This week's Rock and Pop CDs reviewed
SHOLI
Sholi Quarterstick ★★★
Californian art rock trio Sholi's debut LP has much to commend it. November Through June, with its Vampire Weekend verse and Sufjan Stevens chorus, gets better with every listen, as does the discordant Tourniquet. The black notes of Spy in the House of Memoriessomehow set me thinking of opportunities so sadly missed by Coldplay in their recent Brian Eno collaboration. Three things, however, keep the album from greatness: its sometimes painfully lo-fi production values; drummer Jonathon Bafus's overuse of his free-jazz signature; and the band's tendency to cop out come chorus time. Are Sholi perhaps pitching too much to the Bay Area's chin- stroking polo-neck brigade? Listen to their tasty recent cover (not included here) of the old Googoosh song, Hejrat, and you will hear a very different band – one whose charm leavens its technical ability. www.sholimusic.com DARAGH DOWNES
Download tracks: All That We Can See, November Through June
BELL ORCHESTRE
As Seen Through Windows Arts & Crafts ★★★★
Montreal's Bell Orchestre enjoyed some attention for their 2005 debut album thanks to the presence of two Arcade Fire members in their ranks. Richard Reed Perry and Sarah Neufeld are still part of the Orchestre, but As Seen Through Windowsis a more coherent fit. The ensemble's second outing, a confident sweep of lush, dazzling and striking instrumentals, is keen to bridge the ground between the classical and the cinematic. They cite Arvo Part as an influence (and you can spot elements of the Estonian's reach throughout), but they have also learned lessons about drama and pitch from Ennio Morricone and taken hints about pacing from Lalo Schifrin. This album will take no time at all to bewitch and intrigue. www.bell orchestra.com JIM CARROLL
Download tracks: Elephants, As Seen Through Windows
EMPIRE OF THE SUN
Walking on a Dream EMI★★★
For those who hoped the whole 1980s thing was just a passing fad, hang onto your mullets – 2009 is shaping up to be more '80s than the '80s themselves. Leading the charge back to the future is Aussie electo- pychedelipop duo Empire of the Sun, who have created a collage of futuristic kitsch that spans Star Wars, Prince, Adam Ant, Mad Maxand Shanghai Surprise. Luke Steele is the singer with critically acclaimed alt.rockers The Sleepy Jackson, and Nick Littlemore is the dance divo behind Pnau, but this divinely inspired collaboration is destined to eclipse all they've done before. Empire of the Sun have thrown the whole 1980s enchilada into the mix, creating the indie equivalent of Daft Punk's Discovery. Without Yousounds like a minor upgrade of The Cars' Drive, but Standing on the Shoreand We Are the Peopleshimmer like classic gold. www.walkingonadream.com KEVIN COURTNEY
Download Tracks: Standing on the Shore, Walking on a Dream, We Are the People
SHIRLEY LEE
Shirley Lee Missing Page★★★
It's a long since he was a Next Big Thing ("One day Spearmint will be hailed as Gods", touted the NME about 10 years ago), but Shirley Lee, the former main songwriter and lead singer of that one-time tipped London cult indie band, appears to have discovered life after relative commercial failure. The closest equivalent to Lee's singular classic pop music is that of Babybird's Stephen Jones. Think all manner of quite personal topics browsed over by a bloke (yes, Shirley is a bloke) with more important things on his mind than football results, food and sex. Songs such as Spiralina Girl, The First time You Saw Snowand The Last Songendear the listener to a songwriter who swaps style for substance, none more so than with The Reservoir, a hymn of sorts for Lee's deceased father. An eminently intelligent album, honed to a point of honesty that is rare to hear yet good to get. www.shirleylee.co.uk TONY CLAYTON-LEA
Download tracks: The Last Song, The Reservoir
MOUNTAINS
Choral Thrill Jockey★★★★
As the likes of Sigur Rós nudge contemporary music's limits further from chorus and verse, Mountains – those laptop gurus and purveyors of limitless sound, Mountains – infuse ambient computer composition with acoustic instruments. Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp meticulously craft vast, oceanic soundscapes. (The name Choralsignifies both a choir's polyphony and the organic intricacy of coral.) The album's new age psychedelia mixes the blurred colours of David Holmes/Free Association's Code 46soundtrack with the scope of Johann Johannsson. These aren't straightforward melodies, but sounds that morph hypnotically. Add Infinityemploys this ethos best, subtly intensifying until it's affecting almost by sleight of hand. Pretty good, considering that, within six double-length tracks, Mountains have said what that they need to without uttering a syllable. www.myspace.com/apestaartjemountains DEANNA ORTIZ
Download tracks: Add Infinity, Telescopic, Choral
DAN AUERBACH
Keep It Hid V2★★★
As one half of Ohio blues-rockers The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach knows all about clinging to the past while simultaneously inventing something new. The singer and guitarist has always been interested in progression, having previously worked with visionary producer Danger Mouse. In that respect, his solo debut achieves a similar feat by paying homage to legendary bluesmen as well as channelling sleazy, shimmering riffs that could've been cooked up by Led Zeppelin at their height. There's a more than faint whiff of 1960s garage bands (The Troggs, The Animals) as well, and even the odd gospel-tinged folk tune. Auerbach's influences are certainly projected brazenly, but he convincingly brands these songs as his own. www.myspace.com/danauerbachmusic LAUREN MURPHY
Download tracks: My Last Mistake, I Want Some More
M WARD
Hold Time 4AD★★★
A linchpin of the Portland, Oregon music scene, Matt Ward has popped up on albums by Bright Eyes and Jenny Lewis, and dueted with Zooey Deschanel as She & Him. He's also recorded such fondly remembered solo albums as End of Amnesia(2001) and Post-War(2006), the latter a song cycle that looked at modern America through the lens of 1940s and 1950s popular music. Ward's affinity with postwar styles continues with this collection, a blend of rock'n'strollers, balladic croons and jazzy reflections that suggests he could well be a Yankee cousin of Richard Hawley. With guest vocals from Deschanel, Lucinda Williams and Grandaddy's Jason Lyttle, Ward delivers a collection that's wise beyond its years. There's a touch of the travelling preacher show about For Beginners, Rave Onand Fisher of Men, and a Leonard Cohen-like fatalism in Epistemology. Here's a quiet American whose nuances echo loudly. www.mward music.com KEVIN COURTNEY
Download tracks: Jailbird, Fisher of Men, Hold Time
