Reviews

Weekly Reviews For July 20, 2006

Review Index

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.

New Reviews

Elena - I Want You

Well of course you do. Everyone wants a piece of me, but few are called to serve. Especially not surly, Joan Jett wannabees trying to give it some attitude on a record sleeve.

Just as well the record is alright, really. A degree of welly is applied to an olde fashioned power ballad, replete with a gravelly vocal performance, which teeters on the edge of parody, and, although no Janis Joplin, just stays the right side of the line.

The music swoops, soars and soothes in all the right places and if they can rein in the volume of said croaker they might make a name for themselves yet.

Delays - Hideaway


Now I'm the first to point and laugh at so called indie rock bands. They preen, posture and pretend that they have somethng of import to say when actually they're either mummys boys playing at grown ups or layabout students scared of actual work.

But sometimes a band emerges from the vacuosity with songs and sounds so uplifting it makes even a tired old man like me off thinking kind thoughts and patting puppies on the head.

Delays are one of those bands and you are evil mountebanks for not swaying to their uplifting, melodic, fantabulous groove. I hate you all.

Claudio Vena - La Vita E Un Circo

It would be all too easy to dismiss this as classical lite, but it is much more engaging than that. Italian born composer, conductor and musician Claudio Vena has performed on stage with Pavarotti, Domingo, Bocelli, Rod Stewart and Page & Plant amongst others and here, on his first solo CD of original compositions, he has collaborated with his own Cosmic Cowboy Orchestra.

Across 11 tracks he conjures up a world of loss, tragedy, romance and dreams with some sweeping, dramatic pieces of music, the best of which are rooted in the drama and flourish of the tango, with the best of them all - "Sogni".

Dog Men Poets - Birth Of The Cool

It was quite simple back in the old days. If you were a freak, you were put in a freak show. If you were mad, then there was a nice comfortable straitjacket with your name on it. Nowadays, damn them, they're out there, wandering the streets, asking me for cash, or making albums and mailing them to me. Gits.

Why else would I be ambling around singing the old school funk rock stylings of "DMP Anthem", all the while hearing a kazoo solo in my head. Bandits! If it's not that, then it's the acoustic Funkadelic stylings of "Slow Down" or the everyday musings of a vampire in, um, "Vampyr".

Freaky madmen or mad freaks. You decide. Just don't point the finger at me.

Licky - Press Fire To Continue

Now I can't think of any reason why the world would be waiting for a band that combines the worlds of the Monkees, Ramones, Shampoo, Soft Cell and Marilyn Manson into one easy to digest formula, but then I don't do drugs anymore. They call it Disco Punk, which doesn't do justice to the madness, brilliance and ineptitude shown here, often within the confines of the same song.

I also thought I'd destroyed all the pre 1984 Casio keyboards in the great new wave jihad of '85 (did you think Blancmange simply vanished?) but somehow Messrs Lips n' Sacky aka Licky have unearthed a few and put them to use torturing me with tales of magical trousers, goth girls and pretending to be gay. All of which I have either done or worn over the years. And sometimes both (diagram available on request).

If you want to lose the few friends you have (and they must be few in number if you're reading this), then play them "All The Young Dorks". If you want to shake off that pesky girlfriend, play them "Goth Girls" and suggest they follow their lead. If you have a goth girlfriend, play it, then ask her if she can recommend a friend.

Me, I'm nipping out to pretend to be gay and see if I can git me some pussy.

Shopgirl


What the hell was all that about then? Based on the novella by Steve Martin (who also pens the screenplay), Shopgirl is the story of Mirabelle Buttersfield (played by Claire Danes), a lonely young woman working in the glove department of Saks New York.

Mirabelle is completely alone and that leads her to accept an offer of a date from Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman ), a thoroughly unpleasant character in need of a damn good wash. Then along comes millionaire Ray Porter (Steve Martin), who also asks Mirabelle out, in contrasting style. The rest of the film shows her developing relationships with the two men who are unknowingly in competition for her.

Now Claire Danes is absolutely superb, but why anyone would like either of the men in her life is a complete mystery. They're black and white ciphers and we have no empathy with either of them. We're also completely lacking in back history so have no idea why she is on anti-depressants or why both men have serious issues in their dealing with women, especially Steve Martins character who just can't bring himself to accept his love for Mirabelle.

I'm sure all the upper middle class reviewers will have fawned over this movie, but it is completely lacking in emotion (again, Danes excepted) and has nothing for the viewer to hold on to. With the exception of an extended (and surprisingly good) cameo from former Red House Painter frontman Mark Kozelek, this is a film Claire Danes can look back on with pride. Everyone else, especially Martin, should hang their heads in shame.