Reviews

Weekly Reviews For September 19, 2004

Review Index

I am also Assistant Editor & reviewer at MetalUK.

I also contribute reviews to getreadytorock

Recent reviews include
Rush - Chronicles (The Video Collection)
Deep Purple - The Early Years
Damageplan - New Found Power
Whitesnake - The Early Years

You will also find some reviews at spacerock.co.uk

The Rocker
New releases from;
Superczar - Pop Art
Various - Further Adventures of the Telepathic Explorers
When's The Future - Then
And many more....

 

New Reviews

Daniel Rachel - Dear Friend / An Englishman Abroad

The second single from Daniel Rachel, and one that makes you wish you'd heard the first one.

It's a captivating hybrid of Squeeze and the edgier moments of Britpop, underlaid with a hint of acoustic effervescence. "Dear Friend" is an instantly memorable song, lodging in your brain, hummable in the extreme.

Then it's sarcasm time, with "An Englishman Abroad" latching onto some Ray Davies early seventies inspiration to get laid into that most dreadful specimen, the Englishman on his holidays. Frankly, there is nothing worse than a laggered up bunch of neds sampling foreign climes, and then complaining bitterly about the fact that it's nothing like home, until the find an 'English' pub with Sky Sports.

Daniel is a rare talent and one that needs to be sampled. Dear Friend/An Englishman Abroad is available as a limited edition 7" single for £3.00 (postage & packing included) from his website. He's also troubadouring round the country on a regular basis,so check out his website for a show near you.

Djam Karet - No Commercial Potential

Warning - this is a double CD of instrumental improvisations which have been out of print for nearly twenty years, having only ever previously been issued as a cassette. The three jams from 1985 have been remastered and are augmented on a second disc by 3 2002 explorations.

So whether you're going to like this depends on your vie wof improvised music. Me, I'm a huge Allman Brothers fan who can play percussion along to "Mountain Jam" without skipping a beat, so some of this is right up my alley.

Apparently. Djam Karet start each rehearsal with an improvisation which is recorded to DAT regardless of where it goes or how it ends up, which examples the range og magic and madness dotted around this disc. When it's good - the space rock out thereness of "Dwarf Toss", for example - it's awesome. When it's bad - most of "Blue Fred", it's noodling gubbins gone bad.

But that's the chance you take when you decide to head down improv boulevard, and the second CD, "And Still Getting The Ladies", shows how far they've developed over the years. Gayle Ellett has come a long way as a guitarist, and the 20 minutes spent in the company of "The Building" is truly remarkable. Just listen to the bass work of Henry Osborne through your headphones and sit slack jawed in amazement.

If you like your music tinged with Mahavishnu type fusion while sounding like the soundtrack to that bad acip trip you had in 1986, then this is for you.

LAETO – ZWOA ALBUM LAUNCH TUESDAY 10TH AUG 2004

13th NOTE

They look too cute for the sound they produce, kind of like a gritty Busted that are old enough to drink. LAETO kicked off with a long drawn out intro, lots of noise and guitars. It’s a distinctive sound with hints of AC/DC and Metallica and is mostly heavy and bassy; they showed their soft underbelly with Who Watches The Watchmen. The 13th Note was so packed it was smelly, that combined with Andrews spontaneous smoke machine in the form of a genied box of matches and their honorary backing dancer they seemed to have it made. The crowd was clapping, dancing, whooping and whistling and there were even a few camera phones being pointed in their direction! They have some really distinctive songs that help to keep them apart from the ‘NU-METAL’ stereotype. All in all, seeing LAETO is a great way to kick off the dreary work week and remind you that the weekend is never too far away.

Reviewed by Katey J

Laeto are:

Fraser - Guitar and Vocals
Robbie - Drums
Andrew - Guitar
Kevin - Bass

Damien Rice - Cannonball

I know it's old hat, and the Radio 2 approval rating is through the roof, but I did want to point out how utterly beguiling this acoustic semi-lament is. With a voice that's always on the edge of breaking down, a melody that lingers, and an understated nod to Marvin Gaye, this is one of the songs of the summer.

Sonus Umbra - Spiritual Vertigo

I've never heard the previous Sonus Umbra's releases 'Laughter In The Dark' or 'Snapshots From Limbo', so I'm coming to this fresh, with no preconceptions. And I like what I hear. Modern prog, done the good way, looking forward without being totally in thrall to the past, as so many artists are. A combination of seventies prog, eighties metal guitars, with a hint of symphonic prog for good measure. A harder rocking Pink Floyd, if you will.

Something else they've borrowed from the modern metallic world are the twin vocals of Andres Aullet and Lisa Francis; one husky, rough and sometimes harsh, the other polished and sweetly angelic. You can guess which is which! From the sleeve notes it appears that Lisa is merely a special guest, but if I were them I'd snaffle her up pronto as the twin vocals are a treat.

Highlights - 'Fools Arcadia', one of many politically aware numbers here, drifts along on a beautiful acoustic motif and a bubbling bass line. 'Self Erosion' would be the "hit single" in a just world, and if it were remixed and marketed to the nu-goth market, could still be. 'Timequake' has some incredible melodies and 'Rust In My Sleep' shows off Ms Francis' vocals to fine effect, something they should investigate further. The closing eleven minutes of 'Snakes & Ladders' stands in contrast to the bleakness demonstrated elsewhere on the album, musically, if not lyrically.

This is an excellent release and comes highly recommended with the powering drive of 'Rust In My Sleep' coming a close second to 'Fools Arcadia' in the best overall moment category. If you head off to their website you can download 'Bone Machines' as an MP3 to let you have a sample of where they're from.

Acoustic Love Experience - Painted Pony

This one seemed to vanish without a trace, which is odd considering the sheer of amont of keech that clogs up the UK charts. Not really my cup of tea, but 3 attractive young ladies, a repetitive but insistent chorus, some bongoes and a tambourine. Not sure how it slipped through the net, but there is a hint of Siobhan Donaghy about the vocals which makes me a happy man. Oh, and they're Scottish.

"At home, I always used to listen to my Dad's records - like Crosby, Stills and Nash - West Coast sounds. My favourite two albums when I was growing up were Joni Mitchell's 'Blue' and Neil Young's 'Harvest'," says Kirsty. Good enough for me.