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albums - current and forthcoming releases... [page 20] |
April 2003 |
Earlier Reviews | see previous reviews page (#19) |
THE HIDDEN CAMERAS The Smell Of Our Own (Rough Trade) |
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So if there are only passing similarities with the Spree who do they resemble? Well the 60s acoustic tweeness, the cellos, the keyboards, the darkness and the general clever cleverness points a whiffy finger at Belle and Sebastian and the Magnetic Fields. The highlights are the Spector meets Village People of Ban Marriage, the swooping harmonies of Boys of Melody, and the stomping Proclaimer like yodels of Smells Like Happiness. In fact there’s not a duff track amongst the ten presented but those expecting happy clappy may be shocked to find mucky Canucky. Review by Paul M |
| IAN McCULLOCH Slideling
(Cooking Vinyl) |
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Such is what we have here. Mac’s voice doesn’t sound years older than when it sang Pictures on My Wall in 1979, and there are echoes (ho ho) of old overcoat-wearing Echo and the Bunnymen (I’m thinking of Ocean Rain era, here). Similar, yet not the same. There’s no distinctive Will Sargeant guitar work here and the rock leanings of Mac’s Electrafixion project (with Sargeant) have (thankfully) been ditched. OK, these aren’t songs that leap out at you but they do worm their way into your affections: Arthur (which includes Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Johnny Buckland) is all slow ascending chords, whilst Sliding (the single and also including the aforementioned Coldplay cohorts) is a gentle Coldplay type effort (and for my money, not the best track here). But unlike Coldplay, who seem weighed down by their ponderousness, McCullogh is capable of optimistic lifting tunes (even if the lyrics aren’t always necessarily). For example, take the opening Love on Veins (don’t judge by the title), a 3 chord riff, rising organ swell and a feel good lyric that doesn’t need analysis (“Yeah I really really want you”) ; or High Wires with is light-weight riffing, r’n’b bass line and Mac’s multi-tracked vocals; or She Sings (All My Life), which could be an old Bunnymen outtake, a strongly melodic mid-tempoed number where Mac cheekily goes off “dododododododo-ing” part way through. Slideling is a welcome surprise and much better than anyone might have expected. If that sounds like faint praise, it is not meant to be. In fact, this sounds like his best work in years. Review by Kev O
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| THE TYDE Twice (Rough Trade) |
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| Twice’ is more a case of “‘Once’ again”. Which isn’t necessarily a criticism: how do you follow an album as sublime as ‘Once’ without building on what was most memorable about that? So ‘Twice’ kicks off with A Loner, with the same lazy, drifting feel that ‘Once’ ended with, all warm keyboards, acoustic guitars and Darren Rademaker’s world-weary vocals. Best Intentions is a downbeat ballad, a second, less melodic, cousin to All My Bastard Children. Throughout, the West Coast, country-ish feel interacts with influences ranging from the C86 scene to Belle and Sebastian and the Go Betweens and England in general. The band’s Anglophilia runs rampant here. From the Smiths-influenced jangly guitars and Morrissey-like wordplay of Henry VIII, to titles like Go Ask Yer Dad and the familiar Felt-isms of Crystal Canyons, it’s clear where Daz-boy’s gaze is directed. On Shortbread City, it appears to have lingered slightly too long on Chas ‘n’ Dave and ‘Only Fools and Horses’, for which it could easily be a theme tune, rather than the Bolan boogie it set out to be. Takes A Lot of Tryin’ is the only real surprise on the album, milking the same lazy-grooved soul schtick that the Charlatans do so badly. It’s full of harmonies and Hammond organ with a jazzy coda and it works, though more as a contrast to the Tyde sound rather than as a key Tyde track. Breaking Up The Band starts slowly before its melancholy mood explodes into coruscating shards of shimmering guitar. The lyrics are regretful (“you know those pills cloud up your mind/there’s mountains left to climb”) while Blood Brothers is as cleverly written but much more caustic. Though it was a single last year (and one of the year’s best), it’s still the finest thing on ‘Twice’, with Darren at his barbed and bemused Bob Dylan best. It’s punchy and the squishy keyboards, tinkling piano and shimmering guitars create a summer-rich sound that becomes more classic on every hearing. Taken as a whole, ‘Once’ is best, though ‘Twice’ is still nice. Reviewed by Ged M
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| DRESSY BESSY Little Music (Track and Field) |
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Fronted by the airy, saccharine sweet Tammy, and accompanied by the fuzzy but melodic guitar of the double shifting John Hill (he also strums for Apples in Stereo), it breezes along with all the fluffy care free abandon of a kitten on a motorised pink slipper. The amazing thing though is the consistent quality. Without checking the inner sleeve track list it’s impossible to ascertain what might have been a B-side, a demo or number one Stateside smash hit. Ok I jest about the latter. This may be sugary pop but just like our very own C86 revolution it’s much too underground for Dwight Spiegelhacker the third, who would glaze over at the relatively simple production and mildly psychedelic guitars. Dwight’s loss is our gain. Review by Paul M
