Crosbi - Sonny

(Split Records)

Released: 27 June 2005

4/5

Considering Wrexham is only a few miles down the road from British northeast dripping in musical mythology, there hasn't been much to smile about for the kids across the border.

That was until Crosbi landed on the scene, because when they did they had their own heroes.  While everyone in Liverpool was busy sitting in The Coral's corner, those in north Wales were sponging off the brows of their new idols.

So while you're no doubt still scratching your heads in scepticism, bare in mind for many Crosbi have already passed the first junction on the road to success.

Hailed by Radio 1 as the best-unsigned band in Wales, the boys can finally scratch the 'un' from that last statement.

Their debut single oozes a confident and charismatic stomp that clearly sets its stall out from the start.

It's like hearing The La's play with all the rough edges of Definitely Maybe-era Oasis still intact.

Andy Jones delivers his vocal laden with Welsh-Mersey vowels; sounding like no other front man around, while producer Clint Boon has sprinkled his good-time vibes liberally across the entire two minutes and 50 seconds.

This is the Crosbi show.  Make sure you're part of their live studio audience.

Andy Robbins

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www.splitrecords.co.uk

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Clor - Outlines  

(Regal)

Released: 11 July 2005

The new Ladytron robotically tempts you into their world by way of a cruising, spacey and absorbing electro based forage into the topic of individuality. The song builds around the catchy chorus that sounds like something a therapist would tell a depressed client to repeat to over and over again:

"Each of us is special in our way."

This simple and pulsing number will nudge people in the direction of forthcoming debut album that is due for release 25th of July. 

David Adair

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www.clor.co.uk

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V/A - The Black Rabbit Whorehouse Vol 1  

(OSCarr)

Out now

Founded from Glasgow's Optimo club night, a night that evolves around the glitchy electronics and minimal house that rules the European dance floors, but here anything goes. This isn't to say it's obtuse IDM, it's all about the dancing, a joyous affair of disco beats and fun-time rhythms.

This single compiles the artistes Magic Daddy and Truffle Club; sharing a love of techno and house they splatter things on top.

Magic Daddy takes a no holds barred approach, splicing in seemingly illogical samples, letting them run in momentary isolation before dropping the beats back in with amazing results, twisting the songs and the rhythms that follow in toe. Funk electro-bass underpins the madness whilst the digital drums clamber on top.

Truffle Club (aka Dave Clarke, no relation/same person) takes the sample heavy approach and plays with it, taking it further with each minute, samples, and snippets of samples, are built up to form the rhythms, sitting atop heavy grooves and shredding hi-hats, it escalates uncontrollably, stuffed with melodies.

Every club night should be like this, it's IDM, house, electronica and bootlegging taken to their most madcap extremes, and the beat don't stop.

Jonathan Falcone

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www.tigersushi.com

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Epic45 - England Fallen Over EP  

(Make Mine Music)

Out Now

4/5

Sitting on an early morning train, starring at the countryside flashing past as you as you consider where your future lies, a soundtrack of Alvin Stardust on your headphones would be a terribly unsuitable choice.

That's why Epic45's intricately crafted electronic beats and crystalline guitar lines are the natural choice for anyone wanting to stop the world for just a second, and take a moment to appreciate the beauty all around them.

The band still retain elements of their post-rock origins and an undeniable appreciation of instrumental legends Mogwai, but their sound has matured to boast fresh influences such as Hood, Fridge and Explosions In The Sky.

But while the England Fallen Over EP may well be fawned over by those searching for the next Four Tet, it is very much the unique sound of a young and rural Midlands watching birds rest of telegraph wires and staring at sepia photographs of power stations at sunset.

Acts with such grace and poise rarely come along, so make sure you grab a piece of Epic45 while you still can.

Andy Robbins  

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www.makeminemusic.co.uk

Fivestar Riot - Unfamiliar Sky  

(Self-Released)

4.5/5

A five piece of young kids, this release is striking for two reasons. Firstly, it's a brand of music I don't particularly like: it screams of positivist emo and is insanely melodic in an MOR fashion. Secondly, much as point one is considered, this music really should be massive. The songs are so catchy they're literally stuck in my head. My morning tube journeys are lost to whizzing bass lines and heavy sticking melodies as I imagine myself at the climax of some American teen flick, the happy ending's just around the corner. 'Better' is perfectly arranged, produced and delivered with gusto, the kind of song Maroon 5 would write if their musical balls had dropped a tad and Ben Folds had been employed for the harmonies, whereas 'Through The Rain' has enough G'n'R licks and chugging refrains to get the mane flouncing.

