CDs 2004 (2)

Second quarter ?? Erm, well, OK, for various reasons, some valid ones plus some general unforgivable slackness, I am very very very late. So if I were to give up a quick summary, my impressions on all these CDs would be quite different from when I first listened to them. At the end of May, I was thinking that most music being released (well, that I got) was boring, uninteresting and generally pointless. Fortunately most stuff I bought in June changed the perspective, and even allowed me to look back more positively at some of the earlier releases. I guess I'm just on CD overload. So I scrapped the piece I was gonna write on the need for disposable CDs while dissing disposable DVDs.

  And then I remembered the original intention with these reviews : share my taste for some fantastic tunes, while maybe warning off about some overrated releases. Now it's all gone a bit too much, with me trying to review everything that I put my hands on, the good and the bad, forcing myself to listen to a few average CDs several times just to squeeze a review out of them. So I think it's the last time I'm reviewing that many CDs. From now on, I shall only review the good or the famous or the hyped-up. So it's possibly the first and last time you hear from a few decent but not quite extraordinary bands like The Veils, The Stills or The Walkmen. Unless they become very good indeed. Mind you, that will still leave room for quite a few reviews, so I will be late again. Although I'm not sure I'll bother with the new Prodigy....after all I don't get the CDs free from the labels, so despite the many mishaps, I still only buy CDs that I hope to like.

For now though, you will have to make do with these already dated releases.

 

I have to apologise for a few too long and self-indulgent reviews in the list but hey-ho, they can't sack me since it's not a job !

 

Take care all.

 

 

The Stills: Logic Will Break Your Heart. Great start : the first four song here offer melodic rock’n’roll with a heart, closing with the aptly titled ‘Love and Death’ (it really meant something when I heard it first). But then it all stops. The melodies are gone, the vibe’s gone. Why, oh why ? What could have been a very nice album indeed turns out a bit of a cropper. To make it worse, the majesty of the first tracks probably render the following songs worse than they actually are. Things briefly pick up again on ‘Allison Krausse’ (more the idea of a nice riff repeated over and over again, rather than a proper song ) or the rather pleasant ‘still in love song’, but that just makes not even 5 good tracks and about 8 boring ones. It’s a real shame because there’s three songs really worth a 9 there, but overall I’ll have to give it only 6.5/10

 

The Magnificents. Every now and then, a group of quirky Scots come up with some kind of unhinged party record. Last time we checked they were called ‘Public Domain’ and called themselves ‘Hard-hop Superstars’. This time they’re just as immodestly called ‘the Magnificents’. So what have we got there? Some electro-rock genre fusion leaning towards europop or something. While not quite similar in sound to Public Domain (less openly good-time cheap techno), these certainly share something in spirit. Hard to pin down musically, they’re most probably one-off tricks, loose heads and with no future. Must be something in the batter for the deep-fried Mars bars then. 7/10.

 

The Veils: The Runaway Found. They’re always a bit late down under, aren’t they ? After the very retard (but live treat) Datsuns, these New Zealanders only go back a few years, Strokes and Radiohead among the names that spring to mind. The singer’s whiny voice (a strange cross between Julian Casablancas and…Daffy Duck) may be unsettling for a few seconds in most of the songs, but once you’ve got over it, this is actually quite good. The first six songs are indeed almost faultless (if not, once more, anything never heard before…). But then they turn into snooze mode, and apart from bits of one track, the rest (including a Radiohead-aping piano-ballad) is very uninteresting. All told, very good albeit disposable music. Promising maybe. But they don’t quite last the distance yet. 7.5/10

 

The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow. Nice sun-drenched guitar pop. Won’t change your world but will make it that little bit more enjoyable. You can’t not love this, completely unpretentious but fully talented music….. No studio tricks, a clear voice, clean guitars, maybe just the way it should always be. 8/10.

