Foxy Music
Album titles, Jeff Buckley and The Black Velvet Band are all part of an eventful conversation with Kieran Kennedy. "Foxymoron means me really," Kieran admits. "It is I suppose for anyone who is made up of more than one side or doesn't really know themselves. The word foxy means sly or cunning and the word moron........well that's self explanatory!"

Calling something reflective can often be mis- leading, but in part it describes some of the tones on the 36 year old's current album 'Foxymoron'. It's also a mature record in relation to the attitude which is imprinted throughout. Never one adverse to doing things differently, ‘Foxy-moron’ marks another twist in the ever-changing career of Kieran Kennedy.

"The last album 'Pagan Irish' was a tangent really, it wasn't really where I was coming from. I mean there was a lot of traditional Irish music on that record coming from Donal (Lunny, it's producer) which I love, but it's not really my roots, my roots are in blues and rock 'n' roll. This record is like a return to form, waking up and smelling the roses.

"Normally when I make a record I would go in, record the songs, put a cover on it and out it goes. That didn't happen this time, I made this album around five times, in five different ways. I thought about everything including the cover."

One of the most noticeable of these thoughts is a tribute to the late Jeff Buckley on the album's sleeve notes.

"I just thought it was so voodoo-like that he and his father (Tim Buckley) died around the same age. He had the voice of an angel, he had grace in everything that he did, he had swagger and he had an amazing band. He had these huge, enormous, crashing songs. .....amazing."

Of the four albums that Kieran has released (both solo and with The Black Velvet Band), this current collection is by far his most accomplished and may well give him that elusive international breakthrough.

"The Black Velvet Band never solidified into a proper unit, people were always coming and going" he concludes. "But finally I have that now."

Recommended
Cornershop 'When I was born for the 7th Time' (Wiiija)
Shane McGowan & The Popes 'The Crock of Gold' (ZTT)
The Verve 'Urban Hymns' (Hut)
'Tibetan Freedom Concert' Various (Grand Royal/Capitol)
Yo Yo Blue 'Shotans Engine' (Chromatone)
Aslan ‘Here Comes Lucy Jones’ (Solid)
L 'Fire in a Dream Cage' (Hue)
Tanya Donnelly 'The Bright Light' (4AD)
U2 'If God will send his Angel' (Island)
Belle & Sebastian '3..6..9 Seconds of Light' (Jeepster)

Beyond Heaven's Wall The past few years have proven to be something of a rollercoaster ride for The Devlins. between touring their debut album 'Drift' and recording it's aptly-titled follow-up 'Waiting', the essence of time is something that they've come to understand. The current opus was recorded last year, but was only released in October following contractual difficulties and an eventual change of record company.

'Waiting' suffers from none of the half-baked ideas that can often creep onto that sometimes difficult second album. In fact it shows that the band have shed many layer, making a record that Hot Press describe as "a gem, as rich and warm as a log-fire in winter." Colin Devlin settles for a more modest appraisal.

"It's a very live record" he enthuses. "It's really just the band playing. On the last record there was a lot of drum machines and keyboards, but this is very organic and stripped down. I think it's a real challenge to not use a lot of drum machines and still make a record sound up to date.

"We recorded it in Montreal over a period of around six months" Devlin continues. "Well, actually it took around four months to record and another two to mix. It was great because it was twenty degrees below, so all you could do was either record or snow board. So we got to learn how to snow board and make a great record!"

At present The Devlins can be found selling out 2 to 3,000 capacity venues on their North American and Canadian tour. This success stems from the advert-like reviews which 'Waiting' has been picking up and the critical acclaim that surrounded 'Drift'. This popularity however hasn't yet spilt over on this side of the Atlantic.

"I think in time that people will get to hear of the band and we'll get bigger here. It's important for us to be successful at home and we will be. We've built up a good base and the new record will pick up a lot of airplay like the last one and people will realize we're not a one album wonder.