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| THE BLACK KEYS the big come up (Alive
Records) |
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‘The big come up’ is a simple record, but it is this simplicity that makes it a great one. At its core are Patrick Carney’s dusty rhythms, and Dan Auerbach’s masterful hold of blues guitar, which together provide a delicious energy and groove. Although, as a blues duo, they will invite comparisons with The White Stripes, The Black Keys debut record dispels these with a resounding NO. Whereas Jack White’s vocals are backed by a definite swing towards the Garage end of the spectrum, TBK’s tunes ease effortlessly away from the punkier Detroit sound into a slide-guitar-driven swagger. Auerbach’s Mississippi Delta twang and his glorious heavy blues guitar seem as though they were always meant to be together. Highlights are their irresistible take on The Beatles ‘She Said, She Said’ and the thumping swing of ‘I’ll Be Your Man’. ‘The big come up’ may not be stomping through radically new ground, but if you want to a hear a truly class act who pick out the best bits of John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson and add their own distinctive tinge, then this record is undoubtedly for you. Review
by Ross B
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| DANDY WARHOLS Welcome to the Monkey House
(Capitol) |
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It’s now eight years since this Oregon four piece first appeared and about six since they gained wider recognition with their second album, Come Down. Much of their early publicity had little to do with the music and more to do with the female bassist’s predeliction for topless performances and the bands rather naive comments about hard drugs. Although it all seemed just a tad manufactured there was at least something vaguely subversive about it and all quite fitting for a band named after a shocking artist and film maker. Fast forward to 2003 and the Dandies have produced their fourth album – a work as likely to garner controversy as a crochet class in a convent. The success, off the back of a Vodaphone ad, of the irritatingly catchy Bohemian Like You, will no doubt be replicated by one or two more from here, as dreary safe track after safe track is delivered with liberal sprinklings of pap. Take the single, We Used to be Friends, plodding along with that INXS bland radio friendly beat. In fact every whiffy corner of the album exudes stadium pop rock or 80s white electronic funk. I am a Scientist sounds like a Thomas Dolby B-side and You Were the Last High out Lightning Seeds the Lightning Seeds for smiley happy vacuous nothingness. It’s a pointless road that the band have set out on and they are most decidedly in the middle of it. Dandy Warhols, your fifteen minutes of fame are up. Review by Paul M
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| APHEX TWIN 26 Mixes for Cash (Warp) | |
The first thing you’ll notice is the rather bizarre mix of artists James has remixed over the years. Jesus Jones, Gavin Bryars, DMX, even Mike Flowers Pops. Unlike a lot of remixers, James doesn’t just add a drum beat and loop a bit of the song, he basically does whatever he wants with it. The two Nine Inch Nails remixes here, for instance, are completely new songs! CD1 concentrates on the more laid-back, ambient side of Aphex Twin. The first track, a remix of Seafeel’s Time To Find Me, is a beautifully long slice of blissed-out electronica. Those who only kow Come To Daddy will be quite taken aback by this. Mellow beats and blips dominate until we get to the remix of Phillip Glass’ version of Heroes, which is quite stunning. Strings cascade and swim around your head as James twists Bowies trademark yelps. Fantastic. CD2 is dominated by Aphex Twin/AFX/whatever’s brain-splitting drill ‘n’ bass style. The remix of Mescalinum United’s We Have Arrived should NOT be listened to with a hangover. By contrast, the most danceable track on this album, Remix By AFX, demands to be heard at full volume, an ace tune full of funked-up beats. The only real disappointment is the Acid Edit of Windowlicker, which, unlike the original, is rather formulaic and staid. If this is to be the last album from the Cornish anarchist-hippy, it only serves to cement Richard James reputation as a pioneer of electronica. Reviewed by Robert B |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS Songs The Cramps Taught Us, Volumes One – Three (Cargo) | |