When a release comes along that's a style you have a personal vendetta with, yet is still so evidently competent and comfortable in itself that it has you liking the songs despite your own muso-snobbish-pride, you have to tip your hat and recognise the talent, it’s here in a multitude of spades.

Jonathan Falcone  

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The Subways - Rock N Roll Queen 

(Infectious Records)

Out Now

Turgid vacuous tripe that is as appealing as walking to work past an abattoir everyday at 7am is on offer here. The grating repetition of the term 'Be my' that precedes the song title is reminiscent of Mick Jagger trying to sing while having his tonsils removed. The Subways have stolen 2 minutes and 50 seconds of my life, and I want them back. Oh, what the heck, it doesn't matter I'd only waste them anyway.

David Adair

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www.infectiuosuk.com

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Röyksopp - Only This Moment  

(Wall Of Sound)

Out now

1/5

To say this release is disappointing is an understatement. From those classic first singles that mixed soul and beats, ballads and electronica, to this bubbling euphoric floor filler shows such a change of interest and style.

Whilst that can never be considered a bad thing, the music suffers for it, it's bog standard, wailing female vocals and breathy male lead, a bit like that "You/ and me/ oh yeah/ in sweet harmony" song with all the naked ladies in it.

The song is energetic, and has a passable melody, but the soul is gone completely, and in this instance it’s unforgivable.

Jonathan Falcone  

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www.wallofsound.net

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Earl - What Are You Waiting For? / Safe  

(Fat Northerner Records)

Out now

3/5

Earl’s take on electro-clash is classy. So sparkly it’s wrapped in pop cellophane and effectively chokes itself. For it lacks a sense of sincerity, the chug of the NIN inspired chorus feels false, too bright, no dirge. It’s hard to get your head around, what’s the track doing? Regardless, it seems to be having fun with itself. But the female rap-rock vocals similarly feel stilted and false. It disappoints, it’s too perfect, factory-line pop that has no sense of irony. Maybe that’s unfair, but that’s how it came across. ‘Safe’ however, hits the button, part electro-clash, part Goldfrapp and part Garbage this is more dance laden, vocal oohs give tingly atmospherics whilst the glimmering feel of the song sounds like a electroclash in its formulative stage, it’s gloriously hammy. This is definitely a game of two halves.

Jonathan Falcone 

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Millionaire - We Don't Live There Anymore / For A Maid

(PIA)

Released: 27 June 2005

I've been trying to think of ways to describe this new double A side from Belgium's returning rock heroes, Millionaire, but the closest I can get is just going "huuurgh!" very loud and dancing round my front room, playing air guitar.

As Alan Partridge put it "It's basically sex music". The first track here, produced by QOTSA's Josh Homme is as loud, dirty and as filthy as you could possibly want a song to be. You can feel the sweat dripping as the song moves through it's funky basslines, driving rhythm and primal energy. Guaranteed to have kids either dancing like Prince or trying to groove like Bootsy Collins everywhere.

Second up is 'For A Maid', a fractured, deeply un-sexy track, possibly highlighting lead singer and overall head honcho Tim Vanhamel's (him of Evil Superstars, Eagles of Death Metal and dEUS touring guitarist fame) inability to stick to one thing for long enough. It pounds away, with some frantic guitar action and a sense of savage paranoia.

Both tracks will feature on the new album 'Paradisiac', and if this is an indication of things to come, then anyone unfamiliar with Millionaire won't be for long.

Gavin Miller

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The Paddingtons - 50 To A Pound

(Poptones)

Released: 11 July 2005

3½/5

Everything that's been written about The Paddingtons suggests that anyone with half a morsel of musical passion in their bodies should hate them. So why is it that I don't? Their main inspiration for starting a band appears to be the collective delights of 'Is This It' and 'Up The Bracket', they're mates with Dominic Masters and they've boarded the relocation bus from their hometown of Hull to be part of "the scene" in London. Not to mention the fact that they are another of McGee's Poptones dot.org fraternity, which basically means their recording contract has more to do with the number of hits their website forum generates than the quality of their songs.

