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Welcome to our vast round-up of all the stuff we
never got around to reviewing in 2004 because we could not find
anything clever to say about them at the time. *
*this is not a guarantee of cleverness in the following
reviews
(The Real) Tuesday Weld ‘I Lucifer’
(Pias)
An ambitious burlesque piece of musical theatre from songwriter
Stephen Coates. The atmospheric and sleazy late night tone is punctuated
by rag-time jazz, dishevelled lounge and unkempt indie, that suits
it’s East London setting. Also features the juddering wibbles
of the excellent single ‘Bathtime in Clerkenwell’.
Ammoncontact ‘One in an Infinity of
Ways’ (Ninja Tune)
Are Ninja Tune losing their nerve? The debut album from their new
signing US duo Ammoncontact is a familiar type of laid-back, downtempo
wibbly hip-hop you associate with the label, though there’s
a distinct lack of excitement or adventure. Disappointing.
Black Moth Super Rainbow ‘Start a
People’ (Graveface Records)
If you like Boards of Canada then this charming American band could
be your thing. Weird yet soothing electronica is the focus though
there’s more of a pop bent going on here and a lot less of
BoC’s strange interludes and musings. Check out their website
www.blackmothsuperrainbow.com.
The Streets ‘A Grand Don’t Come
For Free’
Straight up, Mike Skinner is a genius, one of the finest talents
in the country and here he ingeniously uses a concept album to prove
it to the mainstream. His mundanely epic tale of money, drugs, love
and lager is full of fun and beauty, and the single ‘Dry Your
Eyes’ is poetry for the masses. Yet for all it’s brilliance,
it’s essentially a musical. The overall engrossing nature
of the story means it’s not a record you throw on just to
listen to something so it ends up sitting on your shelf. Has Skinner
created the musical equivalent of Ulysses?
The Citadels ‘Let Go Holding On’
www.thecitadels.net
Cork five-piece release an album of delicate and sweet guitar pop,
occasionally layered with jazzy organ lines. It’s all wholesome
family entertainment rather like The Beautiful South (though I mean
that in a nice way) with the exception of the inventive and menacing
‘Lazarus Rise’, the best track here. Lovely artwork
as well.
The Rubens ‘Esmerelda’ (Spaceboy Records
www.spaceboyrecords.com)
If you’re looking for the Irish Maroon 5 then look no further
than The Rubens. Actually they’re better than that. A neat
funk breakdown and fine horn playing saves ‘And We Danced’
from being cheesy MOR rock and Judy McGrath’s voice adds a
different slant on the country-tinged ‘In the Night Time’.
But this EP is a little to syrupy for my cold heart.
Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies ‘Hurrah
Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; the
Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness’
(Fierce Panda)
Incredibly dense music from a band who like nothing more than matching
long titles with long songs. This 30 min plus EP features only four
tracks, each an epic of lo-fi bass and guitars battling it out amongst
blaring saxophones and savage vocals . But underneath the dense
layer of five minute heavy metal breakdowns lie beautiful, well-crafted
songs. You have to look for them but that’s the enjoyable
part.
The Secret Method
I don’t know much about this EP except The Secret Method are
obviously Blue Album Beatles aficionados. ‘Lavendar’
is pure psychedelic meanderings while ‘Soul Soul Blues’
is a simple piano track in the Macartney mould and there’s
even some boogie-woogie thrown in for good measure. It’s good
but they lack the dry humour of similar bands like Simian.
Boca 45 ‘Pitch Sounds’ (Grand
Central)
Boca 45 is a Bristol-based producer but he doesn’t follow
the trademark heavy dub sound of his city. His music is more in
tune with the sunnier soul vibes emanating from rainy Manchester’s
Grand Central crew. ‘Pitch Sounds’ ranges from joyous
Northern Soul to lo-fi Latin funk with a bit of UK hip-hop added
to the mix. Don’t worry about the football references, this
isn’t terrace chanting, this is soul.
Karl Vincent ‘Lovers & Liars’
(www.k2sounds.com)
Dublin-based songwriter Karl Vincent has one of those sandpaper
rough voices like that guy out of Stereophonics that’s initially
impressive but if you’re not careful ends up making you sound
like Bryan Adams. This EP contains four simple acoustic songs backing
his rasping lyrics of love, loss and lying. Solid if unspectacular.
Cartwheel ‘Man In Love With Machine’
(Valentine)
Australian duo Cartwheel make spacey electronic pop that keeps its
feet firmly on terra firma. It’s like Stereolab taken from
their retro-lounge space rocket and made to work in IT. At times
the production can be too clinical but when they maintain their
dreamy gaze starward the results are lovely.
The Faint ‘Wet From Birth’ (Saddle
Creek)
Having spent the last number of years upstaging whomever invited
them on tour as support, The Faint return with their follow up to
the excellent ‘Dance Macabre’. ‘Wet from Birth’
isn’t as dark or malevolent as that nightmare record but it’s
hardly sunshine and sangria. Distorted vocals, uneasy synths and
pounding beats create a disturbing atmosphere for the lyrical revelations
of greed, corruption and desire. The new, urgent Depeche Mode.
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