and not a solo artist. Richmond Fontaine are like a breath of country- fresh air, Inspired by the town of Winnemucca. Nevada 77 where the album was largely recorded ~» l/A/innernucca is as crisp a collection of alt.counthy balladry as you're likely to find. From the merry steel guitar push of 'Winner's Casino'. the more dissonant likes of ‘Out of State' and ‘Patty's Retreat'. and Willy Vlautin's tender slide- assisted ballad 'Glisan Street’. it’s a record that tastes of half- heartbroken histOry. Tuneful. evocative. rich in texture and just plain marvellous.
(DaVId Pollock)
INDIE POP
MISTY’S BIG ADVENTURE
The Solar Hi Fi System (8L) 0.
A noXious combination of Talking Heads. Belle 8 Sebastian and the Roobarb and Custard theme tune — you'll really have to hear this shaiiibolically eclectic debut to believe it. You can't fault the consistently chirpy melodies. and a reluctance to stick to the same sound for longer than a minute means things certainly never get dull, but it's a braver sOuI than me that can tolerate lyrics about biscuit tins. mobile phone ring tones and. er . . . farmyard animals ('the cow goes moo. and I do too'l. ASide from the standout ‘Home Taping's Killing Music'. this is the Scrappy Doo of cartoon pop. (Emma Newlandsl
POP
MUNK Aperitivo (Gommal O...
The latest ClaSSy long player from Germany's Gomma comes c0urtesy of label heads Matthias Modica and Jonas lmbery. who have been usmg Gomma to trail- blaze the Current no wave/punk funk revival
alongside the likes o‘ :er; 3 DJ Twitch. Local f,f,"il“:’i'.";lif) a abound "i the fact that Nle McCarth, U" F'ary' Ferdinand released his first album l.‘.’|ll‘. fcrrrie' band Kamriierakinc. through Goliirna. and. much like both the aforemeiitioned. this album's a corker.
Fusing elements of disco. funk. punk and electronica. featuring live traditional elements ilike. you know. real drum kits and guitars and thati as well as the reguisite machines. it's got a very conteiiiporanx. albeit retro. feel. Brand new but retro? You bet. but the really swanky part is it sounds as great on your stereo as it does in a club. Now that's what I call music. (Andrew Richardsonl
PSYCH ROCK COMETS ON FIRE
Blue Cathedral (Sub Pop) 0...
When the past sounded like this the future was gonna be sooooo much better. Comets on Fire make raucOusly retro. psychedelic sprawls which inspire thoughts of Blue Cheer and the 13th Floor Elevators and are a total joy. Theirs is a blatant. tWisted hedonism not seen on this label Since Mudhoney's Superfuzz Big/huff trounced all comers way back in 1988.
This has neither the fOCLis nor the personality of that grOundbreaking recording. however. but does have enough potent rock energy and ridiculous song titles ('The Antlers of the Midnight Sun', ‘The Bee and the Cracking Egg'i to keep yOur beard swaying in the breeze till the sun comes goes down. (Mark Robertsoni
LO-Fl SCHWERVON! Poseur
(Shoeshinel 000
This second album from New York's Major Matt Mason USA and his
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for gory: 'i‘iezis.,'e there's a t;r.e‘ mini "‘ [3519s. Pa.emi:“f a't’: Sonic Youth it""twn. but the final destinafcn seems to be the Pixies with the rougher edges sanded off. Not iikeiy to bring the charts to Ifs knees. therefore. but a charming listen nonetheless.
(Emma Nt:‘.'.lltitlt s~
JAZZ
TIM LAPTHORN TRIO
Natural Language (BashOi COO
English pianist Tim Lapthorn is a fluent and confident improviser Will] a deft touch at the keyboard and an eclectic sensibility that is fully reflected on his second recording. The influence of artists like Keith Jarrett. Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk is apparent. but his chorce of material also includes intriguing covers of Bill Frisell's Strange Meeting' and Steve Swallows ‘Falling Grace'. His own ‘Loopy' is an engaging Monk pastiche. while ‘Peaceful Place” is reminiscent of Bill Evans. He receives strong support from bassist Tom Herbert and drummer Patrick Levett in an enjoyable and nicely rOunded disc. (Kenny Mathiesoni
ROCK
THE MOONEY SUZUKI
Alive and Amplified (Columbial .00. THE KOREANS The Koreans (Sterml 0000
Any album whose accompanying PR dares use the phrase ‘rip- roaring we had better be deing something very right to draw heat from such a Crappy
Records
NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus OOOOO/OOOOO
How the hell did this happen? Nick Cave seemed to have settled into a rhythm of comfortably fine, scholarly albums, slowly refining his craft as an ‘established songsmith’. Now he’s back, just 18 months after his last long player, with this double disc, 17-song set of epic proportions and ambitions, that is among the finest records he’s even made.
The two albums are markedly different. Loosely, Abattoir Blues is big, bad, bolshy pop record, injected with a fire and brimstone blues that has become familiar to regular Cave dwellers, while The Lyre of Orpheus is a more languid, quieter and altogether more beautiful record.
The ragged ferocity of the Bad Seeds is tempered momentarily on Abattoir Blues by the employment of a gospel choir on several songs. Lead single ‘Nature Boy’ is Cave’s cheeky jam on Steve Harley’s ‘Come Up and See Me, Make Me Smile’ while ‘Hiding All Away‘ recalls ‘Black Crow King’ from 1985’s First Born is Dead, now fully realised as a bombastic hymn constructed from a skeletal blues. When the massed chorus shouts ‘There is a war coming’, you believe them.
The Lyre of Orpheus makes good of Cave’s cunning storytelling skills. He swoons, swaggers and charms, scoring whether it’s with antique Greek sauce, breezy summer joy that would make Arthur Lee trip out, or worn love letters curled at the edges but still dripping with suggestion.
These two albums bring together — almost like a greatest hits of new songs, if that’s possible - all the facets of Cave’s music over the last 20 years in one ripe, trembling, pretty near perfect bundle. (Mark Robertson)
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9-2: Sec ZZZ-‘- THE LIST 105