue ••••
Little Sister Records

Most famous for being the ‘new girl' in Ash for nine years, Charlotte Hatherley's musical career in fact began a long time before, first in the band Sister George then in punk outfit Nightnurse. She was spotted by Ash's Tim Wheeler while the band were shopping for a new guitarist and soon wound up a welcome addition to the trio, fitting right in. So, after a long period of being in one of the UK's most successful and established indie bands, it must have been a brave and daunting decision to leave, especially as relationships within the band were still good and Ash are happy to continue without her.

Although The Deep Blue is Hatherley's second solo album (she worked on her first, Grey Will Fade, when Ash were in the studio for Meltdown and received considerable critical praise for it), this is the first she has produced outside of the security of a day job. In fact, the focus has doubled as the ‘side project' has now become the day job. Seemingly unfazed by new beginnings and the security of Ash's loyal fanbase, Hatherley is clearly a seasoned rock star, and her confidence shows in both her decision making and the subsequent album that came of it. In fact, to avoid record company and A&R pressure, Hatherley and her manager Ann-Marie Shields set up Little Sister Records themselves (with distribution through Vital), thereby ensuring complete artistic control.

Produced by Eric Feldman (Captain Beefheart, Pere Ubu) and Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey), Hatherley's sophomore album was decided upon in Australia and created in San Francisco, Italy and London. Despite Hatherley being first and foremost a guitarist, The Deep Blue isn't entirely led by the axe. It is, in fact, a pleasant surprise of considered work and a welcome departure from the (often flawed) female singer-songwriter stereotype. Certainly, the rock chick from Ash is gone, and the upbeat mature pop of both her efforts to date belies an open, honest artist with considerable talent.

The Deep Blue creates a childlike mood of fun and innocence, both girly and fantastically otherworldly. Irresistibly catchy and tuneful, the album is a lovingly assembled, multi-textured example of bittersweet pop that signifies a change of direction from Grey Will Fade and revels in a quirky feel reminiscent of Kenickie or Giant Drag...even The Sundays at times. Vocally, Hatherley is cutesy and sweet, somewhere between Minnie Mouse and Jenny Lewis, and her vocals enhance the unusual, dreamlike tone of the work. That's not to say that there aren't energetic, punk-pop here and there, but the rocky elements you would naturally expect from Ash's former guitarist simply aren't there.

Two singles have preceded the album - ‘Behave' and ‘I Want You To Know' - probably the album's poppiest numbers and definitely the catchiest. There's more where those two came from, however, and ‘Be Thankful' is a real standout track with an irresistible bassline. More sober moments appear in the gentle ‘Dawn Treader' (co-written with XTC's Andy Partridge) and the vulnerable ballad ‘Again', one of the least cluttered songs here, while the enchanting, wordless opener ‘Cousteau' breezes over the listener and sticks true to the sea theme.

Despite a less than perfect vocal style, these songs are sung with an assuredness that can only be known to an experienced musician; remember Hatherley played the V97 festival with Ash only days after joining the band, and all at the age of 18 - no mean feat indeed. Having toured the world with a huge act for years and promptly leaving it all behind shows a confidence and maturity older artists can only dream of. However, with nothing left to be afraid of, and nothing left to lose, Hatherley has produced an unaffected and genuinely original album that will hopefully be another step in a long and successful career.

Stephanie Heney

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Help She Can't Swim
The Death Of Nightlife •••½
Fantastic Plastic

Reviewing The Death Of Nightlife for Wears The Trousers struck me as a peculiarly daunting experience. Having seen the band play live supporting Sleater-Kinney (R.I.P) in Bristol last year, I found co-lead vocalist and sole female member Leesey Frances the least successful member of the band. Onstage, she came across detached and belligerent, giving little recognition to the crowd and grumping between songs. Tom Denney, who shares vocals and plays guitar was engaging and wired with energy, making Leesey's disinterest all the more apparent. Writing for a magazine that seeks to focus upon the contributions of women to music, was I faced with an uncomfortable task?

Thankfully, on record, the Help She Can't Swim experience is different: far from detracting from the band's riotous youthful energy, Frances is a key part of it. Having two lead vocalists works well: Frances's vocals act as an effective counterpoint to Denney's, which often verge upon screamo. On ‘Idle Chatter', her plaintive, vulnerable repetitions of "I was waiting for you to call me" are surprisingly affecting. (That is, until this effect is deliberately undermined by the song's closing couplet: "strangle you with the telephone chord / just because you're making me feel bored").

This is music made for frenetic, angular indie dancing, preferably in a club with sweaty walls and a sticky floor. ‘Kite Eating Tree', with its talk of shaking hips and bruised wrists, is the kind of song Channel 4 will be snapping up to soundtrack adverts for 'Skins' (if they haven't already). There's a definite Britpop flavour to several of these tracks, and the influence of Jarvis Cocker and Justine Frischmann is palpable, only speeded way up and blasted out charged with extra guitar-plus-synths drama. The keyboard work from Lisa and puppydog-eyed Tim Palmer adds a lot to these songs, providing an insistent pulse that resembles a battery of sirens in its urgency.

‘I Think The Record's Stopped' is a vicious attack on fake feminism and the intersection of feminism and raunch culture, where exhibitionism and pandering to male fantasies is mistaken for a liberating expression of female sexuality. Here, Frances is tearing down the kind of girls who think the feminist movement fought - and fights - so they could have the right to snog their female friends in front of boys at clubs, and aspire to be lapdancers ("Fuck you, you're not a feminist"). ‘Midnight Garden' is too wilfully discordant to be thrilling but the band make up for it with the following track ‘Box Of Delights'. Denney and Frances taking alternate vocals before coming together for a deliciously noisy vocal pile-up at the song's climax.

Over the course of the album, the relentless pace and screamed vocals become a little gruelling. However, the band are at their best when playing at fever pitch - the album's slower moments are its least successful, like the queasy Muse-eque rock opera that makes up the closing two minutes - and in short sharp bursts this is a thrilling and immediate record. It rewards close listening as well as drunken dancing, as it bristles with blink-and-you'll-miss-them highlights. On ‘Dragged Under The Wave', a brilliant moment of sexual tension and ambiguity suddenly grabs the listener, as Denney and Frances duet on the line "I want to kiss her but I don't want her near me". And if you can find another record out this year that talks about watching reruns of 'Lovejoy' (‘All The Stars') I'll give you a fiver.

Danny Weddup

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Hem
Funnel Cloud ••••
Nettwerk

Given the somewhat obscure names of both the band and album (one the end of an item of clothing, the other the beginning of a ferocious tornado) you'd surely be forgiven for expecting to discover the kind of album that you claim to adore but in reality only own so that others can admire your quirky and eclectic taste. Not so with Hem. They do tick some of the boxes - quirky? a little; unique? definitely! - but there's plenty to love here. As listenable and delicious as ever, the band's fourth album Funnel Cloud makes for a remarkable encounter as it floats around discreetly and encases your heart in its melancholic but ultimately uplifting musical tendrils.

