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| RECENT REVIEWS |
Dentists - "Some People Are On the Pitch They Think It's All Over Now" CD 16/46:19 A Medway band that doesn't sound like it's been touched by the hand of Childish? Strange but true; these lads (at least at this early stage) cranked out psych-pop-garage-rock that was wistful without becoming mopey, and with both energy and songwriting skills to spare. Based on this evidence they could probably have been the Who to Childish's Kinks. This reissue of their 1985 debut tacks on their good-luck-finding-it first 3 song single as well. If you missed out the first time around (or only heard the later stuff and wondered what all the fuss was about) pick this up today! David @ www.revola.co.uk |
V/A - "Shite n Onions Vol. 2: What the Shite" CD 20/59:23 Or 18 more groups trying to make the fiddle an Accepted Instrument in the realms of punk. Yep, it's another helping of bands downing too much green lager and trying to meld punk rock and Irish folk (or what they perceive as such), with varying degrees of success. No one here really gives Flogging Molly (much less the Pogues) a run for their money, but groups like Blaggards and Larkin seem to be worth keeping an eye on. Averages out to solid. David @ www.omnium.com |
| Celibate Rifles - "Beyond Respect" CD 12/49:29
445TH (or so it seems) release from this seminal Aussie punk (or, at this point, punkish) rock outfit. While they're not cranking them out in at "Let's Get Married" velocity anymore, they still seem to have some spark in them. Not the most timeless of records, but where so many older folks seem content to coast on old glories (at least you hope they're coasting instead of actually trying, judging by the results) these folks still get on base more often than not. Nice cover of "My Generation" (the obligatory hidden bonus track) as well. David @ www.bang-records.net |
| YMCK - "Family Music" CD 12/36:17
Japanese folks (with mostly female, but some male, vocals) utilizing old-school video-game music for their tunes. Said MO is not unlike the (assumingly-late) Coin, but YMCK use them to make breezy pop music, perfect for sunny spring days. There are times when they seem to lean a bit too heavily on the gimmick, but for the most part these work surprisingly well as songs instead of simple novelties. They do start to stumble halfway through, and those with a sensitive allergy to "cute" should probably avoid this, but when it's on it's most definitely on. Given time to hone their chosen craft and they could be a band to keep an eye on (hey, if Pianosaurus could pull it off with toy instruments...). David @ www.recordsofthedamned.com |
| Khanate - "Capture and Release" CD 2/43:16
Two long tracks (no prizes for guessing their titles) of slowwww sludgecore that is supposedly the final release from this James Plotkin and this particular bunch of bros. This is metal meant to be doom-laden and ominous, the kind where you bang your head once every 15 seconds (or minutes) instead of 15 times each second like in the old days. Not bad, but if you already have some Boris, Sunn0))), or Sleep discs in your collection (or even have Motorhead's "March or Die" on a mixtape somewhere)... The last five minutes or so of "Release" were fairly nifty though. David @ www.hydrahead.com |
| Jonathan Kane - "February" CD 5/46:58
Drummer who's spent some time hanging around the noisier elements of the NY scene (Rhys Chatham, Swans) does his Own Thing, to somewhat surprising effect. Instead of the noise, pound, and/or crunch you'd expect given his past associations, he decides to concentrate on soundscapes, not unlike the ones cranked out by more "desert" minded outfits, only really getting noisy on Chatham's "Guitar Trio". This doesn't come close to being a "drummer's album"; instead of the expected drum-led pieces, Kane is content to mostly play a supporting role and not overpower the pieces. A bit of a mixed bag, he actually has better luck with his own compositions, especially the opening "Curl". David @ www.tableoftheelements.com |
| Deathray Davies - "The Kick and the Snare" CD 11/37:52
These folks (or at least mainman John Dufilho) have been around for a while, but for whatever reason this lot always seemed to fly under the radar. Not indie-by-numbers (they actually lean closer to power-pop here), these folks definitely have a way with a catchy tune (especially "The Fall Fashions" and "Chainsaw"). The only recommendation I could make is that some of the songs could benefit from a bit more of an adrenalin rush or at least a bit more kick, but it's not a fatal flaw (at worst it keep solid-to-good tunes from being stellar ones). David @ www.glurp.com |
 Tractor Sex Fatality - "Black Magic, White Pussy" CD 11/29:03 I'll leave it to you, the reader, to muse over the metaphysical and philosophical qualities of the album title. In the meantime I'll be busy grooving to this platter of outta-control ominous-edged senses-shredding sonic-fucked-upness (I keep hearing these guys compared to Scratch Acid, but to be honest these guys drag their asses through the mud and back again. Call me sacrilegious but 'tis true). Remember that crazed, totally-fucked up song at the end of that one record, that song where the band let loose and got all noisy and insane, that you wished the whole record was like? TSF has made that record for you. Need I say that this is recommended? David @ www.bigneckrecords.com |
| Stu Phillips - "Surf...Sex and Cycle-Psychos" CD 28//77:04