 

The Vines: Winning Days. In no way as bad as generally described. I suppose it’s all down to the high expectations following their first album. But this is indeed like their first all over again. Not any better. But not any worse either. Which may be the problem. I mean there’s even a song called ‘Autumn Shade II’. So you’ve got heavy rock songs(and when they rock, they do rock) next to country-tinged pastoral ballads. Still very unfocussed. So okay there’s nothing immediate in the ‘outtathaway’ or ‘get free’ mould but this is indeed quite a decent album on its own. Yes it’s nothing special, and it all does sound a bit devoid of any emotional involvement but loads of bands get away with bigger crimes against music. Craig’s mental health’s possibly still worrying, but no-one (in the UK at least, let alone in France) will care as much as they do for Pete Doherty. Why ? Get well soon Craig. And a decent 7.5/10 from me. If only for just staying alive.

 

Delays: Faded Seaside Glamour. After having seen their picture somewhere, I was quite surprised to hear a woman sing on this. But no, hang on, this really is a bloke sounding like Liz Fraser. He finds his (still highly-pitched) voice later on, but this is a bit unsettling. When I gave this CD a last spin before review, after a few days of non-stop Hope of The States rotations, I was expecting the worst. However, this still made a fairly enjoyable listen, if a little bland. The voice fits in fairly well in this sort of dreamy pop-rock record. The last third is rather pointless and utterly forgettable (weird how most records are built this way, enticing you in then letting you down, maybe it’s just my short attention span again then!), but apart from that, this is rather non-shit. I don’t think I was feeling that brilliant either that day, so it must really be a decent record. 7.5/10.

 

N.E.R.D.: Fly or Die. Isn’t it just a bit to easy for them? More famously renowned producer under their Neptunes guise, these guys (sorry…) go down to the business of writing their own music not for the first time here. What’s the genre ? Erm…hard to say, some sort of guitar driven sassy music, not R’n’B or hip-hop at all, just some kind of FM rock really with some sexy beats and groves. But while sonically flawless, and sometimes engaging, this whole record seems entirely devoid of passion, real soul and endeavour. They try different genres and show themselves quite good at all of them. Even Britpop. Possibly. But where’s the vim in there ? Apart from pretending to be cool, I can’t really see any reason to like this CD. While not as rubbish as first listen suggested, far from it, I really cannot find any motivation for listening to this album twice other than writing this very review. So, as I said earlier, or Keane said : this is the last time. 5/10.

 

Lali Puna: Faking the Books. Like a cross between the Notwist and Stereolab, you won’t be surprised to learn that they’re from Germany. So what do they sound like ? Well, what d’you expect ? A lot like the Notwist and a bit like Stereolab, possibly better than both and with a dash of Air maybe ? They must have dozed off a bit near the end (again!!!), but it’s still bloody good 8/10.

 

Seafood: As the Cry Flows. Album number three for these guys. Going more acoustic and quiet with each one (amusingly, their first album was called ‘Surviving the Quiet’), although they’ve still got all-electric songs (efficient single ‘good reason’), and most of all quiet songs that burst into electric life. They’ll always remain nicely hidden underground. A very superfluous record by all accounts. But an extremely fine one nonetheless. 7.5/10

 

Iron & Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days. Lovely country-tinged music from the other side of the Pond. The ghost of Nick Drake may have been involved. Soothing, relaxing. Not really my favourite genre but if you’re into that kind of thing, this is undoubtedly a cherishable treat. 7/10.

 

Bright Eyes/Neva Dinova : One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels. See just above. Except a lot more twisted and with more fire, definitely more my cup of tea. Not too sure about which tracks are Bright Eyes, which ones are Neva Dinova’s but it’s all wicked. 8/10

 

Oxia: 24 Heures. French. Techno. With a dark edge. Not rock’n’roll. Not uplifting. Not always danceable either. Still pretty good, mind. 8/10

 

The Walkmen: Bows + Arrows. Starts with a low-quality Mercury Rev-like number, goes on as some sort of sped-up Interpol-Strokes hybrid then back to square one, then more of the same and…well I don’t see what the fuss is all about. The more it goes on, the more it feels like substandard-Strokes (even the voice).This is all right but not much beyond that. Rave review they won’t get from me. Boring is the word, I’m sorry chaps ! 6/10

 

Haven: All for a Reason. Another one of these ‘nice first album, why did you bother with a follow-up?’ band. Yep, I quite liked the first. Johnny Marr’s still involved with them, but overall, this is some rather tuneless pointless aimless rock’n’roll. Even the bombastic final track seems like cliché formulaic album closer(said the cliché-using reviewer). Not much style and even less substance. I can’t understand why they bothered to ‘copy protect’ this. One interesting point though: looking at the sleevenotes after listening to the album, I found out that Johnny Marr’s not to blame: the best two tracks in here are actually co-authored by him! Don’t hold your breath for his next solo album though, and meanwhile, look for safety in another haven (sorry about the very cheap puns today).  6/10.

