Culturedeluxe Album Reviews

Pocket Gods - Sci-Fi Lo-Fi

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:33:00 GMT

After the knockabout fun of prior release 'Jombal Portal' and a truly excellent entry to Cherryade's 'A Very Cherry Christmas' compilation last year, hopes are high for the new offering from The Pocket Gods, particularly the Gods themselves who incredulously compare 'Sci Fi Lo Fi' to The Beatles' 'The White Album'. Absolute nonsense, this is much better!

'Weekend Revellers' sounds like a drunk Bobby Gillespie singing over a casio keyboard demo in 1990 while his band jam along. 'Praise the Lard' is swimming in the same idiosyncratic merriment that has made Half Man Half Biscuit so bankable for years, but even they would draw the line at a garage, punk rock advert to the benefits of eating pig fat. The biggest leap from the band's normal sound comes with 'Howard Hughes' where they provide a suitably stellar, nay, interstellar sci-fi soundtrack to the eponymous paranormal monologue from the former Talksport DJ.

'This Is Now' is an archetypal jangle pop duet which calls to minds The Vaselines and, by way of a crafty key change during the xylophone solo (yes, it's that twee), should plaster a broad smile across the stoniest visage. That is until the factually incorrect proclamation of 'Got a Tower Records on Argyle Street' fills you with sadness for a byegone era when all indie music was like this and stores like Tower still existed. If more bands played music with this enthusiasm, keeping their focus on having fun and not making cold, hard cash, then perhaps they would.

Buy this now here.

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WETDOG - Enterprise Reversal

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:49:00 GMT

With enough tracks to fill two albums by most bands, albeit still short enough to fit on one side of a C90 (ooh, who's showing their age now?), WETDOG (for they do like to shout) are certainly not short of ideas, nor are they short of energy or original post-punk spirit.

The fabulously-titled 'Stumpy Torso' has a fantastically childlike quality, muddy production that suggests it was recorded in someone's linen cupboard and a surprise trumpet line. Later on, 'Cowhide' repeats the formula (sans trumpet sadly) and finds singer Rivka Gillieron in excruciating Violet Bott mode. Best of the bunch are 'Nancy Riley' which recalls such post-riot grrrrl acts as the Voodoo Queens and Mambo Taxi at their sludgy, ramshackle best and 'Shit Day', a psychobilly car crash of funereal hammond arpeggios and driving drumbeats.

The single 'Alibi' perfectly sums up the band's plan to find one idea or riff that works and stick with it. Tracks like this will never win the band an Ivor Novello award but it will give them a few years playing small gigs to appreciative, if not completely loopy, audiences which sounds like much more fun than playing next year's Brit Awards could ever be.

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Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez - Why is Bear Billowing?

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:36:00 GMT

Although frequently found hanging around with electronic terrorist Dan Deacon and the Wham City collective, 'Why is Bear Billowing?' (a title taken from the lyrics to track 'Mostly a Friend' in case you were wondering) by Cuban-born Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez is an altogether gentler, starker folk sound than the full-on, electronic onslaught of his peers.

Over eleven tracks Lesser takes us on a kindly, smooth trip taking in, amongst others, Sesame Street style education on 'The Letter B' - musically abstruse yet adroit and, lyrically, listing adjectives that start with the letter B ('You're quite brunette in bed / ... / But don't be boastful'). That the song can be described itself as 'bluesy' is cheeringly apt.

There's a section towards the end of 'Pinecone Eyes' where Alvarez captivates and hypnotises with little more than an acoustic guitar. Later during 'Build a Tiny Hill' you feel the same brief sadness when the song finishes, conversely 'Narwhal Horn' radiates a completely different, yet beautiful sadness from beginning to end.

Defying his Cuban roots for Victorian wordsmithery, Alvarez later covers Edward Lear's ancient and well-loved 'The Owl and the Pussy Cat'. It's a brave move given the connotations of the word 'pussy' in today's vernacular. Later, the piggy-wig selling his ring for a shilling may raise equally puerile chuckles, but, my childish sense of humour aside, the track will raise a genuine, knowing and nostalgic smile in all who hear it. Much like the album in general, it's a gentle triumph, kicking back and sending two fingers in the direction of an all-go world.

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Black Affair - Pleasure, Pressure, Point

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:45:00 GMT

The first new material from ex-Beta Band and King Biscuit Time man Steve Mason is, I'm disappointed to report, far from his usual high standard. Save for the former singles 'Tak Attack!' and 'It's Real' which shine, perhaps undeservedly, against drab number after drab number, this album is a far cry from what we expect from Mason....

Eine Kleine Nacht Musik - Eine Kleine Nacht Musik

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:22:00 GMT

We're living in a time where artistic side projects quite often eclipse the material that made the protagonist in question famous and Henry 'Riton' Smithson's krautrock posturings as Eine Kleine Nacht Musik ('a little night music' �1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) appear to be continuing that trend.

Probably best known for the funky mech-hop of his 2004 'Homies and Homos' record, Smithson here pays tribute to the less obvious side of his musical oeuvre and such krautrock acts as Can, Neu! and Tangerine Dream over nine motorised instrumentals.