A collection of soundtracks from the same twisted mind who gave you the "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" musick. The meat of the disc is his soundtrack to the "surfing travelogue" "Follow Me" (not surf music per se, but more a nice combo of period 60s-soundtrack and locale-music), but you also get his works from "Hell's Angels on Wheels", "The Gay Decievers", "A Time For Every Purpose", "Follow Me", and "The Losers" (as well as some odds and end). This might not be the psychotronic sleaze-fest that the title and composer's pedigree would indicate but pretty evocative nevertheless. David @ www.cherryred.co.uk |
| Mad Professor - "Method to the Madness" 2XCD 29/136:34
A two CD retrospective from the Prof. This starts off promisingly enough but about a quarter in it hits upon quite a bit of the dreaded (no pun intended) Shiny Happy Reggae (synthetic drums and all) that helped to cripple said genre. The disc starts to pick up near the end (the instrumental tracks are the highlights on disc 1) and his skills are beyond reproach, but to be honest he isn't given that much to work with here. He seems to work best when he operates outside the confines of the JA hit machine and works with folks (Brilliant, the Orb, & of course Ruts DC are good examples) who are less likely to make him stick - or, more accurately, impale him - to formula, and give him room to get spacey (granted he doesn't get as 'out' as Lee Perry but at least like him he's not content to churn out dub-by-the-numbers). For better or for worse, a good representation of what the Mad Prof has dipped his hands into over the years. David @ www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk |
V/A - "Avon Calling" 2XCD 46/147:49 Not one, but two CDs of what was going down in Bristol back in the day, as seen from the perspective of hometown label Heartbeat Records. You get the seminal 1980 titular compilation (one of John Peel's faves) as well as various good-luck finding-them nowadays singles from around the same period. Based on this evidence Heartbeat had a pretty diverse roster, from post-punk to affected new-wave, from post-77 rock to the punk of Vice Squad, with some reggae and, er, X-Certs thrown in for good measure. Funnily enough, while most of this is pretty dated, it still has a certain charm that keeps drawing one back, especially on CD1. Apartment, Private Dicks, as well as a brief interview with Heartbeat label head are among the highlights here. David @ www.cherryred.co.uk |
| Please Mr. Gravedigger - "Throw a Beat" CD 5/19:24
Short but sweet, this isn't exactly the "dance-punk" you'd expect from the title. However, you still get five rockin' songs that'll get you moving in some fashion, plus a hidden track featuring an acoustic "goofin'" version of NWA's "Fuck Tha' Police" that, if not a patch on Nina Gordon's rendition of "Straight Outta Compton" is still pretty fun. Works best when utilizing both male and female vox but still pretty tasty overall (nice use of organ as well). David @ www.plutorecords.com |
| Liars - "Drum's Not Dead" CD 12/47:30
Concept of this particular album will probably be oblique to some (something about Mt. Heart Attack and Drum and their ying-yang role in the creative process). It's definitely on the darker, more primal side, with tribal-like percussion playing a significant role (not like in E.Neubauten or Crash Worship, but it definitely makes its presence known); anyone expecting a return to the days of ESG lifts is sure to be disappointed.. Not one that you'll immediately embrace, rather one that slowly creeps into and embraces your soul. Also comes with a DVD featuring three sets of videos (sorry, "film versions") for each song. David @ www.mute.com |
Rogerio Duprat - "A Banda Tropicalista Do Duprat" CD 12/35:12 For those not in the know Duprat was an arranger and/or producer for the major movers/shakers of the Tropicalista movement including such folks as Os Mutantes (who appear on four songs here), Tom Ze, and Gilberto Gil, stepping out of the sidelines for this 1968 solo release. The sound's a little scratchy (not so much in terms of surface noise as sound quality), with "Honey/Summer Rain" suffering in particular, and a Beatles cover end up sounding out of place, Still, even if it's not quite up there with the works of his cohorts, this collection of originals and covers (including some surprising, yet effective choices) manages to satisfy quite nicely as a bit of breezy psych-tinged fun. David @ www.cherryred.co.uk |
| Radio Beats - "Ready To Shake" CD 12/20:42
High distortion, high-octane punk straight outta Pittsburgh that's very grooving indeed, with a decent Angry Samoans cover ("Lights Out") thrown in for good measure. One of those bands you'd expect to be tearing up insert-club-name-here with beers and bodies flying everywhere (okay, at least in front of the stage, while the hipsters stand and nod their heads in the back). David @ www.bigneckrecords.com |
| Veronica Lipgloss & The Evil Eyes - "The Witch's Daggers" CD 11/45:14
Modern darkwave-rock meets vintage proto-darkwave rock (think early Tuxedomoon, et al.; it's no accident that they do a Johanna Went cover). Danceable dark death-disco that picks up where the dearly departed Vanishing took off (if taking it down their own path) and similarly manages to avoid the death-rock cliches displayed by too many Cleopatra Records wannabes. Definitely recommended. David @ www.goldstandardlabs.com |
| Ennio Morricone - "High" CD 16/49:25