First single ‘We'll Meet Along The Way' could be a song from a mother to her toddler on the first day of school, a parting shot to a lover or a fond farewell from a departing grandparent; but whatever guise it takes it carries a message of benediction without seeking to hide the pitfalls that will be met en route as two paths diverge but hold the promise of a later encounter. ‘He Came To Meet Me' appropriately follows as if it were a continuation of the story, depicting a snapshot description of a day with someone whose very presence, no matter how brief, forges a memory empowered to bring light to future black clouds. The attention to detail that Hem pour into these songs suffuses the music with emotion and situational observances that never fail to convince that the band are portraying lives that they've known intimately, if not their own.

Principal songwriter Dan Messe has outdone himself with tracks like ‘Curtains' and ‘Great Houses Of New York'. So while the ever present beauty of Sally Ellyson's vocals predominantly brings the songs to life, Messe's vivid descriptions weave around the principal narrative to add the splashes of colour that accentuate the meaning. Funnel Cloud as a whole has a rare nostalgic quality that gives proceedings a feeling of timelessness, as though Hem inhabit a world inside a bubble in which commonplace incidents are made beautiful by deeply felt observances. ‘Hotel Fire' is the allegorical embodiment of the band's ability to use less attractive details to create washes of gorgeous imagery as they sing of "torn blankets [that] smell of old perfume" and follow it with a swelling refrain where "the love checks in, trips the wire / skips the bill, sets a fire". In creating such intimate portraits, Hem are enviably able to craft a song that might mean many things to many people, and therein lies their success.

Fittingly for an album titled Funnel Cloud, atmosphere is the watchword. In another universe, the title track might well have been a black and white Sunday matinee movie. Part lullaby, part hymn to growing older and discovering that boundaries have a tendency to blur, Hem deliver a classic sound that is rarely heard outside of old Hollywood musicals. ‘The Burnt-Over District' has similar qualities, and despite being purely instrumental, seems to tell a very distinct story. Here, the instruments themselves seem to sing to one another; those who object to instrumental tracks on albums should start their conversion right here.

All this talk of mesmerising melancholic sounds and sleepy afternoon cinema might lead you to think that Funnel Cloud is soporific fare at best, but Hem have their ballsy country-rock songs too and they flex their muscles farther than ever before. On songs like these, the lyrical drive is not lost but is simply set to a rowdier backing. Take ‘The Pills Stop Working' for example; sounding as if it wouldn't seem out of place as the score to a barroom brawl with its bluesy harmonica and gritty piano, it'll get you defiantly dancing rather than lazing.

For those unfamiliar with Hem, Funnel Cloud is a great place to start. Even the most melancholic numbers are infused with a great sense of camaraderie between the band members and you'll be happy to discover the magic of a band who entertain, enlighten and provide food for thought with every song. For those already converted, much contentment will be found in the more rock-oriented sounds. Hitch up those skirts and appreciate the legwork.

Loria Near

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Hem
Home Again, Home Again EP ***½
Nettwerk

Despite being a pretty well established country-folk act with four albums to their name, Hem's closest brush with mainstream popularity to date has been soundtracking a recent series of insurance ads in the States. But before you scream ‘sellout' or assume that their whimsical songs deserve no better than this most dubious of fates, further listening will uncover a much deeper resonance than fellow product endorsers Katie Melua or Norah Jones could muster between them. Wearing their emotions proudly on the sleeves of their country-hemmed shirts and blouses, Sally Ellyson and her band of men excel in soaring vocals and reflective lyrics on top of soothing arrangements. After even just a couple of listens, the melodies stick in your mind, suddenly familiar, as if you've known them since you were young. That said, the opening and closing tracks - ‘All That I'm Good For' and ‘Half Acre' have been floating around since their 2002 debut Rabbit Songs, so they're not exactly new. Nevertheless, that's what Hem do best, remind of times gone by.

Of the new songs, ‘The Part Where You Let Go' and ‘Half Asleep' blend together folk and pop melodies with the lightest of touches and are both very nice, if not wholly engaging. The fuller sound of ‘While My Hand Was Letting Go' will prick up many an ear with its blues harmonica, pedal steel, mandolin and banjo complementing an emotive and romantic string arrangement and the warm sounds of an oboe. The song's theme of tender remembrance is highlighted by Ellyson's wonderful falling refrain of "asleep I dreamt beside you while my hand was letting go." Then the EP really comes alive with the title track, ‘Home Again'. More expansive than anything else here, Hem bring in the drums, an electric guitar riff and nagging rhythm guitar. Ellyson is singing to an audience now, and not just for herself.

Sounding as fresh as ever, the night-time lullaby of ‘Half Acre' returns us to the remembrance motif, plaintively asking "what is it that you remember? / do you carry every sadness with you? / every hour your heart was broken?". Hem do heartfelt nostalgia exceedingly well, and after listening to their latest EP you'll soon be gazing wistfully out of a window thinking through your memories too.

James M Johnston

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Kristin Hersh
Learn To Sing Like A Star ••••
4AD

Bass and drums pounding like an oil sink, guitars etching intricate detail, powerful strings weaving the whole lot together, and a voice like a buzzsaw...it can only be the industrial revolution reimagined by indie godmother, Kristin Hersh. Such is ‘In Shock', the opening track of Hersh's latest solo outing Learn To Sing Like A Star (or LTSLAS for the sake of getting this review finished one day).

Since 2003's lesson in sombreness, The Grotto, Hersh has been focused on recording and touring with power-trio 50 Foot Wave, whose slabs of rock are as far removed from Hersh's solo work as one woman could be expected to go. But clearly Hersh is revelling in the noise that working with a band allows at the moment, as this release features Throwing Muses' drummer David Narcizo, 50'~ bassist Bernard Georges, and string duo The MacCarricks. By virtue of being louder, faster and several orders of magnitude more upbeat than her last release, LTSLAS harks back to 1999's amped-up Sky Motel.

An Amazon search reveals that Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson have a DVD with the same title, but woe betide the hopeful who purchases Hersh's ironically monikered record for tips - it would not fare well with the American Idol judges. Her voice may never have been ideally suited to pre-packaged pop, but boy is it remarkably versatile, as she shows off to full effect in opening two tracks, from force-of-nature snarl on ‘In Shock' to porcelain purr on ‘Nerve Endings'. The vocal is a sticking point for many people with Hersh, but once accustomed to the rasp you realise how dextrous and expressive it is. She's really something like a 60-Marlboro-a-day Joanna Newsom or a desert Billie Holiday.

It's not all straight up rock. LTSLAS in fact runs the gamut of Hersh's solo back catalogue, from the meaty pop of ‘Peggy Lee' to the acoustic lament of wasted time and lost love of ‘Ice', via the swelling grind of ‘Sugarbaby' and the short instrumentals ‘Piano 1' and ‘Piano 2'. Everything is delivered with the passion, humour and bile that any Hersh devotee has come to expect. ‘Winter' is an unforgiving monster of a song. Bells chime and strings sound thoroughly festive, but this is no Christmas carol. This is a blizzard; a white-out; a warning; a fist shaken at into the void. It's a song that expresses the contrasting feelings of hugeness and impotence in the seven words "not a fighter, you had to fight", and as good as any song Hersh has ever written, which is saying something.