The album begins very strongly with the slow-building, uplifting, psychedelic 'Ertrinken' eventually marching menacingly into the surprisingly techno sounds of 'Feverprobe' which must be an absolutely must for play at the likes of Optimo in Glasgow or in any Soulwax DJ set. Later, the pace is dropped somewhat for the atmospheric sine waves and music box cum sitar sounds of 'Die Fontaine' which segues effortlessly into the progressive, soundtrack of 'Bardolator'

Riton fans feeling left out may find pleasure in 'Besuchen Sie Mich Einmal' and the aforementioned 'Feverprobe' which both vaguely recall Smithson's revered take on The Cure's 'Killing an Arab' from the 'Homies and Homos' LP.

Leaving excellent single 'La Serenissima' off the album may have seemed an oversight at first but, with no obvious connection to these nine instrumentals, the decision to omit and release it as a standalone promo is entirely vindicated.

For those curious about the much-vaunted yet still curiously underground sound of 'krautrock' there can be no better entry point. On 'Eine Kleine Nacht Musik' Smithson successfully emulates his heroes to such an extent that you constantly find youself nodding your head and muttering 'Ja, das ist gut'.

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Black Kids - Partie Traumatic

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:25:00 GMT

While Floridian indie-poppers, Black Kids, have been around for about ten minutes, it�s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for them. The media first pricked up their ears after a performance at Popfest in Athens nearly a year ago and all hell has broken loose since then. They released �I�m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You� prior to signing a record deal in May and oddly enough they seem to be releasing their stuff here first on Almost Gold Recordings before their American fans get to hear it through Columbia Records � sounds like they�re adopting the Killers promotional stratagem.

The Killers link crops up again in the fact that while Partie Traumatic has a couple of decent songs, which I�m inclined to say aren�t the singles, the rest is pretty easily forgotten. However, the album sounds a lot more mature than I would have imagined, but it could possibly have been rushed. With every music magazine competing to stick a label on them as the �new big thing�, it�s easy to believe the album may not have been as tip-top as it could have been, given more time.

That said, �Hit The Heartbrakes� is a good opener for the album as it�s one of the more lively and memorable songs. It shows they�re capable of writing decent music and that synth-pop can sound slightly different if you just give it a shot.

The other highlights on the album are �I Wanna Be Your Limousine,� which starts out like the soundtrack to a creepy computer game but moves swiftly into a contagiously catchy chorus, and �Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)�, a sassy little foot-stomping floor-filler.

All in all they kinda sound like Robert Smith singing over the top of a blend of Hot Chip and the Gossip, in a Human League video. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn�t, but I have a fear that they might be, dare I say it, the new Killers.

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Tricky - Knowle West Boy

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:26:00 GMT

'Knowle West Boy' is a collection of songs dedicated to, and influenced by, Tricky's up bringing in Knowle West, a deprived council estate in Bristol, and all the artists who contributed to the soundtrack of his youth. It is a bit of a departure from how his fans would expect the album to sound, as he indulged in really bringing in those childhood influences and blending them with his own sound. Such diversity in music is a hard thing to pull off but it works well here.

His tobacco-tongued and tar-filled-lung whisper is an addictive quality in the bluesy opener, 'Puppy Toy' but, disappointingly, there is little else on the album that matches its bravado and exuberance. Perhaps the only other song to do this is the single 'Council Estate'. It's easy to imagine the song cut to a stylised Guy Ritchie film sequence and shows Tricky's prowess as a frontman, perhaps for the first time.

Most of the other songs are tied together with delicate beats and a subtle range of instrumentation. The glitchy, staccato beats in 'Veronika' support the simplistic vocals and occasionally lend it a prison-yard a capella feel, while 'Past Mistake' is what Tricky himself recognises as his 'traditional' sound. The song narrates the deterioration of a couple's relationship and lies hauntingly close to his break up with then-girlfriend, Martina Topley-Bird, the other voice in the song.

The album also features a cover of Kylie Minogue's 'Slow' which exudes Tricky's signature style of whispers and beats and if you haven't heard the original before, you'll be hard pushed to realise it's a cover.

The sticking point of this is album however is that it is meant to be a personal insight into Tricky's character, and while he achieves this at times, the fact that there are so many guest vocalists seems to dilute the effect. He says he can't carry a whole album with his voice but I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking otherwise. While this may not be the comeback album to rival 'Maxinquaye', it's definitely heading in the right direction.

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Biffy Clyro - Singles 2001 - 2005

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:53:00 GMT

Biffy Clyro are one of those bands that carry the frustrating promise that they should be better than they actually are. This lopsided collection, covering all the singles released from their first three albums, is a case in point.

The earliest stuff is the best on here, �27�, �57� and �Joy, Discovery, Invention� are fine songs, all angular guitar and heavy choruses about being screwed over by this or unhappy about that. Lyrics and guitar often seem to be straining against each other to see who could be most obtuse, but the trio's fine musicianship and knack for a melody manage to keep everything in balance.

Until the second album �The Vertigo of Bliss�. It's as if somehow their poise was stolen overnight, and the more they scrabble to get it back, the further away it seems, each subsequent single growing more adventurous but with less quality control evident each time. Time signatures change, more effects are used, songs get heavier or lighter but somehow none of it really works.

Things do pick up by the tracks taken from third album �Infinity Land�, and whatever was missing from Vertigo of Bliss is seeping back, but it takes a fairly strong stomach to get that far.

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Cage the Elephant - Cage the Elephant

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:05:00 GMT

Many critics seem to have an issue with Cage the Elephant's self-titled debut album. It would appear the problem stems from the ignorant belief that if a band sounds anything like the revered icons of seventies rock 'n' roll, then they are in fact 'saviours' of the genre and are here to bring it back. This is a ridiculous belief to hold in any band and will leave you prone to the same tear-filled tantrums a school girl has every time you put on the radio.

