Records
JAZZ
BURT MACDONALD QUARTET WITH LOL OOXHILL Coxhill Street
(FMR) coo
In this second freely improvised collaboration between the Burt MacDonald Quartet and saxophonist Lol Coxhill the players work their way through nine improvisations. from the short ‘Par Le Chemin' sequences to a couple of squalling 14 minute marathons. ‘Anatomy of Uselessness' and 'The Original Elephant Tree'. but without really adding much to the earlier disc. This context is very different from the Quartet's more structured approach to their own music, and may have run its course for now. The next one is likely to experiment with ways of integrating
Coxhill into the group's
3 more customary
frameworks. which would be a more
i intriguing prospect. ? (Kenny Mathieson)
STONER ROCK HERMANO Only a Suggestion (Tee Pee) no
Stoner rock is. like. some heavy shit. man. So when a ‘stoner rock supergroup' grooves into town, that's, like, the heaviest shit around. man. Right? Hermano features stoner rock guru John ‘Kyuss' Garcia and features all the usual guff — woolly mammoth riffage. bluesy wails and the dumbest of dumb-assed sentiments. But somehow the whole thing is a bit undenivhelming.
To be fair, they don't hang about and show
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46 ml: LIST 1—8 Aug 2002
none of the colossal self-indulgence of other. similar outfits. but there’s no conviction behind the big, hairy tunes. and it leaves you craving a blistering bit of QOTSA or Soundgarden.
(Doug Johnstone)
POP FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS Bag of Hits (Chrysalis) COO
We all know what the title's an anagram of, but while the FLC's pimp schtick and reductive musical template was often irritating in the extreme. they did have some undeniably entertaining songs. ‘Scooby Snacks' still sounds like the coolest thing Norman Cook never did and elsewhere the plump Puerto
Ricans move with an fine swagger — although the pointless likes of ‘Love Unlimited' give you a pretty good idea why the band never became anything more than the comedy apes of the pop jungle. Let's just hope they call it a day sooner rather than later, because it's a rare joke that makes you laugh twice.
(James Macklin)
CHILL-OUT
ELLIS ISLAND SOUND
Ellis Island Sound (Heavenly) .00
David Sheppard and Pete Astor have both lived a little — Astor was frontman of 808 near- misses the Weather Prophets — but their debut as Ellis Island Sound is one of those albums you can put on and forget about. It's not
a bad release. full of pleasant instrumentals and set somewhere between Air's ambient electronica and the Doves' atmospheric guitarwork.
But while there are a few moments wonh taking notice of. this is more of a mood album than an attention grabber, full of good and goodish ideas but lacking cohesion and the sparkle of genius. (James Macklin)
TROPICALIA MOMOND
Paradise (Far Out) 0..
Rio: I thought it was somewhere you went to blow the wife's savings on underage prostitutes and cocktails. Not according to Far Out's regular producer Roc Hunter; no. it's all about gentle salsa. sunloungers and towelling midriffs.
This gentle (if rather insipid) album of souped-up Brazilian roots music contains some genuine delights. particularly ‘Oue Coisa 80' featuring Banda
Black Rio. Rio's legendary funk group from the 70s and 'NOite de Verao' containing the gorgeous vocals of Gabriella Geluda. Joe DaVIs. Hunter and Ivan from Azyinuth have obviously worked hard to make this a seamless mix of electronic. samba and funk. If you have the weather for it and maybe an outdoor pool this should help the days pass nicely.
(Paul Dale)
AGITPOP CHUMBAWAMBA Readymades
(Mutt) O
Some things you probably know abOut Chumbawamba: they've been on the go for ages. they‘re a bit political and they were famous a few years ago for writing a crap song about drinking.