| Maps and Legends |
|
‘Maps and Legends’ (EP, self-released) Perhaps appropriately given their name, M&L seem somewhat lost in the past. This finely crafted six-track download is a hybrid of earnest words and taut alt.rock, with a slow-burning sensitive side and a hefty hat-tip to the indie heyday of the late 90s. They’re likeable UWE boys, hewn from a similar seam to Biffy Clyro and Interpol – the guitars power-riffing or scaling frayed arpeggios, the frontman’s slightly stiff intonation recalling Gene, even Morrissey – though the lyrics cling more to cliché: lines like “not every raindrop that falls will reach the sea” delivered without apparent irony. But as a debut EP, this is a work to be proud of – artfully wrought and full of conviction. Legends might be pushing it a bit, but with a bit more imagination they might yet make their mark on the map. (Mike White) Copyright Mike White 2011 |
THE BIG GIG
-
Gary Numan
Mike White muses on the missing link between Kraftwerk and NIN. The same year as ‘Alien’, three years before ‘Blade Runner’, awkward, acne-ridden 21-year-old Gary Webb wrote a song called ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’. It sounded…23.04.2012 READ MORE -
Philharmonia/Ashkenazy
You have to feel sorry for any young pianist braving a Chopin concerto under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy. Poacher turned gamekeeper, Ashkenazy’s glittering career as a pianist was kick-started by success at the Warsaw Chopin…23.05.2012 READ MORE























































































































































































































