Album And Singles Reviews

Originally posted by Jaguär:
You mean Nylon Pylon's Foot In Mouth is a new single!? That song is well over a year and a half old. Don't they have anything new to push?

They're on a major label now (London) and they've re-recorded the song. I think a full length is due out soon.

Originally posted by Yank:
Whirlwind Heat: Do Rabbits Wonder?
It's no surprise Jack White let us get to know The Von Bondies before introducing us to this trio. The are, with all due respect, fucking insane.

Biffy Clyro: The Vertigo Of Bliss
They may not look much but behind the compact power-trio frame lies a distilled emo-core aggression that's been superglued to some polished thrift-store melodies.
It's a fractured but thrilling outcome.

I finally heard a Whirlwind Heat song and loved it. Agree with insane verdict. I'm looking forward to their live show. And as for Biffy Clyro, my friends in Glasgow and London have been raving about them since last year. So much that they go to multiple shows when they tour. I would really like to see them.

Biffy Clyro are a little too hard rocking for me but I think that you would really like them, Kurosawa. They are good at that kind of music.

From the 21 June 2003 NME:

Of Arrowe Hill: The Spring Heel Penny Dreadful And Other Tales Of Morbid Curiosity
Merseyside mystics make cosmos-shagging debut.
Like Radiohead, Scouse stoners Of Arrowe Hill are masters of sprawling progadelia about English summers spent "deep in the gloaming", all slathered in the doodlings of a deranged Victorian pamphleteer. But there the likeness ends. At heart, OAH put a more toxic spin on the madcap whimsy of The Coral, cooking up ruffneck symphonies of sneering surrealism with the deadpan bile of Liam or Lennon.
It's both totally 1968 and totally 2003, with a few epics to match single 'Gadfly Adolescence', plus enough sarcastic wordplay and shudders of sonic slurry to balance the cosmic psych-outs. The future is theirs, even if it takes place in a parallel universe.
7/10

Medicine: The Mechanical Forces Of Love
The world's been turned upside down, and enigmatic Californians Medicine are at the helm. When Brad Laner decided to resurrect his long-forgotten group, who swam in the slipstream of My Bloody Valentine and were signed to Alan McGee's Creation Records, few would've expected this.
With new vocalist Shannon Lee, daughter of late martial arts icon Bruce, he's come up with a demented, feminished, electronic extrapolation of the Beach Boys ethos in which everything's gone askew. The treated vocals, shards of guitars, extraneous noises and synthetics of 'As You Do' slowly but determinedly morph and evolve over 50 minutes into the closing, string-laden dark psychedelics on 'And Sometimes Y'. It's all quite a trip.
7/10

Just received the Waterboys latest (via ebay)Universal Hall.

It's a nice return back to the stuff that Waterboys fans love. Although it's more like his two solo albums than Waterboys, being more mellow and spiritual…I think the boy's in love!

Not his best work but still very good.

For those who like the new crap were the singer screams at the top of his lungs trying to cover up awful musicians, while humping the microphone stand….it's probably not for you!

From the July 2003 Mojo:


John Foxx And Louis Gordon: Crash And Burn
Under real name Dennis Leigh, Foxx did the jacket artwork for Salman Rushie's The Moor's Last Sigh.
Ah, them were the days, when people born in Chorley could become synth-addled art poppers with cultural references beyond York Notes revision aids and not look foolish. Togheter with Louis Gordon, Foxx, the original leader of Ultravox, has produced and arch, left-field pop record of the sort that defined the UK mainstream 20 odd years ago, and is now in the process of returning as a minority pleasure. Some of the droll rhythms and obsession with movies, driving, bar-crawling and other banal facets of modern culture on Cinema and Sidewalking are reminiscent of Iggy's droll Nightclubbing and The Passenger from his Berlin phase. She Robot, though, is almost as shameless a slab of Kraftwerk as The Chemical Brothers' Music: Response. Best of all? Dust And Light, with its creepy, intelligent electronica.
3/5

