King Creosote | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Scottish singer/songwriter Kenny Anderson is King Creosote, who has also been a part-time member of Magnetophone and U.N.P.O.C., and has performed with Adem. He had previously been the vocalist for Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra and Khartoum Heroes. Anderson has prolifically released over two dozen CD-Rs on his own label, Fence, a collective assembled along with brothers Een (aka Pip Dylan) and Gordon (aka Lone Pigeon). In 2003 Domino pressed the first proper album Kenny and Beths Musakal Boatrides, followed in 2005 by Rocket D.I.Y. Released in 2006, KC Rules OK included liner notes from famed Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin, and garnered both regional and international acclaim. Bombshell arrived in 2007, followed by Flick the Vs in 2009. The compilation Thrawn -- representing Anderson’s first official stateside release -- was issued in 2011, and Diamond Mine, a collaboration with British ambient artist Jon Hopkins, also arrived that year. Diamond Mine proved to be a major critical success in the U.K. landing on various year end lists and earning Anderson and Hopkins a Mercury Prize nomination. Signing to Domino Records, Anderson re-recorded his 2010 D.IY. album That Might Be It, Darling for his new label, retitling it That Might Well Be It, Darling in 2013. The following year, he provided the soundtrack to a documentary about his home country called From Scotland with Love, which was released to coincide with the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow. After a handful of new D.I.Y. releases on Fence, Anderson returned with his Domino follow-up, Astronaut Meets Appleman, in 2016. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 26 Title: Fair Dubhs Released: Tracks: 12 Duration: 41:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Welcome (03:16) 2 Eggshell Miles (01:32) 3 Bathtime Maybe (02:38) 4 Skinny Dipping (03:00) 5 Clown (02:06) 6 Moon Barking (02:49) 7 Precious Daze (03:00) 8 Shame on Sherlock (03:39) 9 Insomniac (05:58) 10 Let La Guerre Begin Again (04:22) 11 Armistice (05:53) 12 [untitled] (02:58) |
 | Album: 2 of 26 Title: Whelk of Arse Released: Tracks: 16 Duration: 40:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Work of Art (02:17) 2 Travis May Sue Your Ass (01:27) 3 My Favourite Girl in All the World (03:26) 4 Bootprints (04:06) 5 35cl (00:51) 6 Pinning the Tail on the Donkey (04:29) 7 Ding Dinio (02:06) 8 All at Sea (02:18) 9 Klutz (02:44) 10 Cohones (00:48) 11 Spokes (02:59) 12 Go Rimbaud Go (00:52) 13 The Importance of Looking Right (02:09) 14 Scales of the World (03:46) 15 The Coos Tail (01:01) 16 Captain Geeko the Dead Aviator (05:01) |
 | Album: 3 of 26 Title: 12 OClock on the Dot Released: 2000 Tracks: 12 Duration: 42:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Something Beginning With D... (04:59) 2 Teapot (03:13) 3 Abacus (04:03) 4 Tumble Dry (01:54) 5 Greasy Railroad (02:02) 6 All the 3s (02:37) 7 Margarita Red (05:45) 8 Hunger (04:13) 9 Harpers Dough (02:27) 10 Hans Waddesh (03:24) 11 Just After Eleven She Left (04:24) 12 Goodbye Mrs. Hyde (03:50) |
 | Album: 4 of 26 Title: Disclaimer Released: 2001-02-01 Tracks: 18 Duration: 44:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Carrion Place (01:30) 2 Waltz Off With the Watch (03:58) 3 Only Been Gone One Day (02:01) 4 To Look Like Yachts (01:28) 5 My Books (02:50) 6 678 (05:19) 7 Why Dont We Go Dancing Anymore? (01:34) 8 Im Up a Plum Tree (03:14) 9 And I Mean s (01:44) 10 Gender Specific Toys (01:01) 11 Hitch Hikers Guide to the Yokey (05:02) 12 In Need of a Smile (02:49) 13 Alas Etcetera (01:41) 14 John Taylor Starts His Month Away (01:47) 15 Wheres Gordon? (01:11) 16 Bal-a-Leery (01:43) 17 Pom Pos Pat (02:33) 18 Bum Chord (03:09) |
 | Album: 5 of 26 Title: Favourite Girl Released: 2002 Tracks: 14 Duration: 40:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Mon Dieux (01:10) 2 Little Heart, Littler Banjo (03:26) 3 Chest of Drawers (03:30) 4 Please... Give... Me... Pieces (01:18) 5 Karlsruhe (03:27) 6 Favourite Girl (03:27) 7 Toast Time (00:41) 8 Marguerita Bled Me Dry (04:23) 9 Travis May Sue Your Dirty Ass (01:32) 10 At the W.A.L. (06:06) 11 Crailway Station (02:22) 12 Little Death (03:39) 13 How Brave Was I? (02:24) 14 Kenny and Beths Musacal Boat Rides (02:48) |