The band brazenly address the issue in the album opener, 'In One Ear', with the lyrics: "So all the critics who despise us, go ahead and criticize us, it's your tyranny that drives us, adds the fire to our flames." This could just be coincidence though.

For me this is a refreshing example of stripped back rock 'n' roll with a southern slur and youthful swagger. The single 'Ain't No Rest For The Wicked' is probably one of the highlights, it's radio-friendly yes, but what's wrong with liking the sound of something the first time round?

Musically the album is a measured collection of rock, punk and funk. From the loose and inebriated account of marital problems in 'Back Stabbin' Betty', to the strutting funk of 'Lotus', the nonchalant frenzy of 'Tiny Little Robots' and the petrol-fuelled groove of 'Drones In The Valley'. The boys pull this off with ease and there is at last something genuine shining through the haze of battered-plimsolled indie bands and indoor-sunglass-wearing dance rock kids.

For this album you will read many reviews saying it sounds like the Red Hot Chili Peppers sodomised The Kings of Leon, but I just don't hear it.

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Kid Carpet - Casio Royale

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:13:00 GMT

What hits you immediately on Bristol musican Kid Carpet's second LP is that album opener 'Hitting the Wall' is a long, long way from the sound of a disenfranchised musician gurning 'No-one gives a shit if yer not special' over the wind-up organ sound of a sixties children's TV series that greeted us on the Kid's first LP 'Ideas and Oh Dears'. Yes Dorothy, we're not in Hamleys any more, we're in a Stourbridge record shop in 1988 and deliberating whether to buy that new Pop Will Eat Itself EP or not like a broke teenager keen to get into this 'grebo' scene.

It's a shame then that Kid's production skill has not reached 'puberty' at the same time as his songwriting. Recent single 'I Don't Want To Fall In Love With You' still sounds like an early demo with an extremely basic rhythm track and the jarring rasp of a bad string sample which just won't go away. Using a similar formula, but to considerably better effect is the late Poppies sound of 'All Join On' later on in the album - a track that would have been a far more effective fanfare to announce the 'coming of age' Kid. Except has he come of age? Half this record still has its roots tied inextricably to the toy shop.

This half gives us the casio sound of 'Still Life' - think Joe Strummer produced by a sugar-addled Adam and Joe - and 'I Don't Believe', a bizarre sea shanty waltz that recalls, nay rips off Carter USM at their 1992 height of popularity and eventually couples Paul McCartney's bull frog bass with tall tales about paternal werewolves and the like. Later, Tom Jones' 'Help Yourself' is covered in such a childlike way you picture the big Welshman reunited with a troupe of Muppets while Kid Carpet smirks away in the corner.

'Can't Stop the Pop' was actually put forward for consideration by the uK for Eurovision and the manic action-led chorus is exactly the kind of tragic yet addictive eurobeat that could have shattered the Eastern bloc this year. It's also the kind of thing Kid Carpet does best and, if Sunday Best had a bottomless sample clearance budget, then we'd really hear the kid let fire. As it stands, music fans of a certain vintage should find familiarity in both halves of this LP, but youngsters should keep well away lest they become bald, fat and start shouting 'You Fat Bastard' at an empty stage. For some of us, even Kid Carpet it seems, there's no hope there.

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Hybrid - Soundsystem 01

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:58:00 GMT

Another day, another mix album, but you hope that when a Hybrid mix album drops through your letterbox, it will be something a little different. This compilation certainly applies - it's Hybrid but not as you would expect.

Hybrid have typical been categorised by their orchestral flourishes and titanium breaks and the first disc of this compilation is a legacy to the orchestral arrangement of their past. The skilful blend is comprised largely of atmospheric selections - extracted from existing film soundtracks (such as 28 Days Later and Kingdom Of Heaven) - or tracks that will surely have their place among the soundtracks of the future. Particular standouts are the glitchy rhythm-infusion of Gorrilaz' suitably titled 'Film Music' and the wonderful Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian collaboration 'World Citizen'. It's not a disc you listen to a lot, but when you do you'll wonder why you didn't listen to it more often.

Orchestral allocation fulfilled, you would expect the second disc to bring in the noise. If you're expecting angular kicks and bouncing snares, this is not the album for you. It's a set largely drawing from the much maligned prog-house genre, which, while retaining a lot of the familiar hi-tech production you would expect from Hybrid, contains nary a breakbeat in earshot...we're in four to the floor territory here. That's not to say it's a bad album, but it certainly goes against type and oddly sounds quite restrained compared to the usual dancefloor devestation the duo have unleashed in the past. With the current vogue for attention-deficient fidget house, it's perhaps difficult to appreciate an album such as this, but it's worth persevering with. The melodies take their time to unravel, but when they do they're usually riffs that will circle around in your head thanks to the subtle variations each time the loops are repeated (witness Lank's 'Confrontation' as a good example).

It's difficult in places to appreciate how much thought seems to have gone into this album � it's one with a specialised gameplan and faultless mixing. Just be warned it's one for headphones rather than bassbins, and in that respect Hybrid have provided an enjoyable alternative to re-address the expectations you may have of them.

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Digitalism - Kitsune Tabloid

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:28:00 GMT

Kitsune have recovered remarkably well from the ignominious tag of 'the first New Rave compilation album' dished out to an earlier edition of their popular 'Maison' series and this first 'Tabloid' (presumably in reference to the relatively small portions of each song used in the mix) comes from an act unfairly tarred with the same 'new rave' brush, Germany's Digitalism.