Various: Under The Influence - Morrissey
The first in a new series of artist compilations from the people who brought us All Back To Mine.
Perhaps one should approach the scaffold and unhang the DJ. Featuring Morrissey as mixmaster, this set demands as much - the 15 song selection amounts to a radio broadcast of rare and inspired eclecticism. It won't surprise the average Morrissey fan to find selections from Diana Dors, The New York Dolls and Sparks, but only the most hardened Moz maniac would have correctly anticipated unhinged, drunken Cajun from Lesa Cormier & The Sundown Playboys. But, then again, the Sparks' track, Arts And Crafts Spectacular, is a previously unreleased demo. Alongside beguiling selections from Ludus, Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Ramones, there's also The Cats with their 1969 rocksteady version of Swan Lake.
4/5

Stereophonics: You Gotta Go There To Come Back
The solo works of The Who keyboard man John 'Rabbit' Bundrick include a composition called Taxi To Gatwick. It's a title that encapsulates the world of the rock journeyman - the travel may be exotic, but all glamour dissolves in the face of manly phlegmaticism and a due respect for flight cases. This mood oozes from this Stereophonics album. There's an impressive degree of traditional hand finishing on the likes of Jealousy, but still this seems an album too far. The lyrics are full of fleeting assignations and gruff, bumper-sticker wisdoms, apparently seeking to draw hard-bitten romance from the business of being in a band. However, the net result is less some poignant black-and-white photograph of the endless road, more a bleary 3am Polaroid of a roadie gamely assembling an amusing tableau from beer cans, porn mags and a box of paracetamol.
2/5

Canyon: Empty Rooms
Unlikely country-rock from former emo scenesters.
Brandon Bulter and Joe Winkle seem a little geographically confused: starting out in Kansas City's punk scene, the singer and guitarist then moved to Fugazi's DC stronghold to launch the country part of their career. Their second album as Canyon seems similarly lost, compasss needle spinning between beaten-track, tourist-attraction Americana and the promise of big-sky psychedelia. Unlike the easy grace of labelmates My Morning Jacket, Canyon never quite cross the power of the old with the forces of the new - although they are capable of transcending their sturdy bulk. Mansion On The Mountain's sleighbell stompor the closing drifts of Blankets And Shields even show they can sling a rope bridge between the ordinary and the outstanding. A good starting point, if not a destination in itself.
2/5

Klang: Love/No Thing

The debut single from Klang, they include Donna Matthews from Elastica in their ranks and this is the first music she has released since she quit after the first Elastica album. She sings and plays guitar and is backed by Isobel who plays bass and keyboards and K who plays drums. The two songs were recorded in EMI publishing's demo studio and they will be featured on the new "Sonic Mook.." and "Art Rocker" compilations. However this is not rock 'n' roll as we know it. It sounds like a female Mark E Smith singing on top of the rhythm section from PIL on mogadons. It sounds like an unearthed gem from the 80s when music had time to breathe and anything went!!!

28 June 2003 NME

Kings Of Leon: Youth And Young Manhood
Don't put it down to coincidence that The Strokes and Oasis have been mentioned in the same breath as Kings Of Leon in the past couple of weeks - it won't be the last time. The Strokes took time out from recording their new album to hang out with the Kings in New York and Noel Gallagher recently declared, "The Kings Of Leon are my new fucking favourite band." With 'Youth And Young Manhood' the Kings haven't just bested the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Fever To Tell' for the debut LP of 2003 crown, they've gone and made an album that's up there with The Strokes 'This Is It' and Oasis' 'Definitely Maybe' as one of the most exciting rock'n'roll debuts of the last ten years.
Like The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Coral and all the exciting bands around right now, the Kings take as their starting point the music of the past (in their case drug-crazed '70s MOR rockers the Eagles, '60s beardos The Band and Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd). But it's all recast with an insane sense of swagger, rowdiness and, yes, youth. Their sound is a boisterous boogie, a hard-drinking, hard-rocking sound from somewhere south of the old Mason-Dixon line.
On 'Youth And Young Manhood' KOL do for ballsy country rock what The White Stripes and The Strokes did for striped down blues and New York new wave respectively. They are to 2003 what Oasis were to 1994 and the Strokes were to 2001 - the most exciting new rock band of the year. All hail to the kings.
9/10