 

Miss Kittin: I com. Beyond Electroclash, Miss Kittin survives with bits of chill-out, rocking techno, camp chic (with a definite French accent, I’m afraid that doesn’t sound sexy to anyone French…) complete with dodgy Indochine cover. All told, not a life changing record, but still a pretty interesting listen that carries you through various states of mind. Not bad at all, but there are much better things around. 7/10.

 

Keane: Hopes and Fears. Bland boring public school boys who don’t know how to use a guitar. That’s all this record is….not. Who said you needed a guitar to rock and roll? Ok this does not quite rock or roll, but it’s the best non-technoid thing without a guitar that I’ve ever heard. Well they do use a bass guitar. But apart from that, the clever thing about this band is that they actually use the piano like a guitar, be it as a rhythmic riff machine or as a lead melodic instrument. And there’s the voice, which manages to sound crystalline and reach high notes without ever sounding irritating (take that, Mr Walsh). Of course there are a couple of drab and boring tracks (especially near the end) but overall this quite succeeds in being extremely pleasant. Full credit for trying (and achieving) something different. The no-guitar policy should stop any comparison with Coldplay or Travis. Yet somehow you’ve still got the feeling that they’ll have to try harder and better if they want to stand any chance to make a lasting impact. Whether the world needs their live performances or a second album is still to be checked, but for now I’ll have to disappoint all the dissers and give them 8.5/10.

 

Morrissey: You are the Quarry. Good old Morrissey. So what’s he worth in 2004 ? Well, believe it or not, but among the identikit bands you come across these days, this sort of stands out. Not revolutionary, not uniformly good, but pleasant all the same. Well, at times. After a very enjoyable opening three tracks where some of the old magic seems to be back, there’s a sudden drop in pace, and the boring songs come flooding in. And by track 6, when old Moz sings ‘the world is full of crashing bores and I must be one of them’, you’re quite inclined to believe him irony-free. But then things start picking up a bit, and a classic Moz track (the first of the gang to die) suddenly comes out of nowhere, possibly one of his best ever. This has something. And then there’s a couple more good tracks, including a jangly guitar bit which sounds a bit like Johnny Marr only slower (of course!). A very frustrating album after all. Any Moz/Smiths fanatic will probably think this is the best album released by anyone since Vauxhall&I. Whereas it’s just the best by him. Still, it beats any of Mr Marr’s solo work (sure, Electronic pisses on any of it though…) 7.5/10

 

The Streets: A Grand don’t come for Free. Fit but he knows it. The second time ‘round, this doesn’t sound as good as his first to me. Still in a way it’s more coherent. Here we’ve got a full story, and nobody tells English lad’s stories quite like Skinner. So even if the memorable tunes are few and far between, this still works, with highlights ‘fit but you know it’, and the closing ‘empty cans’ (not dissimilar to the closing number on his first). He does sweet sobbing tunes too (‘dry your eyes’ initially meant to be sung with Chris Martin, you can understand why, less so why he didn’t do it in the end). I feel there was a bit of urban doom and gloom that I preferred on the first, where music really matched the words. So I don’t know I still reckon this is a 7 or a 8/10 only (maybe a 8 1/2 in four beers’ time). But don’t get me wrong this is a lyrical masterpiece.

 

Ima Robot. Now that’s what I call good. Completely ignored and overlooked all over the world, I only got to buy their CD after having witnessed a rare case of support band outplaying the headlining act. Great and better live, but not too bad on CD either. They do all-out rock assault (dynamite), melody (scream), sleazy funk (dirty life) and even boring album closer (tempered by successful ‘bonus’ track though). This is not touched by genius but it’s a breath of fresh air in the middle of a lot of far too serious r’n’r records. And for that only, even if a second album will never be too impatiently awaited, this deserves a good 8/10. But go see them live and you may add an extra mark.