If there is one failing it's a lack of cohesiveness that has marked Hersh's most recent solo releases. Every song in itself reveals more detail, intricacy, craft, and beauty on each listen, but as a whole, the mood jack-knifes from track to track. That is until the final four, which swell to the crescendo of ‘The Thin Man'. Overall, though, LTSLAS is new vintage Hersh: sardonic, sublime and packed with star quality. When next year's American Idol is flipping burgers in a freeway services, you'll still be listening to this fulfilling, hulking galaxy of an album.

Peter Hayward

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Beth Hirsch
Wholehearted ••••
Electric Bee

Beth Hirsch has been dealt a strange hand it seems. For someone who is in fact a musically-literate household name - thanks to the global success of Air's Moon Safari (on which she sings and co-writes ‘You Make It Easy' and the seminal ‘All I Need') - she has managed to since remain untouched by media spotlights. Even the artistic brilliance of solo debut Early Years, having a gorgeous duet with Wassis Diop featured in a key scene of ‘The Thomas Crown Affair' and the big-name producers on her second, critically acclaimed album Titles & Idols didn't manage to propel her to international superstardom. Judging by her latest work, however, this may not have been such a disaster.

Nearly six years on from Titles & Idols, it appears that time has been kind. Hirsch's evasion of mainstream fame has hearteningly preserved her authenticity and talent. Early Days was so called as it marked her first etchings and attempts at defining herself as a musician. Wholehearted is just as aptly titled; Hirsch has clearly put her all into its making, wisely choosing to focus on her strengths as both performer and writer rather than studio wizardry. By offsetting the striking versatility displayed on Titles & Idols with the bare bones of her debut, Wholehearted brings us the sound of a more mature artist who has found her niche. It's organic in sound and full of warmth and feeling. Her voice has always been astonishing, and now her songwriting really works in harmony with the most striking qualities of this most powerful of assets. Hirsch appears to be at a point in her life where uncertainties have been dealt with and some resolve reached. You only have to read the song titles - ‘Love Will Come Again', ‘All Together' and ‘Glad To Know' - to get a sense of assurance. It's a rare creature indeed who has the grace to spare us the usual self-indulgence and deliver something that's both optimistic and touching.

As one might expect from a Florida-born, LA resident, these songs have a lasting summery feel. Take the title track for instance; drenched in trumpets and laidback piano, it would perfectly complement a hazy August evening. Habitually in Hirsch's music, however, there's a slight sense of paradox. Optimistic lyrics are often set to music with a slightly sentimental sound, and it is this edge that keeps you coming back. "This slate is clean, but not from heaven" she sings on ‘Indelibly You', hinting some unrest still remaining. While on the whole the record is a relaxed affair, there's a touch of feistiness too ("I'm a lunatic in love"). Externalising a little, Hirsch makes some sharp and cutting observations in the magnificent ‘Life Is Short But Wide', a song that looks at the ever-potent issue of war and what it's good for (hint: not much). Her soldier protagonist writes home "but Hope has died, just as I have died / I learnt today that life is short but wide."

Simply put, Wholehearted is an album borne out of love of music. Beautifully arranged and immaculately executed, it's a thoroughly refreshing experience. While the electronic soundscapes of Titles & Idols were a wonderful addition to Hirsch's sound, her return to these simpler, uncluttered stylings is a welcome affirmation of her talent.

Rod Thomas

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Hummingbird
Tougher Than Love ••••
Flying Sparks

As any ‘Charmed' fan knows, the power of three is a well-proven principle, and with their debut album, Tougher Than Love, Hummingbird set out to reaffirm it. Debut it may be, but these are no wet behind the ears tyro artists. Rather, Hummingbird brings together three singers who are firmly established on the gig/festival circuit and each with solid recording career already under their belts. There's diminutive Cardiff rocker Amy Wadge, the gentle pop vocals of Cathy Burton and Edwina Hayes's country-folk stylings. It's a beguiling combo, blending Dixie Chicks and Indigo Girls with Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Production duties were left in the hands of songwriting and studio wizardry duo The Mighty Vibrations, whose previous credits include Sandi Thom's love-it-or-hate-it debut Smile...It Confuses People, and they've acquitted themselves surprisingly well. The ‘birds contribute four songs between them with the remainder provided by the MVs, with Thom herself cropping up as a co-writer on the engaging ‘Live Your Life Laughing'. Where Thom's debut was, to put it kindly, a little one-dimensional, Tougher Than Love is an altogether finer proposition. Lead vocals are shared out evenly between the trio, adding a pleasing variety whilst retaining enough stylistic commonality to avoid sounding like a mere compilation. Similarly, the four tracks written by the ‘birds themselves provide a nice contrast, reflecting each artist's own particular muse without breaking the mood.

The arrangements are resolutely rootsy and acoustic-based throughout. Strummed guitars, piano, Hammond and double bass provide a satisfyingly organic bed for the tracks, with additional interest being provided by tastefully employed textures from mandolin, flute, harmonica and strings. The distinctive character of each individual voice enhances the harmonies. Wadge's gritty, earthy vocal forms a solid backdrop to Hayes's more soothing coo and Burton's shimmering, delicate tones. Each song is deftly performed and catches the ear with an appealing concoction of melancholy, tenderness and uplifting optimism. Anyone who enjoyed the Voices On The Verge project, which brought together four of America's finest under-the-radar songwriters - Erin McKeown, Rose Polenzani, Jess Klein and Beth Amsel - should seek this out quicksmart.

Trevor Raggatt

Sarah Harmer
I'm A Mountain ••••
Zoe

Wears The Trousers is a bit late coming to this because one never really knows what to expect with Sarah Harmer. Having spent the ‘90s fronting the not especially great indie rock outfit Weeping Tile, 2000's solo debut You Were Here was astonishingly good. Laced with wit and sentimentality, the songs garnered critical praise from reviewers worldwide and expanded Harmer's sound. A year earlier, Songs For Clem - a duets album initially recorded for her father's ears only - had seen her exploring the realms of folk and poetry with truly affecting results. After such enormous accolades, Harmer seemed to flag with the rather lacklustre All Of Our Names. Though it still bagged her a Juno Award, it seemed a little rushed, as if the songs were simply pushed together with little definition.

Thank goodness for I'm A Mountain, then. This quietly impressive collection not only showcases all the facets of her sound that made her such a unique force in the first place, but combines all that made her previous incarnations so successful. Full of affirmations and themes of renewal and revitalisation, I'm A Mountain takes a back-to-the-land approach, both thematically and stylistically, without sounding pretentious. Starting off strongly with the gently-strummed ‘The Ring', Harmer uses the age-old metaphor of the boxing ring, but instead of focusing on the battle, she sings eloquently of the coaching support - "you thank me all the time / but now it's my turn...and it made me feel better / to have you there in my corner".

