ALSO HELEAsED ibizan Chill out master Goo Goo Dolls Ego. mixes it up in his Own Opinion, Art And inimitable way. Commerce (Ede/j Various Artists SOund More good time scuzz- Of The Pirates (Locked filled punk pop OnXLj Garage don Ed nonsense. Case is on the mix Jose Padilla Nay/gatOr
duties for this ruff 2 (EastWesti The original step compilation.
Cranes Future Songs (Dadaphonici Ethereal guitar melanchOIia from 905 shoegazers. Wrigley Sisters Skyran (Geo SOundi MOre new folk from Jennifer and Hazel, the Orkney-born sisters.
Edinburgh’s Finitribe were making dance music before most people knew what dance music was, and return with a new single taken from the Late Night Shopping soundtrack this month. Founder member Davy Miller tells The List which of this month’s pop ditties might make it into his shopping basket - and which would be slung on the rubbish heap to tester forever more. Interview: James Smart
GORILLAZ ‘19-2000’ Languid beats from the badly drawn boys.
Davy Miller ‘l liked them more before I knew it was Damon Albarn. It doesn't appeal to me but it might appeal to kids — my daughter‘s ten and she loves it; thinks it's really funny. it is a good idea but this one doesn't get me going. It's not as immediate as ‘Clint Eastwood'.
DANE ‘Another Lover’ Odious balladeering from the man who thinks he's a first-name-terms type popstar. He isn't.
DM ‘Now this my daughter hates. She hasn't got into that boyband ‘thing' yet. I mean apparently he's a very accomplished producer-type person but this is just really bland. I could say really horrible things about this kind of thing and the state of the music industry [proceeds to do so at some length, which has the beneficial side-effect of drowning out Dane] and it‘s trying to be sexy when it's just not. BENDY TOY ‘The Fantastic Chicken EP’ Funky weirdness from a man who “knows how to get a crowd ticking.‘
DM ‘It says here Bendy Toy should go live and I think he probably should go live — I'd like to hear it with real instruments and stuff. I think it's probably the best one so far. It's funky hats and it's electronica and it is interesting. SPARKLEHORSE ‘Gold Day’ Oddball countrified strummings
DM ‘They're quite serious aren't they. They really believe in this [chuckles]. It's the kind of thing you could have on a film with two people cycling off into the sunset. It's quite pleasant and inoffensive. But I really couldn't say if I heard that again 'oh it's Sparklehorse.‘ There's so little that makes them stand out from anyone else. NIKKA COSTA ‘Like A Feather’ Lowslung and groovy late-night R&B record apparently enjoying ‘heavy rotation on MTV.'
DM 'I think they should have real drums. but maybe that'd be too radical fOr them and they w0uldn't get heavy rotation on MTV. But I prefer this kind of thing to Destiny's Child. it's got a good buzz guitar. I like it. And it's 3:33 long. Ideal single length.
SINGLE OF THE FORTNIGHT
ELBOW ‘Powder’ Sublimely miserable lo-fi lament from the ace debut album Asleep at the Back.
DM ‘I like his voice. It could almost be the same video as the Sparklehorse one but this is much better quality. I like the fact that they've had to struggle — I think that comes out in the track. it's very beautiful.
I Fin/tribe re/ease their new Sing/e ‘Bored' (north east south west music) on Mon 9 July.
games@list.co.uk
PC STARTOPIA (Eidos £29.99) 00..
Sta/topia threatens to be something a little new and a little SpeCial. it is a management simulation that reqUireS the mind of a politician and the reflexes of a juggler. You are given all-powerful control of the inside of a torus-shaped Space— station; imagine a donut floating in nothingneSS. The mission-based system demands the careful cultivation of three CurVIng metal floors to provide living quarters, leisure facilities. landscapes. hOSpitals, whatever is required by your alien employers.
Various races of wild and wacky E.T.s must be catered for; each beautifully animated and wandering the station With eerie intelligence. Indeed. graphically Startopi'a is a joy. and the sweeping landscapes never get boring. Despite these lofty pretensions. however, Startopia is very similar to the Theme Park games. not necessarily a bad thing but it is a niggle that never really goes away.
PC
EMPEROR: BATTLE FOR DUNE (Westwood £29.99) .0.
The Dyson vacuum cleaners were a revelation when they were first released. Amazing sucking power. easy to clean and SpOrting a unique style all their own, they were the sliced bread of hoovering. And today. what is the upright cleaner of choice? Yup. it is Still the Dyson. This is because it iS copyrighted and
Thlnk fast In Startopla
trademarked. preventing anyone else producing SOmething Similar.
Which is protection that Westwood Simply did not have when it produced Dune 2. the very first RTS. Since those heady days. every developer and their grandmother has taken the RTS genre and run with it. taking it in a variety of enjoyable and inventive directions. Westwood. on the other hand. has tried to keep producing the original vaCUum, Emperor being the latest model. It is Still fun (no it doesn't suck) but there are so many better RTS titles out there that deserve the attention.
PC GANGSTERS 2 (Eidos £29.99) 0000
For some strange reason, gangsters are cool. Murderers. drug dealers and thugs, when working on their own. are Vicious bad guys. Stick them together in some sharp suits with some even sharper tongues and everyone loves them. Go figure. Well Gangsters 2 gives you the chance to test your Goodfe//a's skill as you go from 303 tough guy to all-conquering Don. The city is depicted in isometric 3D and is
.5 rs
Take no prlsoners ln Gang
basic to say feast
But Once you descend in to the yiciOuShess and backstabbing, all the graphical rOughness is forgotten. lyloyying doyy n turf rivals With a Tomlin gun yy'hiie hanging off the running board Of a black Ford is a singular pleaSure that Gangsters 2 captures beautifully. So. yiork hard. take no prisoners and always. alyyays keep an eye on y‘Our back. Who knows. maybe yOu yyill die an Jfldlgfllfled death in the middle of a tomato patch.
P82
RUGBY 2001 (Electronic Arts £39.99) 29' .. -
Rugby UniOn is one of those Spons that has mere rules than a golf c0urse clubhOuse. Add to that the fact that eacn of the players on the pitch has a specific role to fill, Wildly different to every one of their teammates. and you get a nightmare for computer game developers. Well. Electronic Arts is the king of spons Simulations so if anyone can produce Virtual- rugby it can. So we have Rugby 2007, featuring all the best international teams in the world.
To be fair, the game looks very Similar to rugby and when in full flow. can be rather engaging. But the nuances that make rugby great are miSSing, quickly dragging Rugby 2007 to a fight against the programming rather than the opposing team. Two player action is much more fun as the faults cancel each other out. and slipping a friend the dummy and Sprinting for the line is qUite enjoyable. A good try.
stars 2
5-19 Jul 2001 TH! Liar 101