SINGLES 8 DOWNLOADS
Beam‘ (Sony) ...
Superfli ious.
(Doug Johnstone)
'I Gave YOu' (Domino) ... ‘Prince’ Billy and Matt Sweeney is a delicate wee gem of aiiernative American folk. the unsettlineg distorted guitars adding menace to a beautiful. teaching ballad. Which is good. but doeSn‘t beat Single of the Week. Willy Mason's ‘Hard Hand to Hold‘ (Virgin) .... Living in a similar dusty musical trailer park. Mason imbues his modern undergroi the“ folk with a pop sensibility. a sense of community and an uplifting spirit that is impossible not to love.
What happened to Supergrass? Coir tdering their string of belting singles is as long as an orang utan‘s arms. ‘St Petersb-ir;t' (Parlophone) is a massr/e disappointment. It's a lacklustre. strummy affair With no bite and -- shame of shames - no catchv chorus 'l azer by the ever nuts Super Furry Animals fares l'tetter. being a rattly retro 703 Stomp rock disco thing. but it's still a far cry from their waywardly inagioil best.
The White Stripes are the emperor 's new clothes of music. except the. 're not even new any more. “My Doorbell (Third Man) . proves this by being mont imentally tediOiis pish delivered in an amateurish stvle which sounds like Vic and Bob pub singing in your worst nightn‘iares Folks should check out local svnth pop punks Multiplies instead. ‘Skeletron Walk to Yourself (Hatch) ... thrashing piece of madness. although the proggy instrumental second Aside is
is a feisty and zesty
from Bonny
Ht )i’LK
EL PRESIDENTE El Presidente
(One Records)...
l rt'fl ' receive ll“. (llll‘ accolade oi “the ne.‘ Fran/ Feduwnt {ll-J El Presidente. Wto. due to their high pitched vocals and glammy tendencies have also been branded 'the British
Loud
Elli) lrllt: ~3
oCleor
S I.) « do havi; the Glaswegian Credentials and tb-.-ir ‘.’l(l(30 for 'Rock-2t' looks suspIcIOusly similar to ‘Take Me Out'. but do they ll\.'(} up to Sii< h hype? Well. in a word. no Sure ‘Rowket' Will stick l’t your head all day (in l 'Keep on
Walking' has a di‘v- t"“.
iTl‘iOrllS tt-at \‘xlll keep festival crowds "illdltlll i along. but
despite Ll Presvlent- '
latin aspirations.
'ni; h of the album 'emai'is sedated and almost dreary. What the Scissor Sisters might sound like on too much Prozac. (Maureen McKendry)
it Sisters. Tll-n.‘
|:‘ii ll {it i<
NIALL VALLELY Biiille
(Vertical) ...
Niall “all! l\ If» at) most origiitil and talented mu: ‘ian t ‘- come out of Irelan'i in recent years and is arguably one of the
world's finest conce' ti-~ ,
players. This itteiing sees him ac ompaniol by his' " r ' on piano and Par il l/levhan on boii/oiiki. and is a typically innovati‘ 'e and impresst‘.'e piece ci‘ playing. the spare arrangements leavir‘ri plenty of space for Vallely's dextrOi is handling of the concertina to shine Considering his past eclecticism. time is perhaps a slightly disappointing lack of genre busting here ‘ ~t. Burl/e is still a ;,()llil enough dist ilay how an undeniable folk talei‘f. (Doug Johnstone)
HIP l Kip
FB COLLECTIVE Foul Maginus
(PB Collective) ...
Being true to yoi irself and your people is the calling of a rapper: simply to hear local places and customs
l-tillltal""(il£i(1-‘;'ll over heart no lding beats endears their cause to any llSlOnU'. Well established as a local live outfit. this relea ;e (available at .VWW ft t":()ll(2(‘,ll‘~.’(3 (7' ~ i is a hotchpotch of call and response hip hop and critically the f- BC boys can rap. Their Jaxzual turns probably do them the most credit. though they are
(“L l " I'IIfé' tylg'W Ml“- (il) ll' {ill .1! "‘-~‘3!' own g Vii“ ‘.‘.|“‘ tliri- Ir‘~ stun-ii. r. v k lite pomp of ‘Downtin'ie' There's some good shit here It desei‘ res to not be overlooked
(Mark [dint iii'l on)
POP sh A MADNESS
The Dangerrnen Sessions Volume 1
(V2) .
