Good Weather For Airstrikes

Lately it seems like all of the hyped “buzz bands” coming out of the UK are all about searing, angular guitar riffs and action-packed song structures (see: We Are Scientists, Maximo Park, Editors, Bloc Party, et al), but Scotland’s My Latest Novel are refreshingly bucking the trend for a softer, much more twee sound. Lizzy first brought My Latest Novel to my attention after seeing them open for Sufjan in London (and actually hanging out with them after the show) and recommending them highly to me, and intrigued by her praise and the band’s wonderful name I immediately clamored to find some of their material. I did my best to follow her recommendation and check them out, but I could only dig up their two single releases (”Hope Edition” and the excellent “Sister Sneaker, Sister Soul”). While these were great, it wasn’t until I grabbed their full-length debut, Wolves, which recently leaked but won’t see a formal release until March 6th, that I realized the true expanse of their brilliance.

My Latest Novel’s sound is characterized by baroque arrangements, lush strings and elaborate song architectures, and I’d describe it as Belle & Sebastian meets Sufjan Stevens not only in terms of the music and arrangements but also in terms of lead singer Chris Deveney’s hushed vocals. I’ve seen them referred to as a “Scottish Arcade Fire”, which is applicable in the sense that they both feature male and female vocals and intricate song architectures, but fails to hold up as well as the B&S (with less whimsy) and Sufjan (with less Christianity and pep) comparisons do. Either way these are lofty comparisons, but with Wolves My Latest Novel prove they deserve the praise and good company. First single “Sister Sneaker, Sister Soul” is a touching song of love from afar featuring complex arrangements that climax in a swelling and swirling instrumental bridge and a wonderful chorus. “The Job Mr. Kurtz Done” is an absolutely brilliant song that alternates between spoken word and soaring sung choruses, and is one of the album’s many highlights and the first song of theirs that I really fell in love with. The album’s final track and next single (due out February 20th), “The Reputation of Ross Francis”, is perhaps Wolves’ finest, on which lead singer and lyricist Deveney spins the tale of one Mr. Ross Francis and his afterlife struggle to convince God that he’s worthy of admittance into heaven. Though there’s no word yet on when Wolves will reach US shores, I definitely have to recommend that you UK readers pick this up when it drops in early March, courtesy of Bella Union. MLN are also about to embark on a full UK tour, starting March 5th in Glasgow, with a warm-up gig at London’s Luminaire, but unfortunately it’s long sold out. For their full list of tour dates go here (courtesy of Drowned In Sound), and for a full-on barrage of musical brilliance, hit up these MP3s below.

MP3s:
“Sister Sneaker, Sister Soul” - My Latest Novel [highly recommended]
“The Job Mr. Kurtz Done” - My Latest Novel [highly recommended]
“The Reputation of Ross Francis” - My Latest Novel [highly recommended]
“Hope Edition” - My Latest Novel

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 19th, 2006 at 7:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.