Some of this has been released on the vinyl Born Bad series but there has never been so much on CD. There's a lot of rockabilly, rock 'n' roll, some psychedelia (the Third Bardo's sneery I'm Five Years Ahead of My Time and The Flower Children’s wigged-out Miniskirt Blues), some r'n'b and biker movie soundtracks. It's primitive (which is the title of the Groupies' track, and also perfectly describes the essence of Hasil Adkins), it’s rare (bizarre Elvis Presley covers) and it’s impossible to track down elsewhere (you can hear the clicks on some tracks from their vinyl origins). Much of it is sub low-fi apart from tracks like Do the Clam, which is the cheesy end of Elvis Presley, while the Standells’ Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White is a blissful Stones-y apology for garage rock. Sometimes it's menacing (Goo Goo Muck), sometimes it's as camp as a leopardskin codpiece (Andre Williams’ Bacon Fat) and other times it’s insane (Nat Couty’s Woodpecker Rock, which is Percy Thrower on strong acid). While you couldn’t listen to all three albums in one go and hope still to be a productive member of society, it’s an invaluable picture of the musical history they don’t tell you. If you’re a Cramps fan or just a rebel looking for a cause, this is worth adopting and, at about 12 quid a pop, it's essential. Reviewed by Ged M |
| MARK EITZEL The Ugly American (Tonguemaster) |
Review by Matt H |
| WINNEBAGO DEAL Plata O Plomo (Fierce Panda) |
No, don’t head for the scroll down button, cos this is actually quite good. They make what can only be described as an unholy amount of noise for a 2 piece (ok, so there’s over dubs on the guitar tracks but what do you want, blood?). It’s nothing new, then again what is, though it still does seem to come across as fresh sounding if a tad repetitive at times. Maybe just a different effect on the guitar would have made the tracks more individual, or swapping the snare for one or two songs, but this is a small gripe. The only real criticism I can level at this debut is the fact that a couple of the songs are cut short just as you are expecting them to kick up to another level, especially in tracks 4 and 5 Just Cruisin’ and Harold’s Dewlaps which both have the potential to be great tunes but last less than 3 minutes between them. Maybe this was down to not knowing where to take them but I find it hard to believe when this style of music almost writes itself, but 18 minutes for 7 tracks does seem to point towards being slightly under creative. I’m being too picky though. This is a great little release, and I’m in no doubt that these boys have enough potential in them to really go places. It’s music that will send mosh pits crazy and send usually calm individuals into crowd surf mode, if they can recreate live the sort of intensity they’ve captured on the CD. As my esteemed colleague Johnson St. Chubbins said to me the other day whilst listening to it, “It’s not shit, is it?” Believe me, that’s high praise indeed. No, it’s not shit by any stretch of the imagination, but only time will tell whether Winnebago Deal have the ability to really take this fine attempt at a debut to the next level where they can be considered truly great. Review by Micky K
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| THE AGENDA! Start the Panic! (Must.Destroy
Records) |
Review by Paul M
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| DAN
BERN and the IJBC Fleeting
Days (Cooking Vinyl) |
 Dan Bern has been compared to both Bob Dylan and Elvis
Costello. Unsurprising since he doesn't so much call them to mind as shove them into your
face. Of course direct comparisons seem unfair, but without them what is left?
Well, a bunch of chirpy folk rock and acoustic tunes that support a quirky lyrical
sensibility. However, despite some neat conceits, such as a weary, disillusioned Man
of Steel and riffing off of Paul Simon's Graceland, it's all a bit Radio 4 (the UK
radio station, not the band) clever to connect, with me at least. And the music too
is a little on the slick side. The songs are not bad, and many will find
the likes of the Costello-lite jaunty pop Jane charmingly gauche, but ultimately
they flick past without leaving much of an impression. So, as I'm sure he
himself would be the first to say, not the new Dylan. More the new Martin Stephenson
- accomplished songs, thoughtful lyircs, but for me lacking that vital spark that makes
for essential listening. Review by Matt H |
| FURTHER punkrockvampires (Fierce Panda) |
It would be easy to drag them musically into the AC/DC or Vines camps, but this would be unfair as they have much more in diversity to offer than either of the aforementioned. They do the Seachange trick of having 2 guitars playing the same chord at different places on the guitar, and it works really well at times to give a large chorus effect without sounding overblown or excessive. In fact the style of guitar playing is probably the most outstanding thing on the whole album, where ethereal finger picking can stand alongside chunky power chords without being drowned in sound. Saying that, the music is often let down by poor singing, as it’s obvious that the vocalist is more suited to lung bursting volleys than trying to out harmonise the Beach Boys. By far the outstanding track is new single Romance! which combines Bob Mould’s wall of guitar sound with something akin to a crossover between Pageant era REM and Joy Division. Sounds like a wedding made in hell, but oddly works for some insurmountable reason. Title track punkrockvampires is another tune that really comes together nicely and builds to the point of collapse, before being reined in expertly allowing them to hit the big noise button for a conclusion of drums and head shaking layers of guitars. If they could have maintained that level of song writing to the end of the album, then we would be