Marlowe: A Day In July
Marlowe's second LP has all the hallmarks of the bedsit indie band: fragile Belle & Sebastian vocals, love life messier than Har Mar's sheets and a unique ability to make John Peel play your records.
Somewhere within their grotty bedsit however, they've found room to sleep with an entire orchestra. It's most prominent on 'I'm The Kinda Guy Who Takes Advantage Of A Woman Like You', which forgets that crescendos are supposed to end somewhere. They also sweeten their romantic woe with humour. Reassuring that such heart-tugging music still lurks on the indie fringes.
7/10

Aidan Smith: At Home With Aidan Smith 2
Beguilingly lo-fi singer songwriter from Manchester wows local crowds and releases quirky albums riddled with absurdist modern references and scratchy vocals. Sound familiar? Don't even think about Badly Drawn Boy comparisons, because lurking in Aidan Smith's endearingly crap keyboard sounds and fluffed song endings are moments of immense beauty like nuggets of toffee in a tub of ice cream.
The quality of his songwriting since his debut suggests that commercial forces will try to clean up his act, clean up his sound and then clean up on a film soundtrack before the year is out, but someone with a gift for the chorus like this man shouldn't hide his light under the indie bushel anyway.
8/10

Bardo Pond: On The Ellipse
Longtime Philadelphia caners Bardo Pond have perfected their formula, it seems. Turn all amps to melting point, go through your weight in sticky brown resin and psych-metal out roughly for eternity. An NME review of the previous Bardo Pond opus simply concluded: "Christ, it's heavy". It demanded few words, for it was, but if anything they've got even heavier.
Album number six 'On The Ellipse' averages out at around nine minutes a track, and is pitched mainly at the bizarre midpoint between Spiritualized and stoner lords Electric Wizard, with a host of evil elves on hand to squirt LSD in your eyes. It's a dizzying sonic downward spiral, and in the context of such swirling whorls of low gravity as 'JD' and 'Test', the effect is stunning.
8/10

Simple Minds: Early Gold
Hundreds of years ago, Simple Minds ruled the planet. While the '80s raged, Jim Kerr leered 'Don't You Forget About Me' from every transistor in Christendom, and right-minded music lovers vowed that one day, they'd do just that.
Twenty years on it is time for amnesty. Simple Minds may have been among the stadium dinosaurs (think a Scottish version of U2 circa 'The Joshua Tree') but like many such bands their early stuff was fab.
'Chelsea Girl' is Bowie on a student loan; 'Promised You A Miracle' epic tosh to match Bono on mushrooms. 'Life In A Day' even got played at London's Nag Nag Nag last week, which says it all really.
Scarily good.
7/10

This is the album I'm anxiously awaiting.

From 05 July 2003 NME

The Coral: Magic And Medicine
Let's get this straight from the start: there will not be many better albums from these shores this year. The Coral's second album in as many summers suggests even more urgently that the landmark album that's so patently within their grasp is tantalisingly close. This, however, is not it, not quite. It is still nevertheless a quite dazzling album.
And it's still infinitely more imaginative than the output of most British guitar bands. At this point in their short career, The Coral remain in love with their own fabulous playing abilities, with their magpie gift for appropriation of just about any musical style they try to fully realise. They can do bossa nova, they can do country, blues, psych-out, psychedelia, bluegrass, folk, vaudeville….it's all within their powers, sometimes all at once. But what they do most effectively is write brutally concise and beautiful pop songs, and they're writing more and more of them.
The two singles on this album are good each-way bets for the single of the year trophy: 'Don't Think You're The First' and 'Pass It On' are both bittersweet ruminations on the nature of love and death, the former reeking of a psychedelic nobility not heard of since The Teardrop Explodes, the latter shining like some lost Gram Parsons jewel. Both are short, melodic and moulded into shape by James Skelly's majestically soulful howl. Is there a better young white singer in the UK today? Nope. Is there a more experimentally gifted group of musicians in the country (especially supernatural guitarist Bill)? Probably not, and thereby hangs The Coral's gift and curse.
At times, it's like they've discovered they're brilliant linguists and have all decided to speak different languages at once. The result, as on 'Gypsy Market Blues' and the latter half of 'Confessions Of A DDD', is confusing. What are they trying to say? Where are they trying to take us? To far-out, faraway places? Well, they manage those feats so much better on the aforementioned singles, and on other flashes of concise inspiration such as the organ-driven mystery of 'In The Forest', the contemplative folk laments of 'Leizah' and 'Careless Hands', or the Tamla jam-bop of 'Bill McCai'. Some of the wackiness works, such as 'Milkwood Blues' with its sudden burst of mysteriious violin and piano. But often, it obscures the band's real gifts.
These are nothing more, though, than the frustrated quibbles of a parent with a particularly brilliant child. The Coral will get there, they will make their masterpiece and soon. Alas, to get there key members will probably have to endure broken hearts, wrecked dreams and betrayal, but a little painful living intruding on their psychedelic dreams will do us all good. In the meantime, we'll have to make do with nothing more than brilliance.
8/10