And yet there is something about them - and this single - that feels so right, so yeah!, so now, that makes you want to shout "Carry On The Paddingtons!" from the highest window of a 12 storey office block. Maybe it’s the fact it sounds like a sticky amalgam of those 70s punk bands like Sham 69 and the UK Subs confused by the riff to 'Can't Stand Me Now'. Whatever. As Tom Atkin sings/shouts/growls, "No one seems to care, 'cos nothing will ever change".

Dom Gourlay

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Be Your Own Pet - Fire Department  

(Rough Trade Records)  

Released: 20 June 2005

Caleb Followill (Kings Of Leon) endorsed teenage high jinx is delivered via raucous retro jams and defiant lyrics for a new generation by Nashville's Be Your Own Pet. 70's rock n roll guitar hooks and the rugged Katie Jane Garside and droplet of Patti Smith vocals of the temptress Jemina Pearl, give track 1 'Fire Department' a scintillating mix of rhythm and rawness.

'Take That Walk' parades the carefree nature of Be Your Own Petvia a slow maudlin instrumental build up, before Jemina's vocals kick in to display a touch of Bjork. The Hives chasing the Kings Of Leon and Raveonettes through a sewer feel to crunching final number; 'Hillmont Avenue' polishes off a frenetic and sprightly garage rock fuelled offering. This blasting quartet appears to be oblivious to pressures to mould their sound like plasticine and become more commercial, unlike many bands with a big weight of expectation placed upon them, long may this continue.

David Adair

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Absentee - Donkey Stock (EP)  

(Memphis Industries)

Out now

5/5

Absentee produce the kind of folk/country songs Smog would be proud of, in fact, in Daniel Michaelson they have a vocalist who can graciously rise to the haggard, world-weary vocals of Mr Callaghan without merely paying lip service. Folded within a universe of crackling pop guitars, front porch harmonicas and tumble-weed drums Michaelson's songs observe the everyday world, yet with a gorgeous surreal twist, as he croons "We're having sex/Without coming/There's no mess no babies/It's just a chicken without stuffing" in 'In The Toilets Again'.

Absentee can rip out the riffs too. 'Something to Bang' has gumph, gusto and whizzing guitar lines that zip like lubricated water-balloons, almost uncontrollably, they feel like they could permeate the membrane of the song structure (oooh, gross image, sorry).

Generally though, absentee are at their best when they're laid back, cruising through songs, picking up delightful observations and slowly unfolding them, as in 'Rainy Days Swimming' a song that makes any prospect of a relationship seem like a barren futile prospect with its reverb sodden backing vocals and chilling slide guitar. A must have EP from a band who are paving a new path through unkempt garden of Americana.

Jonathan Falcone  

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www.memphis-industries.com

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Ladytron - Sugar

(Island Records)

Released: 20 June 2005

4/5

Having sown the seeds for all things Killers and Bravery not to mention preceded the whole eighties revival thing by a good three years or more, Ladytron make a welcome return and...shock of all shocks!...they've only gone and discovered My Bloody Valentine!

Actually, to be fair, anyone who's heard their 'Softcore Jukebox' compilation of what floats their boats would be well aware of the band's respect for Kevin Shields, Belinda Butcher and co., and 'Sugar' is their way of paying homage, as Helen Marnie's delicate, wispy vocal is accompanied by a recurring dash of reverb not too dissimilar to MBV's 'Soon'.

As a precursor to the forthcoming album 'Witching Hour', 'Sugar' sees Ladytron firmly loosen the shackles of eighties nostalgia and throw their Duran Duran records in the bin. Welcome to 1990 revisited - with Ladytron at the helm, you're safe in the knowledge that they'll only let you hear the best bits.

Dom Gourlay  

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www.islandrecords.com

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The Knife - Pass This On  

(Rabid Records) 

Released: 13 June 2005

'Pass This On' is the latest single by electronic duo, The Knife.  Karin and Olof (real life siblings) hail from Stockholm, Sweden and create melodic electro pop tracks featuring minimal drum machines and dated sounding electronics.  The duo refuse to play live and condemn rock 'n' roll as something from the past whereas electronic music is something of the future.