Continuing the theme of positive relationships, album highlight ‘I Am Aglow' blooms with pure bluegrass and is as whimsically singalong as anyone could possibly want. But not every song is quite so light-hearted; ‘Escarpment Blues', inspired by Harmer's own youth spent on an Ontario farm, laments the threat to the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Facing modern day land use issues with an intelligent ear, the lyrics read less like an alarmist diatribe and more like a concerned citizen speaking during a council meeting. With a soft voice full of gentle concern, Harmer sings "if they blow a hole in my backyard / everyone is gonna run away / the creeks won't flow to the Great Lake below / will the water in the wells still be okay?" It certainly doesn't approach the hard-hitting music of the ‘60s protest masters, but Harmer does a magnificent job of echoing her concern without being patronising about what makes modern convenience such a part of day-to-day life.

The centrepiece of the record, however, is Harmer's cover of the Dolly Parton classic ‘Will He Be Waiting For Me?', to which she brings a delicate vulnerability that, whilst still retaining the wistfulness of the original, gives the song a slightly different perspective. Sparse and unforced yet fulfilling and ultimately satisfying, I'm A Mountain has it all - intelligent songwriting, fine musicianship and well-written songs. Harmer doesn't go the currently popular country-noir chanteuse route, already done to near perfection by Neko Case and Jenny Lewis; instead, she sticks to more playful yet conscientiously lyrical poetry and whimsical seriousness. These are uncontrived sketches, inspired by country music before it went pop, bluegrass when it was pure and new takes on age-old stories told time after time in song.

Loria Near 
originally published October 5th, 2006

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Emmylou Harris & Mark Knopfler
All The Roadrunning •••½ 
Mercury

The illustrious career of Emmylou Harris has been marked by a series of creative collaborations with other singers and musicians. From the first, now legendary, Gram Parsons duets through her work with Linda Rondstadt and Dolly Parton as one third of Trio to her partnership with Daniel Lanois on Wrecking Ball, Harris has sought out (and been sought out by) a range of diverse collaborators. In the meantime, she's also continued to raise harmony singing to new artistic heights on records by Lucinda Williams, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, John Prine, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, Patty Griffin, the McGarrigles and just about anyone else you care to name. The most significant of these collaborations have served an important function for Harris, allowing her to explore all kinds of areas of the country-folkrock palette and keep her own particular brand of "cosmic American music" fresh and vital. Crucially, however, even her most experimental work has always retained a distinctive personality, a kind of purity, elegance and poise that justifies Lucinda Williams's description of her as "the Grace Kelly of country music."

We haven't heard much from Harris since 2003's Stumble Into Grace, a record that saw her continuing to wed her own newly-discovered songwriting abilities to Wrecking Ball-esque sonic atmospherics. Once again demonstrating once again her ability to inspire and engage with new generations, she turned up on Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake (It's Morning), adding some genuine country-folk ache to Conor Oberst's sometimes strained musings, and also made a distinguished contribution to the ‘Brokeback Mountain' soundtrack with ‘A Love That Will Never Grow Old'. All The Roadrunning finds her in collaborative mode once again, teaming up this time with Mark Knopfler on a set of twelve new tracks, ten penned by Knopfler, two by Harris herself.

Knopfler and Harris first appeared together on the 2001 Hank Williams tribute album Timeless and All The Roadrunning has been in the pipeline ever since. Reviewers of the album so far have focused to an almost indecent degree on the singers' respective ages, as though a record made by two people over fifty must inevitably be less ‘hip' than ‘hip replacement'. That said, even the most cursory listen to All The Roadrunning reveals a degree of class and style that only experience can buy. Indeed, as soon as the album opens, with sturdy drums, mandolin and Knopfler's distinctive guitar licks, we know we're in safe hands. ‘Beachcombing' is a joyous song of homecoming on which Harris and Knopfler's voices combine with disarming ease and grace. Surely it can be no mere coincidence that their first shared vocal line is on the lyric "We had a harmony". The often-used ‘silk and sandpaper' analogy has never been more apt, and on ‘This Is Us' they duplicate the feat achieved by Harris and Willie Nelson on 'Gulf Coast Highway', sounding like a long-married couple leafing through a lifetime of intimate memories.

Repeatedly, the album's songs strike a balance between regret and resignation, mixing melancholy with a sense of possibility and hope for the future. Knopfler's atmospheric guitar work makes ‘I Dug Up A Diamond' truly sparkle, accordion and fiddle turn ‘Red Staggerwing' into a rootsy reel, and the pensive verses of ‘Rollin' On' give way to a rush of hope and optimism in the choruses. The delicate ‘Love & Happiness' resembles ‘Fields Of Gold', while ‘Donkey Town', with its small-town adultery and escape for one of the three protagonists, wouldn't have sounded at all out of place on Springsteen's Devils & Dust, with Knopfler taking the lead and Harris joining him on the hushed but resolved choruses. The chiming ‘Beyond My Wildest Dreams', on the other hand, could be arena-rock Springsteen, as Harris and Knopfler unashamedly celebrate a love that has endured beyond either of the protagonist's imaginings. The beautiful title track - a warm and moving song of time and travel - is the undisputed standout.

As a whole, however, the album is not an entirely smooth journey; ‘Right Now' is something of a dull generic plod and ‘Belle Starr' never quite achieves lift off. But the finale of ‘If This Is Goodbye' features Harris's ghostliest, most enchanting vocal and makes for a supremely graceful closer. With its smooth, easy arrangements and comfortable ‘70s country-rock ambience, it's fair to say that the album breaks no new stylistic ground. The Harris record it most resembles is Western Wall, her 1999 collaboration with Linda Rondstadt, and while it's ultimately just too conventional an album to rank up there as one of her most memorable collaborative efforts, it's an undisputedly lovely one nonetheless. Tender, quietly inspiring and surprisingly addictive.

Alex Ramon
originally published April 24th, 2006 

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Julia Harris
These Days EP ••••
Redcase

When Wears The Trousers chose Cardiff-born singer Julia Harris as one of our picks for ‘06, it was on the basis of a couple of homemade live albums, a growing buzz about her on the singer-songwriter circuit and a nagging hunch that the UK had finally found its answer to Ani DiFranco. These Days is Harris's first nationwide studio release, so were we right to hype her?

Glad to say but of course! With These Days, Harris restores our belief that a grass roots buzz really can be the product of hard work, originality and sheer talent, rather than calculated media spin (Miss Thom, I'm looking at you). Of course, the DiFranco factor is writ large throughout these four wonderful songs, but Harris stamps so much of her own individuality on them that any notion of facsimile is summarily dismissed. Her vocal is rather more smooth and soulful than DiFranco's sometimes abrasive rasp, an asset best displayed when she lobs an unexpectedly brilliant folk scat into ‘Sticks & Stones', or the soaring, pure falsetto she pulls out the bag for ‘Your Love'.