talking about record of the year nominations. However it doesn’t quite make it. Having wetted the appetite for more of the same, it suddenly drifts into the surreal world of self-indulgent electronica and ambience. They get nowhere near the same quality of material as the first two tracks. There’s also appears to be a lack of outside advice or influence during the recording process. Young bands need a producer to sometimes say to them this song is too long or overblown, that to reduce it by a minute will make it work better. There’s nothing wrong with a long track, providing it doesn’t sound like it’s long (for example – Paranoid Android’s 7 minutes sound about half as longs as Yesterday’s Enemy’s 6). Closer Forever Dead lasts over 12 minutes, and is a song that even Sigur Ros would have précised down to below 6. Overindulgent is not a strong enough word. As far as this goes, it’s not at all bad. A bit of polishing of the material will improve them no-end. As a rock band of their ilk go, Hundred Reasons do it better at the moment, and as a serious muso’s band with big ideas of production values, Medal knocks them into a cocked hat. However, being banded in with both of these artists shows just how much they could achieve with the right guidance behind them. Review by Micky K
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| GORKY’S ZYGOTIC MYNCI: 20
(Singles And EPs ’94-96) (Castle Music) |
|
 Some bands work best in the longer album format while some seem to thrive as
a singles band. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci seem to me to be one of the latter. As
long as you can write a catchy A-side, you’re given carte blanche to exercise your
right to put out whatever whimsical, experimental or downright indulgent material that you
want as a B-side. Whereas on an album it would be marked down as filler, on single
it’s often described as the hidden side of the band, the braver non-commercial side
or just the band on drugs. ‘20’ brings together the first four
singles and two EPs recorded for Angst between 1994 and 1996. Gorky’s move from
being raw and naïve to turning out something layered, melodic, unpredictable but lovely
over that period. The A sides go from the pop-psych cum grunge rock of Merched Yn
Neud Gwallit Ei Gilydd via the slightly unhinged Game of Eyes and the Steely
Dan jazz licks of If Fingers Were Xylophones to the complex, layered
space-folk-rock Lucy’s Hamper that monopolises the world’s stock of
melody. But it’s when you add the B-sides that you perceive the full range of
the band. Some only scrape in as B-sides: 12 Impressionistic Soundscapes is
experimental/indulgent/playful/dicking around (delete as you find appropriate). On
others (and there’s a far greater proportion with Gorky’s) you wish you’d
heard the B-sides originally for the sheer pleasure of stumbling over minor classics like Mewn
(Pixies at the Eisteddfod) and Pethau (a sort of Bad Seeds gypsy hootenanny with
flailing violin). Heart
of Kentucky is space country, all pedal steel and violin at first, becoming almost
Krautrock as it ends with a cross between the Doctor Who and Star Wars themes. Cwpwrdd
Sadwrn has a rousing Pavement grungey chorus though it’s let down by the Sonic
Youth type wibblings at the end. None of these songs, though, are any one
type. Often they’ll mutate from pastoral reflection to rocky growl and back in
a heartbeat. Euros Childs’s voice throughout is full of emotion and meaning
while Megan Childs’ violin goes from being a pleasant addition at first to the
crucial underpinning of the song later. Many tracks are sung in Welsh, or a mixture
of English and Welsh and it’s a sign of the universality of their music that
whichever language is used, the feeling and meaning communicated is exactly the
same. It’s a confusing, exciting, organic collection of songs – so
full of life, it almost throbs in your hand. Reviewed by Ged M
|
|
| ZONGAMIN Zongamin (XL) |
|
 Zongamin is Susumu
Mukai, and although hailing from Japan, there is no sign of japanese influence here. What
we have is a moody, experimental slice of electro-hop (Have I just made that up?). Obvious
comparison range from post-punk to 80's electronic pop, but it all seems deeper than just
that.We have a real assortment here, which leads to interesting listening...you dont know if youre going to get a whiff of Joy Division, or a smear of OMD. Tracks like 'Make Love Not War' may smack of a Rezillos B-side, whilst Spiral is more like early Associates with its synthetic drum and tortured keyboards. Soldiering on leads to more discoveries such as 'Whiplash', a great Pulp fiction nod and the only vocal track (although 'the' vocal is merely a shout of Whiplash and sounds like a shout across a crowded pub to your masochistic deviant mate at the bar), and a good solid dance track in Painless...although it does end in some Level 42 big thumbs nonsense. Overall an interesting concoction, and I can certainly see what he's trying to achieve...but its all a bit too experimental cheddar....a bit like Lymeswold I guess and where is that now? If you like your electronica more Dat Politics than Add (N) to X, then tuck in. Me ? I'll hang on in there for his next one. Review by Adam M
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| SPIRITUALIZED The Complete Works
Vol 1 (Arista) |