Anyone for some skankv panky from
Si iggs and co? This is intend d as a rip-ti irn to their earl. ft iii: iv dam, where the nutty tiovs were inspi'ed l)-' old . i- records. a punk ethos and mlli~l(; hall comed And boy were they
“mill”. ll l l ll l,
good. right up there With the .lts'n. si'igl-: after ‘TlllllO. (7 --th a gem. Shame then tl‘at this alttuin '~f (to eis ("0‘ 2; them l'l nothing but rtont- unit. The l<ink's
'l ola'. for et-anii‘fle. Rhee. h The thlnC nit evcopte i if ever a sonri came lab |l-':d 'd tn't mess'. this is ll The; also take a tilt at Desmond l 't‘: ke', Robert Nesta Marlv .' and the Dang- -rman theme, No. we can ' for ol'iine2
(R dger L a" )
lltl;1lllNl Il-
IAIN ARCHER Flood the Tanks (PIAS) ...
lain Alt her had a <;i/-.:at)|e hand l'l tl'e making of Slt~"‘f.' Pat'r‘l's The f—rn. i/ Straw. and .‘Jllh his profile ri ing. this Ireland only album has been reiigged and re l‘ ‘leasv :d over h- zre There are s me nice
W t i‘ ,l, *r M“ N a l 7 . .. fl"
in in int i"-'titg the
tin fare. With the odd f park of a
cat' hy norus or a rattling riff, but there is a lack of charisma to precei dings that suggests Archer has some way to go in his transformation from guality songwriter to entertaining performer The main tot ichstones here are Vo l a Tengo. Iim (TR/“i irke and My Blo d .' Valentine. With a slightly bland sheen added. Pri )mising. but not Vlltil
(Dong .l hit..tone)
soniiv‘v l'
t I It‘K t’t It'k CLOR
Clor
(Regal) ....
From the moment opener ‘Cood St' at
hi irsts i'tto life. all spiralling solos and fren/ierl ihvthii-s. itl. clear that Clor have made no ordinary debut. Tl Is races along fuelled by chaotic rifts. bootyshaL ing hasslines. bizarre blips and beeps. off kilter vocals and magical melodies and not inds 1;")lil()\‘Jht",-~'(3 tietzvee't the deranged delivery cf Sr-arks and the spa e rock of SeCret M: hines Frontn‘an Barry Dol ~ in's Quirky
i; :‘l words is an abs I: .te highlight. as is his al‘iilit‘. to turn from lléifillO fol'-\ to sexied up. Prince a like funk With stalker tendencies Overall this is a full on. fiinked up. llt‘llt) inducing rr llercoaster ride of a record. so hold on to ‘.o' ir hats and don those dancing spats. (Camilla Pia)
'it i 5-8“ 'ISll tiltlt‘i STUART STAPLES
Lucky Dog Recordings 03—04
(Beggars Banquet)
0..
Lucky. my arse. Who let Winston's black dogs
or it? Certainly if you love the Tindersticks then this solo ish venture Will be right down your street of sorrows, It’s a case of artistic back to bases from the man who purIOined l ee Hazelwood's 'tache and sang not JUSI With his heart but it seemed most of his internal organs on his sleeve, MeSSy for his dry cleaner. perhaps. but an approach that lends almost everything he does - however minimalist - an intensity that makes Chris Martin resemble a Holiday Inn crooner. Good stuff. (Rodger Evans)
lATlN A
Beginner’s Guide To Latin Music (Nascente) ....
Son? Charanga? Descarga'? Mambo? ' Salsa Dub? Reggaeton? Number 15 in the award Winning
Beg/liner 's Gil/(1e tour tOuches down in the fascinating. hip lWlSllllg. knee rubbing world of
i am music As ever. we start out With Scratchy recordings of the genre's nascence and 5 are taken. in the course
of three CDs replete
With artist background liner notes. through the golden era of 608 recordings to the
Cuban soul funk fusion
of the 70s and on into
the present and future.
As a pOint of reference and sneaky shortcut for muso buccaneers this is an indispensable
bumper pack that also makes for a damn good listen.
(Mark Edmundson)
ennui wane; enml:
Hfiflflr
ALLCDSWEREREVIEWEDONASYSTEMSUPPUED AND msmuzo av LOUD&CI.EAR
.t it Am 200:“ THE LIST 39