Her muscular and funky playing style is individual too, energetically propelling both the songs and your shuffling feet. The sympathetic production allows Harris' energy to shine through the mix rather than languish beneath a veneer of compressed homogeneity. Keeping to a rhythm section of drums and acoustic bass allows a degree of jazziness to permeate the songs, picking up the natural funky flavour of Harris's writing and delivery. Indeed, one of the most refreshing things about her is a lightness of tone and spirit. That's not to say she doesn't dwell on some of life's more important issues, simply that she actually brings insight instead of just handwringing angst.

Kicking off with the celebratory title track, with its funky rhythm, singalong chorus and quirky arrangement, it's apparent from the off that this is one song that you'll keep coming back to. The almost tribal woo-hoos and insidious hooks are undeniably engaging and just get better and better with each listen. In the hands of another, 'Sticks & Stones' might seem a little clunky, topically at least, with Harris pointing fingers at those who don't consider the knock-on effects of an off-hand put-down on a more fragile spirit.

But it's not in the hands of another and Harris delivers her message with a cheeky wink and sassy sense of self-reliance. The reggae-styled verses of ‘Your Love ‘contrast nicely with the acoustic rock chorus and avoids the lovestruck clichés so many tend to rely on. Closing number ‘Leave' belies its ‘live studio jam' appellation by serving up a lean, well-structured ditty on getting the hell out of a destructive relationship. Aside from a few, er, ‘jazzier' notes on the bass, you'd be hard pressed to notice that this was a live cut, it's that well done. With the promise of a proper full-length debut some time in the winter or early 2007, Harris will be one to keep an eye on for a long while yet. There's plenty more there this lot came from and you won't want to miss it.

Trevor Raggatt
originally published August 10th, 2006 

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PJ Harvey
Peel Sessions 1991-2004 ••••
Fontana/Island

As a tribute to mark the second anniversary of John Peel's death, PJ Harvey joins Siouxsie & The Banshees, Múm, Pulp, The House Of Love and others in releasing a series of tracks recorded for the late DJ's show. Harvey, who handpicked the tracklist herself, completed nine sessions with Peel between 1991 and 2004, and he was reportedly pleased to have had a long standing association with not only one of his favourite artists but also a great friend. On her part, Harvey has gone on record as saying how important hers and other artists' Peel Sessions have been, with their raw sound resulting from the live studio setup.

Harvey's first session took place on October 29, 1991, a full year before her debut album Dry was even released, and it's a fine testament to Peel's eagerness to champion undiscovered talent that his early support would be so well rewarded. The tracks from this session - ‘Oh My Lover', ‘Victory', ‘Sheela-Na- Gig' and ‘Water' - are delivered with the poise and confidence of an established performer. As she would demonstrate later on 4 Track Demos, Harvey's songs maintain their veracity and power when stripped to their barest essence, and these early tracks compare well with their album counterparts.

Later sessions from 1993 and 1996 make for an eclectic mix of tracks from 4 Track Demos, Rid Of Me and Dance Hall At Louse Point, Harvey's under-the- radar but brilliant collaboration with John Parish. To a certain extent, Harvey's choices avoid those songs already released in bare bones versions, instead revisiting those that were previously furnished with more production and polish. Recordings from the most recent sessions showcase Harvey's vocals at their most fierce. Her gutsy, raw energy reverberates right through the staggering ‘This Wicked Tongue', previously available only as a bonus track on Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. The final track, ‘You Come Through', was recorded in tribute to Peel just six weeks after his sudden passing whilst on holiday in Peru. It's a fittingly emotional recording with added poignancy and a welcome addition to this collection.

All in all, though it is far from exhaustive of the material stashed away on tape somewhere, this is an essential album for fans of Harvey and/or Peel, saluting both her daring, nervy style and his unwavering punk rock spirit.

Stephanie Heney
originally published December 17th, 2006

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Juliana Hatfield
Made In China ••••
Ye Olde Records

So Juliana Hatfield is back with her tenth solo album, as challenging and contrary as ever. If, like me, you lost track of her somewhere around album three, 1995's Only Everything, this is a chance to renew your acquaintance. Called Made In China to indicate her disposable and marketable state, the album features her stripped bare on the cover. Being Juliana, it's just her torso, there to also represent where her music comes from. Like many artists, after early major label experience, Hatfield retreated to the underground and the safety of a small independent label and the freedom to do her own prolific thing. So after releasing almost one album per year, not to mention various band reunions and side project Some Girls, has the former Blake Baby grown up?

Well, the album kicks off in familiar territory with the classic brooding power-pop of ‘New Waif', all the sass of old coming to the fore. It's to the lyrics you should look for a statement of intent, with their opening plea of "you better give this girl something, because she's dying for a lie". ‘What Do I Care' continues the nostalgia trip, its bratty vocals accompanying a slice of Babes In Toyland-style grunge, a trick that's similarly employed and even trumped on ‘Stay Awake'. It's the former, however, that lyrically sums up the fragile and paradoxical mood of the album. See: "Made in China for the masses, I'm cheap and plastic ... / you can buy me / you can break me / you can laugh but you'll see it's so easy / what the fuck? / it's a miracle I'm even here".

It's at this point that you realise what a big debt Avril Lavigne and her ilk owe to Hatfield. She barged the doors open and got trampled in the rush as the anodyne clones polished the product, making it more palatable and MTV friendly. This however is the real thing, challenging the listener yet remaining immensely tuneful. ‘On Video' is Redd Kross-flavoured ‘70s rock, ‘Hole In The Sky' goes for a hippie-ish acoustic feel, while ‘Oh' pinches a slice of the riff from Suede's ‘The Drowners' and gets all slinky on us. In the rockier mid-section, ‘My Pet Lion' kicks off like an early Bangles track, followed by the feisty power-pop of ‘Going Blonde'. ‘Rats In The Attic' is reminiscent of ‘Nirvana' from 1993's Become What You Are, with Hatfield fitting a little girl lost vocal over a grinding rock tune.

There's a big flourish to finish, a sinister and spooky number called ‘A Doe & Two Fawns', which begins with winding electric guitar that leads into double-tracked vocals, before segueing into a long fadeout, with a shaker adding to the ill feeling. That, in turn, leads into ‘Send Money', a sprawling, psychotic letter to God and his overeager believers. Unlike some of her contemporaries, Hatfield is still on top form after all these years. Now I owe it to her to go back and catch up on what I've missed.

Russell Barker
originally published March 7th, 2006 

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Kate Havnevik
Melankton ••½
Continentica

Classically trained but rebellious from an early age - she was a member of an all-girl punk band back in Oslo - Havnevik lends an orchestral ear to a pop mentality on her debut album Melankton. Influences as diverse as jazz guitar, string quartets, punk percussion and sweeping electronica find some middle ground underneath her almost childlike (and, yes, a little Björkian) vocals. Despite the mix, the songs can sound eerily familiar and samey, particularly if you've recently purchased either of Frou Frou's Details or Imogen Heap's Speak For Yourself (and if not, why not?). The link is songwriter Guy Sigsworth, Heap's other half in Frou Frou and all-round electronica-with-heart genius who writes with Havnevik. Sadly, Melankton comes across as a slightly under-par combination of his last two projects. That's not to say that there isn't anything good here, rather that, with competition like Heap, it's got to be better than good to qualify.