 | Album: 6 of 26 Title: Psalm Clerk Released: 2003 Tracks: 23 Duration: 1:08:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 One Angel No Wings (02:24) 2 You Cuckoos (04:35) 3 Plans Best Laid (03:05) 4 Guess the Time (01:10) 5 Clerkworks (01:13) 6 Not One Bit Ashamed (06:32) 7 Snakes From Single Socks (03:46) 8 Figure 8 (02:40) 9 Who Did You Kill on the Way Up? (02:04) 10 More Often Than Nought (02:24) 11 Angela Loves KC (01:12) 12 Such Fine Deeds (03:22) 13 Marianne Loves KC (00:50) 14 My Problem Is... (01:37) 15 Your Own Spell (02:49) 16 Happy With Our Lot (02:34) 17 Scoring You Twice (03:01) 18 Love Your Present (04:20) 19 Mercy Killing (04:12) 20 No Contest v Kwaing (03:38) 21 Spy Stick (03:29) 22 Musakal Lives (04:30) 23 Buzz Off (02:32) |
 | Album: 7 of 26 Title: More Afraid of Plastic Released: 2003 Tracks: 14 Duration: 41:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Waashoot (03:58) 2 Please... Give... Me... Peace... (03:44) 3 Mooning (02:52) 4 Choke Madelaine (03:40) 5 Bad Harvest (01:28) 6 Soul Disintegration (02:20) 7 Voyeur (02:18) 8 Citrus Budgies (03:16) 9 Waving Your Right Arm (02:34) 10 Bad Bad Harvest (01:27) 11 Sea Rain (05:26) 12 Sleepy Quay (04:47) 13 Grabbing a Swans Leg (03:04) 14 [untitled] (00:46) |
 | Album: 8 of 26 Title: Kenny and Beth’s Musakal Boat Rides Released: 2003-09-29 Tracks: 13 Duration: 48:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lonepigeon’s Wineglass Finale (01:37) 2 Homeboy (03:49) 3 Pulling Up Creels (04:00) 4 Turps (03:10) 5 Spokes (02:54) 6 Counselling (01:34) 7 So Forlorn (04:47) 8 Harper’s Dough (02:20) 9 Lavender Moon (03:55) 10 Space (05:03) 11 Meantime (03:43) 12 Missionary (03:14) 13 A Friday Night in New York (08:03) |
| Kenny and Beth’s Musakal Boat Rides : Allmusic album Review : Singer/songwriter King Creosote is inspired by his Scottish roots and preserves his beloved upbringing in the North Sea town of Fife through music. A storyteller in song and a poet at heart, King Creosotes previous work with the Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra and Khartoum Heroes was magic for a while, but the desire to express his eccentric creativity didnt come together until he went solo. Kenny and Beths Musakal Boat Rides marks King Creosotes official debut, introducing his usual quirky charm. Its polished pop rooted in traditional folk while threads of bluegrass echo throughout King Creosotes fairytale-like set of 13 songs. Kenny and Beths Musakal Boat Rides is a marvelous journey of rich melodies and is keenly connected to his brother, the Lone Pigeons Gordon Andersons warm harmonies. From the rainy-day mood of "Pulling Up Creels" and the countrified vaudeville of "So Forlorn" to playfully snarking at Julie Andrews and Vincent van Gogh on "Turps," King Creosote creates wild soundscapes that are far more imaginative that any of his Scottish counterparts (Travis, Belle & Sebastian, Ballboy). Vocalist James Yorkston and fingerpicker Pip Dylan lend a hand on "Lavender Moon" for one of the albums more intimate moments. Kenny and Beths Musakal Boat Rides is an album with many layers, and the overall production is tweaked just so, leading itself to be a full, pleasurable listen. In way, its classical music for the new-millennium pop enthusiast. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 26 Title: Red on Green Released: 2004 Tracks: 12 Duration: 45:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 My Misadventure Starts (06:03) 2 Now Drop Your Bombshell (04:37) 3 Gnomeberella (02:52) 4 Stupid Ideas (05:36) 5 Fell an Ox (02:26) 6 The World This Side of Kilconquahar (01:29) 7 Radio Hymns (04:00) 8 Dustin Ivories (00:44) 9 The Soak (04:40) 10 Battle Calls (02:04) 11 Circle My Demise (02:53) 12 Jack Shit (08:19) |
 | Album: 10 of 26 Title: Rocket D.I.Y. Released: 2005-04-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 37:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Twin Tub Twin (03:13) 2 Saffy Nool (04:37) 3 Klutz (02:11) 4 Crows Feet (03:08) 5 Spooned Out on Tick (03:36) 6 pH 6.5 (02:27) 7 Circle My Demise (03:19) 8 King Bubbles in Sand (01:49) 9 The Things, Things, Things (03:33) 10 A Month of Firsts (04:10) 11 Thrills & Spills (03:01) 12 The Someone Else (02:42) |
