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Reviews
Weekly Reviews For July 24 2004 I am also Assistant Editor & reviewer
at MetalUK. I also contribute reviews to getreadytorock You will also find some reviews at spacerock.co.uk
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New Reviews And now there's a full album for us to ruminate over. Now I'm not going to get all hippy on your ass, but I was going through a fairly down spell when I first played this. And it did what beautiful music should do - lifted the spirits. A remarkable gift, and one that should be cherished. It's fairly ludicrous that on eperson should be allowed to have so may good songs in their repertoire, but as I have the CD for repeat play, I won't be complaining. The first one to claim me was "What Will It Take?", a mid tempo, smoothly melodic lilting number that just eases into you, closely followed by "8oz Cup", a parable of problems that most people can relate to, deceptively tied to an upbeat tempo. But there is not one single song here that I don't think is fabulous. There's a flavour for every mood and every moment, and whether you share Brants spiritual beliefs or not, we can all feel an affinity with the human condition that he explores through his songwriting. He's going to be in the UK between August 25th and 31st, including a return visit to Greenbelt, so get a copy of this, and prepare yourself for something very special.
Of the other tracks, the haunting and ethereal 'Summers Gone’ is almost invisible, but strangely compelling. It's all quote mellow, but there seems to be an underlying optismism in their music which takes them apart from the cynical world we live in.
M. J. Hibbett and the Validators
- Shed Anthems Hidden inside a set of overtly humourous lyrics are some genuine nuggets, ostensibly tied in to the recent Euro 2004 football thingy, but actually just an excuse to try and blag some extra promo. 'Shed Anthems' is a mini-album which you would have thought would have suited my notoriously short attention span, but I was cheated. When you add on all the so-called bonus material, it doubles the length. Dirty, cheating bandits. I lost count, but in addition to the 6 official tracks, there's about 20 bonus tracks. Fortunately, it was a worthwhile con, as this is a thoroughly enjoyable release of singer / songwriter / a bit like Billy Bragg but talented tunes. The best one of all is "Billy Jones is Dead", a litany of of lives changed, sung from the perspective of the one life that hasn't. A genius track. And let us take our hats of to the acoustic cover of the Fresh Prince / DJ Jazzy Jeff classic "Boom! Shake the Room", which brought back happy memories of the League Cup in 1991. Don't ask. Granted, a lot of the production falls over the lo-fi line, but thanks to the power of the programmable CD player, there is an excellent album here. Francis Albert Machine - I Love You
And I Don't Want You To Die It's a collection of all the songs from the three singles released by Artists Against Success and numerous tracks taken from compilations released on a variety of UK labels. Which means unless you are the mother of one of the band members, you won't have all of these in your Francis Albert collection. For those unfamiliar with the Francis Albert modus operandi, it's a world of introspective acoustic driven laments, dealing with all the usual whiny white boy problems - love, loss, heartbreak, laundries that do bad service washes - the travails of modern life. Fortunately, Frankie manages to deal with these in a beautifully melodic manner, interspersed with some amusing moments (check out "Either Or The Both Of Us" for some circumsion confirmation). The other highlight is the opening number "Nineteen Seventy Three", a sublime piece of folk pop, but there are considerably more pearls than swine, so go forth and enjoy.
Vivahead - We Love Infinity Which actually seems apt considerinf the strange electronic routes they're wandering down. To be honest, some of the noises contained (or imprisoned) in this CD, mirror the noises in my head, when the medication isn't working and I'm about to do something very, very bad. The centrepiece of this album is the monstrous "Pig Giddy", where in between getting all trance like on your ass, they mash up classic Krautrock and Philip Glass into something spectacular and frightening over the course of 25 minutes. It's truly stunning. Who'd have thought that Warrington concealed something that terrifying. (mind you, I passed through it once....) They have links to the Manchester based Electronic Musik project, with LDT collaborating on "Pig Giddy", which certainly explains the Can influences. The rest of the CD can't really match that particular epic but "Cycle" ramps up the Goons, and converts them into something almost danceable. They do seem to want to adopt the Zappa mantle of humour in music, which works well when it's subdued, but fails on the (thankfully) short closing track, "Concern For A Celebrity". There's also the obligatory Tangerine Dream style number "The Question". But "Pig Giddy" is the one you'll keep returning to.
Pulper Music Productions, 323 Wellfield Street, Warrington, Cheshire, WA5 1PL, UK Quecia - II Quecia do have the distinct advantage of Kirsty McCarrick on vocals, as she has one of the finest voices in rock today, and when augmented by an outstanding set of musicians and songs, you can't fail to be impressed by the results. The best of a very melodic bunch is "Hide Away", a Celtic tinged track that opens the album with a gentle intro, before leaping into funk fuelled action, it's just achingly good. A mention also to Hayley McCarrick, whose backing / harmony vocals always seem to arrive at just the right time. Best ballad award goes to "The Rhythm", which veers over into prog territory, with hints of "Afraid Of Sunlight" era Marillion, although it's hotly pursued by the power ballad, "Too Late To Say Goodbye". Quecia are at their best when they're going for the emotional jugular, and when it combines with yearning, searching lyrics, they hit their peak. Hence why "Rescue Me" is my favourite track on the album. This is easily one of the finest melodic rock albums of the year so far, and essential listening for those who covet emotionally based, powerful yet wistful, music.
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