Compiling many of today's most relevant cutting edge dance acts (and The Human League), the German duo have crafted a mix which begins slowly, morphs in a slow and calculated fashion and ends in sheer mania - just as any mix should do.

High points come from 'the good section' of Hot Chip's 'Shake a Fist' (any fans of 'Made in the Dark' will know which part I mean), the retro street-electro sounds of the Jonzon Crew's 'Space Cow Boy', the chilling electro-stromp of Hey Today!'s 'If I Was Wonder, CSS' excellent remix of The B52's 'Funplex' and, best of all, the cowbells-to-the-fore sound of 'Business Acumen' from In Flagranti. In fact, the only real criticism of this mix (and it's a big one) is the slow and clumsy start. Opening with Mawkish's 'Baba' fails to set the pulse racing, as any opening track should, it then mixes clumsily into the equally uninspiring Muscles. It's not until we hear the dulcet tones of Phil Oakey that the mix pulls itself together in some style.

'Kitsune Tabloid' will not go down as a classic mix album but, right now, you'll be hard pushed to find a better soundtrack for your summer beach party or barbecue than this one.

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Rascals - Rascalize

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:32:00 GMT

It's such a treat to find an album by a band associated with the Arctic Monkeys that genuinely deserves to be associated with their back catalogue in its own right and 'Rascalize' is one such album. Mere weeks after topping the album chart with the Monkeys' Alex Turner as a Last Shadow Puppet, Miles Kane and his cohorts from The Wirral are back with their first long player after a trio of well-received single releases.

It's unbelievable that the immense sound of 'The Glorified Collector' and 'People Watching' was created by a three-piece, albeit one apparently recording in an echo chamber (the latter recalls the Last Shadow Puppets 'The Age of the Understatement')

Best track of all though, is 'Does Your Husband Know That You're On The Run?' It's not only the best titled song of this week's review pile bar none but also a frenetic, speedball run through the Bangles 'Walk Like An Egyptian' and if it isn't their next single then I'll beat my cat.

With detractors lined up to dismiss The Rascals as Arctic Monkey piggy-backing opportunists, 'Rascalize' disproves the theory with such style that fans of Sheffield's finest need look no further for a fix of quality 60's tinged indie rock this year.

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Thomas White - I Dream of Black

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:18:00 GMT

White dreams of black? Ok! Virtually part of the indie establishment now, Tom White should be known to many as guitarist in Electric Soft Parade and Brakes and, having reverted to his Sunday name, is now a solo artist in his own right.

'I Dream of Black' is chameleonic from start to finish. 'Starrry Nite #2' recalls psychedelic McCartney, 'Will The Moon Ever Rise Again' is My Bloody Valentine minus the wall of noise and the title track is one of many instrumentals employing atmospheric string swirls colliding malevolently with crisp, slithering analogue noise. Conveniently at the midpoint, 'This is Just a Little Interlude' is exactly that, a jolly, shuffling surf guitar workout which should just give you enough time to secure one of those tiny ice cream pots from a hostess.

Largely experimental, slighly mental, 'I Dream of Black' may very well be the best thing Thomas White has ever produced, just what brother Alex thinks of that is another matter!

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Society of Imaginary Friends - Sadness is a Bridge to Love

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:12:00 GMT

Who could ever have imagined, while listening to the over-produced tripe that litters the chart these days, that what music needs, really needs, right now is the light opera and dead bird imagery of Society of Imaginary Friends aka Alfie Thomas, Louise Kleboe and Chris Brierley?

'For Those Online' is an (unintenionally?) hilarious rock opera tribute to MySpace and Facebook with all the opening pomp and ceremony of an Andrew Lloyd-Webber composition and such lyrics as 'You can download me / But I come at a price / You don't know what to do with me / Seek parental advice'. Later, 'Night of Power' comes across as full-blown opera, unsettling and enthralling in equal measures and the perfect antidote to out-of-shape pipe fitters who pop up on TV talent shows barking out pizza restaurant-versions of 'Nessun Dorma'.

Louise possesses quite a voice, but occasionally it can prove somewhat overbearing. Neither 'Easy Way' nor 'Going Home' are an easy listen. However, when spread liberally like the accordian-polka-tinged 'Flower on the Wall' or 'The Lovely Rain' which, if accompanied by the right imagery, would drive the most thick-skinned to helpless tears, the combination of strong vocals and expert musicianship are heart-racingly overwhelming.

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Wild Beasts - Limbo, Panto

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:56:00 GMT

Wild Beasts' debut album 'Limbo, Panto' is a daring endeavour � from its endlessly shifting pace to its often simplistic form to singer Hayden Thorpe's distinctive falsetto, it is not a sound for everyone.

While the dynamics of the album rarely shift above a loud whisper, the transition in tempo is used to good effect. The galloping 'Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants', the soothing 'Woebegone Wanderers' and the haunting lullaby of 'Please, Sir' all highlight this.

The majority of the ten songs are dominated by Hayden's vocals, which mostly soar and drift but occasionally growl and groan, as if his voice has wings and teeth of its own. It's an extremely distinguishing style and one which will probably keep some people at arm's length, but in the warmth of all the indie frontmen idly mumbling in the thickest regional accent they can muster, this is the cool side of the pillow.

'The Devil's Crayon' and 'His Grinning Skull' offer some respite from Hayden's lofty vocals though and give bassist Tom Fleming chance to showcase the deeper, tenor side of the band's sound. This works well and serves to break the album up slightly.

