ROCK memorable and start to Bratoeff's band includes SINGLES & DOWNLOADS THE . . sound drab and samey. . saxophonist Pete § " y I; . a RAVEOBNEITES and a lack of new ideas : Wareham and drummer } V Pretty m lac l Seb Rochford from the
(Columbia) 00”
is clearly noticeable. One day. this Leeds- based trio may well rule the raggedy. jaggedy riff school. but until they lose the filler they‘re destined to merely nip at the heels of the big- hitters. (Camilla Pia)
INDIE LEGENDS
BBC award-winning Acoustic Ladyland. with Tom Mason on bass. The music is less edgy and frenetic than some of the other bands in the F-IRE orbit (including Acoustic
broad approach 2 hop. both through his . solo records and his
Ladyland). and reflects a I
to hip
wickedly entertaining
different side of both Wareham and Rochford's playing.
live jaunts with the Russian Percussion. In One Self - Vadim
ORANGE JUICE
The Glasgow School (Domino) 0.
“We really had to do something different on
Texas are so bland they make Coldplay seem like Ornette Coleman. so ‘Getaway’ (Mercury). is predictably banal pop pishola. end of story.
‘Better Alone' (Red Girl) 0 by Melanie c is slightly more palatable. but is still a hideously formulaic rock ballad with no soul whatsoever. The Spice Girls' reunion creeps ever closer. Natalie Imbrugiia’s “Counting Down the Days’ (Brightside) O is just as dribbly. but it does have tubular bells at the end. giving it an utterly incongruous Christmasy feel. Strange.
Much. much better is Lady Sovereign‘s ‘9 to 5' (Island) 00” . a fun and fruity slice of UK garage which blends ska and salsa yet is undeniably pop at its fresh little core. A lot less fresh are The Dangermen (who are. in fact. Madness under another name). as their version of the skanking ‘Shame and Scandal' (Live & lntensified) CO
by Lord Tanamo is thoroughly lacking in bite and sass.
And so to rock. and No Hope in New Jersey whose ’Decline’ (Atlantic) 000 does a pretty good impression of early Foo Fighters trying to out- gonzo Queens of the Stone Age. On ‘Bucket of Butterflies' (Birdman) u . Modey Lemon thrash around like it's 1990. cramming four outdated tunes into one as if fraggle never happened — did Mega City Four die for nothing? Test Icicles (nice name) present us with an interesting confrontation in ‘Boa vs Python' (Domino) .0 . but while there’s plenty of kiddy bluster to their daft ska metal new wave disco thrashing. it all fails to ignite.
Glasgow’s El Presidente are unashamedly commercial glam rock. and ‘Without You’ (One) «00 is all shiny and sparkly buffed-up catchiness, guaranteed to get up the noses of local indie sons. Like Edinburgh outfit Underbelly. whose ‘Come in to Land’ (demo) so is earnest. maudlin. boring stuff; a half-decent riff rummaging for a tune to go with it. Slightly less earnest are, ahem. Ernest from Glasgow. whose ‘Swords' (Masquerade) on has the trundle of early Stereophonics about it, fine praise or a heavy insult, depending on their point of view.
Either way it's not a patch on Single of the Fortnight. which goes to the esteemed head of the fantastic Fence Collective. King Creosote. for his ‘Favourite Girl EP' (Names) 0000.. Recorded with Mancuncian psychedelic rockers the Earlies as his backing band, it is a thing of simple. wondrous. touching beauty, and should see Kenny Anderson (for KC is he) finally getting the commercial break he so deserves. ‘Jump at the Cats' is a frisky. rocky hoedown of a thing. all mouthie and piano. but the real genius lies in 'My Favourite Girl'. a sea shanty ballad of almost unbearable melancholy. with the equally magnificent sadness of ‘So Forlorn (. . . Again)’ rounding things off superbly. Thoroughly fantastic stuff. (Doug Johnstone)
’25 Loud
this album, for the sake of ourselves and our sanity. We had to try something new.“ So says Sharin Foo of this. the Danish duo's second album. and boy oh bOy has it proved to be a winning tactic. The roll call of guest artists. from Ronnie Spector and Mo Tucker through to Martin Rev of Suicide. echoes the range of influences. resulting in a kind of Mary Chain-meets-the- Cramps filtered through the sugary melodies of 603 girl groups. and fleshes out their previous minimalism with no lack of style. A compelling musical potion.
