CDs 2003 (4)

Muse : Absolution. Still can’t work this one out. It’s got the usual bombastic bursts of arpeggios and keyboards, some really great and gripping tunes, but I still can’t wholly immerse myself into it. Third listen, I find it great, but still can’t feel it, it doesn’t do it for me. I’m at pains to give it a rating. Will 7.69/10 do ? It’s really got some fantastic moments, you know. But it’s just like plastic beauty, lacking proper emotions.

 

Guided by Voices : Earthquake Glue. From a bit earlier this year. Competent Rock from your granddad. Eternal indie band. No compromise. Pleasant and all that. Not essential in any way. Just another attempt at catching up with a classic band. Utterly pointless as the 1000somethingth CD in my record collection. But otherwise, on its own merit worth a very solid 7/10.

 

Stellastarr*. Yet another new New York Band. Except this time they sound like New York on Thames. Which isn’t a bad thing here really. Influenced by anything from Blondie (‘My Coco’ has probably got a heart of glass) to XTC (‘Jenny’ a distant cousin from Nigel they were making plans for in the late 70s?), mad voice, catchy guitar licks. Some records are useless from the start. This one on the contrary may render several of your old ones rather unnecessary. May not sound revolutionary but is actually bloody brilliant ! A pleasure to treasure. 9/10.

 

Mountaineers: Messy Century. Or messy album. Beta Band-like stuff. Which I’m still not into, however pleasant the reviews sound. I really should stop being fooled by reviews. All right it’s not offensive, and some bits are OK. But really it’s pointless. I’ll give it a below average 6/10. Well, yeah average is 7. Below 5 is when it’s getting irritating. This isn’t.

 

Parsley Sound : Parsley Sounds. Very much in the same genre. Only they do it much finer. Nicer tunes, smoother grooves, psychedelic pastoral music rarely sounded much cooler. Which still doesn’t make you want to turn into a hippy, but at least satisfies the ear. A ‘very good, but not earth-shattering’ 7.5/10.

 

Thrice : The Artist in the Ambulance. Unlike this, which literally sounds like an earthquake. There’s only so much growling-vocals, loud-guitars hardcore you can take, but this is on top of the pile. Of course, some bits still sound a bit over-egged,  but in the ‘emocore’ (now ‘extremo’, see the evolution) genre, this is quite fine. Not sure I’ll listen to it very often though. A worthy, erm, 7.5/10 then.

                                  

Outkast : Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Now there’s a new concept. A 2CD release with sets from each Outkast member. So is it a band thing or two solo albums ? By the sound of it, they couldn’t have released two more different albums. Since it’s a 2CD for the price of one, it would be churlish to complain! And since it’s a stunning 2CD-set, the ‘split’ question is completely superfluous. Every year there’s a couple of hip-hop records that I’m glad I bought, despite being not especially versed in the genre. CD1, the Big Boi one, is an exhilarating party record, all horns and happy moods, booty-shaking inducing soundtrack. The Andre 3000-authored CD2, is more horny than horns, and starts very disappointingly with some lounge-jazz style numbers that make you want to just slip into bed...and sleep. But things pick up in the second third of the album, and apart from some ill-inspired spoken word tracks, keeps up pretty well till the end, save from more jazzy leanings. A mixed bag when compared to CD1, but it’s got its bright moments. Should I give them separate marks ? If they want to sell that as a single package, I’ll average the marks and give this 2CD set an overall 8.5/10. Now can the Vines (remember Ms Jackson ?) cover a song from this album ?

 

Electric Soft Parade : The American Adventure. Their first album was one of the highlights of 2002. This, on the other hand, is a competent album, but a bit overrated I would say. ‘Bruxellisation’ gets the spine tingling a bit, but apart from that, this largely fails to get me excited. Not bad as such, but on this one, it just doesn’t match my expectations. Only 6.5/10.

 

Asian Dub Foundation : Keep bangin’ on the Walls. Always great live, but maybe the live bit of the much older ‘Conscious Party’ had more fire in it. 7.5/10 is all a decent-but-not-outstanding live album can get. But definitely do go and see them live. For real.

 

The Strokes : Room on Fire. Now, don’t believe the hype if you don’t want to, but I think I can still sense a great record when I hear one : this is an absolute corker. Better than their first ? Well, this one, still definitely sounding like from the same band, is even easier on the ear, effortlessly strutting its stuff along. Some interesting bits, some new sounds for them, but this is just really brilliant. Reach track 6 and you will be grooving too. One slightly weaker track, and this is still worth its 9/10.

 

Oceansize : Effloresce. Another of these bands that are impossible to classify, another decent record with a few very good tracks. Top drawer stuff then, but my top drawer’s so full, so that doesn’t necessarily means ‘essential’. Describing it ? Oh well, some rocky stuff, some cinematic instrumental numbers (for once I’m actually listening while reviewing). Possibly working better in a cold hazy winter. On a comedown (that’s me listening to track 5 right now). Or getting up. This is indeed quite diverse. From chill-out to hardcore. Actually, it’s quite good. Just short of brilliant. This wins me over, makes me feel good and gets 8.5/10..

 

Mojave 3 : Spoon and Rafter. Starts as rather boring but turns out to be a very nice album. Lovely, like a very quiet Boo Radleys, very acoustic and tuneful. They were there before, but file it near the Magnet album, it’s the same kind of vibe at times. Cool for a Sunday morning possibly. May not stay long in my mind (or my player), but it’s really beautiful. 8/10.

 

Funeral For a Friend : Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation. See Thrice. Only Welsh. And not as good. Well, one first listen, I thought it was just another emocore-by-numbers record, but a further spin revealed more depth to it. While still not doing much for me, I can still appreciate it as a decent record.But there’s no big departure from the template and there’s little chance of me really listening to it again. Maybe they will come good. Watch this space. But don’t give in to them just yet. 7/10 is all they can get from me.

 

The Rapture : Echoes. Another hyped-up New York band. What’s that all about ? Cool 80s-ish sound, yet another singer vaguely sounding like a younger Robert Smith. Yeah, apart from a couple of rather good singles, this doesn’t make me swoon, doesn’t light me up either. So, maybe cool sort of funk-disco, but I’m not really buying into it here. 6.5/10

 

Plastikman : Closer. Just the kind of record that makes me want to stop buying records. Aesthetics may have drawn me into buying that, but only halfway through track 2 and this just bores me to death. 75 minutes of it ? Fuck, man, just get a life, get out of your room, get real, have fun ! I’d have to be really stoned and on me own to appreciate this, but I’m sorry I don’t think this is ever likely to happen again. I’d feel like a fucking twat ! It may be a clever record, but I’d rather be a fucking idiot and enjoy life a bit more ! 2/10