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The cover of an obscure Troggs single may not have seemed like the best choice as debut single to some, but only a fool could not see the error of their ways at Any Way That You Want Me. Its classic Spiritualized, ethereal vocals singing about love, rocky guitars, brilliant. Perhaps the finest Spiritualized single, Feel So Sad, is here in all its glory (4 versions), I dare you not to be moved by the 16 minute Rhapsodies version. This song set the tone for the rest of Pierces career. But there are other treats here. Pierce’s well-documented obsession with re-interpretation is more than apparent in this collection. Yet for someone who repeats the same lyrical and musical themes, the finished results are so good it doesn’t matter. The single version of Run is a rawer take than that contained on Lazer Guided Melodies, and debatedly better for it. Radio versions of Smile, Angel Sigh and Feel So Sad are perfect at transporting the listener back to the first time they saw Spiritualized live. Good Dope/Good Fun and Lay Back In The Sun remind you of the best joint you ever smoked on the sunniest day on the greenest grass. Yes, there could have been some rarer stuff on here, but the music on offer reminds you of why you fell in love with Spiritualized in the first place. And it should whet the appetite until the brand new, rawer, album comes out sooner than you think… Review by Robert B
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| INTERNATIONAL PONY We Love Music
(Skint) |
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At its worst, the album is one-paced and meandering. There’s simply too many of those irritating 1 or 2 minute linking tracks, which tend to feature some unoriginal and inane mutterings, usually about the International Pony radio experience; or alternatively sound like one of the three band members has doodled around and come up with a half-decent rhythm or melody, but which nobody can decide what to do with. Sadly, this applies to some of the longer full-blown tracks as well. Pony the Funk and International Pony Theme have half-decent bass lines and the germ of a tune but they never really develop - on second listening you just want to fast forward half way through cos you know you’ve heard all you’re gonna hear. And these two tracks, like a couple of the others, are not helped by the dragging pace when the fact that nothing much else happening in the song makes them feel like they’ve been going on for ever. But, to extend the theme into the cockernee vernacular, it’s not all Pony. My Mouth - one of the upcoming singles - is the stand-out track. Not so much cos it’s by far the best, but it is pretty good and it is different. A smart piano riff develops into a driving electro beat, with more than a hint of Kraftwerk, which pushes it along fairly chirpily over the repeated refrain of “My Mouth feels like chewing gum”. Whatever. (Also features the line “In daylight it’s web-design, at night it’s party time”, which will no doubt strike a chord with those crazy hepcats at Soundsxp. Yeah, well, maybe not). Les parapluies de saint georg is one track where the comparison to Royksopp doesn’t fall apart, where the echoing Tom Waits style drum intro leads into a sweet and looping bass-line, overlaid with some equally pleasing piano and strings. Nice! Why, why why will go down fairly well if you quite like late period Isley Brothers - though it does veer dangerously close to some of the more mawkish end of some boyband r’n’b. Both mixes of Leaving home, the next single, chug along to a nice rhythm, sounding like some early 90s funk; and hangin’ around ’02 could have been the Brand New Heavies doing their take on Philly and Blaxploitation (and I’ve also been a sucka for that). Worth a listen, but very patchy. Must try harder - but I wonder if they really can do better. Review by Brendan C
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| THE ESSEX GREEN The Long Goodbye (Track and Field) |
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The Essex Green have made one of the most subversive records of the year. It’s easy to listen to, though not “easy listening”, and it takes you down all sorts of diverse paths once you get beneath the surface. It’s a big sounding record that keeps faith with its small-scale human vision. It’s presumably recorded on a modest budget but demonstrates that real vision can’t be constrained (or bought). It’s an independent record with universal appeal. When pop music is just another manufacturing and marketing exercise (5 gormless looking marionettes + formulaic ballad + cheesy dance routine + payola to teen mags and TV shows = 15 minutes of fame and a fortune to the puppeteer) this self-produced record draws from the time when pop music really was the soundtrack to our lives. The album takes in all the sort of things playing on 60s and 70s
radio: The Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas, The Loving Spoonful, Buffalo Springfield, the
Carpenters maybe….and then goes off in various directions: country, rock and
psychedelia. Some of the tracks will sound familiar to fans of the Ladybug
Transistor. The lovely By The Sea could have been on ‘Argyll Heir’
as Sasha Bell sweetly sings over keyboards and flute before it ends with a blast of 70s
