musicomh.com
album reviews
King Creosote - Bombshell (679)
UK release date: 10 September 2007
4.5 stars
King Creosote - Bombshell

buy this title


track listing

1. Leslie
2. Home In A Sentence
3. You've No Clue Do You
4. Cowardly Custard
5. Church As Witness
6. There's None Of That
7. Nooks
8. Now Drop Your Bombshell
9. Admiral
10. Cockle Shell
11. Spystick
12. At The WAL
13. And The Racket They Made

buy music
Folk music is having a positive impact on the album climate at the moment, especially those that stand at the gateway to electronic music. Tunng are a recent example, yet they and Fifer Kenny Anderson have been charming fans of both sides of the laptop for some time now.

Anderson, whose most popular moniker is King Creosote, stands at the junction of the two types of music without being obviously electronic. Yet only ten seconds in to Bombshell, it's possible to see how he could appeal to conossieurs of downtempo dance music.

Leslie is a brave album opener, and looking at the album cover you can almost imagine Anderson standing with his back to the listener, singing the pointedly poignant lyrics with little more than an accordion and a string section for company.

In fact the two most emotive tracks bookend the album, with And The Racket They Made at the other end providing the record's summation. In between we have frequent glimpses of Anderson's humour, light self deprecation, insights into relationships and feelings, and more than a few silly song titles. Cowardly Custard, for instance. Apply a Fife accent and it all makes sense!

And as for the lyrical gems, there are many. You've No Clue Do You makes a memorable reference to Professor Plum, while the jaunty riff to Nooks preludes a wonderfully joyous song, with Anderson musing that "this is me just sitting here, with my head just full of her, I can't think to tie my boots, can't think to dye my roots". The following Now Drop Your Bombshell is completely opposite, stark and thought-provoking.

Sometimes Anderson sounds like a Fife version of Badly Drawn Boy, but only in brief snatches - the easy amble of Cowardly Custard could almost be from About A Boy, even with it's enjoyably stunted accordion solo.

Yet no-one can boast his voice, a deceptively rich tenor that can soar with more than a little fragility, or secure surprising richness of tone in the lower registers. His style is directly to the listener, clearly sung and with raw, unaffected emotion. This may not be a political album - its title implies it might be - but it's a record that will form a connection with anyone that hears it.


  share with:  Facebook | Digg | other sites




albums released this week:
Martha Wainwright - I Know You're Married But...
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - Angles
Martina Topley-Bird - The Blue God
Adem - Takes
Moby - Last Night
The Charlatans - You Cross My Path
The Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
James Apollo - Hide Your Heart In A Hive
Kenna - Make Sure They See My Face
The Pack A.D. - Tintype
Iron Maiden - Somewhere Back In Time: The Best Of (1980-89)

ALBUM REVIEWS A-Z
A B C D E F G
H I J K L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z #
BUY CD ALBUMS
BUY MERCHANDISE
BUY GIG TICKETS
TOP ARTICLES NOW
RELATED ARTICLES
ALBUM:
King Creosote - Bombshell

ALBUM:
King Creosote - KC Rules Ok

ALBUM:
King Creosote - Rocket D.I.Y.

VIDEO:
King Creosote - 678

TRACK:
King Creosote - You Are Could I

TRACK:
King Creosote - 678

TRACK:
King Creosote - Not One Bit Ashamed

TRACK:
King Creosote - Jump At The Cats

GIG:
King Creosote @ The Cobden Club, London

EXTERNAL LINKS
King Creosote



  more album reviews...


about us | staff | copyright | write to us | mailing list | home page

© 1996-2008 OMH. all rights reserved