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Reviews
Weekly Reviews For October 30, 2005 I am Managing Editor at Metal4Life
I also contribute reviews to getreadytorock I am also featured reviewer at spacerock.co.uk
I
was Editor & reviewer at MetalUK.
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New Reviews All three take turns at the mike, but they're not outstanding singers,
which leaves the music to do the bulk of the work. And it is, in
places, quite breathtaking. I could do a cut and paste from the
Big Book Of Review Cliches and warble on about electronic soundscapes,
but that would be to They're at their best when they go a bit trip-hoppy Massive Attack on your ass, as on "Painted Madonna", but sometimes they just want to kick out some remarkably elegant jams, as on "Wonderful", which should have been a summer No 1, back in the days when we had actual singles and real hits. There are a few moments where they lose their individuality and actually become New Order - see "Making Decisions", but this is generally, an interesting and accomplished set of atmospheric electro-pop songs, worth checking out.
Avante garde to the max, this is not a record for the casual passer by, replete as it is with complex time changes, atonal soloing and possibly illegal rhythm patterns. Although Stich is the bandmaster he doesn't let his Jack DeJohnette influenced percussion get in the way of the other performers. Well, OK, he does, sometimes, but, hey, it's his band! However, the saxophone work of Mike Murley is, at times, otherworldy. A description that is highly appropriate considering the highlights include “Existential Departure”, “Spiral Nebula” and my particular favourite “Intergalactic Spheres”. Sometimes moody, always challenging, sometimes magnificent, this is a superb album of instrumentals which gives you something new with every listen.
Lou Black - City Of No Winters Anyway, Peruvian born Luis Eduardo Schwarz, hereafter know as Lou Black, has developed music, melodies and arrangements for the poems of Richard Hess and others, including Enid Holden and Laura Dean Meek. Normally this would be enough to have me reaching for my shooting iron but there is an arresting quality to Blacks Lou Reed type voice and Nick Cave melodies which keep dragging me back in. Weirdly enough, when he's not composing music, Lou is a statistical and systems consultant! Poles apart, anyone? Maybe it's that which drives him to try and create moments of beauty, of which this CD holds many.
Bedouin Soundclash - When The Night
Feels My Song Jamaican reggae soundalike from British Columbia! What's that all
about? Better educated commentators than me are making great claims
for this lot saying that there's a lot more to it than that. Really?
A Bob Marley vocal, a gentle lilting reggae riff, more acoustic
than electric - seems fairly straightforward. Ignore the idiots
who say otherwise, sometimes what you hear is what it is. There's
nothing remarkable here, it's nice.
Hamadryad - Safe In Conformity Let's see, what did I say about their last album - 'This is intricate, high tech prog that the Dream Theater fans will lap up.' Right, now I just need to reword that to make it sound fresh, original and sparkling, and another Zeitgeist review will be done and dusted. Must remember to delete that last sentence. And that one. And that one, oh bugger it. Right, this lost started out as a Rush tribute band (odd, considering they sound more like Genesis), released a splendid debut album, lost vocalist Jocelyn Beaulieu, changed musical direction, found a new singer, Jean-Francois Desilets, who's the bass player anyway, so they didn't have far to look, and made their 2nd album.
It's still a fine album, but it may need time to digest.
Katie Melua - Nine Million Bicycles I shouldn't really like this, corporate pop writ large, but the sound of Katie on this song is pure, liquid velvet. Some will decry it as wallpaper with banal lyrics, but sometimes you just need sounds that take away the pain - aural cocodamol, and that's what you get here. It won't change the world, but it makes it a little more tolerable.
Steriogram - Walkie Talkie Man I forgot to review this when it first came out, and thats exactly the fate of records like this. In one ear, out the other, only to be resurrected ten years down the line for WIlliam Shatners top 100 One Hit Wonders on music TV. This single is classic one hit wonder, ittitatingly memorable and hummable. However, they seal their fate with the single worst cover version of an AC/DC song ever. "Back In Black" is punished beyond belief (with added white boy rap), as should they for the heresy.
Kelis - Millionaire How long before people realise how dreadful Outkast actually are? They even manage to ruin a Kelis record with the inane witterings of Andre 3000. Now Kelis has always been hubba hubba, but hasn't actually realised a killer record since “Young, Fresh n New”. “Milkshake” came close, but she seems to have been happy to sacrifice artistry for success. So why would I recommend this? Easy, 2 videos! Yup, not only the “Millionaire” video, but the “Trick Me” one as well. Turn the sound down and hum one of her early hits along. Much more satisfying.
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