Southern boogie. Sorry River is a pastoral folky acoustic ballad, delicate
and lovely. Our Lady of Havana strikes out in a Steely Dan direction, with a
soaring chorus and cascading strings, full of evocative lyrics that paint a whole picture
before your eyes: “And what if all the what ifs were a happy man?/you think our hands
are tied but we pen the chapters every time”. Lazy Man sounds like one
of Calexico’s desert rockers with Chris Ziter’s melancholy vocals adding to the
country feel. Julia is a classic Glen Campbell sounding ballad, fragile with
flute and acoustic guitar and Chartiers has an easy, strummed quality, with the
most gorgeous, melodic, echoey chorus. It’s
a matter of taste but some of the songs are a bit too obvious. The Late Great
Cassiopia outsweetens Fleetwood Mac while Old Dominion could be from a country
and western musical with its choral effects. But that’s just a matter of
taste. What no-one could doubt is the beauty of Sasha Bell’s vocals. The
album highlights her high and silky voice that makes you think of Laura Cantrell or
Emmylou Harris (for starters) for another vehicle so clear and pure that can carry such
emotional charge. In a just world she and The Essex Green would be acclaimed for
creating something so contemporary and so classy from classic elements. It’s
the greatest Sunday morning record I’ve perhaps ever heard. Just like a Jimmy
Webb song, it has a haunting quality that will make you return to it again and
again. Reviewed
by Ged M |
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| AIDAN SMITH At Home With Aidan Smith (Twisted Nerve) |
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At Home With Aidan Smith just might be the most promising release so far this year. In a world of ultra-cool but fascile “New Rock Revelation” (three awful words put together), here comes a man who, if you were to describe his music, sounds nothing special. But one listen and he manages to sound truly original. Continuing the line of Manchester artists with humour like Morrissey and Gough, Smith handles poignancy, melancholy and humour gells them together with ease. Song For Delia Smith is a heartwarming, even tender, song of love for the celebrity chef which doesn’t sound contrived at all. Keyboard Twinkles wouldn’t go amiss on Badly Drawn Boys early Eps. For those who feel Gough is too polished these days, look no further. There’s only 17 minutes here, but there’s another mini album and a full release later this year. If you’re sick of posturing and fancy real music, get yourself round to Aidan’s. Review by Robert B
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LINKIN PARK Meteora (Warner Brothers) |
I’ll nail my
colours firmly to the mast and say that I actually like Linkin Park.
At the risk of total derision from my esteemed soundsxp colleagues, I found ‘Hybrid
Theory’ a breath of fresh air, played it to death, and find it just as invigorating
today as when it was released. Having seen the lads at Brixton in March (see review
elsewhere on this site) the new songs played live sounded similar to that first
album. So, the burning question has been will ‘Meteora’ be ‘Hybrid
Theory Part 2’. Well, the answer is yes and no. With a
multi-multi-multi-platinum selling debut they would be daft to risk alienating their
legion of fans by deviating too far from the established fusion of hip-hop, metal and
electronica with its successor. So, they still take dollops of Korn heaviness and
angst, and Def Leppard’s easy listening big rock metal, then whizz it through a
blender with RATM, the Aphex Twin and a dash of Nine Inch Nails. They still do the
personal, angst-ridden lyrics; ‘Sometimes I need you to stay away from me’,
‘I will never know myself until I do this on my own’, ‘It’s so much
easier to go than face all this pain here all alone’, ‘I got a heart full of
pain/head full of stress’ blah-di-blah, all from different songs. But this is
not a remake; there are progressions and it’s not ‘Hybrid Theory Part 2’ in
the same way that ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ wasn’t ‘Star Wars Part
2’. Opener Don’t Stay is like very heavy disco with fuzzy guitar and some great work from Mr Hahn on records/sampling. Chester handles the vocals with Mike Shinoda just chipping in the odd rap. Current hit single, the dramatic but radio-friendly metal of Somewhere I Belong is more the LP we expect, Mike rapping the verses, Chester singing the big chorus. Lying From You continues in similar vein but features a cool Chris Isaak-y sample, while Easier To Run is a ‘big rock’ ballad. But differences there are. Hit The Floor is heavy as f*ck staccato-guitar hip-hop meets industrial, Faint is an atypical fast song, zipping along with a string section playing Japanese style, and Nobody’s Listening is almost pure hip-hop with South American pan pipes. A standout track, and a real mold-breaker, is the fantastic Breaking The Habit, which is The Police covered by Depeche Mode; breezy synth-pop with minimal guitars. Session is the token instrumental to show off Joseph Hahn’s sampling skills, but doesn’t have the off-the-wall-ness and fun of Cure For The Itch. They round things off with Numb, the big album closer and ‘Meteora’s In The End. Production is of course mega-slick and state of the art, the packaging is lavish and glossy, the enhanced CD features a 17 minute interview, the vid for Somewhere I Belong and web material, while the limited edition includes a DVD of ‘The Making of Meteora’. Perhaps not as immediate as its predecessor, fans of the first album will find more than enough familiarity here to satisfy them, but there are encouraging signs that Linkin Park are maturing and venturing into new territories. More multi-platinum success awaits. Review by Graham S