From the minimalist album sleeve to the stark synth of opener 'Unlike Me', the similarities with Speak For Yourself are clear. It's also clear that Havnevik can sing; she has a good range but doesn't flaunt it unless it's appropriate. ‘Not Fair' could be a contender for the next Bond theme, all sweeping strings and dramatic chorus, but the album doesn't really get interesting until the quirky pop of ‘You Again'. Frustratingly, the next four tracks give us a glimpse of what might have been; ‘Serpentine' and ‘Sleepless' are solid album tracks with good hooks, but it's ‘Kaleidoscope' and ‘Suckerlove' that remind you that this is a debut from someone with promise. If she can write more like these two, Havnevik has serious future potential. ‘Kaleidoscope' in particular is glorious, far and away the best track on Melankton - simple structure, great melody and a hook you'll find yourself humming over and over again long after its finished, wondering where it came from.

Which is the point, I suppose. Another four or five ‘Kaleidoscopes' and you'd remember exactly where it came from. The rest suffer from predictable over- experimentation and forgettable melodies, despite some promising starts and the occasionally appealing middle-eight. Recent collaborators include Moby, Royksopp and Noel Hogan of The Cranberries and if Havnevik can harness their talent for a tune, her sophomore effort will be a must-buy; until then, download ‘Kaleidoscope' and ‘Suckerlove' and hope for the best.

Paul Woodgate
originally published September 17th, 2006

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Edwina Hayes / Sam Semple
Live at the Half Moon, Putney ••••
August 13, 2006

It's an accident of chance that a room out the back of some South London pub should be elevated above similar rooms in other hostelries to minor rock icon status. However, that's the Half Moon in Putney's good fortune and its none-more-black interior has seen performances by thousands of artists. On this particular rain-spattered evening, the select crowd who had forsaken an evening in front of the telly were treated to the distinctive country-folk sounds of rising star Edwina Hayes.

Despite having just come off the touring treadmill as special guest on Nanci Griffith's UK tour (at the specific request of Lubbock, TX's folkabilly queen, no less!) she seems genuinely delighted to be gracing the Half Moon's rather more bijou stage. Add in the "adopted hometown" energy of a rare London show and the family and friends scattered among the audience and anticipation is running high. Tonight's support is provided by Sam Semple whose stream of consciousness balladry passes the time pleasantly enough but does little more. 

No faint praise for the main event though as Hayes graces the room with a beguilingly open, natural air that easily draws the audience in and wins them over. Sure, her vocal and performance style do owe a lot to her personal heroine, Griffith, but Hayes's maturity as a writer belies her years and her performance is assured. Scattered among the anecdotes are songs from her debut album, Out On My Own, alongside others that are as yet unrecorded and covers of Gillian Welch and Randy Newman.

One perennial danger of solo acoustic gigs is that they can sometimes become a little monotonous. Hayes's gentle guitar style, however, mixes things up sufficiently that such a problem is avoided. In places, her country- style finger-picking lets the top strings ring clear like chiming bells, such as on the touching ‘Leave A Light On For You', while numbers like ‘Tell Me So' witness a shift in the mood, elegantly lurching in a bluesier direction. However, Hayes's masterstroke is to take the opportunity of playing in the city to rope in songwriting buddy and longtime London session hound David ‘Dzal' (pronounced ‘diesel') Martin on second guitar, bringing further richness to the sound.

Although there is clearly a little busking going on with the chord sequences on occasion, the veteran's experience and professionalism pay dividends. Only the pickiest ear would detect any hesitation in his playing. Certainly his acoustic solo on ‘I Can't Believe', his emotive slide on ‘Tell Me So' and his country blues twang-riffing on ‘Long Highway' catch the ear and linger in the memory. All in all, this was a hugely enjoyable evening and one that bodes well for Hayes's involvement alongside Amy Wadge and Rosalie Deighton in their Voices On The Verge-style singer-songwriter collective Hummingbird later in 2006.

Trevor Raggatt 
originally published September 17th, 2006

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Imogen Heap
Speak For Yourself [reissue] ••••½
White Rabbit / SonyBMG

First the facts: Speak For Yourself is Heap's second solo effort. Her first, I Megaphone, was released in 1998. Somewhere in between, she achieved a degree of success through her collaboration with Guy Sigsworth in the form of Frou Frou, releasing Details, an electronica album with hidden depths and the first hint of what was to come. After the party, however, it seems everyone else went home, so what's a girl to do? Easy! Re-mortgage the flat and spend a year of her life writing and recording an album and issuing it under her own label, Megaphonic. What's that you say, sounds like a rubbish idea? Hardly! Through word of mouth alone in the UK and ‘The OC' effect in the States, Heap sold 100,000 copies of Speak For Yourself off her own back. Now, SonyBMG have bought the distribution rights and re-released it behind some heavyweight promo. Cross your fingers the big boys know what to do with her, because Heap has crafted a thing of beauty. You can hold every minute of this album up to the light and it sparkles. It's all Tiffany, no Ratners.

It's not immediately obvious why it's so good. A busy sound, conjured from banks of computers and organic instruments, presents itself as the modern equivalent of early ‘80s synth culture, with added orchestra, guitars and, for all I know, the kitchen sink. Eno beeps, Trevor Horn synths, fuzz bass, multi-layered vocals - you name it, Speak For Yourself has got it; there's value for money here, but given bold brush, a sense of space and warmth. This isn't a cold record; the melodies are beautiful. And then it hits you - it's the lyrics. The words are worthy of Neils Tennant and Finn and all the songwriting geniuses who know that pop works best when it doesn't treat its listeners like idiots. They capture perfectly the way our emotions play and are played with, in a contemporary language that pulls no punches.

For example, on ‘Just For Now', Heap dissects a longterm relationship with bruised resignation over the space of one afternoon's dinner party and three minutes of haunting music: "How did you know? It's what I always wanted, you can never have too many of these." You've heard that before, right? How about: "Bite tongue, deep breaths, count to ten, nod your head... whoever put on this music had better quick sharp remove it, pour me another, and don't wag your finger at me". Is that affecting enough for you? On the a cappella ‘Hide & Seek', a vocoder'd hymn to betrayal, Heap sings "Mm what d'ya say? Oh, that you only meant well, well of course you did, that it's all for the best, of course it is, mm that it's just what we need, you decided this?" - I can't do it justice in a review, you have to hear it to know she's lived it.

Superlatives are bandied around far too often. Each new find is the next big thing and then a future footnote in the gossip columns. Heap won't win everyone over - that's the beauty of opinion, but this lifelong music obsessive is happy to go on record and state that Speak For Yourself is the most consistent, wonderfully inventive and stick-it-on-repeat record he's heard in the last 18 months. Speaking for myself. And I've broken my word count to try and convince you.