 

TV on the Radio : Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. Sort of psychedelic prog (-ish) rock from weird Afro’ed black man and cohorts. No, not the Mars Volta, this is musically completely different. They’ve even got an a capella section somewhere ! Hypnotic stuff. And really here something NEW! A sound that’s not been heard a hundred times before. May not be LP of the year, but this unique record is well worth your ears. 8/10

 

Graham Coxon : Happiness in Magazines. Graham Coxon rocks. Fact. Still very much an indie guitarist just come out of Camden way but at last he’s stopped slobbing around. The lineage cannot be hidden, this sounds like Blur before they went clever. There’s a few occasions when Coxon even worryingly sounds like Albarn. Light-hearted pleasant rock that rolls then, but most of it you unfortunately won’t remember I’m afraid. A disposable 7.5/10 treat..

 

Ash: Meltdown. Waow ! Hard Rocking, Heaving Metal. No AC/DC posturing or self-indulgence here (watch how it’s done, Datsuns), just amps turned to 11, no messing about, all guns blazing, exhilarating, exuberant AND with melodies. To the extent that the couple of slow-ish numbers, while still good, appear very unnecessary. This rock monster hardly ever relents and indeed doesn’t need to. Even the few indulgent guitar solos seem like joyous fun rather than fret-wanking. Honestly, Free All Angels was wonderful, but this is possibly a step up. Not necessarily better but one step further, pushing the guitars and keeping the melodies. After all the so-so albums I’ve heard lately, this sounds soooo amazingly good. 9/10

 

PJ Harvey : Uh Huh Her. One among other remarkable things in PJ Harvey’s career : she hasn't released a Best Of so far. There’s not many band or artists nowadays well over 10 years into their career who haven't got one out in some form or another.. So what does PJ do ? Well she records a best of consisting exclusively of previously unrecorded tracks. Of course this is not what actually happened, (although she as much as gives it away with the ‘listen to my brief history’ quote on the inside of the CD box). but this new album covers a whole range of previously covered paths, giving absolutely no room for experimentation or invention. But who cares? When the first track starts, you’d be forgiven for thinking there’s been some kind of packaging mistakes. I never knew the Kills had just released a second album ! But when the voice kicks in, you just remember that she was there before, and has the rights to reclaim her crown. And then this album’s definitely hers. For each track here, you could easily point to another track in her back catalogue, from first to previous album. It’s rather faultless but…at the same time rather aimless and lacking focus. A decent collection of good songs maybe, but not such a great album. Not one you put on repeat. But boy are they gonna be in trouble when they want to compile a proper Best Of. 7.5/10.

 

Hope of the States : The Lost Riots.

So what do you get when you mix a third of Radiohead (old period), a third of Mogwai (ditto), a third of Spiritualized (‘…floating…’ era), add a dash of Verve (Urban Hymns period), and a touch of Coldplay with a pinch of Doves ? Well quite simply one of the best new bands in Britain and most definitely one of the albums of the year. You can only be glad they actually finished recording the bugger just before their guitarist hung himself. So despite the release date, there’s no song about that. But if there must be one reason Jimmy Lawrence topped himself, maybe it’s simply because you cannot see them (or anyone else) top this masterpiece. The lyrics ? Just stuff about fighting on with the good people and never giving up. Reinventing the wheel? Yes, that is possible. 9.9/10

 

The Cure. That’s a bonus. It was meant to be for the next review, but since I’m very very late…Variously described as ‘their best since Disintegration’ (I beg to differ), or Smiths’s best vocal performance since ‘Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me’ (quite possibly true), this is more or less The Cure’s less accessible album ever. I was actually tempted to describe it as their worst ever on first listen. Very very very uneasy to get into, not very melodious, extremely heavy in sound (‘industrial’ rather than heavy metal), but after a few listens, you just find yourself with all these sounds and the voice (that voice) in your head, and it’s actually quite addictive and not hard to remember. There’s a couple of really bad tracks (worst Cure album closer ever, no doubt), but overall it’s quite a compelling listening. Ram it into your head and it will not want to get out. Fairly powerful indeed. And in the days when established artists (hello Polly Jean and Stephen Patrick) revisit their career in one album, this is still different. I don’t know whether I love it or  loathe it, I can’t assess it or rate it… but I keep listening to it. ??/10