Starting with cheap sounding steel drum keyboards and 80's synth-drums, 'Pass This On' is an intriguing track with Karin's vocals being reminiscent of Bjork by having a very clear Nordic accent present.  Even though the track sounds very dated and cheap it has a lot of charm and is very infectious. 

However the only downside is that the track doesn't progress too much and is fairly the same throughout. The pace never differs but the track is very catchy and quirky making it standout in its weirdness.

Overall 'Pass This On' shows The Knife be a very eccentric duo that create catchy & melodic electro pop. It's an intriguing track and grows on you with each listen and although it might not have a wide cross over appeal it has its own special charm and enchantment.

Daniel Ogden  

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www.theknife.net

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The Colour - Mirror Ball

(Lizard King)

Out now

3/5

They're on the same label as The Killers and have just gone on tour with The Bravery. Mirror Ball skips along to a simple Franz beat with similar lyrical sighs. I know what you’re thinking, could The Colour be more 2005 if they tried? It lacks the punch that the likes of Take Me Out or Mr Brightside had when you heard them for the first time, before they became overplayed Daytime FM noise. But all of a sudden it's all over in two and a half minutes, so at least it doesn't overstay its welcome. Rather than dismissing them as clones, they seem to have cracked the formula of What Many People Are Listening To At The Moment, and if they got the blanket MTV2 coverage that most of this ilk enjoy, there could be no stopping them. Saying that, the last Bravery single charted hilariously badly, speedboats and all. So look out lads, it's getting tough out there.  

Joe Weiller

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www.lizardkingrecords.com

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Randi Russo - Still Standing Still

(Olive Juice Records)

Released: June 6 2005

The EP title is immediately turned into irony by slowly twanging and moving instrumentals that emphasize each point about innocence and beauty, made by the talented New Yorker Randi Russo. The strong yet calming Heather Nova mingled with P J Harvey vocals in 'Born Free Blood Flow' have the ability to blow you away like a leaf in a down storm. However, the track builds up to tackle darker subjects of the monotony of life and the contrasting human emotions that exist in us all,

"You were once born free. Feeling so much indignation over each and every obligation and there ain't any indication of when it's gonna end."

With each song on this 5 track EP weighing in at over the radio friendly three minute mark, time is taken to explore and build up a range of emotions with skill akin to that of Alexandre Dumas. The enticing and beckoning 'Come Away With Me' with its sprightly instrumental outro, highlights better than any other track that Randi has adopted a more band intensive approach to music making than was evident on previous album 'Solar Bipolar'.

The maudlin blues nature of closing number 'Locked-Down Fade' will erect a reputation for Randi as a crafted, emotive, versatile and intelligent singer/songwriter who actually cares. Defying the trends of many offerings that are music's equivalent to fast food, this EP credits the listener with having an attention span and it is certainly worthy of a great deal of attention.

Check out Randi Russo live in:

July 4th Manchester, The Night & Day Cafe
July 7th - The Betsey Trotwood, London
July 11 - The Windmill, Brixton

David Adair

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www.olivejuicemusic.com

www.randirusso.com

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Bright Eyes - Gold Mine Gutted / Easy/Lucky/Free

(Saddle Creek)

Released: July 11 2005

Hopefully realising which of his two newly released albums is the better, Conor Oberst returns with a double offering from the magnificent 'Digital Ash In A Digital Urn' album, released a few months back, along with the not-as-good-but-still-OK 'I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'.

'Gold Mine Gutted' is, quite frankly brilliant. As with all other Bright Eyes releases, Oberst is here pouring his heart out, but instead of it being to a strummy acoustic guitar or languid piano backdrop, it's an ear pleasing change for the better, as the eerie synths, big, walloping drum beat and a whole plethora of odd effects all mingle with each other to provide a slightly sinister, but ultimately listenable, beautiful account of Oberst's inner demons.

As an added bonus, it's also backed by one of the highlights of the album, 'Easy/Lucky/Free', a trippy electro-country mash up, featuring distant steel guitar twangs, plodding drums and bouncy synths. "Sometimes I wonder if I've lost the plot" Conor admits at one point, but if this has anything to do with it, he's only getting it more and more with every release. 

