ROCK SLEATER-KINNEY The Woods
(Sub Pop) «mu
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Blame the scaredycat rndre beys who make up the marnstream music press for the scrrcrrs lack of Sleater-Krnney rn your lrfe. Because. although they“. e released er magnrfrcent albums of scratchy gurtar attacks. stunning vocal rnterplay. rntrrcate rhythms and infectious melodr since they frrst formed In 1994. the general prrbl'c rs none the wiser to the rncredrbly talented ways of these three grrls from Portland. Oregon.
lf yeti want to rrght thrs wrong. however. then I he Woods rs an rdeal place to start. as rt features some of therr most rmpressrye offerrngs to date From pretty. strrpped down drttres to searrng rrff-Iaden anthems. this rs a must Irsten LP from a band on the frnest form of therr career. (Camrlla Pra)
HIP HOP QUASIMOTO
The Further Adventures of Lord Quas
(Stones Throw) 0000
Quasrmoto rs the utterly bonkers alter ego of l cs Angeles~l2ased
producer emcee Ma'llrb. Ouasrmoto's pastrrnes - sparking up copious amOunts of wacky haccy. chatting shrt to the Iadres — may on paper sound lrke a rephea of almost every other mainstream hrp hop manifesto rn 2005. Yet the stunted. blunted rax/ breaks and drstorted xylophones
assembed here create a wonderfully surreal. halIuCrnogen~c ha/e of sound that matches the rnrn‘rtable Ouas' unroue. helrurrr fuelled stop~start rap flo‘x.’ brrllrantiy. and proves that. despite Mad'rb's aln‘ost rnfrnrte number of srde-prorects. he ren‘arns one of rap's rr"<;st creative and orrgrnal talents. iHugh leaskr
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COLIN STEELE GUINTET Through the Waves (ACT Recordsr 0000
Portobellobased trun‘rpeter Colrn Steele's trademark cornbrnatron of engagrng folk— nflected rr‘elodres wrth spare jZIX/ harn‘onres and thymus continues the drrectron explored so successfully rn hrs two breakthrough alburrrs for Cabev‘ Mrrsrc. rnclrrdrvtg fast year's BBC .la// Award \.'./:'rnrng [he
Journey Home. Steele‘s
own expressrye and carefully coloured trurr‘pet work rerr‘arns a srgrtatrrre s >rrnd within the n‘rrsrc on. thrs debut for the Munrch based ACT label. and hrs playrng is beautrfully complemented by Irrsh smcpfronzst Mrcl‘ael 3:.(;k't3',. Pranrs‘. Dave l/trllrgan s :t‘ o..tstandrng form. a"d the r‘ex.’ drurr‘n er. Sta thchre. who repaceo .Joh" Rae Just before the 'e<:o"<trng. has already found hrs own nrche alor‘gsrde bass'st Azdan O'Donnell. IKenny lutathresor‘:
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SMOG
A River Ain‘t Too Much to Love
(Oom'nor .0.
It's hard to know what to make of Brll Callahan. Thrs rs hrs 12th album as omeg. and yet the
gut rely yorced downbeat country vr‘rserahlrst rernarns somethrng of an enigma. Thrs rs not hrs lest No'k nor hrs most accessrbre but there are flashes cf genrus amongst what lS
r v ,.I fl- .r I 1.“! essentrally a ‘.‘.’()l'K.'l‘£llr|:kt?
r>(:-r'f<)r‘:rr;ri‘<te. \./"."tl‘ (tLli(L;'l‘I’}" ,rawfles even.where. ’l Feel 3. rke the Motht‘:r o‘ ‘.'\e ‘."."o"»tl' rs an obvious sta"(t out track. as rs the mic-"tress. te"se and tau? 'lhe \"y’el' but (Eif;(?‘.'.’tt(‘:l'(? '.r:;r can'f help it"“k'ng f"at the en‘p|()\,’ed l“f>"<} L‘S'IE'r‘ edrtrng and d'd't't "rrsl‘ to release everythr‘g he records. hrs albun‘s "mg": make more of a dvffe'e'rct‘: to the ~.'.'ov'l<i.
{Doug .J(rir"sfoner
()OUNlltV MARIA MCKEE Peddlin‘ Dreams
(Cooking Vr'tylr 0..
This 's the ‘<)"v“-:,-r' l ow:
.ltrstrce singer's sixth so o
album and t shows We poutrvrg "Sissy the golden tons-is oelx'w‘g ever further me the roots of her country heritage and producing a st::."‘e<l up record of no little n‘arrdlr'r charm At times McKee's .)‘.‘(E"l)(t‘.'.'r;'"1g nocafs are a tar: foo r'mron ‘()"ttl(?(l()‘.'."1t1(?ztf arranger‘ents o" Perm/r!" Dreanx; i;;r‘. '.'.""<:-" the songs av" a l". h (the. l'ke The irra'ro rezi «epe' rr‘ Ne'l Yor.";;'s ‘Ba'stooi Blues! The-2' ar“:>:f o" rr‘zitttl‘es McKee-'5; ‘CD’flff‘tl: vorce. E :s(:~‘.-.I":err‘: proceedr'rgs are amarrle enough If a little too rntrospect'ye to hold the attentron of anyone other than the already converted.
(Doug .Johnstoner
POP JAMIROQUAI Dynamite (SorryBMGr .0
Seerng as he hasn't been rrrterested rrr savrrrg the planet for a few albums now. [)xvxrrrrrte rs another ‘gtrr‘l. l ‘.'.'ar‘r‘a la'“ r’ " '
BUCK COLDPLAY
X & Y ri’ar‘lortholm 0..
There has been some chat about this being Coldplay’s ‘raw‘ album. Let’s get this straight. There is not, and never has been, anything raw about Coldplay. The band are as polished and cultured as a Chesterfield sideboard, and with umpteen million sales of the last record, they‘re are also part of the musical furniture these days. X & Y is no great departure from previous form, with only the very occasional ghost of 80$ post-punk synth rock rearing its head and the odd bit of church organ to differentiate it from what has gone before.
Opener ‘Square One’ ably demonstrates where Coldplay are at in 2005, starting like stadium-era U2 before morphing into stadium-era Pink Floyd. The early momentum lasts for a few songs but with the slightly dreary ‘Speed of Sound’ single it flags somewhat, only to pick up again with the double whammy of ‘Swallowed by the Sea‘ and ‘Twisted Logic‘, the former being a gorgeous stripped down ballad, the latter a brooding piece of driving, hypnotic epic rock. Throw in the rather wonderful hidden track "Til Kingdom Come‘, originally written for Johnny Cash but never recorded, and you’ve got a great end to the album. But it’s not enough. This is certainly no classic record, and it’s got far too many filler tracks. Plus, some of Martin’s lyrics veer horribly towards the platitudinous, as if written with the next iPod or Microsoft advert in mind. This is the sound of a band taking few chances and consolidating their position in the marketplace. Shame. (Doug Johnstone)
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