Paul Woodgate
originally published May 26th, 2006 

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Imogen Heap
Colston Hall, Bristol ••••
October 4th, 2006

Entering through a side door midway through the stalls just seconds after the lights go down, Imogen Heap looks half-Amazonian, half-techno warrior beamed back from the future. Already strikingly lofty, a feather-and flower-topped mohawk makes her look even taller as she strolls through the audience, keyboard slung over her shoulder like a weapon, to take her place on the stage. It's a captivating opening and the gig that follows doesn't disappoint. Opening with ‘I Am In Love With You', sung on the way to the stage, Heap soon positions herself in front of a very fancy Perspex piano before swiftly launching into ‘Speeding Cars' - a track that truly shows off her beautiful, versatile voice, and the audience is clearly enthralled.

It's all the more surprising, therefore, when Heap apologises to the crowd for feeling under par - she later proves to be very adept at between-song banter and even introduces the frog in her throat to the audience - but if anything, the added huskiness works in her favour. Only during encore ‘Hide & Seek' does this prevent her from reaching the highest notes, and she pauses mid-song to say sorry. Of course, this only makes the already rapturously appreciative Colston Hall warm to her even further. Frog or no frog, Heap's voice can deliver a stupendous, piercing wail when required. It's a trick that she rarely deploys and is all the more effective for it; accompanied by flashing strobe lights and the fierce but controlled backing of her four- piece band, the impact is thrilling.

Musically, the set holds surprises throughout, not least the bursts of metallic, distorted energy that momentarily transform ‘Loose Ends' and ‘Daylight Robbery'. On songs where she does not play piano or keyboards, Heap dances at the front of the stage. Doing something akin to 'the robot', silhouetted by stark lighting and surrounded by swirling mist, she cuts a striking, androgynous figure. Playing only one song from her first record I Megaphone (‘Candle Light') and one Frou Frou song (‘Let Go'), the set draws very heavily from last year's Speak For Yourself. But why not? It's an excellent album and the only track this reviewer missed was early single ‘Come Here Boy'. The perfect, punchy pop of latest single ‘Headlock' is a definite highlight, the crystal clear sound in the venue making the song seem even more impressive than on record. As well as her band, Heap has all manner of pre-programmed beats, samples and vocal effects at her disposal, and she uses these to full effect to recreate the album's sparkling sonic clarity.

The stage setup is a little puzzling; the Perspex piano, of which Heap is clearly very proud, is beautiful, but the lit tree stage left and bauble-esque reflective circles on the right give the show a (presumably unintentional) Christmassy feel. However, when the sole criticism you have of a concert concerns the stage set, you know you've watched a stellar gig. I'm pretty sure that the wildly applauding crowd and people dancing in the aisles would agree.

Danny Weddup
originally published October 14th, 2006

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Helene
Routines •••½
Series 8

A nebulous creation borne out of the band Barefoot Contessa, Helene Dineen and Graham Gargiulo retained their songwriting partnership under the simple moniker Helene to allow Dineen's fragile, soulful voice to become the focus - and it's a remarkable focus at that. A well-travelled instrument, having lived in Israel, London and Berlin at various junctures, at times her vocal is quite plainly British, while at others it coos with a soft Gallic lilt. This second album is a similarly experienced, richly varied tapestry of sounds and creative techniques that combine bluesy and folk-pop notes underpinned by rockier sounds. From poignant, philosophical numbers like ‘Sammy Is A Solider Now' to ‘Beat Dream', a powerful instrumental torrent that positively zings with high-octane guitars, these songs are anything but routine.

With such an experienced band behind her, Dineen can rely on some carefully crafted, extraordinary musicality to back up that voice, and boy does she make the most of her crew. First single ‘This Is All We Have To Know' is a sweetly penned, guitar-centric ode to love, concluding that it is "better breath than air", while ‘Forever In A Day' allows the band to unfurl their shapely rock wings in a distinctly refreshing manner. Dineen's vocal lovingly echoes the guitar melody and is bolstered by brilliant, hard-edged bridges that should seem out of place but work surprisingly well.

Outstanding totems of individuality are found also in ‘Nothing To You' and ‘I Need A Girl'. The former edges away from the band's sweeter side with an evidently Dylan-influenced ditty with a sumptuous refrain that proclaims "I can't be all things to everyone and nothing to you", while the latter - a fantastic duet with Gargiulo - takes classic folk influences with an intriguing male/ female dynamic and a twist to its tale. It seems wrong not to mention every song in turn - each one seems to grow and resonate more with every play - but that's half the joy of the album and it would be a crime to spoil it. Routines, then; always a pleasure, never a chore!

Gem Nethersole 
originally published October 5th, 2006

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Hem
Eveningland •••••
Liberty

The story of Hem is as warming as their music. Brought together by their love of Americana and alt-country music, songwriter Dan Messe and producer/ engineer Gary Maurer placed an advert in a local paper for a like-minded vocalist, leading to their discovery of the very talented Sally Ellyson, who, despite possessing a truly affecting voice, had been too shy to sing in public. Together with Steve Curtis, George Rush, Mark Brotter, Bob Hoffnar and Heather Zimmerman, they released their articulate and folksy debut, Rabbit Songs, in 2001. In contrast, Eveningland is an opulent, lush and stronger album; a long-tabled banquet with Ellyson's vocals the centrepiece, somehow managing to be both intimate and closed, sultry and breezy, often within the same song.

Over this 16-track offering, Hem infuse into these tunes a variety of influences, from the gentle ‘70s country-pop of The Carpenters to the more contemporary hints of Natalie Merchant post-10,000 Maniacs. The Slovak Radio Orchestra also pay a visit, their delicate strings adding considerable texture and depth, thrusting the songs to great cinematic heights. Fittingly, the songwriting imbues every song with vivid and beautiful imagery from the heartbreaking lines of lost love in ‘The Fire Thief' ("Sometimes a heart can break and make its own relief, the way a cold dark night invites the fire thief") to the images of the traveller in ‘Pacific Street' ("Well I don't know you except in the way a traveller knows a traveller, the way a station can tempt you to stay and spend some time inside it"), each song seems like a standalone artwork, as if each were a four-minute film. Nothing is more representative of the cinematic style than the all-too-brief instrumental, 'Eveningland', which rises and swells mid-album to wrap the listener in sound. Elsewhere, the band weave the sounds of a lullaby into ‘Lucky', infuse a Randy Newman-esque pop sensibility into ‘Receiver', and ably reflect the longings of the great country balladeers such as Loretta Lynn in the stunning ‘Dance Me Home'.

Hem take chances as well, gracefully lending the Johnny and June Carter Cash duet ‘Jackson' a sleepy wistfulness that the roughhewn original has never before known. Though the song was made famous as a playful, rocking tune about a misdemeaning man whose wife makes sure her voice is heard ("Go on down to Jackson, go on and wreck your health"), Ellyson sings the part as a seductive taunt, preserving the sense of a woman scorned, but without the original's inherent violence, and the best part is it works. Album closer, ‘Carry Me Home', is a murder ballad that focuses not on the crime, but rather the healing from the traumatic event. Even with such a morbid topic, the song leaves the listener revelling in hope as Ellyson softly sings the refrain "tell me nothing's wrong there".