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CAPTAIN SOUL Jetstream
Lovers (Poptones)
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Adam Haworth is a natural-born romantic with a glass-half-full outlook and an ear for a killer melody. On Captain Soul's second album, he pours it on thickly, backing the shiny happy vocals with guitars set to maximum jangle and lush keyboards. Sometimes it works, like It’s Alright, It’s OK, which is an endless parade of bubbly melodies, or the smiley powerpop of Make Your Day. Teenage Fanclub and Buffalo Springfield come together on the country-lite Looking for Love, and TFC are a prominent influence on the intense She Moves On Water while Captain of Your Soul has Beach Boys harmonies and a slick chorus. The downside is that occasionally they’ll over-sweeten the brew: there’s a worrying tendency to go for the big obvious sound, and sticky pudding keyboards and a cloying lump of double cream for a chorus certainly mar the closing track A New Day. The first album's
standout track by a country mile was T-Shirt 69. The equivalent this time is
the very fine I Am A Rolling Stone. It sounds like Rolling Stones in their
country phase, an epic about being a rolling stone: "the path I take I take
alone/no-one can tie me down". Despite the somewhat standard rock rebel lyrics,
it has a gorgeous downbeat melody and meandering groove. Amid these happy if
predictable harmonies, they throw in the odd grenade. One such departure is Last
Night, sounding like Muse doing Anthony Newley as Howarth sings "last night I
held you in my arms/but it was only in a dream". The song is a well of
melancholy, full of over-the-top operatic gestures, sobbing organ and wrist-slashing
guitars. It’s like Queen playing at a self-harmers convention.
Maybe
it's true that all the world loves a lover but sometimes a lover needs to be a fighter too
and, over 10 rounds, Captain Soul is, frankly, a bit of a wimp. Reviewed by Ged M |
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KING OF WOOLWORTHS L'Illustration
Musicale (Mantra) |
 Jon Brooks, sole persona of King of Woolworths
(for it is he), must have his tongue firmly in his cheek. From the band name to the whole
heart of his music, he must be smiling. Without trying to be Lemon Jelly or Bent, he has
assembled a very impressive collection of wistful ballads, plastic pop, nudge-and-wink
soundtracks and thoughtful instrumentals. Starting
with a definite nod to Quinn Martin Productions with G-Plan and Montparnasse, with their
wacca-wacca chords and Harry Palmer spy-thriller tinkles, he presents a broad sprectrum of
influences. Dipping agily between the Didoesque Sell Me Back My Soul, and an Add (N) to X
glam stomp with 123 (Brillos Beat), this album is a grower, and a definite contender for a
car commercial coming your way soon. St Etienne are apparently an influence also, with the
breathy Nuada...a lovely bubblegum track with single potential. Reviewed by Adam M
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| MEDIUM 21 Killings From the Dial (Temptation) |
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I’ve never actually seen a picture of Jon Clough, lead singer of new indie kids on the block Medium 21, but I wonder if he bears any physical resemblance to either Robert Smith or Jarvis Cocker? He certainly sounds like the lovechild of the aforementioned two. A sobering (and frightening) image, I know, but the similarity in Clough’s vocal style, especially with Cocker, is at times uncanny on certain tracks from the band’s debut offering, Killings from the Dial. There are redeeming factors on Killings From The Dial – there’s the fiery punk of ‘The Cable and The Cars’ and the pleasant poppiness of ‘By My Side’ and ‘Black and White Summer’ - not to mention the thoroughly enjoyable single ‘Daybreak Vs Pride’. Yet the often oblique lyrics are at times off-putting and there’s nothing particularly attention-grabbing to be found. Medium 21 is a rather apt name for a band that is neither great nor terrible - just terribly medium. Reviewed by Lauren M
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You wait a lifetime for a
decent Canadian band to appear and suddenly two show up at once. Hot, ahem, on the
heels of Hot Hot Heat are The Hidden Cameras, self proclaimed purveyors of “gay
church folk music”. Whilst essentially the product of one man, Joel Gibb, the
sheer number of associated musicians and dancers during live shows has seen them compared
frequently with the Polyphonic Spree. However, whilst the music is less Flaming Lips
and more indie twee, it’s the lyrics where the major differences lie. Whilst
there’s no parental guidance sticker on the front it’s still pretty
graphic. References to bodily fluids permeate every hairy nook of the album and even
seemingly light verses grow darker with closer inspection (checkout Golden Streams
with its golden bones and buns and sticky legs). 
