NO PICTURES 6 ALBUM REVIEWS

RECORD REVIEWS, EVERYBODY


Sweet 75 - Sweet 75 (Geffen)
I understand that it is acceptable to say this is shit because it doesn't sound like Nirvana. People like Mark Beaumont are arseholes anyway. Tis a slight drag to find out that Chris doesn't sing at any point. Recalling his efforts on The End and Do You Love Me, some more of that would have been cool. At this point I say Yva Las Vegas' voice is great. Opener Fetch is wunderbra. Strings are used to perfection and Yva's voice carries me away. From here I start humming Misty Mountain Hop and I'm smiling for 30 minutes. Lay Me Down reminds me of Alice In Chains' Sap/Jar Of Flies era. Bite My Hand keeps the standard high switching from a pleasant swirling riff to minor Fugazi/Sonic Youth noodling to hot latin stuff and back again. Red Dress however is the first questionable track of which there are a couple. La Vida is full on latino stuff and is surprising refreshing unlike Cantos Di Pilon that comes later. Take Another Stab is I guess how good Alanis fans believe Alanis is. Poor Kitty is the closest I believe you'll get here to punk/grunge. Musically it reminds me of Drawing Flies by Soundgarden which then briefly, heavily borrows from Touch Me I'm Sick. Ode To Dolly (Parton), which follows, is the Statler Brothers with a Venezuelan singer. Dogs carries itself sounding like the calm portion of For All The Cows with more swagger and plenty of horns. The album closes with Oral Health, a song all about regret an emotion I'm sharing at the end. Here I say Yva Las Vega's voice grates.

Pilotcan - Socially Inept Disco (Evol)
Disappontment abounded when I first listened to this. However subsequent plays have found it sounding improved on the last play. The guy from Plenty Side really dislikes this band and he seems in a very good position to judge but no one is ever going to like everything. So what if the lyrics are at times cheesy and ideas sometimes just don't seem to work, what about that wonderful wall of noise. Anakin is the opener, a touching tale of an evil sister stealing and selling priceless Star Wars figures coupled with insomnia. My favourite track is easily Greenie Beanie. It smoothly glides then mutates into a GvsB like din, landing on a sonic island. Later we get Weird Sci Fi Shit which, despite being fun, might be Glasgow's Smashing Pumpkins. As we reach the second half of the album the songs seem to get more subdued and quieter, and these songs work nowhere as good as the ones I've already indicated All discos are socially inept are they not? Its why they got turned into trendy nightclubs. Right?

Soulbossa - Come Into... (Dishy)
This may be what rock n roll is about. No poncing about just straight in yer face and down your neck. This is a mini mini album which probably could have fitted onto a 7 inch. The six songs are sex songs. This is the only CD that brings up the message FAIL on my stereo which suggests its either too sexy for my CD player or its a fucking shit CD pressed up at a fucking shit pressing plant. When it works though, its very sexy, very Jon Spencer, very Shakey (Stevens).

Bill Ding - Trust In God, But Tie Up Your Camel (Hefty)
Goddamn your thing, this is wunder bliss and a bunch of other terms I don't use. Unfortunately Bill is a band and not a bloke but who cares, a minor gripe. This is a house full of cool jazz workouts and smokey music to be played in the darkness. John Hughes III (he not of crap teen film fame) delivers vocals in hush, whispery tones like Beck to great success. Always playing at its own pace, my CD is heavy on vinyl crackles and top notch distortion. I couldn't ask for much more from such hipster bliss. It churns and mystifies my mind, calms me down and helps my thought pattern clear. The Beat Of Murmur being the track to go straight to.

Month Of Birthdays - These Things That We Do Are Not Good For The Self (Subjugation)
I like this immediately, briefly. I like they way Actions Of The Irrationally Disappointed opens by sounding like the Cardigans and turning into Hole. These seven songs are mammoth and layered. Occasionally they are too metallic but not overly. And occasionally they are too quiet and melodic but not overly. The Slint comparisons are silly. This is a hard listen and somewhat overblown. It could have been recorded better, which is its biggest failing in addition to a few segments touching on Skunk Anansie land. It'll be better next time.

Blonde Redhead - Fake Can Be Just As Good (Touch & Go)
My friends didn't appreciate my description of the Sneaker Pimps mixed with the Folk Implosion very much but I thought it was kinda cool, even though I now realise how lame it is. Symphony Of Treble and Bipolar planted the seeds. Listen and agree. Personally I am shocked to discover that this is their third album and I haven't heard about them previously. It opens with the thumping Kazuality which reminds me of Slave New World by Sepultura for a few seconds before it builds into something nastier and classier. As to overall comparisons people seem to favour the oft used Sonic Youth one but fortunately here it is a valid suggestion especially, for me, on Water. Get it for some much needed and missed innovation that is pushing things forward.

