Outsideleft Week in Music featuring Keeley Forsyth in OUTSIDELEFT

RECORD OF THE WEEK

KEELEY FORSYTH - Limbs (The Leaf Label) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite
by Jay Lewis

Jay Lewis favors the Keeley Forsyth LP, Limbs. There's a full review right here.

SINGLES

THE CHATS - Struck By Lightning (unknown) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_border
by Lee Paul

Australia's The Chats have a new single, Struck By Lightning and I can't imagine there will be a more relentlessly intense release this week. When the drummer clicks you in you know this is going to be ruthless and it is. The Chats are in the middle of a UK tour that will be coming to a town near you unless that town is Birmingham. The kind of pop punk that never goes away. Great.

SPRINTS - Delia Smith (Nice Swan Recordings) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_border
by Katherine Pargeter

'Who wants to be special anyway?'
'Me, fucking, me!'
Not the first song to name-drop a celebrity chef, but by far the best.

OUMOU SANGARé - Wassulu Don (World Circuit) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_border
by Tim London

For the (very) odd OL reader who might be troubled by the profusion of darker brown shades of skin of some of the artists that get reviewed here, here’s a nice reminder of where rocknroll comes from. Worth it for the guitar solo alone. Glorious.

HORACE ANDY - Try Love (On U Sound) favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_borderfavorite_border
by Tim London

At 71, Horace Andy still sounds militantly delicate, his voice as gorgeous as ever. Here he is on a decent, sparse rhythm, somewhat decorated by strings and some baroque synth lines. Give him a classic song and he could deliver a classic performance. Not sure many singers in their 70s could do that (Elton, I’m looking at you…).

PUSSY RIOT FEATURING (VéRITé AND LATASHà - Laugh It Off (Neon Gold) favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_borderfavorite_border
by Tim London

Who says punks have to punk? The Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova has, apparently, raised over $7m for aid in Ukraine so perhaps this song is irrelevant. Or, perhaps, considering the situation, pop music has never been more important. I think Joe Strummer would have made a rotten soldier, for what it's worth.

JIM PERKINS - For Rhodora (unknown record label) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite
by Ancient Champion

Sucker for a solitary piano

SCOUT LARUE WILLIS - Shouldn't I Be (UN) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_border
by Toon Traveller

Scout LaRue Willis, has a name complicated to type and a great crystal clear voice, sharp and demanding attention. And since she already has the attention of no less than NPR's Tiny Desk instigator, Bob Boilen, "heartbreaker of a tune with a yearning voice to tell the tale" he said upon hearing "Love Without Possession". We're going to take a listen too. 'Shouldn't I Be' is from a forthcoming full length to be released in the summer. There's plaintive pain and suffering in Scout's voice, it's not the sad end of the night, all played out, loved out and lost; Life goes on, drags on, shuffles, hesitant slowly. Yeah there's a tinge of self doubt, loathing but all too, thankfully, little self pity. Shouldn't I Be is begins with the (self) awareness of a need to pick up, but just not being ready yet. We all feel the guilt, the hurt that comes in love, it's cracked hearts, not broken but still not able to be repaired, damaged yes, but not sticking plaster repaired, with a pain that's recognized as a price to pay for love, but in the words, and the voice, there's a sense that it's been worth it. The Xena the Warrior Princess Country folk look, I am unsure if that's gonna catch on.

COOL MARITIME - Temporal Dryft (Western Vinyl) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_border
by Toon Traveller

Oh wow! What a great slice of electro pop, synth patterns, and jabs of sound, melody, and repetition. Not a lot to dislike here, it could be a wildlife soundtrack, it could be incidental music for scene setting shots in a mini series. It's there, urban, poppy, happy, light. this is lightweight, but still demanding 'systems', 'minimalist music', Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, Max Richter, are the gods of the form. Sure some readers know these voices and sounds, and regard this a "lightweight pap", but, BUT you gotta start somewhere, and this is an open door to this music. A delightful way to start the day, a soundtrack to an typical office window gazing morning. This is up in the air, up in the heart sounds that wrap and race, hug and embrace, a delight for the ears and the soul, an antidote to a grey day. I luuurve this.

HORSEGIRL - Anti-Glory (Matador) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite
by Ancient Champion

Horsegirl are excellently excellent. Savaging their savage guitars. Mumbling incoherently into old ears, all other ears are getting together at the party whispering "Wow!" And then, "What did you say?" What can I say? Horsegirl are excellent; Horsegirl are really okay; Horsegirl are pretty much it.