Looking past the music can be a risky venture as the lyrics are often perturbing and puzzling in equal measure. If I told you the songs were about sex, football and getting kicked out of school it would give you the wrong impression � they manage to turn the mundane into works of poetry, both mystifying and graphic.

This is a truly different album and while 'Limbo, Panto' can be elusive in its meaning and definition, its sound is perfectly encapsulated in the last line of 'Cheerio chaps, Cheerio Goodbye' : "a requiem in a circus tent."

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Shearwater - Rook

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:18:00 GMT

Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff, who began their collaboration as members of the critically lauded Okkervil River, founded Shearwater in 1999 as an outlet for quieter songs on which the two were working. Shearwater's debut, 'The Dissolving Room', introduced Meiburg's now ex-wife Kim Burke on upright bass and shortly after, drummer and vibraphonist Thor Harris joined the band. Meiburg has since left Okkervil to focus on Shearwater full time. Five albums later, 'Rook' is the follow up to the critically acclaimed 'Palo Alto'. As much as there is really nothing new here, the album is still very good.

I was surprised at how much emotion and soul the album pack in it's short run time (35 minutes). The press release for Rook speaks of "themes within meditate of man's intersection with the natural world: the hunter and the prey; the extinction of the species; the world after human beings are gone". It may sound pretentious but Meiberg, who is also an Ornithologist (say what?), does a good job of not sounding too full of himself while still crafting some haunting and beautiful music. Sounding like a cross between Van Morrison and Talk Talk, Meiburg flows skillfully through 10 songs filled with complex arrangements of pianos, harps, strings, woodwinds and crisp percussion. Highlights of the album are tracks like ' Leviathan, Bound', 'Home Life', 'I Was A Cloud'. With 'The Snow Leopard', a song which almost sounds like a Radiohead b-side (although Meiburg's voice does go a bit lower than Thom's), Meiburg's voice is the main attraction and shows his versatile range.

My only complaint is that each song tries to be a mini-epic and it doesn't always succeed. Overall though, this is a great album and better than a lot of things out right now. Fans of Okkervil River may find 'Rook' to be a bit confusing but, like a lot of indie folk music, after repeat plays it sure does grow on you. I am sure this will undoubtedly find its way onto some critics' "best of" lists this year and for once, the hype might really be justified.

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Loose Salute - Tuned to Love

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:01:00 GMT

The Loose Salute is a British band founded by drummer Ian McCutcheon (formerly of Slowdive and Mojave 3 who also sings and plays guitar). The rest of the band consists of Lisa Billson (vocals, keys, percussion), Charlotte King (backing vocals, percussion, bells and whistles), Pete Greenwood (guitar, bass) Alan Forrester (bass, keys).

Subdued and thought provoking, The Loose Salute's debut album 'Tuned to Love' is a low-key gem that combines country, rock and indie-pop to create a wonderful and sweet sound. Ian proves that he is more than just a drummer as he skillfully sings on tracks such as "The Mutineer" and "Ballad of the Dumb Angel" and sounds a little like Elliot Smith in spots, which is not a bad thing! Having Lisa Billson singing on the album is also a treat as her voice is a pleasant surprise and truly does accentuate the album. Tracks like "Photographs and Tickets" or "Why'd We Fight?" are sung with soulful charm and the more upbeat numbers like "From Head to Sandy Toes" have great harmonies from Lisa and Charlotte. "Cold Water"(one of my favorites tracks on the album) feels like something Leonard Cohen wrote for Lisa to sing. The guitar and keyboard work meld with the other instruments as well as Charlotte's smooth backing vocals to add the final touches to a wonderfully charming record.

This album (like several others this year) shows that there are still a few bands out there that have some original ideas. They may have found inspiration from a mix of different bands but they have made the sound all their own. I mean really...who knew the Brit's could do country music? This album will be in the car all summer long as it is a great soundtrack to those lazy Sunday drives to nowhere in particular.

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Arms - Kids Aflame

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:47:00 GMT

The arms in question belong to New York multi-instrumentalist Todd Goldstein, a man who lists ranging influences from the country sound of Jim Reeves to smoky, sozzled Lee Hazlewood to the quirkyness of David Byrne and they're influences that shine through on 'Kids Aflame'.

Highlights of this impressive record include 'Sad Sad Sad', a classic swing track done acoustically and crooned by Goldstein. It's an inventive and original excursion from the album's general recipe which is better summed up by 'John the Escalator', a track which brings to mind an in-form R.E.M. set adrift on a sea of reverb.

Elsewhere special mention must be made of 'Tiger Tamer' which sounds like Editors with some purpose and fire in their bellies, not simply regurgitating Interpol for a slightly more conservative audience and boasts such lyrics as 'Your Daddy's on fire / Your Mommy's a liar'.

Perhaps best of all though is 'Eyeball'. A huge 'home on the range' style country epic concerning that immortal question - 'why do humans have eyes?'. There's certainly a reason we have ears...it's to listen to genius alt.rock whimsy such as this.

