The List: 9 May 2002 (109/132)

intersperses the political with the supernatural. Compiled of shorts written over the last

twenty years. each. story hints at Ya'i's owr‘ oppressive cl‘ildnood. Earth tale revsts China's h story. depict-rig a country in the grip o‘ economic stagnation and individual deprivation. ‘Man And Beast is the tender tale ot a young boy reassessing his famin roots. ".‘Jltt‘ dense visual imagery reriii'iisr:e".t of Anita Desai‘s earlg, work. Gabriel Garcia Mannie/s influence s (E‘J‘ftti'lt il‘ the eoually engaging .‘ables ‘lrer‘ Child" anti '8: aring'. Here. Ya't's (ii:.'()tl()l‘ t2. 'l‘éiglii

reg: sm takes me reader

(.'x ?: ‘.'.t(7"'ii:".i|"i' (I'tﬂ’tiiill'ﬂ‘: '..i""f:".' ',~iu\ I)I]I’l"l 'i~;, (' r. of Nun,” Utah. 0' U

ranges from the inte'isely tragic to tire "."J'katfftl‘l’ satiricai. But .ike iriar‘y short story collections It rtoesr"t quite offer enough range to maintain your interest througloiit. Anna Miliai‘.

ALSO PUBLISHED

James Ellroy The (Jo/d Six 7/7()llf;(ill(/ l/trrow 5799) Bearing tilt; through (305; Americana. Neil Nixon UFOs 'Pocket [merit/alt; 959.99; An essential guide to saucers in the sky. Connie May Flower

‘.'/l ien Katie lr"/akr.>s (Virago 5719.9) Memoir of a battered .‘ronian. Orson Welles and Herman Mankiewicz (,‘rtr/eri Kane r/‘i/iet/ii/eri 5'9,’/§’ri ()r‘.giriar

‘;/,"r:r:' {,léty plus Padlirie Kaei‘s famous essay. Xandria Williams [he Herbal [)etox Plan /‘-/r:r/nr//iori 5'/'_.‘).‘)) lining/e your energy levels and iriotivation.

Comics

comics@list.co.uk

SUPERNATURAI

P.R.D. - HOLLOW EARTH NO 2 Mike Mignola and Ryan Sook (Dark Horse) 0..

BPRD. being the Bureau For Paranormal Research And Defence. a crack team of investigators of the unusual and the uncanny. first introduced by Mignola in his l-le/lboy series. l lere, Hellboy takes a backseat. while his fellow super-powered oddballs get to undertake a mission of their own. this involves an all very Jules Verne descent into the depths of the earth and battle ‘.'.rith various subterranean dwellers. Mignola handles the verbal f3i()l‘,'t(?“lllg in a satisfyingl‘, paired down manner. but hands over the gisiials to Seek who. quite bi/arrely. seems to be making a career out of copying — though not excelling — Mignola's own sadly absent style. iMiles l'ielder)

SUPE Hl it HO CAPTAIN BRITAIN

Alan Moore and Alan Davis lMar‘vel) .00.

Alan Moore's first big gig in the world of corriics has finally been collected into this tasty lPB. Kicking right in where Moore started. mid story. it doesn't take

long for him to make this bizarre tale his own as parallel universes are created and destroyed in the blink of an eye and Captain Britain struggles to work out what the hell is going on.

Perhaps the most interesting aSpect is that YOU can actually watch Moore learning his craft as sloppy storytelling transforms into polished writing. Same goes for Davis' art. from cramped and cluttered to the crisp. sharp lines we know from his work on QOOOAD.

(Henry Nodhmore)

DRAMA CARICATURE Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics) COO.

It may be Sinatra's world and we're just living in it. but look deeper and you'll find Clowes' lonely planet. somewhere clouded by a tug of paranoia and insecurity where no-one seems particularly content living

in it.

Caricature isn't misplaced teen angst, it is skilful. patient sketching of emotions so frequently kept in check. Clowes slowly draws tension from the most ordinary of characters. be it the introverted teen. disillusioned artist. or the delusional beauty queen. His simple. gentle lines can convey a sense of aching loneliness or dream-like confusion as powerfully as any dialogue. Call it all dysfunctional. but Caricature is just highlighting how fucked up real life really is. Enjoy. (Mark Robertson)

MUSIC AND PICTURES TROSPER

Jim Woodring and Bill Frisell (Fantagraphics)

I don't mean to be rude about this book. If I'd come across it accidentally on the children‘s shelf in the library. I might well have been quite taken by it. The short series of paintings. telling a wordless stery about an elephant-like creature and his nightmarish visions. has a colourful. surreal appeal.

But when you're told this is an ‘obiet d'art'. one that should be experienced to the accompaniment of the glacial guitar improvisation by Bill Frisell on the attached CD, it starts to look all too precious. if not pretentious. There are many great children 's books out there; this isn't so different.

(Mark Fisher)

Caricature: how fucked up real life really is

Records

records@list.co.uk

.JA72/El ECTRONIC THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA Every Day

(Ninja Tune) «0

As tl ieii name suggests. the Cinematic Orchestra's mix of jazz and sampling iiggery- pokery is reminiscent of film soundtracks from the (30s or 70s. Their third disc originates from a new soundtrack to an old movie. the 192? Russian film Man With The Movie Carriera. which the Orchestra composed and played live. first at the Porto Film Festival in Portugal and more recently in Scotland during the alternative music fest. tripTych.

The band's sound hasn‘t changed much since their 1999 debut. Motion. although Everyday benefits from paCing inspired by the silent film. Seul diva Fontella Bass makes a guest appearance (as does Roots Manuva). but the stand-out track is the instrumental one which shares the film‘s title. (Miles Fielder)

ROCK A-HA Lifelines (WEA) 00

The middle-aged. as Pete Waterman knows only too well. have no right to be manufacturing pop. which makes A-ha's decision to go MOR over the last few years rather a relief. Even Alan Partridge's decision to drag their name through the mud for Abba's sake has lent them a perverser battered dignity. which makes the knowingly overwrought and glossily produced title track rather a disappointment.

‘Did Anyone Approach‘ is more sprightly. but Lifelines is a soporific swansong, the sound of a band watching the world pass their) by anal not having any |(It ,-.i wt I. it to do abOut it.

(James Sinai ii

El ECTRONICA MUM

Finally We Are No One (Fat Cat) 000.

titi'x'ii l.:)|. .2 (hit:

Hit :l‘ ".> ‘3\/"\" lint; come iiom lcelar id dl id this. their second album. is an atmospheric and sideways amble across a rural electronica landscape. including those scary looking twrns from that Belle 8 Sebastian album, this four piece combine the wonky beats and bleeps of Boards Of Canada with traditional folk and classical instruments. breathy vocals and splashes of post rocking majesty.

The end result is an intriguing, glacial little brother to the (lel(?lll£i[lt, sweepery of fellow countrymen Sigur llos. An excellent inoirieiit oi chill in this cra/y world. (Doug Johnstone)

-. ins: Mun.

ROCK

The List: 9 May 2002 (Issue 440)