Someone
said recently that CD manufacturers should impose a quality control on
the CDs that they press. It’s nothing to do with the technical quality
of CDs these days, more what’s being programmed onto them!
This isn’t one of those typical rants about modern music, more an observation of some of the absolute crap that’s being passed off as acceptable. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the decent stuff.
The band formerly known as Empire have returned under a new guise - The Radio. What’s better is they’ve brought a new album with them. ‘Kindness’ (Reekus) reveals its power and depth from the first time you hit play. Featuring tracks such as ‘Empire’, ‘Promenade Star’, and the single ‘Remember Me Remember You’; you’d be crazy not to want to listen to The Radio.
One of the biggest problems for acts these days is hype. It starts off as a positive but inevitably turns into a negative– Oasis, Travis, and countless others have experienced both sides of hype’s blade.
Razorlight are the media’s
latest darlings. Their debut album ‘Up All Night’ (Mercury)
is a potent batch of guitar pop/rock. Maybe it’s cynicism, but you
can almost sense the calm before the storm.
There was a lot of fuss made over Albert Niland’s version of ‘Wuthering
Heights’, why is the question? Niland’s latest album ‘Downtown
Exit’ (AN) is a perfect exercise in how to take absolutely no risks,
and in the process make a record that is so middle-of-the-road that it’s
likely to cause an accident! ‘Downtown Exit’ brings back the
chill that engulfed Irish music for a number of years back in the early
to mid 90s.
While we’re on the subject of Irish music (and the 90s), former Mexican Pets frontman Pat Clafferty has returned with his debut album after what seems like decades. ‘A Prayer To St. Jude’ (Purdy) is quite a surprise - gone is Clafferty’s trademark snarl, and in its place a sweet heartfelt voice. The pick of the ten songs is the beautiful ‘Don’t Hurt Butterflies’.
‘No Roots’ (BMG) from Faithless offers no huge surprises, yet it doesn’t disappoint either. Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss, and friends serve up a delicious blend of ambient attitude, which is kicked into gear by the lead single ‘Mass Destruction’.
My Chemical Romance state their intent firmly with ‘I Bought You My Bullets, You Bought Me Your Love’ (Eyeball/Polydor). It’s frantic and powerful from the start to the finish. They’ve even got time for some humour along the way with ‘Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough For The Two Of Us’. The only hitch here is, My Chemical Romance could find themselves washed away with this wave of rock bands, as there isn’t quite enough here to distinguish them from acts like Hell Is For Heroes and Billy Talent.
If you’re a Thin Lizzy fanatic, the latest ‘Greatest Hits’ (Universal) package will be a certain purchase. The two-disc set includes just about everything you could hope for, along with previously unreleased live versions of ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ and ‘Cowboy Song’.
IN BRIEF:
Dubliner Steve Fanagan proves that his prolific musical output isn’t
slowing down. Northstation is his latest project, and ‘Bears’
(Compactrisc) is a sublime created for late night consumption.
Jesse Malin’s latest album hasn’t received the fanfare that
his debut was showered with. ‘The Heat’ (One Little Indian)
is a nice record– the only remarkable thing about it is it manages
to slip by without anything outstanding sticking with you.
Irish noise minimalists
The Last Sound will be quietly celebrating the release of ‘Skids’
(Sinkorswim). The 11 tracks hover somewhere between Future Sound Of London
and the outer limits.
Another lo-fidelity collection worth investing in is ‘If Just Today
Were To Be My entire Life’ (Talitres) from Tex La Homa. Mixing lush
vocals and beautifully layered beats and melodies– this is a truly
special record.
Finally, BJ Cole
has enlisted some serious talent on his latest outing. ‘Trouble
In Paradise’ (Cooking Vinyl) features Groove Armada, Luke Vibert,
Alabama 3, and other guests– the only trouble here is picking which
track to play!
ESSENTIAL LISTENING
Orbital
‘Blue Album’ (Orbital)
They may have said their farewells at the Oxegen festival last month,
but what a wonderful album they’ve signed off with. The ‘Blue
Album’ isn’t the big fanfare record that many acts would have
delivered; it’s simply the final piece in the history of an important
and engaging duo.
www.loopz.co.uk
Republic
Of Loose ‘This Is The Tomb Of The Juice’ (Big Cat)
Let’s not stray from the facts - you either love them or hate them.
