|
|
||
 |
Reviews
Weekly Reviews For July 17, 2005 I am also Assistant Editor & reviewer
at MetalUK. I also contribute reviews to getreadytorock You will also find some reviews at spacerock.co.uk
|
 |
New Reviews
The natural comparisons are to the likes of Lambchop, but they still manage to retain some of their Liverpudlian roots to stop things tipping over into the maudlin. Some songs could easily be tripped out Turin Brakes, others a sweeter Tom Waits, mixed with the soft rock delights of Bread. Vocalist, John Yates, has an idiosyncratic style, but that’s
all part of the charm, weaving in and out of the melodies, the songs
fleshed out with slide guitars, harmonica and cornet. Highlights
include the relaxed ‘I Got My Mojo Working’ and the
unique sound of ‘This Is My Rock And Roll’.
And so low key as to be almost off radar. Space Junk / Neil Whitehead who seem to be one and the same, hail from Little Neston, which had, at the last census, a total population of 3390 people. I, therefore, suspect, it is does not have a thriving music scene! Although, strange to say, I once had a pint in the Harp Inn! But Mr Whitehead has set out to amalgamate krautrock and spacerock, and although not really managing that, has performed a small miracle in the latter genre, especially on the track ‘Space Junk’. Straight from the off, there’s a plethora of swooshes, a driving guitar line, and if the percussion gives the low budget away, the swirling lead more than makes up for it, across a thrilling and dynamic near 8 minutes. ‘Vertex’ has more krautock influences but has far too much sturm und drang as it lurches into ‘Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do’ territory for most of its 90 second duration. If you like spacerock, you’ll love the main track. No email,
no website, but Neil Whitehead can be contacted at 58 Burton Road,
Little Neston, Neston CH64 9RA, UK. Hawk – Beyond Forever If you’re looking for a combination of smooth jazz era George Benson, Philly soul and Cat Stevens, then this is the place for you. Sounds odd, but this is a summer, headphones album that constantly springs delights. California sound of the seventies melodies, mixed in with some sprightly soul, funk and jazz rhythms, and allied to hopeful words of wisdom. Danish artist, Hawk, has become increasingly popular in his homeland over the past few years and is now reaching out to an international audience with his uplifting, personal songs. He says that his “blindness has intensified his musical expression and given him an edge when it comes to telling life’s stories from a different angle.” Stories which are ably brought to life by the collaboration with his wife, the award winning American lyricist and poet Anna Lia Bright None of the ten songs on offer let the standard drop with the Lou Rawls vibe of ‘False Gold’ and the blissed out Teddy Prendergast style of the title track getting top marks round my way. An unexpected delight.
M.I.A – Bucky Done Gun Was that it? Quite why Mya is being hailed as a major talent escapes me after hearing this. A hybrid of Missy Elliott, dancehall reggae and the Streets but with none of the excitement of any of them. I was really looking forward to this, but that was anticipation wasted. A major disappointment after all the hype that’s been pointed
her way, not one of the many remixes on offer could lift this to
the point of interesting. It’s been released in five different
formats, I presume in a desperate attempt to get all her friends
to buy a copy of each to push into the lower reaches of the charts.
Editors – Blood Another next big thing type outfit, and they’ve certainly managed to get the jagged, spiky guitar lines of Franz Ferdinand (who are so last year, dearies) topped of with Joy Division vocals and Echo & The Bunnymen melodies. So that’s the student lobby taken care of, who never actually buy records but pass copies of the NME around the student union talking about buying records. Which should get them to number 37 in the charts for a week. So. They really need to be hitting thee Tesco market if they want to last more than a debut album. Which requires Coldplay type blandness, which they are sadly lacking in. Best of all is the ‘The Freelance Hellraiser Editorial’ mix of ‘Blood’, where they do the New Order transformation before their vocalist dies. For ‘Blood’ is actually a very good song, angular and interesting, which isn’t nearly generic enough to translate into sales. Look for them 10 years now on Bands Reunited.
Rooster – Deep And Meaningless Now I was not one of those people who pooh-poohed Rooster when they arrived on the scene, all pert, pretty and purveying 21st century AOR. There were several good tracks on the album, including power ballad par excellence ‘Deep And Meaningless’. I was, however, suspicious at the absence of musician credits on the album, and at the large number of Def Leppard and Backstreet Boys collaborators. So, I was interested to hear the live version of the greatest r’’n’b track of the nineties, ‘No Diggity’ that was being served up as a bonus track. And, oh dear, is the only appropriate response. It’s as if they only had a passing acquaintance with the song and, more tellingly, their instruments, lumpen and leaden in the worst pub rock fashion, white boys with no soul. If they stick to looking pretty and singing Swedish power ballads
they’ll do fine, but keep them away from instruments that
plug in.
|
 |
|
|
