David McAlmont
Everyone's favourite crooner returns with this solo effort. McAlmont attempts to blend an eighties retro sound with soul attitude and ends up like a poor man's Fine Young Cannibals. A pity considering the potential of his collaboration with Bernard Butler and his undeniably good voice. The cringe-factor of 'Honey' is marginally relieved by the pared down B-side 'Still' but the whole effort reeks of rather effeminate cheese.
Placebo
With the forthcoming release of their second album it is becoming increasingly clear that Placebo have no intention or desire of progressing beyond their gender-confusion glam-rock imagery; but is anyone interested in this sort of gimmickry anymore? David Bowie and a host of others beat them to it by a couple of decades. It's a shame because they write some fine tunes and this is no exception. The much-vaunted 'Twentieth Century Boy' comes as an extra track and illustrates the problem both in its faithful mimicking and utter lack of orginality.
Cornelius
This impossibly cool Japanese nob twiddler looks set to make waves in the lo-fi electronica niche currently inhabited by Air and co. There can be no denying that he pulls this song off with a fair amount of swagger and panache, packing it with irony (mispronounced 'r's) and cartoon-like beeping into the bargain. All the same this overdoses on kitschy chic and, like bubblegum, it tastes nice but doesn't fill you up. Obviously he has his hands full with looking stylish.
PJ Harvey
After a couple of years in the wilderness eating elderberries and such like, the Peedge has not changed a great deal. Admittedly there are occasions when it seems as if she might be (wait for it) cheerful but there's plenty of her old angst-ridden cat-suit self left. This makes the record more balanced and uplifting than anything else she has produced without sacrificing the emotional impact. As a bonus there are four other tracks here, with the mellow 'Sweeter Than Anything' a stand out.
The Supernaturals
The Supernaturals have certainly got an ear for a tune, amply demonstrated by their continuing presence in the charts. 'Sheffield Song' is a typically jaunty number with the requisite jingly-jangly joanna and sing-along-a-chorus. It will make fantastic daytime filler and might just conceivably put you in a good mood first thing in the morning: for all the crotchety old moaners like me, however, this is full of noise signifying nothing.
Mark Lanegan
Despite the fact that the 'Seattle-sound' has disappeared there are still some persistent survivors. Mark Lanegan, frontman of the Screaming Trees, is one such and its quite refreshing to hear him subtly reinventing the genre with this solo effort. Lyrically, he is quite conservative (how many hundreds of songs are there with this title?) but he has a soulful voice which expresses far more than the words do in their own right. Grunge is dead, long live Mark Lanegan.
Jack
Way back when, I remember a friend lending me Jack's debut album 'Pioneer Soundtracks' and being swept away on its rollercoaster of indie balladry. Nowadays Jack seem to have eliminated their softer side and opted for string-laden pomp rock. A shame considering that their talents donÍt lie in that direction. The extra track 'You Will Forget Me' is nevertheless a sharp reminder that Jack are able to throw away Suede-esque slowies with the best of them.
Stony Sleep
Still far too young to be selling their souls to the god of rock, Stony Sleep are a peculiar band from London who cite Sylvia Plath and Mikhail Bulgakov as sources for this number. The end result doesn't live up to that kind of comparison but manages to escape its influences through pure energy and flashes of lyrical inspiration. There is a fair measure of youthy whining here but the defiant edge makes this never less than engaging.
Michael Head
Every now and again a record like this crops up which looks utterly non-descript but then confounds all of your expectations. If any comparison can be drawn it is with Nick Drake's English-ness and his idling genius: judging solely on the strength of 'Somethin' Like You', Michael Head is well capable of emulating him. Beautiful and brilliant.
The Afghan Whigs
The Afghan Whigs generously offer 'to get you hot and get close to you.' in their new three chord masterpiece. Perhaps realizing that dark and moody does not guarantee a shag they have taken a more direct route and become a budget Led Zeppelin. Essentially just a few power chords over a heavy bass and drum beat Somethin' Hot does not have an original moment in all its three minutes. Yet nonetheless the song remains remarkably catchy and energetic. The sort of thing thirteen year olds listen to whilst looking into a mirror before going out on the pull on Friday nights.
The Beautiful South
In this extra P.C. piece Paul Heaton reassures the women of the world that he likes to 'hold something he can see' and likes 'his love in different sizes'. There don't you feel better and loved now? Generally this is dire, the music is weak, unoriginal soft-blues, the sort found in bars all over the country played by a bunch of fifty year olds. Perhaps The Beautiful South have finally found their niche with this song, writing theme tunes for sitcoms watched by ageing women worried about the size of their girth.
Beastie Boys
Learn how to dance with the Beastie Boys - 'Body Movin' does exactly what it says on the cover, you can't stay still when you listen to this groovy track. Shrewdly choosing one of their more broadly populist numbers this makes an excellent single. Really the only band to insert a sense of humour into hip hop 'Body Movin' is one of the Beastie Boys most overtly amusing tracks. There is however the possibility that this could disappoint older, more 'hardcore' fans as 'Body Movin' definitely has a lighter, more accesible edge as compared to earlier albums.