"We've seen friends of ours get huge in Ireland and nowhere else and you see that happening time and time again. That was the main reason that we went to the States and got signed there. Unfortunately the way things are, it's so much easier to be successful in America and then come home and be successful here. With that there's a willingness from people to play your records on the radio and stock your records, but that's just the reality of the situation."

Is there any pressure on the band to sell a lot of records seeing as 'Drift' did so well?
"If thats a pressure it's a great pressure. Thats never been a concern of mine, we just make the records and hope that people like them. I don't worry about 'oh I have to sell this amount of records', because if you start doing that it shows. And then it's like 'what are you?' 'What are you trying to achieve?'"

These sentiments are imprinted on the new album which takes in the sparseness of a Canadian winter and the warmth and passion of a band who've progressed since their impressive debut.

"There are so many bands who are trying to be relevant and they completely lose the plot. It's like 'quick, we've got to use the latest drum machine sound', but someone who's doing it naturally has already done it a year before. You've just got to do what you think you're good at yourself."

Never one's to over-indulge o the live circuit at home, The Devlins make a long-overdue appearance at The Red Box on the 19th of this month. This is part of a short Irish tour which precedes another marathon-length Stateside campaign.


The Jukebox Review Albums
Christmas may be the season to be jolly......., but where releases are concerned it's the season of the Best of... compilations. Five can be accounted for here, 'The Best of Morrissey/ Suedehead' (EMI), Billy Joel's 'Greatest Hits Volume III' (Columbia), 'So Far...The Best of Sinead O'Connor' (Chrysalis), 'Death to The Pixies' (4AD) and 'A-Sides' (A&M) from Sound garden. The latter two are from two of the most dearly missed and interesting bands of the last two decades. 'Death to...' includes gems like 'Planet of Sound', 'Dig for Fire' and 'Here comes your man'. While 'A-Sides' boasts the downbeat wizardry of 'Pretty Noose', 'Black Hole Sun' and others.

The film might have received mixed reaction, but there is no question over the soundtrack's class. 'A Life Less Ordinary' (A&M) features contributions from Beck, Luscious Jackson, Folk Implosion, along with that damn good single from Ash, which is coincidentally called 'A Life Less Ordinary'. 'Judas Steer' (Blunt/Independent) from The Great Western Squares is a little harder to sum up. "Red, raw and rootsy" is one way which it's been described. A cover of Motorhead's 'Ace of Spades' adds a not-too-serious tone to an album that temporarily is reduced to a canter by the odd dull track, but soon returns to a gallop.

By now The Rolling Stones have heard and done it all. OK, so they might look a little on the mature side, but 'Bridges to Babylon' (Virgin) proves that their musical senses are still intact. This record has what every other great Stones album has, great Rock 'n' Roll songs. Compare it to anything by Ocean Colour Scene or The Seahorses and it sounds decidedly fresh.

A seventies soundtrack crossed with a distinctive country flavour meets a seedy New York club and bares 'Exile on Coldharbour Lane' (Elemental) from Alabama 3. A strange yet irrevently catchy one, but is it supposed to skip on track 11 or is it my stereo? There's always one bizarre one isn't there? This time the prize goes to Harmony Rockets for their 41 minute, 40 second, one track thingy called 'Paralyzed Mind of the Archangel Void' (Bigcat). In fact bizarre only goes so far in describing it, paralyzed mind indeed!

After a brief flirtation with Punk/Rock or what ever it was, Moby returns to his dance roots with 'I Like to Score' (Mute). It still has some rock tendencies, but Moby sounds more at ease here than on 'Animal Rights'. Choice tracks include 'Oil 1', 'First Cool Hive' and the current single 'James Bond Theme (Moby's re-version)'. Staying with 007, David Arnold has his own Bond adventure on 'Shaken and Stirred - The David Arnold James Bond Project' (EastWest). Arnold is joined by Iggy Pop, Leftfield, Aimee Mann, David McAlmont and others, giving some of the classic Bond themes a tasteful face-lift.