"Don't you weep" goes the sublime chorus, all hazy melancholia, draped over a trippy, valium drenched beat. Don't worry bright eyes, we ain't weeping yet. 

He's still only young let's not forget, but judging from this release, he's only going to get better.

Gavin Miller

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Special Needs - Blue Skies 

(Mercury Records)

Released: June 13 2005

The brass band-like marching percussion intro builds to introduce the Sham 69 meets Joe Strummer vocals of the vibrant voiced of Zac Stephenson, who even has the versatility to throw in a Damien Rice style interlude prior to the thumping conclusion to ‘Blue Skies’. The track is tied together by the chugging bass line of Phil, as the band plucks a pearlier of 50’s, 60s and 70s influenced pop, new wave and indie as a prelude to their much anticipated debut album out soon.

David Adair

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Plant Life - The Last Song

(Gut Records)

Released: May 30 2005

5/5

This is a 12” remix single, it’s 2 songs with a bunch of remixes and the title track itself is electro-dance music meets hip-hop, it’s ridiculously bouncy and such great fun you won’t be able to help but jut your neck.

It sounds like a halfway house between Montell Jordan and the Scissor Sisters, as shiny beats are complimented by an overly enthusiastic rapper.

It’s great to have such positivism in music period, and the B-Side (for real, as in, not a remix) is like some early 90s soul groove or an 80s Luther Vandross track. When music’s that uncool, you know you gotta’ love it (and that it’ll be cool in a few years anyway).

Jonathan Falcone

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www.gutrecords.com

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Fleeing New York - Up Up Up

(Stuck Up Music)

Out Now

4/5

After the dreadful season the football team and it’s supporters have endured at St. Mary’s, it seems three natives of SO1 have more than just an indiscriminate sense of optimism. ‘Up Up Up’ is the sort of tune people like Elastica used to write in their sleep not too many moons ago.

It’s stop-start-stop dynamics owe as much to late 80s indie stalwarts The Wedding Present as it does any of the current post-punk name-check brigade, as Emma Richardson and Russell Marsden dual admirably over the vocal duties without so much as a cross word between them.

Equally as adept is the flipside ‘At Night’, which again has a tempestuous air about it that suggests it could have been written – and wouldn’t sound out of place, incidentally – at almost any point over the last two-and-a-half decades. 

Good stuff then that could see their previous tag of avant-garde noise terrorists replaced with the more subtle grace of delightful tune raconteurs.

Dom Gourlay

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Televise - Outside Out EP

(Club AC30)

Out Now

3½/5

Televise are the brainchild of former Slowdive and Lowgold guitarist Simon Scott, and while both the former’s textured guitar patterns and latter’s transcendent melancholia are both evident in patches, this EP marks a tenacious departure for Scott, in that the title track is eerily reminiscent of an early Buffalo Tom or even ‘Murmur’ phase REM. All good so far then.

Second track, the haunting ‘Let Me Go Down’ could be described as “mood music” in that it would be hard to imagine Scott and his three cohorts cracking much of a smile during it’s recording, such is the bleaklandscape portrayed both lyrically (“You want it all!”) and musically as Nick King’s thudding drumbeats punctuate the song’s demeanour throughout.

The third and final track ‘If I Told You’ is a subtler lament that conjures up an almost cinematic edge, such is the feral beauty within its gentle strum, Scott asking inquisitively “If I told you, would you care?” Oh we do Simon, believe me. So much so that we await the next Televise release with a sense of loss and desolation rather than one of excitable anticipation.

Dom Gourlay

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www.clubac30.com

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The Kills - Love Is A Deserter

(Domino)

Out Now

2½/5

‘Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?’ could actually have been about The Kills if they were, well…ahem, lads and originated from within the vicinity of the Tyne Bridge, except they don’t. But it still begs the question. After 2003’s excellent ‘Keep On The Mean Side’ suggested Britain (OK, they’re 50% there but Ms Mosshart is an honorary Brit these days anyway) had found a realistic answer to The White Stripes gunk’n’garage blues but…they seem to have disappeared somewhere along the crack reserved for their bum cleavage.

‘Love Is A Deserter’ is actually one of the stand out tracks on their disappointing ‘No Wow’ long player but still lacks the charm of a ‘Cat Claw’, the panache of a ‘Black Rooster’ or the raw energy of ‘Fuck The People’. Gently flowing along to a synthesised drumbeat, this sounds like a leftover of Shoreditch – the Electroclash years and suggests that maybe the pretentious VV and Hotel monikers weren’t the only things The Kills should have dropped.