MARIA CHIARA AERGIRO - Bonsai (Innovative Leisure) favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_borderfavorite_border
by Toon Traveller

Love the heavy industrial synthesizer here, New Order meets Depeche Mode. If you gonna have obvious influences then choose the classy ones and Maria does, and it's fantastic. The whole electro-beat drives, as a horn rushes in, sharp and razor blade clean, splices the sound, changes the tune, and feel, taking into still darker places. Bonsai straddles forms but not confusingly so, each change is measured mannered and planned. The mix of influences, from UK techo, through German industrial, and Euro jazz, a pot-pourri of sounds and styles that delight, moving from dance, through soundscapes and ending up at the electric eclectic ends of Euro conservatoire jazz. I love the use of electro sweeps, the gathering sense of urgency, a modern day "Trans Euro Express", yeah that's there. Maria Chiara has a lot to say without words and needs to be heard.

THE GARBAGE AND THE FLOWERS - Eye Know Who You Are (Fire Records) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite
by Alex V. Cook

Oh god! The cultest cult band emerges from the finest hash haze in New Zealand with the first single off a new record. Name nicked from the late Leonard Cohen, rife with natch VU equivalence with just the right dash of the Shaggs, the Garbage and the Flowers are simply the best. One riff, in the way that the pounding surf has basically just that one move. Perfect.

<a href="https://thegarbageflowers.bandcamp.com/album/cinnamon-sea">Cinnamon Sea by The Garbage & Flowers</a>

DOROTHY - Rest In Peace (Roc Nation) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite
by Toon Traveller

Heir to Cher

FLOATING POINTS - Vocoder (Ninja Tunes) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_border
by Jay Lewis

After the soul-enriching collaboration with Pharoah Sanders on last year's 'Promises' album, Floating Points has returned to the dancefloor. 'Vocoder' kicks off like something Jon Hopkins would have delighted in circa 'Immunity' and then as the vocals creep in, the off-kilter drums grab you and you just have to surrender. Resistance is futile.

KAE TEMPEST FT. LIANNE LA HAVAS - No Prizes (Republic Records) favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_borderfavorite_border
by Tim London

Chatting about credit ratings. Lovely singing from Lianne. Nice beat. Piano lets the side down, Bob. Nice enough sombre chords but… Seems only a moment ago that Kae released something momentous. Moments are obviously getting shorter. Thought there might be a bit of percolation, obviously didn't percolate fast enough through the radiochartosphere. We are all at the mercy of the pluggers (a new series set to follow Peaky Blinders, as The Pluggers battle their mortal enemies, The Producers, who wield blades embedded in paper cups against The Pluggers’ puny personalised mugs.)

LIARS AT THE WITCH TRIAL - No Clue (Bandcamp) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_border
by Jay Lewis

Maybe it's the fact that their band name sounded a lot like the title of a seminal (is there any other kind?) album by The Fall, that I was drawn to Liars at the Witch Trial.

'No Clue' is a swaggering glimpse into their world of this powerful two-piece from Birmingham. Kate Walton mixes fuzzing punky guitar hooks with her spirited classic rock vocals whilst Adam Wakefield holds the whole thing together with some wildly assertive drumming. And then there's the manic ending which gallops along and gets me every time.

'No Clue' is Liars at the Witch Trial's first post-pandemic release and it's the boldest and best release by far. Catch 'em live as soon as you can!

<a href="https://liarsatthewitchtrial.bandcamp.com/track/no-clue">No Clue by Liars At The Witch Trial</a>

LPs

ANDY IRVINE & PAUL BRADY - Lough Erne Shore (Compass Records) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite
by Toon Traveller

Great to hear some traditional folk songs, this is raw, and real, close your eyes, not only are you on the golden, reeded shores of Lough Erne, sun glints on the gentle blue green waters, a lone fisherman hauls his net, gulls circle, waiting, waiting. A gentle zephyr carries, the plaintiff sound of a folk players, guitar and fiddle, a voice pained sounding untrained, but wondrous in it's evocation of a past memory, mournful, regret soaked, and haunting. A song of the past, but just as real today, same emotions, passions, hopes and tears. This is a lovelorn, love lost lover's song, pained and sad, but just this side of memory happy, embers of the peat fire stared into, the flickering flames stirring the flickering memories. I love this sort of sentimental music in the beautiful sense of that word, often used as cynical, sneering, contemptuous, disapproval. This music helps reclaim that word and relocate it in the heart and soul.

CMAT - If My Wife Knew I'd Be Dead (AWAL) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite_border
by Tim London

A full review by Tim London of CMAT's LP, If My Wife Knew I'd Be Dead is here

Other Materials

TANGERINE DREAM - Live at Coventry Catherdral '75 (Youtube) favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite
by Toon Traveller

Toon Traveler dips into the the Tangerine Dream legacy with a review of their show without even a single original member. It's still great, after all, the machines, the T1000's are doing the work. What he does reference is the famed Coventry Cathedral '75 gig. There's a chance below to see it. Meanwhile the whole Riverside concert review is here