James Orr Complex - Demo
This is Chris Mack from Eska's solo stuff and it is rather removed from Eska. Mostly acoustic and on his todd, Chris displays so much talent that is yet to come out for Eska. Initially the main thing that hit me was his voice. More relaxed and somewhat subdued it really recalls Bob Mould's in the way it seems to carry forever and lift each given song. Crossing Rivers is without doubt the highlight.

Secret Goldfish - Jet Streams (Marina)
The Secret Goldfish are enourmosly frustrating. At times you could be forgiven for mistaking them for the sick Texas when they do sickly sweet pop songs but other times they're such a delight. So here I am sitting on the fence looking at both pastures. If you don't already know this contains a cover of Come As You Are which is probably closer to Tori doing Teen Spirit than every pub band ever butchering a Nirvana song. In other words I'm not super fond of it but prefer it to 101 other Nirvana cover versions because it isn't a lame attempt at a direct copy. My favourite song is another cover version, This Arsehole's Been Burned Too Many Times Before. The majority of the album is a continuation of where Aqua Pet left off, sweet sugary pop songs for your pleasure.

Various - Angels With Big Wings (Ankst)
Heres a freebie compilation from the Ankst label in Wales. Please excuse my ignorance because this is the first time I've heard most of these people, however these are my gut reactions. Well lazy journalism sees me comparing both Rheinallt H. Rowlands and Datblygu to Nick Cave. Topper remind me greatly of Gorkys when they're performing poppy material. Ectogram feel colossal. Wonderful guitar doodly played over a beatful undercurrent as a PJ Harvey-esqe lady sings as in the distance others chant. Geraint Jarman A'R Cynganeddwyr is more Welsh language stuff on top of a subtle reggae-like riff. The Melys, the one band I previously had heard, sound like a Welsh Sneaker Pimps but more. Llwybr Llaethog produce a dance track with a recurring sample which sounds like a TV theme I cannot remember the name of. For me the best is left to last and is by David Wrench. It begins sounding like Washer by Slint then Mr Wrench's voice comes in and he is also very Nick Cave like which is classy and creepy.

Penny Dreadfuls - Penny Dreadfuls (Restless Records)
Everett True described these as being how he would imagine the band from Love And Rockets to sound. When I cornered him in Brighton he said that "that was a bit misleading, they had the right attitude". Slower and more melodic than I'd imagine there's fun to be had here. A crosser Fuzzy.

Various - Sessions 5
The latest (and I'm afraid possibly the last) CD and magazine combo is by far the best. The wonderful Beatnik Filmstars jog me first with Now I'm A Millionaire. Super poptastic treat instead of the expected lo fi. Ligament's Holidaymaker perversely reminds me of a low rent Slint, which can only be good. Linoleum supply Dangerous Shoes which clocks in at just under two minutes and uses every single second to perfection, reminding me slightly of Prolapse. The other two highlights come from Norwich in the form of Velvia and Navigator. Velvia's contribution is a demo version of Shrine which begins subdued but soon builds into heartwrenching glory. Navigator are on a roll. Their records are selling out so any opportunity to hear them is welcome. 2 (No Wa) sounds like the soundtrack to driving through a tunnel in the middle of the night as the world gets invaded by aliens for four minutes.

Jolt - Punk Jungle Rules (Scared Of Girls)
I can think of about 76 reasons why I think this is better than the Senseless Things. Gone are the Soul Asylum soundalikes. Gone is slipping into the cesspit inhabited by Bon Jovi, in are excellent sheets of dirty, pounding guitar noise. And drum and bass. Oh yes that album name isn't completely ironic. This six song mini opens with the joysome cover Love And Romance, a perfect album opener which Bis would have done if they'd got there first. The guitar sound is thick, dense and tank like and the jungle insertions aren't as comedic as you'd feared but still stick out like a hard on.

Urusei Yatsura - All Hail... (Hipster)
Many mini albums this issue. This, if you didn't already know, was recorded in 94 and described by the band as "really digital and kind of nasty". It has now be released for the first time on CD so I dug it out for a review. Its got the first version of Death 2 Everyone on it which is somewhat more clearer vocally and so tamer noise wise. The songs here are less poppy and catchy but are still loveable rackets. Comparing this to We Are... would be like comparing a toddler to a teenager. Its far from the best thing Urusei have done but if you've got to have it you've got to have it.

Various - Spawn soundtrack (Immortal/Sony/Epic)
This is the album featuring the collaboration of Goldie with Henry Rollins. And tis pretty boring. The rest of the album however is not as bad as feared. Rather than collaborations the tracks resemble more like remixes, generally closer to Firestarter than Jesus Built My Hotrod. I intentionally llistened to this without looking at whoose track I was hearing, mainly because most of the bands suck, and I quite enjoyed it. Techno metallers love it, so you know you will like/love/hate/dislike it.