Dom Gourlay

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www.dominorecordco.com

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Neil's Children - Always The Same 

(Poptones / Soft City)

Released: June 6 2005

This lot are mates with Bloc Party, and you can see why. They’ve got a very complimentary sound to Kele’s boys, but with a harder attitude. Always The Same contains a frustrated punk energy as singer John Linger spits and yelps through the words. It could be their Helicopter or She’s Hearing Voices. B-side Stupid Band lambastes any lazy rock stars out there, trying to “rule the world with your stupid fans”. Nothing revolutionary, but they’ve got a good racket going on. And they can carry off acoustic, on the other extra track Run Before We Can Walk, which contains all the swagger but at half the volume. I’ve seen them live, supporting Art Brut, and they’re worth checking out.

Joe Weiler

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www.poptones.co.uk

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Joy Zipper - You’re So Good 7"

(Vertigo)

Released May 30th

2/5

Joy Zipper used to be a cool little outfit, lots of fun and great tunes. Then Kevin Shields got involved in producing ‘American Whip’ and all of a sudden it was ‘serious’.

As a result of this experience, it now seems as though they’ve completely forgotten about how good they used to be, instead choosing to churn out further indie drudge with a slight MBV production feel and Tabitha Tindale picking up a (really annoying) slight country twinge in the vocals.

I want to write nice things about Joy Zipper, at one point they looked like they would rule the charts if they continued to blast out the hits. But, as with everything Mr Shields gets involved in, his legacy took control and lead to the music’s demise. An unfortunate curse, but a curse nevertheless. Though ‘You’re So Good’ can only be considered a failure, here’s hoping Joy Zipper can shake the Shields-ian shackles and rediscover that sense of fun and melody that made them so noteworthy in the first place.

Jonathan Falcone

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Idlewild - I Understand It

(Parlophone)

Out Now

Long gone are the days when Idlewild were a loud, heavy, wall of crunched guitars and snarling vocals. Mind you, everyone says that, and I’m not one to stand in the way of a band who want to move on.

So, enter the new Idlewild, all catchy riffs and nice, pleasant vocals. It’s certainly a world apart from their benchmark ‘100 Broken Windows’, but we’d still be complaining if they continued to knock out that album for the past four or five years, so you can’t win really.

Idlewild seem to have done an REM, and moved past their college rock roots to go for a bigger sounding, middle of the road (but still good) sound. Gone are the gritty telecaster twangs and the yelped cries from Roddy Woomble, and what we have now is a more sedate, less frantic band.

In it’s own little way, this is rather nice. It has a sort of jolly, whimsical feel to it, all stomping beats and plucked guitars. It’s the kind of song you’d want to hear on the radio or at a house party in the middle of summer- something not that obtrusive, yet a cut above the rest.

So there you have it, it’s not going to win over all the cynical Idlewild fans who just want Roddy to scream ‘When I Argue (I See Shapes)’, but it fits in nicely with the whole Radio 2 set easily.

Gavin Miller

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Review #1

Roger - A Kiss In The Darkness / Boys Of Scandinavia - Worse Than A Girl

(Maetre Recordings)

Released: June 6 2005

The bouncing and saucy electro disco of Finnish sound manipulator Teemu Metsala brings the spirit and catchiness of Human League up to date, leaving behind the needless pretension. ‘Kiss In The Darkness’ unites the electro and pop genre as though they had a bitter fight years ago and have finally decided to let bygones be bygones. The distorted spacey vocals coupled with bouncy and zapping electro instrumentals provide for an inhibition shaking and upbeat mood. Having toured with revered electro mainstay John Foxx; Roger will continue to catch the eye and sway bodies with this nifty number.

Slow melodious disco/pop provided via slowed down Brandon Boyd like vocals with a dabble of Underworld, John Foxx and Kraftwerk style maudlin electro and twanging bass lines gives the Boys From Scandinavia a funky feel. ‘Worse Than Girl’ is a pleasing and even tempo offering from this Finland outfit who boast none other than Roger’s Teemu Metsala as co-producer.