(Emma Newlands)
lNDIE
BLACK WIRE Black Wire
(48 Crash) 00.
After such storming singles as ‘Attack Attack Attack' and ‘The Face'. it's a pity the first record from Black Wire doesn't quite live up to their initially thrilling promise. At their best. the band cater in super catchy. ramshackle guitar pop with guttural basslines. breathy vocals and dark electronics somewhere between the rattling romanticism of the Libertines and the scratchy punk funk of the Rapture. However. halfway through this collection of tracks. the melodies become less
Now. more than ever, it's tantamount to heresy in Scottish indie circles not to offer undying devotion to Edwyn Collins’ post- punkers Orange Juice.
While there's no denying 7
their positive influence on generations of this country’s bands. this collection of early Postcard Records
material demonstrates a
naive sound which has simply not aged well at all. Postcard's flagship band might have changed the way we think about making music. paving the way for everyone from the Smiths to Franz Ferdinand in the process. but the rather hapless jangle on offer here indicates that the band were a triumph of attitude over ability. at least in the much- lauded early years. (Doug Johnstone)
JAZZ JONATHAN BRATOEFF QUARTET Between Lines (F-IRE Recorded) .0.
: , I a 1'
An offshoot of the F-IRE Collective in London. French guitarist
Bratoeff is a fluent and elegant improviser, and his attractive and often evocative compositions are tightly arranged and beautifully executed. although it might be a shade smooth at times for some tastes.
(Kenny Mathieson)
POP METAL
A Teen Dance Ordnance (London) 00
Recorded in Seattle with a producer who has Deftones and Soundgarden under his belt. this is clearly an attempt from British pop metal also-rans A to make a leap into the big league. And it all starts so well. ‘Rush Song' sounding like Jane's Addiction getting their knickers in a twist. while single ‘Better Off With Him‘ could be Busted with gonads (a good thing). But the lack of invention thereafter is singularly unimpressive. dragging their glossy riffs and multi-tracked choruses into a mire of extremely ordinary. journeyman rock.
Scrambling around for an identity in the nu- metal aftermath. this is lacklustre stuff. (Doug Johnstone)
HIP HOP
ONE SELF Children of Possibility (Ninja Tune) 0000
London-based Russian DJ Vadim has always had an engagineg
alongside his Brazilian/Swedish wife MC Yarah Bravo and Blu Burn 13 — the trend
. continues. with Bobby : and Nihal praising the i Asian-influenced ‘Be
Your Own' to the
rafters. There are high Points aplenty. from the . blissfully summery
'Bluebird’ to ‘Fear the Labour', which combines classic hip
I hop vocals with a lazy. ‘ . menacing bassline. Not quite poptastic enough 1 for the crossover
market. this is still an
’ ' enormously likeable and — ironically. considering its international cast —
defiantly British take on
_ hip hop. (James Smart)
' ALSO RELEASED
Charlotte Church Tissues and Issues (Sony) The one-time voice of an angel does tedious alcopop.
R Kelly TP3 Reloaded (Jive) Jail bating R&B star brings us his ‘sex weed' and a raft of other such slushy, pervy delights. Alanis Morrisette Jagged Lift/e Pill (Maverick) The multi- platinum seller reworked as an acoustic set for some reason.
Iggy Pop A Mil/ion in Prizes: The Anthology (ngn) Rounding up tracks from his Stooges days from Bowie to pot banging tirades. Kinski Alpine Static (Sub Pop) Belting instrumental psych rock flippancy from a quartet of US rock
goons.
ALL CD5 WERE REVIEWED ON A SYSTEM SUPPLIED AND INSTALLED BY LOUD & CLEAR
"' ( lea i'iziixiiivuqulwomanly:(twirl-Art iniviw,i.t‘ilincismwill.
es rm: mar 21 Jul—4 Aug 2005