I am looking forward to getting that coral album…. Its a relief that it is getting good reviews.

From today's ny times:

July 22, 2003
In the Present, Echoes of the Past
By NEIL STRAUSS

In rock music at the moment, the best new bands seem to be the ones with the best record collections. The Darkness is mining its collection of 70's glam-rock and heavy metal to become one of the most promising new British bands, one you can simultaneously laugh at and pump your fist in the air to, while Interpol has become one of New York's favorite exports with brooding post-punk similar to that of Joy Division. Below are three relatively new bands from overseas that, at times, ape their favorite albums from the 60's. The Sleepy Jackson quotes Bob Dylan, the Thrills quote the Monkees, and the Super Furry Animals sample the more obscure Wendy and Bonnie. Yet at the same time, all three acts have enough personality to transcend their record collections and release these consistently engaging â?? at times breathtaking â?? albums.

So Much for the City
The Thrills

At some point in their roughly 23 years on this earth, the six young members of the Dublin band the Thrills fell in love with California. Their best songs make more than passing mention of Santa Cruz, Big Sur and, on two different tracks, San Diego. Their music pays homage to the West Coast rock and pop of the 60's. And their videos depict beaches, surfing, blondes in bikinis and band members wearing U.C.L.A. and Mickey Mouse T-shirts. In fact, on their first full-length CD, "So Much for the City" (Virgin U.K.), the Thrills make the retro-pop confections that Rooney (an actual California band of the moment) fell short of on its recent debut.

Shot through with pumping piano, brittle banjo melodies, swooning pop harmonies and the occasional harmonica solo, the music is made for a road trip along the coast, with the sun high in the sky, the convertible top down and the smell of sea spray in the breeze. What makes the music stand out from the hordes of 60's revivalists already questing for the perfect pop moment is Conor Deasy, who sings each song in a high, breathy, almost strained voice, similar to that of Jason Lytle of Grandaddy (another California band, naturally). The first six songs on this CD are so stellar that it's hard to keep from backing up the album over and over again, never making it to the end.

Lovers
The Sleepy Jackson

Like the Thrills, the Sleepy Jackson, led by 23-year-old Luke Steele, takes its cue from the classic pop of the 60's, mixing it with the neo-psychedelia of groups like the Flaming Lips. But where the Thrills stay in a tight, well-defined niche, the Sleepy Jackson is all over the place. On first impression, its debut American CD, "Lovers" (Virgin), sounds like a compilation. There's the swaying falsetto pop of "Good Dancers," the post-punk hammering of "Velvet Racecourse," the Beatles-go-country of "This Day," the low-fi poetry reading of "Feed Me With Apples," the Bob Dylan references of "Old Dirt Farmer" and the Burt Bacharach vocal arrangements of "Don't You Know." As if that isn't eclectic enough, there's a lullaby, "Morning Bird," sung by a 10-year-old girl.