Having been critical of the band in the past, ‘This Is The Tomb
Of The Juice’ has proven the point once and for all; Republic Of
Loose are a seriously potent force - this could be one of the year’s
strongest debut albums.
www.republicofloose.com
The
Siam Collective ‘My House On Neptune’ (Siam Collective)
The genre-jumping, weirdly wonderful Waterford band have struck gold with
‘My House On Neptune’. Recorded well over a year ago, it’s
amazing that more people haven’t picked up on this excellent self-released
gem. Think Jon Spencer Blues Explosion meets Jimi Tenor meets Beck.
Charlotte
Hatherley ‘Grey Will Fade’ (Double Dragon)
Ash’s Charlotte Hatherley has found time to record her debut solo
record amidst her band’s relentless touring schedule. Hatherley
certainly has her own voice, and is skilled in penning catchy tunes. It’s
unlikely that she’ll embark on a fulltime solo outing just yet,
but when she does, things sound promising.
www.charlottehatherley.com
SPINAL CRAP OR HAIR BAND HEROES?
Break
out your jump-suits and sweatbands; stadium rock, air guitar rock (or
whatever you want to call it) has reared its blow-dried head once again!
It’s official– Stadium Rock is no longer a term of abuse. With the arrival of acts like The Darkness and Young Heart Attack, spandex, screeching guitar solos and theatrical posturing are once again welcome with open arms.
Since the early 90s, and the arrival of acts like Nirvana and Alice In Chains, the outlook for the once untouchable rock stars (Motley Crue, Poison, Skid Row, etc) seemed to dim quicker than a firework falling out of the sky. The fickle hands that had once applauded these make-up/jump-suit clad artists, were the ones that promptly gave them the two-fingered salute!
In fairness, the popularity of Rock/Metal’s Glam side never fully diminished, especially in the US where many offshoot acts prospered at a smaller level. However, as with fashion, Glam Rock’s revival seemed to catch on as quickly as its initial explosion. It would be wrong to say that the arrival of ‘Permission To Land’ by The Darkness was the key factor, although it did have a significant impact on younger music fans.
If you have time to search the Internet, you’ll even find studies that various individuals have written up about Glam Rock’s sudden revival. Some have put it down to the lack of innovative new music about, but this can hardly be the case– would you really reach for your old Van Halen or Bon Jovi records if you were looking for something new and inspiring?
While The Darkness have replicated what groups like Def Leppard and ZZ Top did in decades past, Hayseed Dixie have brought their own take on Glam Rock’s songbook. Their album ‘Let Their Be Rockgrass’ is one of the funniest records you’ll hear.
Hayseed Dixie describe themselves as ‘a Hillbilly Tribute To AC/DC’. It’s not just AC/DC songs that get the Bluegrass treatment– Kiss’ ‘Detroit Rock City’ gets a once over, as does Motorhead’s ‘Ace Of Spades’ and ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ by The Darkness!
If an endorsement was needed, it came earlier this year when AC/DC stumbled across ‘Let There Be Rockgrass’, and invited the band to play at their tour-wrap party. The Hayseed boys were even joined onstage by AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams for a rendition of ‘Have a Drink On Me’!
With music and fashion being so fickle, it’s conceivable that Glam Rock and all of its peculiar offshoots could be back locked in bargain bins in twelve months time. For now though, it’s fun listening to the tunes in all their inflated and often ridiculous glory.
News •
News • News • News • News • News • News
• News • News •
The Verve are finally going to be given the Best Of treatment later this year. Although the band split up more than five years ago, tracks from their 1997 album ‘Urban Hymns’ have remained hugely popular. The compilation will include tracks from the band’s three studio albums, and will appear in time for Christmas.
God Is An Astronaut are back in studio working on their second album. The Bray-based act, who were one of the highlights of last month’s Oxegen festival, are expected to release a new single in September.
Former Crocketts vocalist Davey MacManus has formed a new band called The Crimea. MacManus and his new cohorts have completed their debut album, which has a working title of ‘Tragedy Rocks’. Track titles include ‘Lottery Winners On Acid’, ‘Bad Vibrations’, and ‘The Miserabillist Tango’. You can find out more by accessing www.thecrimea.net.
If you’re still
hungry for music festivals, then take note of The Boutique Music Festival.
The Boutique Music Festival takes place on September 4th at Stradbally
Hall (50 minutes from Dublin). The line-up includes Super Furry Animals,
Groove Armada, David Kitt, Grandmaster Flash, along with comedians like
Tommy Tiernan, the Apres Match guys, Des Bishop, and Colin Murray (of
The Blizzard Of Odd).
Lastly, if you didn’t manage to catch her performance at Oxegen,
PJ Harvey will play two headline dates at The Olympia on August 31 and
September 1. Missing her this time will be deemed inexcusable!