Disappointingly, the UK release doesn't seem to feature the hidden track available elsewhere, an a cappella version of the traditional number, ‘Now The Day Is Over', that Ellyson sings with an exquisite slight tremble. That minor grumble aside, Eveningland is a superb collection of songs that, despite the prevailing themes of love long lost and death, still contain a rare sense of hope and uplift that will comfort you for hours.

Loria Near
originally published December 19th, 2005 

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Hem
No Word From Tom •••½ 
Nettwerk

Some might say that after just two critically acclaimed albums, an experimental collection of covers, live tracks and reworked originals might be a bit of an ego trip. However, when the band in question is Brooklyn-based countrypolitans Hem, the idea becomes less self-absorbed and far more provocative. In fact, it becomes downright curious, especially with a casual glancing of the tracklist. Boasting everything from fully orchestrated live tracks to rollicking covers of unexpected independent hits to country standards, No Word From Tom is certainly rangier than either of its predecessors. Much of the band's appeal and undoubtedly their strongest asset lies in the voice of Sally Ellyson, and both the a cappella version of traditional standard ‘All The Pretty Horses' and their gorgeous cover of Tony Joe White's ‘Rainy Night In Georgia' wisely capitalise on this. What's more, they showcase the very sort of song that Hem has made their signature; forlorn and longing, yet subtle and flowing, they start things off with vigour and promise.

But Hem don't just dawdle along routes they've already travelled. To show they've been busy trying new things, they throw in some contemporary covers to keep the flow interesting and to showcase Ellyson's wider range where a typical Hem song would keep it close. Nowhere is this more evident than in the acoustic rendition of Fountains Of Wayne's ‘Radiation Vibe'. While theirs isn't nearly as funky as the original, Hem gamely jam along, giving the song a little more depth and feeling than even Chris Collingwood could muster. The live tracks, too, shine brightly. Ellyson's vocals soar above the music as it colours the gaps behind her, seemingly formed by alchemical reaction. The sound is full and resonant, losing little of the detail of their studio counterparts and proving that Hem are just as solid an outfit outside of the studio as they are magical within it.

However, the album doesn't always gel as well as either Rabbit Songs or Eveningland. The addition of REM's ‘South Central Rain' works as an interesting interpretation of the band's early classic, but for once the signature slo-core vocals detract from rather than add to the song. The same is true with many of the reworked originals. For instance, ‘Eveningland' has swelled to twice its original length, and although it works on its own, the original did the job so succinctly that you can't help but feel they are needlessly stretching out something that worked just fine the way it was. As the album goes on... and on... and on, for just under an hour, it's hard to escape the notion that Hem are reaching for something that they never quite grasp, a feeling of earnestness that just isn't resolved by the time it draws to close.

Perhaps No Word From Tom would have worked better as either an entire album of covers or an entire album of live performances. As it is, this will do more to entertain longtime fans than generate new ones, and the band just don't play long enough with new ideas to break any ground. Nevertheless, they continue to grow and shine as a band on the up, and whilst this latest release may be quietly indulgent, who's to say that a band as good as Hem don't deserve that opportunity.

Loria Near
originally published March 19th, 2006 

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Kristin Hersh
1980 Forward: Live at the Scala ••••
November 21-22, 2005

[Note from the editor: When Wears The Trousers heard that the queen of alternately bruised and bruising alt-rock was playing back-to-back acoustic retrospectives of her solo work and time with the Throwing Muses, we practically fell over our dribbling selves to wangle us an invite. Then, having managed that, we scrapped like Bette and Joan over who would get to go and bask in the bliss of nostalgia. Being of a somewhat democratic, fair-minded persuasion, I opted not to pull rank but instead to offer up straws to my compadres, of which I predictably drew the shortest. Sigh. So here's the lowdown from the lucky ones... nice guys finish last people, remember that!]

November 21, 2005

This first night of Kristin Hersh's mini-residency at the Scala in aid of record label 4AD's 25th birthday celebrations (dubbed ‘1980 Forward') saw her revisiting the songs of the Throwing Muses, the band that made her name in the mid-1980s as lead singer, songwriter and crunchy guitarist. For us of a certain age, many remember the Muses very fondly, occupying a similar space to Sonic Youth, early REM and fellow 4ADers, the Pixies, and yet parading an unmuddied style of their own. Armed with a string of excellently angular and unsettling songs piloted by the many mercurial gifts of Miss Hersh, they gathered a substantial underground following, while never really crossing over in such grand style as some of their peers.

The Muses were also a troubled group, and while being flat broke and quarrelling for most of their existence undoubtedly spurred them to musical and lyrical heights, it cost them dearly their peace of mind. Certainly, Hersh's mind is famously unpeaceful, her songwriting often serving to exorcise her vivid hallucinations, so it was not really clear just how happy she would be trotting out a whole night's worth of old, and in some cases presumably painful, memories. It's no surprise then that the Scala crowd are tentatively hopeful but entirely unsure of how the night would progress. Mostly in their late 20s and early 30s, they definitely aren't looking to thrash about the way they first did to these songs, but then Hersh herself is a good bit older too.

After kicking off comfortably with ‘Hook In Her Head' and ‘Teller', the crowd start to warm up with ‘Rabbit's Dying'. Hersh's voice begins to open up, revealing the maturity acquired after two decades of uninhibited performance. From then on, she noticeably settles, introducing 'Cottonmouth' as a drunkenly overheard and furiously scribbled down conversation between two equally drunk sisters in a bar with Hersh's own half-sister and bandmate Tanya Donelly. After banging out another couple (‘Hazing' and ‘Run Letter'), she wearily declares "What a horrible trip down memory lane". It's a relieving, ice-breaking thing to say and she smiles, clearly enjoying herself despite (or even because of) the memories.

As things get increasingly comfortable, Hersh treats us a few more unhurried anecdotes. We learn that ‘Pearl' is about her virtually blind, psoriasis-suffering childhood friend, Marie, who won the Presidential Fitness Award (introduced by Ronald "Ketchup is a vegetable" Reagan) for doggedly hanging onto a horizontal bar the longest. She says something nice about 4AD: ("Mmmmm, 4AD... yum") and complains after ‘Drive' that the songs drag on too much ("None of them end! I keep waiting for them to end!"). She also tells us how the band used to amuse themselves during the long overnight sessions recording 1990's Hunkpapa album by betting on rat races in the alleyway under the studio. Apparently, Prince's erstwhile head bimbo, Apollonia, had the requisite cash to record her ‘album' one syllable at a time in the studio's daylight hours. Then she spins/spits out fantastic versions of ‘Bea', ‘Counting Backwards' and ‘Delicate Cutters' before going off stage to plenty of enthusiastic cheer.

And it's not too long before she returns for a fantastic four-song encore, accompanied on strings by Martin and Joan McCarrick. Hersh then plays three tracks from the last Muses album Limbo, saying that the band should've been called ‘The Martin Show' by that point ("...better name for a band too"). Her renditions of ‘White Bikini Sands', ‘Limbo' and ‘Serene' each sound even better than the last. As a nice touch, she admits that ‘White Bikini Sands', a hidden track on the album, is probably