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Music - Strength in Numbers

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:09:00 GMT

It�s easy to be sniffy about a band like The Music. With their dance-rock stylings, fondess for the �Big sound� (their last album, �Welcome To The North�, sounded so immense that you needed planning permission before you put the CD in your stereo), and defiantly baggy aesthetic, they couldn�t sound more out-of-step with the prevailing trends of the time, so it�s almost a surprise that the Polydor-owned Yes Please! label took a chance on the Leeds four piece. Or was it? After all, this is a band that emerged shortly before The Strokes - who pretty much rendered everything post-�97 and pre-2001 obsolete - yet still managed to hold their own commercially in the great garage rock explosion that seemed to envelop the country. Ditto in 2004, when we last heard of the band with their massive-yet-slightly flawed set �Welcome To The North�. So how have they fared? Well, it�s hardly a damascene revelation, but it�s pretty fucking good.

Fashion aside, there�s no doubting that, musically, Rob Harvey and his band are certainly on more than nodding terms with writing club bangers that threaten to tear your head off. Opening track �Strength In Numbers� pounds out of your stereo like a sweaty, pilled-up pink rhino, trampling over your senses and leaving you in no doubt that this band have spent their hiatus honing their sound. Followed by the equally storming rave-rock of �The Spike�, you start to get the sense that this is a band making up for lost time; a band that aren�t scared to make big, life affirming tracks that grab you by the scruff of the neck and drag you to the dance floor and sweat yourself into a defiantly unfashionable mess. This is what The Twang would have sounded like if they weren�t a big pile of cack. And tracks like the Zeppelin-channeled-by-Pendulum slow burn psychedelia of �The Left Side� only serves to highlight that the band have a passing interest in light and shade, even if it is only a temporary respite from the breakneck pace of the rest of the album.

So yes, the music that they make isn�t rocket science, and lyrically the album in parts only just falls short of full-on ridiculousness, but fuck me, it sounds great blaring out of my stereo, and sometimes isn�t that all you really want? Thought so.

An unexpected treat, akin to finding a tenner down the back of your sofa, The Music may not have a degree in current musical affairs, but they are certainly masters of making a massive, danceable din. A welcome return.

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Fonda 500 - Je M'Appelle Stereo

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:30:00 GMT

After the curiously hypnotic introduction 'Music Should Always Be Played By The Hands of Animals' which combines munchkin and robot samples instructing listeners of the song's message, Fonda 500 click into their regular roles for a fourteen track demonstration into why, now on their sixth LP, they are one of the most criminally ignored acts in the world today.

The title track recalls the Super Furry Animals at their very best with F500 singer Simon Stone's vocal style (and impromptu beatboxing) reminiscent of the wayward and otherworldly style of Gruff Rhys particularly on the razor sharp indie of 'Electronique Bee 101' and 'Jenny #1'. There's further evidence of a Super Furry influence on the ace 'Fuzzy Logic'-style 'Start of the Song'.

There are further departures into unlikely music styles as the album takes shape. 'I Love Stereo Cos Stereo's Good For Me' is experimental free-form techno, 'Push Button Skillz' brings to mind Beck sharing a studio with a revitalised Pop Will Eat Itself while final track '...And Sleep' is a Camberwick Green nightmare, yet peculiarly enticing like Windy Miller playing a stop-motion drug dealer selling ketamine from his windmill.

'Je M'Appelle Stereo' shows Fonda 500 to be one of the most innovative and exciting bands around while still keeping their feet firmly placed in the rhythm flower bed and never descending into farce like so many of today's acts.

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Zutons - You Can Do Anything

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:31:00 GMT

Part of me thinks that I should like the Zutons more than I do after all they are named after one of the Magic Band and 'Safe as Milk' is a favourite album of mine.

However unlike their label mates The Coral who always manage to conjure up musical montages of colourful psychedelic madness, when I hear the Zutons I always seem to picture a keg of Watneys Red Barrel, episodes of the Sweeney and my brother Boney Al dancing and singing badly around our sitting room to Suzy Quatro.

Not that they are bad, in fact when they are good, like on the psych rocking opener of this album 'Harder and Harder', they can be very good but unfortunately they do have a tendency to climb aboard the good ship �two thumbs up Macca� and sail the seas of 70�s influenced rock far to close to Wings Island.

The album is a mixed bag with a fair mix of the good, the aforementioned �Harder and Harder� and �Family of Leeches�, the bad �Dirty Rat� and the pub rock �Always Right Beside You� but David McCabe's seedy street stories are always an interesting listen if nothing else.

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Joan as Police Woman - To Survive

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:57:00 GMT

Joan Wasser , lead singer for Joan as A Police Woman, is a violinist and singer/songwriter. She spent time with the band 'The Dambuilders' in the mid 90's and has performed and done studio work with the likes of Lou Reed, Tanya Donelly, Sheryl Crow, Sparklehorse, Dave Gahan, Elton John, the Scissor Sisters and Rufus Wainwright (who has a guest spot on the albums last track). In May of 1997, her boyfriend at the time, musician Jeff Buckley, drowned accidentally, in Memphis, Tennessee. He had written the song "Everybody Here Wants You" about her. She then bounced around between bands for a few years and then in February of 2004, Rufus Wainwright asked her to join his band, tour and open the shows with her new project, Joan as Police Woman. She then went on to release the acclaimed album 'Real Life" in 2006.

'To Survive' is Joan's second studio album under the current moniker and her best to date. The album is inspired by the death of Joan's mother from cancer (she definitely has plenty in her life to draw inspiration from). The whole album is very somber, with 'Magpies" (with great subtle use of horns!), 'Hard White Wall' and 'Furious'(one of my favorite tracks on the album) being the most upbeat tracks on the album. The rest, such as 'Honor Wishes', 'To Be Lonely' and 'To Survive' (which uses soft strings to accent her voice) are emotionally haunting tracks with deep and meaningful lyrics about acceptance, love and life lessons learned. When asked about the album she said "I've become obsessed with taking stuff out, leaving only the most important elements in place. I got more into blending and integration and subtlety. I just want to be courageous enough to feel and express as much as possible and that means ALL the emotions." With the album mainly focusing on Joan's voice and piano (and a few more instruments here and there), I believe she has done just that.