The first rays
of sunshine outside and on cue we get the perfect summer record, a long playing platter of
60s tinged indie from those bubble headed cuties from Denver. This one is a
veritable treasure trove of long deleted US-only early singles, demos and comp releases,
saving the discerning pop picker a fortune on international money orders on eBay.
The
Midwest of America has, within certain circles, a somewhat tarnished reputation
Possibly his last album for Warp
(though we’ve heard that before), Richard D James pulls the classic trick of
releasing a shameless cash-in. Of course, this being Aphex Twin, we’re in no doubt of
the cynicism of this release, christ, Warp even gave away chocolate coins with the album.
However, what you’re actually getting here is, unlike the last album Drukqs, the full
range of James sonic palate.
There are 94 tracks on these 3 albums, the best part of 4 hours’ worth of
US trash rock 'n' roll from the 1950s and ‘60s made by young men (mostly) hopped up
on moonshine, amphetamines (Macy ‘Skip’ Skipper’s Bop Pills) and
uncontrollable testosterone (Jimmy Lloyd’s Rocket In My Pocket). All
this music inspired or was covered by the Cramps (hence the title) and if you know how
screwed up Poison Ivy, Lux and the rest were/are, you’ll know what to expect.
It's outsider music, made when rock 'n' roll was part of the original axis of evil, along
with atheism and communism. Most of these people had a single shot at making a
single and then it was back to driving trucks or shovelling shit on the farm (the
booklets accompanying the CD are a fantastic mine of information on the players,
where anything is known, and the illustrations would make a record collector
blow his wad). 
I
suppose it was inevitable that having taken much of the world by storm in 2002 with their
fast and furious fusion of 60s garage and 70s old school punk, Sweden's Hives would
eventually have bands pilfering their template. Fortunately although it does provoke a
double-take or two at times, this Athens, Georgia five-piece have still produced an
enjoyable romp for this their debut long player. Just like the Scandinavians, the
Agenda! have visual gimmicks with all five dressed in black with logo'd armbands on their
sleeves. And in case you missed the dramatic effect of all the tracks being
delivered at breakneck speed, they also have an exclamation mark at the end just so you
know they are meant to be screamed, not whispered. You, got
Only under two years since the last album, Let It Come Down, we lucky people
get the first release of three this year from J Spaceman and cohorts. Volume 1 of The
Complete Works deals with singles and rarities from first single Any Way You Want Me to
the Electric Mainline EP. Critics of the bombastic orchestral bluster of the last album
will be pleased to wallow in the psychedelic rock of early to mid nineties Spiritualized.
A self-proclaimed
cross between De La Soul and Royksopp, unfortunately this doesn’t deliver anything
half as intriguing as you would expect from the real bastard offspring of that loving
couple. Lacking the trippy wit of the former, and the sublime tunes of the
latter, International Pony have their moments but they’re a bit too few and far
between. 
At
Badly Drawn Boy’s celebratory gig at the Comedy Store in Manchester, a shy 23 year
old shuffled onto the stage, picked up an acoustic guitar, and won the hearts of 500
people. Eccles lad Aidan Smith, playing his first ever gig, had us in hysterics at his
Song For Delia Smith and a chirpy tune about how shit boy bands are. Eagerly awaited by
those people in attendance, here is his first mini album.