 | Album: 11 of 26 Title: KC Rules OK Released: 2005-09-19 Tracks: 11 Duration: 43:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Not One Bit Ashamed (05:01) 2 You Are Could I? (03:53) 3 The Vice-Like Gist of It (02:58) 4 Bootprints (03:49) 5 Locked Together (04:45) 6 Jump at the Cats (02:33) 7 Guess the Time (01:06) 8 My Favourite Girl (05:35) 9 Ill Fly by the Seat of My Pants (04:06) 10 678 (06:16) 11 Marguerita Red (03:49) |
 | Album: 12 of 26 Title: Bombshell Released: 2007 Tracks: 13 Duration: 51:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Leslie (04:18) 2 Home in a Sentence (03:00) 3 You’ve No Clue Do You (03:21) 4 Cowardly Custard (02:56) 5 Church as Witness (04:10) 6 There’s None of That (04:19) 7 Nooks (03:22) 8 Now Drop Your Bombshell (04:00) 9 Admiral (04:25) 10 Cockle Shell (02:27) 11 Spystick (04:08) 12 At the W.A.L. (07:00) 13 And the Racket They Made (04:07) |
 | Album: 13 of 26 Title: They Flock Like Vulcans to See Old Jupiter Eyes on His Home Craters Released: 2008-09 Tracks: 12 Duration: 45:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 On Esthers Planet (03:40) 2 No One Had It Better (03:22) 3 Ear Against the Wireless (03:57) 4 Houston Tharoule (03:14) 5 A Mighty Din of What If?s (03:22) 6 Think Elephant (03:57) 7 Dead Mouse Diary (04:56) 8 44BC (01:43) 9 Home Creatures (05:02) 10 The Minter Scale (04:31) 11 Its Going to End in Tears (01:08) 12 All Mine (06:28) |
 | Album: 14 of 26 Title: Love + Hate = Hate Released: 2008-11-17 Tracks: 12 Duration: 38:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Love + Hate = Hate (03:00) 2 Aurora Boring Alias (03:49) 3 A Fool to Think Precious (03:55) 4 Meddling Gut Wrenches (04:27) 5 Quarter Inch (01:40) 6 Moving Target (02:50) 7 No Gesture Is Tender Enough (02:30) 8 Dont Ask Me How My Weekend Went (04:45) 9 Having Wintered (03:31) 10 End Underlined (02:58) 11 Hare and the Tortoise (00:56) 12 Late - Hove = Hove (04:17) |
 | Album: 15 of 26 Title: Flick the Vs Released: 2009-04-20 Tracks: 10 Duration: 46:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 No One Had It Better (07:25) 2 Two Frocks at a Wedding (05:44) 3 Camels Swapped for Wives (03:51) 4 No Way She Exists (04:22) 5 Fell an Ox (04:48) 6 Coast On By (03:32) 7 Nothing Rings True (03:53) 8 Curtain Craft (04:00) 9 Rims (04:56) 10 Saw Circular Prowess (04:23) |
 | Album: 16 of 26 Title: Thrawn Released: 2011-02-22 Tracks: 12 Duration: 48:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Bootprints (03:50) 2 Youve No Clue Do You (03:22) 3 King Bubbles in Sand (01:49) 4 Missionary (03:12) 5 No Way She Exists (04:25) 6 The Vice-Like Gist of It (04:18) 7 Twin Tub Twin (03:14) 8 Homeboy (03:50) 9 Little Heart (03:02) 10 My Favourite Girl (05:34) 11 And the Racket They Made (04:02) 12 No One Had It Better (07:26) |
| Thrawn : Allmusic album Review : Scottish singer/songwriter Kenny Anderson has been quietly building an impressive arsenal of material since his 1994 debut under the King Creosote moniker. His quick wit and gentle demeanor are steeped in regional whimsy, and his skewed but sweet pop songs can come just as easily wrapped in the sepia brown leaves of traditional folk as they can the Glaswegian indie pop of bands like Frightened Rabbit and Belle & Sebastian. The 12 songs on Thrawn have been culled from six studio albums released between 2003 and 2009 (Anderson has released more than two dozen albums independently) and serve as an excellent introduction to his work. His wildly varying styles and occasional preciousness may turn off some listeners, but there is great purity in his delivery, and songs like “Homeboy,” “Missionary,” and the powerful ballad “And the Racket They Made” manage to transcend the emotional aloofness and easy irony of modern indie rock without needing to look back and wink. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 26 Title: Diamond Mine Released: 2011-03-28 Tracks: 7 Duration: 32:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 First Watch (02:36) 2 John Taylors Month Away (06:31) 3 Bats in the Attic (03:43) 4 Running on Fumes (06:36) 5 Bubble (05:34) 6 Your Own Spell (03:51) 7 Your Young Voice (03:17) |