Radiohead - OK Computer (Parlophone)
If Radiohead really wanted to unnerve us, they should have held this little masterpiece back until New Year's Eve 1999. Just imagine - up and down the country, a jubilant public rejoice in the advent of a new millenium, and the fact that they are here to see it. Then, at five to midnight, someone puts OK Computer on. Suddenly Auld Lang Syne is drowned out by the sound of thousands of people frantically scrambling for cover, desperate to cling to the last little piece of sanity they have left. This is the first album of the 21st Century, and it's scary.
Outstanding track is Exit Music (For A Film): "You can laugh/ a spineless laugh/ we hope that your rules and wisdom choke you" sings Thom Yorke as the gentle music builds to a shattering crescendo. Not since the Smiths has brilliance sounded so bleak, or vice versa, and its no coincidence that Yorke's voice is capable of evoking emotion in a way only Morrisey can match. Paranoid Android is his wasteland, a constantly changing, frightening vision, surely the single of 1997. Fitter Happier is reminiscent of Revolution 9 with a haunting piano track providing the backdrop for eerie Apple Mac vocals, microcosmic of the computer age. Only in Electioneering (ironically the weakest track) do they turn their amps up and rock - a major difference compared to The Bends. The likes of Karma Police, the gorgeous No Surprises and Let Down (about people clinging to bottles suspended from the ceiling, written in an alcoholic haze) give the album its epic feel, while the inclusion of Lucky is welcome as it was the best thing on the Help! album by a country mile. I would make a dramaitc pledge about what I'll do if this doesn't win every best album award going, but I said a similar thing about Ipswich not winning the play-offs and I'm still hoping no-one remembers what it was. (Dave Mitchell)

Morrisey - Maladjusted (RCA?)
There's a popular myth that it's been downhill all the way for Moz since The Smiths. NOT TRUE! The early solo albums Viva Hate and Bona Drag rival the best of the REAL Fab Four, later efforts Your Arsenal and Vauxhall And I showed the most talented songwriter of all time still experimenting and still making better music than anyone else. Kill Uncle....yeah, OK, Kill Uncle was shite. But the most worrying signs are coming now. I'm not the best person to review this because if it was by someone else I'd probably be raving about it, but I'm ashamed to say that after the first llisten I put Strangeways on. It's not that it's a bad album - he's at his seething best on the doomy string-laden Ambitious Outsiders, the single Alma Matters is a grower (I think it was Vox who misquoted the lyric as "in bottom/in hole" which amused me greatly). Satan Rejected My Soul proves that he's best when he's self-depreciating and Roy's Keen is the best song about a window cleaner since George Formby. No, it's not a bad album at all, it's just that this is Morrisey we're talking about here. As Roy Walker might say, it's good....but it's not RIGHT. (Dave Mitchell)

David Devant And His Spirit Wife - Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous (don't know)
Rarely does a 'fun' album work this well; normally the joke's worn off after a couple of tracks. Having seen their bizarre live show, I wasn't sure how the music would stand up on its own, but with songs like Balloon around I needn't have worried. This is a silly song which starts all Dick Dale-y and goes on to make the game of Cluedo sound more exciting than you ever thought possible. I can tell you it was Miss Scarlet, as you've guessed it was the Ballroom, but the implement... well, that would be telling. Part of their appeal is that they tread the fine line between zany surreal comedy and straight-down-the-line guitar pop; it reminds me of those teachers you get who crack jokes and then give you detention for having the temerity to laugh. Ginger is about as good an opening track as you'll ever hear, there are shades of Divine Comedy in The Last Ever Love Song and I Think About You is one of those songs that just stays in your head for days, and you don't even want to get rid of it. The only weak track is Re-invent The Wheel. If you really want a laugh, go see this lot live. If you just want to smile and feel good, listen to the album. (Dave Mitchell)

Salad - Ice Cream (some major label?)
I must admit I've always rather liked Salad, ever since the Evening Session played the Kent EP to death back in 1993, and they played Colchester a couple of times. They have been described as sounding like "Kylie and Jason playing Fall songs", which was one of those all-too-rare occasions when I read something a Q journalist wrote and thought "Oh yeah! You're right! They do!". Sadly, that element of fun which made them so great seems a bit lacking on this album. It's all a bit Salad-by-numbers, and you just get the feeling they've got nothing left to surprise you. Prosaic - that's it, that's the word I've been reaching for for the last five lines or so. I knew I was doing a degree for a reason. But don't despair - there are still a few good moments. I can't think who A Size More Woman Than Her reminds me of but with its Bianca and Natalie (remember her?) type bitchiness it's a winner. The single Cardboy King has a good intro and middly bit, but not much else. Wolves Over Washington tells the story of a disastrous pre-season tour by Mark McGhee's expensive flops, when their plane developed fuel problems and had to circle over the US capital for ages (Dave's fibbing). The closing track, The Sky's Our Terminal, is probably the best thing here, together with the album's liberal use of cheesy keyboards, always a good thing. But I wouldn't buy it and I wouldn't give it five. (Dave Mitchell)


Jason Graham except where indicated (taken fron No Pictures 6)