The Aliens

Embrace are the dullest band ever. and their offiCial World Cup song. ‘World at Your Feet'

(lndeperidiente) O . is their blandest effort ever. We can only hope the team’s performance on the pitch is better than this insipid dirge or they're in trouble. Better. but not by much. is Keane's ‘ls it Any Wonder?‘ (Island) 00 . a song which sees them mimicking Vintage U? in a vain effort to sound epic. instead coming across as vapid and seiilless.

And so to pop. Pink's 'Who Knew' (La Face) .00 is a tightly arranged and nicely understated slice of melancholic pop. with an insidioust catchy hook at the centre which sticks in your brain like good pop should. In comparison. 'Trouble Sleeping' (EMI) CO from Corrine Bailey Rae is a bit of a damp squib. which is a real shame because you can tell she has a fantastic jazzy voice that '3 being utterly wasted in a tedious. air-brushed slice of flimsy sunshine soul-pop banality.

Quick change of gear. and we're pogoing along to The Needles' “Diane EP' (Dangerous) 0... . a fantastically jagged piece of punk-pop rockabilly mayhem. which fines and splutters along at breakneck pace. thorougth unhinged and utterly delightful. As is ‘Garp 52 EP' (Beribecula) O... by Glaswegian bunch Genaro. the three tracks managing to span dark acoustic country. trippy psychedelia and driving retro rock. all imbued with a welcome freedom of spirit.

But standing like a colossus over everything is Single of the Fortnight. The Aliens' 'Alienoid Starmonica EP‘ (Pet Rock) 00.... which is so mind-bogglingly and weirdly awesome it's hard to know where to start. Formed by former Beta Banders and the Fence Collective's Lone Pigeon (himself an original member of the Beta Band) they have pedigree. and boy does it show.

Opening track ‘Hey Leanne‘ sounds like Neil Young getting abducted by little green men. before turning into Four Tet. then ending up like an organ recital at the gates of hell. ‘Only Waiting' is spectacular space rock. like the Stone Roses through a Hawkwind filter. while ‘Robot Man' is the solid gold hit single imagine a ramshackle Screamadelica-vintage Primal Scream jamming with the Beach Boys only much. much more exciting. and you're getting close. Then they finish it all off with 'lonas'. a mind-warping blend of Boards of Canada wobbliness and Pink Floyd psychedelica which is the rival of anything on Dark Side of the Moon. Holy Mother of Jesus. this lot should be huge. (Doug Johnstone)

.”\ Loud

Reviews

ROCK

SONIC YOUTH Rather Ripped (Geffen) em

Resisting the urge to describe this as a return to form for Sonic Youth (after all. when have they ever really been had?) the follow up to 2004's Sonic Nurse and the last album of their Geffen contract sees the New York indie colossus return to thrilling pop kineticism in a way they haven't managed for a while.

Rather Ripped is a great record. and all Without the input of indie fiberboffin Jim O'Rourke too. Where to start with the highlights? From Thurston Moore's charging eulogy to getting your kicks on 'Sleepin' Around' to the overtly biblical manoeuvring of ‘Do You Believe In Rapture?‘ and the beautiful. blissed-out finale. ‘Or'. odd summertime thrills are here in abundance. (Davrd Pollock)

TLCHNO

MY ROBOT FRIEND

Dial O

(Soma) 0”

There's something of the Tiga about Soma‘s avant-garde fruit loop. My Robot Friend. It's probably just the jaunty, tech-punk undertones (less the seedy rent-boy posturing) and the seemingly Ia/y mantras that pass for lyrics. With guest appearances from the likes of a Johnson- less Antony. there are some solid grooves

i

punched out on this LP. not least a giddy reworking of Blondie's ‘Rapture'. but inevitably an annoying chant about electric pants will dumb down the driving digital melange. Putting a twist on Soma's long association with Asimov aesthetic. there is a twitchy allure to this backwards pop-art automaton.

(Mark Edmundson)

DARK INDIE Y‘ALI. IS FANTASY ISLAND

In Faceless Towns Forever (Panic In Year Zero)

Recorded during the last days of a Falkirk summer in an abandoned house. In Empty Towns Forever is certainly a product of circumstance. A sombre collection of sparsely arranged melancholy. Y'all Is Fantasy Island have fashioned a dark and delicate ‘feel' album that is admirably sparing in its instrumentation and subtle in impact. The occasional. considered rush of blood hints that this is but the sensitive side of a rock band's repertoire; but the atmospheric whole leaves goosebumps and settles the listener into staring blankly from the window for some time afterwards.

(Mark Edmundson)

HOUSE VARIOUS Masterclass 01: Mousse T (ngS) 000.

‘Oh no!‘ you Cry. ‘Not another compilation shamelessly cashing in on last year's fallow crop of Eye-beef-a hits?’ Well. no actually. Not only is German spinner Mousse T (Peppermint Jam) a genuine production don, he's also a genuinely great

DJ. Featuring bona fide anthems from a bygone era (Lil Lours' ‘French Kiss'. Ann Nesby's 'Can I Get Witness'. Todd Terry‘s ‘So Long'). recent club killers (Chicken Lips' ‘He Not ln’. Recloose's ‘Dust'. Julien Jabre‘s 'Swimming Places'). upfront bombs and slinky. Saturday night floor-fillers from the intervening years. Mousse T‘s Masterclass is a timely reminder that you don't need a bag of the latest top twenty dance tunes to have a good party. but it certainly helps if you've got good taste and the skills to match. Disco. (Andrew Richardson)

JAZZ

GRAEME STEPHEN TRIO Water Soluble

(Own Label) me

Guitarist Graeme Stephen has emerged as a major talent in the making on the recent Scottish jazz scene. and this debut CD. with Norwegian bassist Elvind Opsvik and drummer Stuart Ritchie. fully confirms that perception. His intricate. harmonically daring guitar lines reveal the influence of players like John Scofield and Bill Frisell. but he is already developing his own distinctive signature.

His compositions on this disc are equally impressive. and provide ample scope for the resulting high level of individual and group interplay between the three players. Opsvik brings a different feel and colour to the music. and Ritchie is as flexible

' and responsive a

drummer as anyone

currently around.

Recommended. wwwgstephenniusician @hotmailcom

(Kenny Mathiesonl

PUNK ANGELS AND

AIRWAVES

We Don't Need

To Whisper’

(Suretone Geffen)

After burping out

scatological pop punk with Blink 182 for over a decade. Tom DeLonge has assembled a super group including members of the Offspring and the Distillers. leavrng the tart jokes behind in favour of six-minute prog odysseys and a synth orchestra.

His nasal whine. combined with lyrics that are often as moronic as his past efforts. this time unintentionally. render self-conscious attempts at epic rock like 'A Little's Enough'. even more preposterous. While the Angels and Airwaves project appears on paper as appealing as a Beavrs and Butthead rendition of Wagner. one still has to admire DeLonge's bravery. The only problem is that the sentiment is not matched by the music. (Miles Johnson)

JAZZ

JOANNA MACGREGOR & ANDY SHEPPARD

Deep River (Sound Circus) 0”

Classical pianist Joanna MacGregor and jazz saxophonist Andy Sheppard team up for a collection inspired by Southern Spirituals. but made up in large part of instrumental versions of songs by Johnny Cash. Tom Waits. Bob Dylan.

ALLCD‘SW‘EREREWE’W'EDWASYSTEMSUP‘P‘UEDNTDIHSTWBYLWD8iCLEAR

66 THE LIST :4 Jun .006