Wounded Knee - Shimmering New Vistas

Before sampling, before microphones and Pro-Tools, before guitars, and before musical instruments, there was the human voice. A capella vocal delivery draws in folky romantics seeking to return to music in its 'purest' form as if they were moths buzzing round lights. For the music fan more accustomed to, say, The Fratellis, it conjures up images of men with beards making achingly-sincere tits of themselves in traditional pubs out in the sticks. Neither folk purists nor NME readers will find much solace with Wounded Knee, a one man outfit who has effectively constructed an album out of samples of his own voice (no wait, come back!) and who welds avant-garde innovation to Scottish folksy electronica. Whether looping and harmonising single lines to the point where minimalist repetition becomes a cacophony, or creating lush, menacing soundscapes akin to Godspeed!'s cinematic oeuvre, Wounded Knee is evocative, at times witty, and, on occasion, haunting. [Ewen Millar]