I'm suspicious of B-Side compilations for a number of reasons. One being, they're generally released in a blatant 'don't forget about us' plea. If this is the case with Suede's 'Sci-Fi Lullibies' (Nude), it has worked perfectly. This brings together 27 of the band's lesser known tracks from their formation, right up to last year's 'Coming Up' album. If a band can be judged by their flip-sides, then Suede fair very well. Grandaddy are a five piece from California who bring to the fore their slacker rock tendencies on 'Under the Western Freeway' (Bigcat). It bursts into life on track 2 'A.M. 180', an infectious pop tune which should surely mark their upward spiral.

The Sundays have always lived by their own rules, releasing their debut album back in '89, then its follow-up in 1992. Now in 1997 they get around to their third 'Static & Silence' (Parlophone). It doesn't differ too much from that laid back inimitable Sundays sound, but for good reason, it works. The final subject on the long player front is Finlay Quaye and his 'Maverick A Strike' Lp (Epic). Having seemingly sprung from nowhere, Quaye puts together an interesting and innovative record with little that can be faulted. It's simple but not simplistic, but more importantly it's enjoyable.


Singles
On the evidence provided Blueseed know how to pen a good song. 'The Only Ones' (Ultimate) is a high powered garage rock tune which succeeds on all levels. But mentioning vocalist Howie Payne in the same sentence as Tim Buckley on the accompanying press release is a little over the top. Guy Chadwick, formally of The House of Love has always seemed to be a bit of a tortured soul. On 'This Strength' (Setanta) his debut solo single, he seems to have made peace with himself. A well paced and catchy number taken from his forthcoming album 'Lazy, Soft & Slow'.

It all seems to have gone a bit pair-shaped for Jo Collins on her single 'I Know You' (Ainm). The problem here is that it just doesn't lift off at all and ends up being so middle of the road that it's likely to cause an accident! Yet another debut single comes from Tin Star. 'Disconnected Child' (V2) is an unaccustomed beauty, full of energy, vigour and a touch of finesse to keep the balance right.

You don't need energy if you're Jubilee Allstars. 'Keep on Chewin' (Lakota), their third EP this year oozes class. Marvellous, melloncholic and much, much more. Cousin Bill are a classic example of a band entering the recording studio a little prematurely. Their current single 'The House that Hate Built' (Bill) will do them no favours. There's a catchy tune there but it's butchered by poor studio work and what sounds like a lack of time.

Sunny Sunday afternoons spring to mind when listening to 'Laura Loves' (Schism) from Asterix. A big improvement from '95's 'Live the Life' and definitely worth a listen. Anyway we need all the warmth we can get these days, don't we?

The Full
Monty! Naked can look back on this year with a sense of satisfaction. For it is in these twelve months that they've transformed themselves from what seems like nothingness into one of the country's more exciting acts. They consolidated this last month with their well received debut single 'I Refuse'.

The 'sprung from nowhere' line doesn't really fit here. Naked (Alan Leamy and vocalist Taragh) have been around in one form or another for almost five years. An apprenticeship touring with Aslan helped them in becoming a more recognisable name.
One of the most admirable things about them is that they don't seem to go to any particular formula. Their diversity is captured well on the single and will no doubt be a effective asset in their quest in becoming something a little larger.

Music News
Lir have much cause for celebration following their inclusion on the soundtrack to 'I Went Down'. Their single 'There are more Things' has received quite a bit of airplay and sales are said to be extremely healthy. The single is due out in the UK in January preceding the film's release.

The impossibly good Plague Monkeys are to release their debut album next month. 'Surface Tension' is the working title, "that's the favourite at the moment" explains vocalist Carol Keogh. "The 'Navagator' EP has four songs of a specific nature, but they wouldn't necessarily be representative of everything we do. The album should be finished by Christmas, so that should be more representative."

After parting with their record label last May, Kerbdog have decided to split. All is not lost though, Cormac and Daragh have teamed up with a new bassist and have put together a batch of songs for the new band. A spokesperson for them added "it's a new beginning not an obituary."