| Diamond Mine : Allmusic album Review : Described by singer/songwriter Kenny Anderson (aka King Creosote) as the "soundtrack to a romanticized version of a life lived in a Scottish coastal village", Diamond Mine is a seven-track collection of previously unrecorded Anderson originals that have been doused in Brian Eno-inspired soundscapes by ambient producer Jon Hopkins, littered with rural field recordings and studded with occasional flourishes of accordions and strings. Languid, pastoral, and remarkably serene (each track segues into each other like ice melting on a spring pond), Diamond Mine is so unobtrusive that it barely registers. Andersons lilting croon, which deftly blends traditional, Scottish folk stoicism with modern, indie folk candor, sits front and center, though his delivery is so even-handed that even he blends into the foliage, but on stand-out cuts like “John Taylor’s Month Away” and “Running on Fumes,” his deft lyricism and gift for guiding a melody through such open terrain helps to keep this lovely collection of ambient folk songs from disappearing into the ether. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 26 Title: Honest Words Released: 2011-09-19 Tracks: 3 Duration: 10:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Honest Words (03:07) 2 Aurora Boring Alias (04:20) 3 Bats in the Attic (Unravelled) (03:26) |
 | Album: 19 of 26 Title: The Jubilee E.P. Released: 2012-04-16 Tracks: 6 Duration: 22:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Honest Words (03:07) 2 Aurora Boring Alias (04:00) 3 Bats in the Attic (Unravelled) (03:26) 4 Missionary (02:56) 5 Third Swan (03:24) 6 Starboard Home (05:52) |
 | Album: 20 of 26 Title: I Learned From the Gaels Released: 2012-05-28 Tracks: 4 Duration: 16:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Doubles Underneath (04:04) 2 Near Star, Pole Star (03:49) 3 Single Cheep (02:43) 4 Little Man (05:27) |
 | Album: 21 of 26 Title: To Deal With Things Released: 2012-08-27 Tracks: 3 Duration: 20:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Ankle Shackles (11:41) 2 The Right Form (04:13) 3 What Exactly Have You Done? (04:49) |
 | Album: 22 of 26 Title: It Turned Out for the Best Released: 2012-12-03 Tracks: 4 Duration: 17:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 On the Night of the Bonfire (02:44) 2 I Am Cellist (04:03) 3 February 29th (04:25) 4 Going Gone (06:05) |
 | Album: 23 of 26 Title: Sure & Steadfast Released: 2013 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Cicero Had an Anchor Tattoo (04:06) 2 Bodes Unwell (02:55) 3 Third Party (03:35) 4 An Ode to Falling Overboard (02:39) 5 Salt Eyed at the Bathing Pool (05:11) 6 Ounces (03:09) 7 The Grime Reaper (01:33) 8 Easojuly (03:50) 9 Proverbial Pine (03:17) 10 Carry on Dancing (06:30) 11 Precious Lord; We Have an Anchor (04:34) |
 | Album: 24 of 26 Title: That Might Well Be It, Darling Released: 2013-05-07 Tracks: 11 Duration: 54:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Little Man (05:29) 2 Single Cheep (02:44) 3 Doubles Underneath (04:04) 4 Near Star, Pole Star (03:50) 5 Ankle Shackles (11:41) 6 The Right Form (04:14) 7 What Exactly Have You Done? (04:57) 8 On the Night of the Bonfire (02:47) 9 I Am Cellist (04:08) 10 February 29th (04:29) 11 Going Gone (06:06) |
 | Album: 25 of 26 Title: From Scotland With Love Released: 2014-07-20 Tracks: 11 Duration: 39:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Something to Believe In (03:14) 2 Cargill (03:16) 3 Largs (03:53) 4 Miserable Strangers (04:47) 5 Leaf Piece (long) (05:32) 6 For One Night Only (04:09) 7 Bluebell, Cockleshell, 123 (02:08) 8 One Floor Down (03:05) 9 Crystal 8s (02:12) 10 Pauper’s Dough (05:05) 11 A Prairie Tale (01:36) |
