Album round-up featuring Bigg Jus, Sonic Youth, Lamb’s Back to Mine and Wagon Christ.

Bigg Jus ‘Black Mamba Serums v2.0’ (Big Dada)
Former member of underground hip-hop heroes Company Flow, Bigg Jus finally releases his long-awaited ‘Black Mamba Serums’ album. Originally conceived in the early part of the millennium as a blistering critique of hip-hop, Sep 11 forced Jus to reconsider his approach. Now he’s even angrier as the Bush government joins the bling-bling purveyors of rap as the subjects of his wrath. ‘Silver Back Mountain King’ accuses the president of blocking investigations into the events of Sep 11 and rants about how “American uses depleted uranium tipped weapons”. He pulls no punches with the music either. ‘Black Mamba Serums’ is a dark and fractured record, at times more akin to the glitchy electronica of Squarepusher than any of his hip-hop contemporaries. There are also some nods to Gang Starr’s jazz-infused style and the cinematic turns of Wu Tang Clan, without ever being as approachable or humourous as either. A difficult record, and while it’s not entirely unrewarding, it’s not that enjoyable either.
words: Colm Larkin

Sonic Youth ‘Sonic Nurse’ (Geffen)
New York five-piece Sonic Youth have been on the go so long their title is now somewhat of a misnomer. The granddaddies of the US indie scene, few bands have wielded as much influence and yet managed to remain oddly grounded. The new album covers fairly familiar ground, with husband and wife team Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon sharing vocals. A little of the rage of past albums has abated, though Kim's croaky vocals still swerve from sounding like demented crack victim to sussed older sister. Standout tracks on ‘Sonic Nurse’ include ‘Pattern Recognition’, ‘New Hampshire’ and the eerie ‘I Love You Golden Blue’.

There's the usual mix of discordant feedback mixed with oddly harmonious melodies but the album lacks a moment of true brilliance such as past efforts ‘Little Trouble Girl’ or ‘Bull in the Heather’. Regardless, Sonic Youth manage to effortlessly produce music that holds a higher interest factor than that churned out by many of the young pretenders to their crown.
words: Niamh Murray

Various ‘Back to Mine –compiled by Lamb’ (DMC)
The Back to Mine compilation series appears to have taken the original BBC director-general Lord Reith’s famous “educate and entertain” mandate to heart. The latest in the series sees Lamb’s Andy Barlow compile his personal selection of music for “after-hours grooving”. Once again it proves to be an effortlessly eclectic mix that can open up whole new areas of music for the average listener. The blues is a key theme of the record with Martina Topley-Bird’s ‘Intro’ and Dr. John’s ‘I Walk on Guilded Splinter’ among the highlights. Nina Simone is given a funky twist by Masters at Work on ‘See-Line Woman’, while Melaaz provide a French flavour to their cover of Dawn Penn’s classic ‘No No No’. You can spot Lamb’s more diverse influences in African Headcharge’s dub vibes and the Arabic downtempo of Omar Faruk Tekbilek. And just to prove it’s not all worthy world music Barlow throws in some filthy electro ragga and hardcore drum’n’bass as well. Another essential addition to the superior Back to Mine series.
words: Colm Larkin

Wagon Christ ‘Sorry I Make You Lush’ (Ninja Tune)
Top producer Luke Vibert has appeared on more labels than Paul Newman’s face. His various releases on such labels as Warp, Rephlex and Mo’Wax highlights the diversity of his sound which can range from drum’n’bass to hip-hop. When he records as Wagon Christ it’s for the Ninja Tune label where things are jazzier, and this is certainly true of this latest release. In fact ‘Sorry I Make You Lush’ bears many resemblances to Ninja label mate Mr Scruff. The laidback breaks, upbeat melodies and squelchy electro of ‘The Funnies’ and ‘Kwikwidetrax’ sound like outtakes from Scruff’s most recent album, ‘Trouser Jazz’, while elsewhere there’s frothy funk and sub-Bent vocal chill-out tracks. It’s all very cute and well-formed but rarely rises above the mediocre.

words: Colm Larkin

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