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Standard Fare - The Noyelle Beat (LP)

First Aid Kit - The Big Black and The Blue (LP)

Oh Dreamland - Who Cares? (LP)

Bear Driver Myspace

Spaghetti Anywhere - Gregory's Girl

Various - We Are Only Riders: The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project

Various - Cambodian Rocks Vol 2

Avi Buffalo - What’s It In For? (single)

Shearwater - the Golden Archipelago

These New Puritans - Hidden

Fucked Up - Couple Tracks (compilation)

Hexicon - Something Strange Beneath The Stars (single)
 

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Album Review

Breaks Co-op The Sound Inside
Parlophone

Article written by Graham P
Feb 6, 2006.

New Zealand trio Breaks Co-op are a puzzling proposition. Featuring Radio One DJ Zane Lowe, they’ve been on hiatus for nine years since their first album Roofers as a result of Zane’s heavy media schedule. While that album was a solely electronic affair, this time they’ve dabbled in live instrumentation and recruited a soul singer, Andy Lovegrove, to add his gravely voice to the mix. The result is a breezy mix of pop/soul/hip-hop crossovers that is surprisingly mature given Zane’s usual… um… zany behaviour (boom boom. Sorry. I’ll get my coat).

The lack of edge to the album will put a lot of people off. It’s a largely mainstream affair, shiny and polished and easy to listen to, much like Zero 7 and other ‘coffee-table’ groups. Lead single The Otherside is a prime example: even Lovegrove’s incredible voice can’t hide the fact that the lyrics and strummed acoustic guitar are a bit of cheese-fest. Expect to hear it played on BBC gardening programmes sometime soon.

At the same, there are some genuinely beautiful moments on here, such as the whimsical A Place For You, or the DJ Shadow-esque instrumental hip-hop of Question of Freedom. It’s an interesting mix of sounds and influences that certainly can’t be accused of playing up to the whims of any particular genre or targeting a specific audience, which is surely to be commended. The downside of this is that there’s no real excitement factor to the band’s sound. The Sound Inside is good lazy Sunday afternoon listening: it’ll provide you with pleasant background noise, but don’t expect to be particularly inspired or excited by it.

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