This is not a stable album, and, judging by the music and the constantly changing lineup of the Sleepy Jackson, Mr. Steele does not seem like a stable man. But he wields unwieldiness like a weapon. It is his strength. He is a perfectionist and eccentric, somewhere on the spectrum between Brian Wilson and Daniel Johnston. "Lovers" has the strength of sounding so familiar yet so unusual, owing to Mr. Steele's combination of talent, taste and technique with weirdness, obsessiveness and delusions of grandeur. When in the right balance, these traits lead to artists' being portrayed by their admirers as geniuses. But just when one wants to bow down to Mr. Steele as this fantastic album unfolds, he neutralizes high expectations with lyrics like, "If I was a girl, I'd wear a miniskirt into town."

Phantom Power
Super Furry Animals

"Phantom Power" (XL/Beggar's Group) begins like a 60's duet and then moves through pedal-steel country, psychedelic rock and Burt Bacharach arrangements. It sounds like the learned classic pop eclecticism of the Sleepy Jackson all over again.

The Super Furry Animals have been releasing CD's, each one a new concept and revelation, since the mid-90's. Yet through all the band's changes â?? from its Scott Walker obsession to its techno flirtation â?? the unmistakable accent of the singer Gruff Rhys has given it a consistent sound.

Though the group and many fans point to its previous album, "Rings Around the World," as its masterpiece, its first full CD, "Fuzzy Logic" from 1996, remains the one that best grabs hold of the listener, with unforgettable pop melodies combining with the sea legs of band members getting used to singing in English (as opposed to their native Welsh) for the first time on album.

The mercurial "Phantom Power" is less ambitious than "Rings Around the World" and less catchy than "Fuzzy Logic," but it is saturated with aching pop moments and sophisticated arrangements, each one coming on like a distant dream of a favorite 60's song. And though the songs may at first glance seem whimsical (named after dogs, valets and Venus and Serena Williams), they often serve here as gateways to deeper reflections on war (be it in the Falklands or the Persian Gulf), nuclear power and the tarnished American Dream.

From the 26/07/03 NME:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Take Them On, On Your Own (edited…because I'm too lazy to type the whole review)
Right now, there are a million bands out there paying lip service to the ideas of independence and freedom of expression, but you can count the number actually practising what they preach on the fingers on one hand. BRMC, though, are definitely one of them.
'Take Them On, On Your Own' is a sensational record for many reasons. Not only is it an album that, in the words of the band, tackles "death, guns, drugs, religion, family, politics, music and sex", but it does so with a precise and relentless intensity that bulldozes the competition.
There's a starkly personal thread running through the album. Two of the most emotionally resonant songs - 'And I'm Aching' and 'Shade Of Blue' (both sung by Peter Hayes) - are ones with a far more obviously autobiographical slant.
Before you get down into the dirt of the lyrical content, though, the first thing that's going to hit you about this record is its overwhelming jet-engine sound. A lot of records have already been heralded as this year's landmark releases, but 'TTO,OYO' feels like the real front runner - and it's going to take something truly incredible to dislodge it from that position.
It begins in suitably imperious fashion. The band have talked a lot in interviews about how they wanted to make a propulsive record with "no fat" and "faster tempos". Well, opening track (and first single) 'Stop' is just that. Relentlessly distorted and equipped with a pummelling chorus, it's a thrilling introduction to a great record. The fact that it's immediately bettered by the second track 'Six Barrel Shotgun' (this record's 'Whatever Happened To My Rock 'N' Roll (Punk Song), with their greatest and most insistent riff yet) almost defies belief.
From here, there's no respite. With the exception of the slightly unformed 'Ha Ha High Babe', every song bears the hallmarks of what makes BRMC such an innovative group. The sonics are so full and so heavy that they make the Yeah Yeah Yeahs record sound like leaves being blown down a street. The songs themselves (particularly the swagger of 'We're All In Love' and the breathtaking 'In Like The Rose') are cleverly arranged and accessible throughout.
The album ends with the seven-minute epic 'Heart And Soul'. An adrenalised rock'n'roll assault powered by Nick Jago's high speed drumming. It's the perfect finale.
'Take Them On, On Your Own' is a masterpiece. You should get hold of it as soon as possible.
9/10