Superior
Sounding amazingly like the largely forgotten purveyors of pop-grunge Veruca Salt, Superior produce lively, energetic and surprisingly melodic songs. Making the claim that she is faster than you is the band's frontwoman Su Goodacre, according to the press release a volatile mix of Debbie Harry and Dirty Harry, yet on record she comes over as menacing as Kylie Minogue on a bad day. Similarly, the lyrics are not particularly inspired and yet the band remain charming as one of the few groups nowadays who can produce a powerful, energetic and noticeable three minute pop song.
Swell
San Francisco's Swell make highly textured music, coming across as a Nirvana with synthesizers. Powered by a strong drum beat, their musical aim is to create rich soundscapes. Nevertheless the final result is a little disappointing as the music never really goes anywhere or finally raises itself above the mundane. However, they do gain extra points over Placebo with this single as they produce an intelligent and original cover of the Rolling Stones' 'Street Fighting ManÍ which hints that they are able to produce better.
Six By Seven
Is Indie music getting easier to produce nowadays? Track one,
pick a few chords, strum quickly and stick some Duracell into the
drummer's back. Track two, pick a few chords, strum softly and
become all meaningful. Track three, repeat track two. So, Six by
Seven have brought the 'how to play Ash and Mansun' songbooks and
conveniently forgotten about originality. This rubbish should be
burnt.
Hurricane#1
Although hardly likely to win prizes for originality, Hurricane#1 nonetheless produce beautifully melodic and highly crafted music. Clocking in at just over five minutes as ever their work has an epic sensibility and a vast sound. This is music which heads for the heart more than the head and perhaps recaptures a beauty which is often lost from more experimental music. Yet as the third song Bullet Train demonstrates they are trying to experiment and in certain respects their work has diversified slightly from that of the first album.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
FLC jive talk with the best of them with this single in which Huey boasts in the chorus about the supermodels on his D. And its a success mainly because Huey is one of the few people who could live out this teenage fantasy. As catchy as earlier singles like Scooby Snacks and filled with wise ass humour this single rocks along. Its a comic epic as the band are finally joined by a gospel choir in the final chorus.
The Young Offenders
Lyrical genius yet again from The Young Offenders as 'The badger laughs at moo/ he went ho, ho, ho, ho, ho'. Goo, goo g'joob? Although about as sexually experimental as Richard Whitely here they proclaim loudly in an incredibly offensive way that they are both pink and blue. Unfortunately this was the only line that I could understand out of this nonsense, so, damn them, The Young Offenders are playing with our sexual stereotypes again. Repeat after me, Pink is the new blue, The Young Offenders are the new Suede and gay is the new straight.
Rocket From The Crypt
In this beautiful, subtle paean to romantic love Rocket From The Crypt have lipstick on their faces and they don't want to wipe it off. So, its business as usual as RFTC rock like bastards and rip it up as if Elvis was on his comeback tour from the great big Tescos in the sky. Backed with two similarly pumping B-sides, including the excellent When In Rome (Do the Jerk), this is a hardcore eleven minutes. And as RFTC would be the first to remind you, they do it best.
Garbage
Although a band capable of producing excellent singles, here the band sounds bored as they turn out this Garbage by numbers single. Even the normally charismatic Shirley Manson sounds lacklustre as she sings 'I thought you were special'. Instead we have business as usual, Butch Vig drums away merrily like an over charged Duracell bunny, there are a few pop hooks thrown over the top and Shirley Manson moans. The dance remix which provides the song with the life that it lacks and turns it into something of rather more substance and presence.
The Montrose Avenue
New material is obviously a problem for the Montrose Avenue as they morph into the Byrds for this single, taken from their first E.P. Nonetheless, this is a catchy little bugger, highly melodic, with a good chorus and a few pretty harmonies thrown in for good measure. All in all it is likeable, harmless, completely unoriginal and totally antiseptic. So, I expect in a few days it will go in to the charts at number one as a stunning example of modern indie music.
Honey
(Hut)
You Don't Care About Us
(Hut)
Star Fruit Surf Rider
(Matador)
A Perfect Day Elise
(Island)
Sheffield Song
Food
Stay
(Beggar's Banquet)
Steamin'
(Too Pure)
Lady Lazarus
(Big Cat)
Somethin' Like You
(Megaphone)
Somethin' Hot
(Columbia)
Perfect 10
(Go! Discs)
Body Movin'
(Grand Royal)
Faster Than You
(Virgin)
Make Up Your Mind
(Beggars Banquet)
For You
(Mantra)
Rising Sign
(Creation)
Big Night Out
(Polydor)
Pink and Blue
(Columbia)
Lipstick
(Elemental)
Special
(Mushroom)
Start Again
(Columbia)