| From Scotland With Love : Allmusic album Review : Released to coincide with the July 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, From Scotland with Love is more than another pet project by prolific Scottish indie folksinger King Creosote (Kenny Anderson). Commissioned by the BBC and arts initiative Creative Scotland, it is a unique collaborative work with filmmaker Virginia Heath where Anderson provides a sort of conceptual soundtrack to Heaths moving documentary comprised entirely of archival footage depicting Scottish history. The film offers no interviews or voice-overs, relying instead on Andersons poetic songs to tell the story and embellish flickering scenes of political strife, social uprisings, industry, war, and bucolic country life in the early 20th century. A Fife native and veteran of nearly 50 independent albums, Anderson has always radiated a strong localism, making him perfect for the job, though there must have been plenty of pressure in abbreviating vast swaths of his countrys history into just 11 songs -- especially considering the broader national audience this collaboration brings him in such an important political year for Scotland, which will vote on their independence from England in September 2014. But, much of the charm of this project and of Andersons work in general is how it portrays its subjects in small vignettes rather than broad strokes. The minutiae of everyday life and the very human emotions associated with them have always been a King Creosote specialty and he shines here on tracks like "Cargill," a song describing the daily life of fishermen in the small Perthshire village, and "Leaf Piece," whose slang title refers to a snack that school children used to keep in their bags. Its this type of depth and detail that brings the images to life, and working within the loose borders of a historical theme has allowed Anderson to produce the most focused and detailed record of his career. There are moments of joy, nostalgia, sorrow, and even frivolity, like on the jazzy, upbeat "Largs," but the album reaches its emotional peak on the call to action "Paupers Dough," whose slow musical build mirrors the sentiment of its ensemble chorus, "Youve got to rise above the gutter you are inside." Its not the Scotland of Walkers shortbread and red-bearded pipers that so often gets shoveled out to tourists, but a moving portrait of strong-willed people enduring in times of change. | ||
 | Album: 26 of 26 Title: Astronaut Meets Appleman Released: 2016-09-02 Tracks: 9 Duration: 43:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 You Just Want (07:25) 2 Melin Wynt (05:16) 3 Wake Up to This (03:33) 4 Faux Call (05:06) 5 Betelgeuse (04:27) 6 Love Life (04:15) 7 Peter Rabbit Tea (02:48) 8 Surface (06:18) 9 Rules of Engagement (04:31) |
| Astronaut Meets Appleman : Allmusic album Review : After turning in one of the most focused records of his career with 2014s historically minded From Scotland with Love, Fife troubadour Kenny Anderson follows up with Astronaut Meets Appleman, a looser set whose earthy ramblings seem grounded more firmly in the present. In his prolific career as King Creosote, Andersons D.I.Y. aesthetic has resulted in dozens of unedited small-batch releases peppered in among his more honed, higher profile albums. Released once again by Domino, Astronaut falls somewhere in the middle of his stylistic dial, offering fairly dense full-band arrangements along with a couple of spare, slightly more experimental tracks that have a distinctively home-built feel to them. Atop his ever-present acoustic guitar and accordion is Andersons dazzlingly musical, sea-salted voice that, over the years, has added an air of enchantment to even his most tattered and undercooked material. Once again he finds great subtlety in gently rocking tracks like "Wake Up to This" and the dreamy, bagpipe-led "Melin Wynt," letting his introspections unfurl like pipe smoke as harps and cellos mingle with deep, roomy drums and guitars. The delicate "Rules of Engagement" is a classic King Creosote ballad rivaling some of his earlier high-water marks from 2005s KC Rules OK and 2011s magical Diamond Mine. "You Just Want," a highly effective seven-minute chamber rock journey ends the proceedings on a powerful note. At first blush, this is not one of Andersons most immediately engaging albums, but it has a meandering charm that works its magic over time. | ||