Longview: Mercury
Sadchester middleweights' debut with a pure heart.
There's an inherent problem with Longview. Much as their delicate harmonies and the lip-trembling vocals of Rob McYey might pluck at ones' inner regions, it's hard to escape the feeling that those buttons are there for anyone to push, irrespective of how much the pusher in question might mean it. Just because ER makes you cry, doesn't mean you're not manipulated.
This is grand, heartfelt rock in the tradition of Doves or Coldplay, like the breathy ballad of 'I Would' or the big guitar strides of 'Nowhere', but they basically sound like a great band who've had all the interesting edges knocked off by production that's slick enough to drown seagulls. It's a shame, because in 'Falling For You' they've got at least one heart-bruising anthem.
6/10


Magnet: On Your Side
The influence of Jeff Buckley's 'Grace' still hangs over music. The latest to fall under his seductive spell is Magnet, aka Even Johansen. From Scotland via Norway, Even's lazy, sensitive coo and ethereal country flutters certainly resonate with that same sense of majestic drama.
But Magnet has more tricks up his sleeve than mere karaoke fanboyisms. 'The Day We Left Town' has a ghostly, Bjork-like, electronicia sheen, while 'Where Happiness Lives' is Elliot Smith bunking into the Grand Ole Opry. But it's the suckerpunch refrain of magnificent opener 'Everything's Perfect' ("You said you'll die for me/So why can't you live for me?") that reveals just where this fragile soul's bread is buttered. 'On Your Side' is simply a lovely, lovely record.
8/10

Killing Joke: Killing Joke
In the '80s Killing Joke cooked up intense, expansive, voodoo rock, with singer and arch-shamen Jaz Coleman pretty much inventing the psycho-sexual nutjob chic that Marilyn Manson would turn into a shitload of money a decade later. In the '90s Nirvana were accused of stealing the Joke's track 'Eighties' for 'Come As Your Are', but, with Dave Grohl now on drums, it's obviously all love in the KJ camp. Well, nearly.
Age has barely mellowed Killing Joke. 'Total Invasion' and 'Asteroid' are both gutteral, red-hot howls pulsing over superheavy garage riffs, while 'Dark Forces' and 'Seeing Red' are classic KJ arena-sized evil.
First Jane's Addiction and now another comeback album that isn't embarrassing rubbish - is this some kind of record?
7/10

BRMC/Longview/Magnet - You picked these just for me, didn't you? :D ;)

I love BRMC's Ha Ha High Babe and I've had Longview's song Further in my head for days now…in a good way. Magnet is good too for those quiet moods. Rhett, you might want to check out Magnet but you may find him under the name Even Johnasen here in the States. He did tell a friend of mine the other week that he has finally decided to be more consistant and stick with the name Magnet in the US for the new material.

Originally posted by mankie:
Just received the Waterboys latest (via ebay)Universal Hall.

It's a nice return back to the stuff that Waterboys fans love. Although it's more like his two solo albums than Waterboys, being more mellow and spiritual…I think the boy's in love!

Not his best work but still very good.

For those who like the new crap were the singer screams at the top of his lungs trying to cover up awful musicians, while humping the microphone stand….it's probably not for you!

I will get the new Waterboys album, however, I doubt that they can get to the quality of their 80s and early 90s albums. Room to Roam was an incredible album (will never understand how it got so mediocr reviews), but after that Mike has fallen down and down. I still admire the Waterboys and would not mind at all having to travel to another city to see them live, but I am very skeptical about the potential quality of any of their future releases.

That review of BRMC was not very helpful – doesn't say much at all about the actual sound of the band, the music or the album; it's good if you already know BRMC, but i don't (though I've gotten the feeling I should).

Thanks for posting Yank; sometimes NME reviews bug me though.

Oh, Bags. :D

Just think…..Shoegaze with black leather balls.

Originally posted by Jaguär:
Oh, Bags. :D

Just think…..Shoegaze with black leather balls.

Look, I just got to be honest with you people! It's the only way you'll know best how to help me!

:D

Live Reviews

from the guardian.

Featuring:

Elbow

Coral

Mars Volta

Paul Weller

…..and Shack. :D