This is a wonderful album with loads of depth and emotion. This will most definitely be on my top 10 list of albums of the year. Highly recommended....

My Brightest Diamond - A Thousand Shark's Teeth

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:56:00 GMT

I don't know what it is in the water lately but the amount of talented, moody and vocally skilled women releasing albums has risen to staggering proportions. My Brightest Diamond's 'A Thousand Shark's Teeth' is yet another one of these albums.

My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden. Shara has been performing music since 1998 and has even performed with Sufjan Stevens as a member of the Illinoismakers. Reportedly, the album was originally meant to be a more classical, 'A Thousand Shark's Teeth' was slowly crafted over the last six years to become what it is now. You can tell from listening to the album that a lot of thought and feeling went into it's creation. The record, which was mixed by Husky H�skulds (he's mixed Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Fant�mas and many more), was recorded in Berlin, Los Angeles and New York City, and features twenty different musicians. According to Shara, she was influenced by artists such as Tricky, French composer Maurice Ravel and Tom Waits and it shows on the album. The songs, which discuss topics like intimacy, kisses by moonlight, laundry, lost friendship and more, use instruments (harps, clarinets, French horns, guitars and vibraphones to name a few) to create an unique and compelling listening experience.

The album opener and first single, 'Inside A Boy', is a perfect example of Shara and her style. Using guitars, strings and her voice to take the listener on a roller coaster of a ride. 'Bass Player' uses strings, with great effect, to build the energy of the track to a fervor only to slowly fade away and leaves you wanting more. 'Black and Costaud' borrows lyrics from a Ravel opera and shows more of Shara's amazing vocal range. 'Like a Sieve' supposedly samples a Tricky song (I couldn't figure out which one) and 'The Brightest Diamond' pairs a vibraphone and Shara's voice with wonderfully soothing results.

It is refreshing to see so many talented female vocalist doing highly original work. My Brightest Diamond is one of the most interesting and creative artist I have heard in years. This would be a great addition to anyone's music collection....

Cazals - What of the Future

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:55:00 GMT

Imagine if the Stokes were fronted by a drunk Billy Joel and they added some keyboards and a drum machine for good measure. If you can picture that, then you know what to expect from the Cazal's (named after chunky hip-hop glasses) new record 'What About Our Future'. In the past I have been a big fan of almost anything that has come out on the French label Kitsune. I am not saying that I don't like the label anymore but with the release of 'What About Our Future', they have stopped pushing boundaries and gone with something that sounds like everything else out at the moment. I liked the album, I really did, but there is nothing...I repeat, nothing new here.

The album opens with 'New Boy In Town', a catchy little number that spiked my interest. Next up is a Spandau Ballet cover, 'To Cut A Long Story Short', which isn't too bad (it actually is growing on me). Songs like 'Big Mistake', 'We're Just The Same' and 'Both Sides' do stand out because they sound like the band is trying to do something a little original. The album really goes south fast and ends up sounding just like Franz Ferdanad or The Strokes or any number of bands out in the last few years.

I really would like to say nicer thing about the band, but these days it takes a bit more than some sythns and a drum machine to get me on board. The album is good fun and may sound fresh to a younger crowd but for those of use who have been around a little while, this is just yet another band who promised (as they have said) "forward thinking guitar music" and end up just delivering catchy pop songs that rehash someone else's sound....

Booka Shade - The Sun & The Neon Light

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:51:00 GMT

'The Sun and The Neon Light' is the German house duos third studio album. Booka Shade are known for a more 'minimal' sound but with this album they change things up a bit .

This time out they have added more depth to their sound. There are more acoustic elements, bass (lot and lots of bass!), guitars and live percussion. They use soft, often effect laden vocals (with mixed results) as well as seemingly more instrumental samples than you can count , which help fill the more danceable tracks along with wonderful bleeps, blips and clunks. Then in the more heady tracks the lush strings and sweeping build of the "whooooooosh" wash over you like ocean waves. There are tracks like 'Charlotte' that are the more upbeat and energetic of the bunch. Other tracks like 'The Sun and the Neon Light' are aimed at taking you on a journey through your emotions. 'Redemption' and 'Karma Car' are two other moody, rich and expressive tracks that would be great for any "third-eye opening" experience.

If you lay back and close your eyes while listening to this album it takes you back to the glory days of chill out dance music form The Orb, Orbital, The Future Sounds of London and Underworld (and just like underworld, they used to be a synth pop band in the late 80's). 'The Sun and The Neon Light' may not live up to their seminal album 'Movements', but it will still make a lot of folks very happy. This album is really geared more towards the headphone set rather than the club set, but with a few of the more "dance" oriented tracks and the remixes that will accompany the album, there should be something here for everyone....

Radiohead - Best Of

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:01:00 GMT

My obvious excitement when this LP landed on my desk was somewhat dampend by the bright spark next to me who pointed out that a best of Radiohead would probably consist of tracks from the Bends and OK Computer with Creep from Pablo Honey and possibly something from Kid A.

And to give him his due (although this doesn't stop him from looking like Shrek)he was pretty much spot on.

