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| Thank
god this is a return to a lighter, trancier sound for the Chemsters
after the stocky beats on digyerownhole and the 80s synths on
whateverthelastalbumwascalled. The lyrics say all that they need to
"You should feel what I feel, you should take what I
take", all accompanied by an astro gliding guitar that makes
you reach for the sky. Top notch. |
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| My
flirtation with hip hop -- albeit of the most commercial variety --
continues with the several month old blinder of a track which
magically blends the Foreigner tune with the usual hip hop 'tude. |
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| Syrupy
ballad about nothing at all, but another strong tune and a fond
farewell for the boy band who gave us the hit of the year,
"Let's Dance". |
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| Never
really listened to any of his stuff until a confluence of positive
reviews about his latest album, Goddess in a Doorway. This is
profoundly unoriginal early 1970s Stones stuff, shorn of the Keef
guitar but melodious in the spirit of Goats Head Soup tracks. |
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| Misogynist
at first sight, this is really an amusing piss-take of stereotypes.
A Diana Ross-style "oh baby" crooning in the background,
the rhythm Classic. |
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| What
have I been doing that I can have missed this spidery, shimmering
single? A piano lick that Coldplay would eat their underpants for
combines with a falsetto for a Radiohead night in. A melody more
complex and melancholic I don't remember (but then I am an
amnesiac). |
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| Something
to do while we're awaiting the next Doves album, perhaps. Profoundly
unoriginal but a decent enough stab at the
sensitivewhiteboyguitarmusic. |
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| Also
following the formula to the T, Lange & Warp Brothers get the
trance / hard house cookie cutting awards of the week. Who cares,
when they'll shake you onto the floor in a nanosecond? |
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| Bizarre.
Barmy. Brilliant. "I've got an extra testicle, but you
skeptical about spectacle, these days bad taste is so delectable,
and the crowd is so suggestible". Sounds faintly Gorillaz-like
in its bouncy beats. |
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| A
Dark Star
style comedy-drama fanfare introduces an equally epoch-defining moment in hip hop
(OK, enough with the hyperbole). But this ain't no lo-fi concoction,
its production invokes a series of quasi-drum/bass jazzy sound and
beats, before the 50s sci-fi chorus antics. Lyrically, it's
the usual "I'm the best chap in the world so you'd jolly well
better look out". The predictable sluice of swearing is
immediately unleashed "B*tch, motherf****, ho, n*gga". But
I defy you not to be overawed by the sheer force of the bloke. Get
out the way, this geezer's gonna rock your day. |
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| Eminem
lives on? I'm not sure if this is Em's uncle/checkout girl/protege,
but the style is unforgettable. But Bubba isn't making fight music,
he's much more sampley & Dancey than the Emster, not quite as
much lyric spitting. Still, if you're going to rip off a track what
better than 'get your freak on'? |
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| The
vocals may reek of Mick Hucknall, and the percussion leans even more
heavily on Simply Red's Brasilian Carnival ode, Fairground. But
those are not necessarily bad, as a simple keyboard riff lifts the
track into the trance zone. Very much hope to hear this as a
misty-eyed end to the evening. |
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| A
Travis-style jangly guitar lick ("I'm sad sad sad",
perhaps she should "sing sing sing"?) sweeps through the
usual Lisa Loeb-style whingeing (the poor nymphette is
"small alone & scared, craving beauty"). Everything's
bad but great, she's weak but she's strong etc. Indie Alanis it may
be, but in the absence of any female poprock birds this week it
seems to pop its head out & clamour for a feeding. |
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| Heavy
bass line marches forwards to herald the return of the Van, a
returning conqueror hoisted on the shoulders of his club subjects.
And on its wings (eh? marching with wings?) comes a scratched guitar
loop, twisting quickly enough to make you feel as though you've been
whirled around in a high speed tumble drier for twenty minutes. The
pitch on the machine-distorted vocals is too high for the chorus,
pushing the cheese level to 'fondue'. |
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| Thud-thud-thud
is accompanied by Startrek high pitched choir noises & violins
to resuscitate yet another ancient INXS track. Simple but probably a
good first-track-of-the-night, while you're waiting for that Red
Bull to Kick (geddit?) in. |
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| A
lovely little piano accompanies this talented songstress, very much
in the mould of "Stop" by Sam Brown waybackwhen. I still
seem unable to adore this type of music, but I'll keep trying |
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| The
Sex Pistols would be dribbling onto their beer guts to hear this
slice of retro high-fueled guitar, even if it doesn't match the
melody of Rotten et al. A pleasant, if unchallenging, diversion in
old fashioned noise. Maybe I just feel guilty 'cos when they were
supporting the Strokes we were out in the bar being fed free drinks
after failing to scalp our extra tix. |
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| That
space invader backdrop -- the urgency of the spaceship's imminent
departure -- nearly serves to elevate this RnB track beyond its
blandness. But not quite, it just doesn't go enough places
musically, and is too downbeat. Basically a lyrical update on Eddie
Cochran's "Summertime Blues", so maybe that was the point. |
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| Not
exactly a fan of Nu metal. That 'It's Been A While' single bores the
pants off me. But I'm hoping that Staind turn out to be the
Scorpions of the NM breed. As the title suggests, this is
bi-directional/shouty rap melody that seems to smell a bit of the
Bare Naked Ladies' '1 Week'. One suspects that this is the single
Metallica/Axl Rose would have paid Napster to put out, but that
Queen would have nicked it off them en route to the recording
studio. Brian May for Tory leader? |
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| A
coincidence I'm sure, but this is also a bit of a corker. Just a
jangly pop tune with a big chorus driven by a decent vocalist. Look
out for the Atomic Kitten version in a year or two. |
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| Rearrange
the following: hit one wonder. Old-skool Gallic muzak, made for
playing in a French club with glitter on every wall, tinsel hanging
from the ceiling & some 40 year old suited geezer in the corner
with a couple of putane. I heard this compared to the genius that is
the Avalanches -- absolute scrobbins. Plastique Bertie would be
shimmering in his velvet suit. |
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| Now
then, if it's retro you're after, why not head back to
nineteen-eighty-something with this big-hair-inspired, lazer-guitar
driven 'party' track. Check out the Def Leppard rhythms & daft
lyrics, as they free you from the faux Nu Metal angst. You'll love
it for, erm, 1 wk and never want to hear it again. Too late. |
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| Well
well well, if it isn't the long-awaited return of Pulp. I've seen
them slated for their last album and I'm not HP about it. Dark, yes,
but a little less pedestrian, I felt, than the Common People album.
Anyway, this song is pretty much a representatin of that path. Sure,
the references to curtains and being "bloody pathetic" are
there, but the 3 minutes of choir-assisted crescendo ending with Layla-esque
calm before the final storm. Make no mistake -- their Stairway to Heaven, albeit a
heaven ridden with self-doubt. Fantabulous. |
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