Subtitled "the trippier side of the Morricone genius" you can guess that this isn't your standard soundtrack fare. These were apparently the scores to "Italian Psychedelic & Art movies" and they sound like it (in a good way); while things don't get too avant (anyone expecting 16 tracks of pure freak-out will probably be disappointed) there are trippier elements running through these pieces to varying degrees, getting downright eerie at times (tracks like "1970" make one wonder what the fug the movie he scored was like). In the end there are sixteen more reasons why "Morricone" and "classical-music-pillaging-hack" should never be in the same sentence. David @ www.cherryred.co.uk |
| Gary McFarland Orchestra - "Special Guest Soloist: Bill Evans" CD 6/36:24
Funky title I know, but if that's what it says on the sleeve and spine... Actually even though Billy's featured front and center this 1963 effort is still Gary's show, and a fine one it is. There's no underlying concept as with his "America the Beautiful", just some good, well-arranged pieces of what used to be called "orchestral jazz". McFarland contributes some fine vibes as well and if Bill isn't the main presence on here he still manages to pull his weight and then some. Lovely stuff indeed. David @ www.cherryred.co.uk |
| La Peste - "Better Off La Peste" CD 26/75:12
This retrospective of the late 70s Boston outfit kicks off with their KBD-hit "Better Off Dead", which still holds up almost 30 years (damn...) later. It's followed by the B-side and the rest of the studio tracks which are solid enough, if not quite possessing the spark of "BOD". However, things really come alive again on the live tracks featuring the band in their environment before what seems like an appreciative audience (relatively good sound quality as well). Even if you already have "BOD" in your collection somewhere (mixtape, a previous collection, etc.), this is still worth picking up for the live tracks. David @ www.dionysusrecords.com |
| Artery - "Into the Garden: An Artery Collection" CD 18/68:29
Surprising one, this: based on the Sheffield Music Story DVD you'd expect the retrospective from this Sheffield-based outfit to be filled with the early electronic-based music (similar to fellow townsfolk Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, and Vica Versa) that they purveyed in said flick. However, while there is some of said tuneage here, most of this is more on the poppier side, with a cabaret flair to it that unfortunately hasn't stood the test of time. Folks who were there at the time might enjoy, but those who weren't and/or whose main exposure to Artery is through their early stuff may want to tread with caution. David @ www.cherryred.co.uk |
Ray Charles - "Sinner's Prayers" CD 27/76:51 The early years, 1951-1954; all those raw tracks that used to mostly be found on rare seven inches and good-luck-finding-them budget releases (Cornet, etc.) are finally compiled on one concentrated disc of pure Charles. Rawer than you'd expected from the guy who appeared in those Pepsi commercials, this seems aimed at a less "respectable" (i.e. middle America) crowd, with blues mixed in among the R&B and soul. If you're one of those folks who could live happily without ever hearing "Georgia On My Mind" again, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised by this. David @ www.revola.co.uk |
| Marshmallow Overcoat - "26 Ghosts: The Best of 1986-2005" CD + DVD 27/73:03
As you can probably guess from the moniker these folks traded in psych-laden garage tuneage, the kind that result from regular helpings of Nuggets compilations. They never did quite generate the buzz of some of their compatriots despite having some good songs in them, though hopefully this retrospective will rectify that situation somewhat. Some of these tracks actually bring to mind images of what "Black Album" Damned would sound like if its psych/punk ratio was skewed more towards the former. Unfortunately the vocalist is really weak in spots, which really drags down some otherwise fab tunes. Fortunately he's a good enough songwriter (and/or has a good eye for covers) with a good band behind him that they manage to pull off the mostly slow-mid-tempo songs (though they sneak in some barnburners in as well) on display here. This also comes with a DVD of various videos. If you missed them the first time around don't make the same mistake again. David @ www.dionysusrecords.com |
| Mustang Lightning - "Texas Voodoo Surf" 14/CD 34:59
Like the title sez, this bills itself as "Texas Voodoo Surf" though it's as much greaser (greasy?) rock as it is a descendent of the Sufaris. This has a fairly heavy (without wanking) tone, with more than a few songs having vox. Solid, if not quite something that'll raise the dead. David @ www.mustanglightning.com |
| Les Baxter - "The Fruit of Dreams" CD 22/70:37
Unlike Martin Denny's self-contained outfit, Baxter utilized an old-school orchestra, complete with angelic backing vox, for this particular work. Despite the title, the artwork, and Baxter's rep, the music contained within doesn't quite transport you to distant lands; listening to this one could be forgiven for thinking that this was "exotica" for folks who couldn't handle the "hard stuff" (e.g. Denny). Of course the more likely scenario is that there were some Baxter sessions lying about while someone noticed "hey, this Exotica trend is hot right now", so an "Exotica" sticker was slapped on them and they were passed off as such (the album title could have been titled "Memories of April" or "A Trip Down Main Street" and it still would have made as much sense). Granted it's not bad - especially for the EZ genre - and the last few tracks dip more into more exotic terrain, but this isn't the best example of why Les is beloved by the Tikifolk. David @ www.cherryred.co.uk |
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