CD1 (of the special edition) does indeed have ten tracks of its sixteen song taken from the bands second and third LP and yes Creep is there as well as two songs from Kid A (Everything in it's right place, Idioteque) one from Amnesiac (Pyramid Song) and two from Hail to the Thief (2+2=5 and There There). Add this to the fact that the band themselves are far from from happy with it's release, well it would be hard not to dismiss the album as a shallow cash in by a bunch of musically clueless venture capitalists wanting a return on investment. The sticking point is ...that it's so damn near perfect that to denounce it would almost be an insult to the brilliance of the songs within.

EMI for all their sins have cut out all the chaff (and lets face it there is some) from Radioheads six album output for the label and delivered an album that could silence all thought that Radiohead were a product of hype or a bunch of pretentious art school drop outs being "ever so musically clever"!

Kicking off with the incendiary build of 'Just' the album then goes to showcase everything that makes Radiohead such a great band, from the well structured, soft melodic sounds of Paranoid Android and Karma Police through the quiet, loud, quiet, loud styling�s of Creep to the electro experimentation of Idioteque, it really has something for all tastes and does highlight the band at their best.

The special edition has an extra thirteen songs on a second CD and is more of a mix from their latter albums.

From a Radiohead fan perspective this 'best of' is totally pointless as they would probably have all these songs already and if you don't like the band then there is nothing on here that would win you over however if you were totally new to the 'head experience then you can't fault the album as a starting point as (well CD1 anyway) it has arguably all their best songs.

So the 'Best of CD' idea itself gets a four out of ten from me but the stars above reflect the strength of the songs on the album.

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Jonquil - Lions

Thu, 29 May 2008 14:22:00 GMT

Originally released last October, but back out for another try, Oxford's multi-instrumentalists Jonquil sound like they like to take a back seat in life.

The gentle harps, birdsong and lightly pulsing guitars of 'Lily' softly attack our senses mere minutes into the album leaving a serene overall feeling until the final plucks of 'I Don't Need Advice'. 'Sudden Sun' is more upbeat with a tight 4/4 country march keeping the vocal charges in perfect alignment. Even the intial drum clatter of 'Babe, So Now Why No?' withdraws to placid trumpet lines as it ends of one of this song reminiscent of the Wedding Present gone alt.country.

'Lions' is a Sunday drive of a record, a cheeky glass of wine with lunch and a warming hot drink before bed time. It's a gentle, hushed antidote to the shuddering yawl of today's mainstream guitar music.

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James Pants - Welcome

Thu, 29 May 2008 10:55:00 GMT

Is there anything on 'Welcome' to match the cowbell-funk of recent single 'We're Through', a surprise package that rocked CDX towers a few weeks ago? Well, 'Crystal Lite' is clearly supposed to show off Pants' funky side but just sounds forced, hackneyed and trite. Later on 'Good Things' promises much with bendy funk samples but ultimately doesn't go anywhere over its one minute lifetime. 'Green Rivers' at twice the length doesn't fare any better. At least 'Cosmic Rapp' harks back to early electro records and holds your attention long enough to stop you switching it off and reaching for Cybotron's 'Clear'.

With all signs pointing to 'Welcome' being consigned to the bin, 'My Girl' takes a completely different track with loud, live drums and a rumbling bassline and an overall vibe that, if he threw in a guitar, would recall some of the Beastie Boys' hardcore efforts. It isn't until 'Finger on the Knife' later on that this sound is explored further with infectious vocals and sonic wizardry. This is a side to James Pants that, if further explored, could see his next album set for greatness. For now, white boy funk should remain the remit of Beck.

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Plump DJs - Headthrash

Thu, 29 May 2008 08:59:00 GMT

I should really keep interrupting this review to tell you it's a review for review purposes only. God, those messages on promo CDs are so irritating, and I understand the need for them but ultimately and unfortunately can record companies not work out a better way to put promo albums out? OK - you don't want to compromise sales, but ultimately there's a star deducted here because it really did interrupt my enjoyment of this album.

And I'll just say, it's a really strong album for the duo. After a brief introductory track, we're straight into the tech-breaks of 'System Addict' which sounds about as far removed from Five Star as you could possibly hope for and about five times funkier. It's the crisp clean bass cleverly offset by the sweeping keyboard synths and underpinned by those chord stabs that have made this tune pretty much inescapable over the last few months - and, to be fair, an album of ten 'System Addict's would have me sold. There are a few there ... 'Rocket Soul', 'Snake Eyes' and 'Disco Unusual' spring out as the typical Plump sounding tracks to my ears, although I'm slightly perplexed by the vocal version of 'Torque Of The Devil' which doesn't do the original dub any favours. It certainly wouldn't have hurt to have the phenomenal 'Mad Cow' on this album also.

However, the clear disco and, particularly, funk influence is undeniable on tracks like 'Shifting Gears', 'Theme X' and 'Snafu' although a farting and wobbly analogue bass line is never far away. It's a brave move from a band who are comfortably established as in demand and pretty much at the top of their recognised genre. Then there's the proper songs such as 'Victim' and 'Lost In Space' which, while not bad in themselves, sound relatively out of place. Kudos though for trying to try something different, which leads rather neatly to 'He Got Beef' - the sound of 'Play'-era Moby gone sleazy electro. Quite wonderful, unique sounding and all the better for it. Play this and the rest of the album loud, because it stands heads and shoulders above the largely lacklustre dance albums available at the moment.

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