COLLIDE - Some Kind Of Strange (Noiseplus)

It only seems like a week or two since I was salivating over "Chasing The Ghost", and here's an other pulsating (in all the right places from our new favourite electrogothers.

Last time round we said "Dark, despairing, minimalist but with an underlying eroticism and sensuality that leaves you begging for more", and a) we were right, and b) you can never get enough of music this good.

With the upsurge of all stylees gothic, it could be that the delightful Collide find themselves in the unusual position of being, gulp, fashionable. And if they do, for however short a space of time, then they deserve it. From opener "Crushed" through the stroke inducing "Slither Thing" to the heartrending "So Long", this is close to faultless.

Help them jump on that bandwagon and keep Karin in the style she should be:-) See pic below.

Noiseplus Music, PO Box 565, North Hollywood, CA 91603.
http://www.collide.net


LITTLE MATCH GIRL - same (Planet Ghost)

"It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and the darkness, a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle, when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had anyone given her even a penny. Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along; poor little child, she looked the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not. "

Evocative, yes. And you'll be delighted to know that she ends up dead in "The Little Match-Seller" by Hans Christian Anderson. Which is probably why Vivian Lady and George Breaker chose the name back in 1999 for their compelling blend of industrial, punk, techno, metal and electrogoth. There's even hints of the dancefloor, and swooshes galore, which make an old Hawkwind fan very happy. What could have been an unholy mess, instead wanders down the back alleys of the human psyche, conjuring up a mesmerising debut CD.

The killer track (and I mean that most literally, folks) is "My Queen", which causes outbreaks of moistness, whenever I hear it. Lovely. Some of the lyrics are a bit angry-by-numbers but when it all comes together ("Space Witch", "Endless Madness"), it's impossible to resist. Not that you'd want to, my precious.

http://www.littlematchgirl.co.uk/



HEON - Electro-Acoustic Requiem (Unicorn)

When you realise that someone has approached a musical experience from the perspective of a research projevt, then you know it's time to break out the sedatives, just in case.

Martin Heon wanted to widen the audible spectrum with non-conventional elements to modify the sound as we hear it. Apart from software, the instruments used in the recording were a Fender Strat, screwdriver,screws, saw and nails. Which means this is firmly music for the mind, not for the body.

Which can be a problem, when our primal instincts attune us to a different beat. This is also music which is categorically progressive in a non retro manner. There are moments when a sound grabs you and takes you along on the journey ("Melancholy"), but there also moments of pure atonality ("Back To Life").

As an experiment this does succeed, forcing you into trying to hear sounds in a alternative manner, and I assume that was the point. However, this will be of endless fascination to the many people out there who subscribe to The Wire, and love nothing better than a good mindfug.

www.unicornrecords.com



BLACKMORE'S NIGHT - Ghost Of A Rose (SPV)

OK, I fess up. Blackmore was my man. I once went to the extent of having a stand up fight in the middle of a busy road, as part of the never ending Page / Blackmore disputes of my youth. Hell, I even defended "Stranger In Us All". But when the man went all Spinal Tap on my ass with his madrigal madness, I had a hard time.

Forsooth, there was a reason that hey nonny no went out of business. It was shite. And no amount of battle re-enactments or dodgy Jethro Tull albums could change that. Yes, I have all the Blackmore's Night CDs. But it was duty more than pleasure. Until last years "Past Times With Good Comapny" live CD which had the merest smidgen of edge to it.

And finally, Mr Blackmore seems to have found a happy medium. For there is more electric guitar and (whisper it) rawk on this release than all the others laid end to end. And it's good. Granted there are tracks to be skipped (the digipak is 17 tracks long), but when you listen to Ritchie playing on "Rainbow Blues" (yes, really), all seems right with the world.

There are songs here which wouldn't have been out of place on the first two Rainbow albums, and it may be that Mr B has finally come to terms with his past. Candice is still an acquired taste, but her voice has strengthened over the years, and the amount of hurdy gurdy playing has been kept to a minimum. Looks like I can dig out my Ritchie Blackmore Appreciation Society badge, and wear it with pride once more!


THE RABBIT’S HAT - “Lapsit Exillis”

Fans of The Rabbit’s Hat and Census of Hallucinations will be familiar with the songs on ‘Lapsit Exillis’ and are maybe wondering why classics like ‘Orion’ and ‘The Moon’ are getting a fourth interpretation. It is because these songs still have something new to say and the combination of Terry Connor on violin, Dave McClean on bass and Dave Pipkin on Roland V Drums bring a new dimension to the music. There are nine tracks in total, all original compositions apart from covers of ‘Yellow Submarine’ and the great psychedelic Quo song ‘In My Chair’ already aired on the Census of Hallucinations CD ‘Sixth Sense’. ‘Hard World’ is in my view one of the best songs that Tim Jones and Terri-B have written and, although it would be hard to beat the original version on the Census of Hallucinations ‘7th Heaven’ CD the band come pretty close here. ‘Mountain Climbing’ is another particular favourite and is a very different version to the one on ‘BBC and Related Acoustic Sessions’. The joy of hearing these songs once again is tinged with sadness though as ‘More Than Ashes’ is dedicated to the band’s dear departed friend Tony Morland, who also co-wrote the song. The music of The Rabbit’s Hat has a purity that the title of the album (named after a stone of the purest kind) would suggest. ‘Lapsit Exillis’ is another Stone Premonitions release to add to your collection. Check out the recently established website: www.aural-innovations.com/stonepremonitions/ and/or e-mail info@archhouse9.fsnet.co.uk
(Stone Premonitions SPCD037)

(review by Phil Jackson)


NICK HARPER - Live At St Stephens, Edinburgh

So why isn't Nick Harper famous? Could it be the 'son of Roy' tag? Probably, yes, in the early days. Working in an unfashionable idiom? Probably. Singer / songwriters have a hard time these days, unless they're pretty and fey, neither tag being applicable to Nick. Too self deprecating? Definitely. Damn it, man, you're fabulous at what you do.

So, an hour only for one of the finest singers, guitarists and songwriters working today. A greatest hits set. So we got "Carmageddon", "The Magnificent G7", "Guitarman (Whole Lotta Love", "Building Our Own Temple", the loathsome "Galaxy Song", the divine "Headless" and a few more pearls. Plus one newbie from the forthcoming "Bloodsongs", which bodes well for the new album, and the classic 'change a guitar string while continuing to sing, without breaking stride' routine, which is always a crowd pleaser!

He sang songs, chatted away to the audience (albeit the 7" version), thrashed seven shades of shit out of his guitar, in a frighteningly intense fashion, hit vocal notes, castratos and the bloke out of Muse can only dream of, and provided me and 200 others with another reminder of what good music is all about.

The albums out in a couple of months, there's a headlining tour in Octobertime (which you will attend) and let's not forget the finest excuse ever for a show starting late, which put Motleys Crues 'snow on the roof' to shame. Are you ready? There were too many feathers on the stage. I'll lift an imaginary jar to that one!