David Adair

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Review #2

Roger - A Kiss In The Darkness / Boys Of Scandinavia - Worse Than A Girl

(Mate Recordings)

Released: 6th June.

4/5

Manchester label Mate don’t just operate as part of the underground, they’re literally buried six feet under their own Mancunian vernacular of sophisticated electronic sleaze.

Both tracks on this split single not only hint at another time, another place and possibly even another planet, they also showcase a side to the city where the canal is never clean that most people would probably have expected to have been long forgotten in London’s Batcave or Amsterdam’s Paradiso sometime towards the back end of 1982.

Opening track ‘A Kiss In The Darkness’ is the work of half-Mancunian, half-Finnish duo Roger, and sounds like the Pet Shop Boys on a day trip to Hawkings’ abode, where elocution notes and tongue induced fluids arecasually swapped without any further ado. If Vangelis were to allow the soundtrack of ‘Blade Runner’ to be re-recorded in a two dimensional, post-modern style, Roger would be the obvious candidates. In day-glo shell suits and marionette face paint of course.

‘Worse Than A Girl’ meanwhile is a return to the original days of death disco in its most devilish format. The Boys Of Scandinavia – basically the same duo as Roger plus Finnish Peter Cushing soundalike Tuomo Kuusi – sound like Alien Sex Fiend covering Depeche Mode’s ‘See You’ in the bass key of The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’. Yes it’s that other dimensional, in that despite the 
obvious reference points, the fact they merely come and go in cameo fashion makes this a record like nothing you’ve ever heard in your life before. I swear!

Dom Gourlay

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Winterville - Shotgun Smile

(Toxxic Records)

Released May 23rd

2/5

American grunge, is this to be the next trendy resurgence? It could happen, and if so Winterville will lead the pack. Two points spring to mind.

A: That would be awesome, Soundgarden ruled (and Nirvana, of course).

B: That would blow; Pearl Jam should stay rotting in Hell forever.

Vocally, Winterville are at the Soundgarden end, and are as anthemic as the grunge movement, self-consciously, was.

If this were to happen though, it would ruin what was the last real musical movement that had any notion of danger; excitement and genuine youth culture expression (all the major labels bought those rights in 1993).

So go away Winterville, I don’t want a series of pretty boy McGrunges in baggy Nirvana tops plaguing the telly and radio… it’s inevitable, isn’t it?

Jonathan Falcone

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Bird - Slowly, Slowly 

(Ice Cream Records) 

Released: June 20 2005

Sparkling, comforting and vibrant alt. pop is delivered with flighty enthusiasm and feeling to skirt the territory of KT Tunstall, Bjork and Rachel Yamagata to produce that fresh feeling. Wandering instrumentals meet up with Janie Price’s comforting and composed vocals to provide a catchy offering with honesty and feeling. ‘Slowly, Slowly’, is in essence Bird’s debut single taken from tantalising debut album ‘The Insides’. Unless, of course, you were lucky enough to get your hands on a copy of the limited edition AA sided offering; ‘Falling Like Stars/Christmas Song’ that is now rarer than an Alec Ferguson smile.

David Adair

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Dinosaur JR - Freakscene/Bulbs of Passion 

(Sweet Nothing Records)

Released: 6 June 2005

J.Mascis has reformed the original kings of slacker rock, albeit without Lou Barlow, and to accompany this is a re-release for one of the greatest love songs to ever feature a minute long guitar solo. First released in 1988 this is still sounding fresh. A perennial indie disco favourite, and its an era defining song every bit as much as 'Teenage Riot' or 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. Very few people can craft a song like J Mascis, the verses are beautifully humble, fragile sentiments we can all relate to, "don't let me fuck up will you, when I need a friend its still you", then they tear into a couple of heartbreaking solos, searing and sincere the likes of which Matt Bellamy would kill his bandmates to be able to write. Freakscene is one of those perfect songs that will never feature in any TV lists, but we don't want it to, this one is just for us.  

Neil McLaren

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Telex – ‘Byp/Ctrl’ EP  

(Fortune & Glory)  

Released: 23 May 2005

It’s a risky business, naming your band after something to do with another one, but Telex went ahead and did it anyway…

The obvious Radiohead-isms are going to be flying about from the moment you press play, and it’s easy to see why. First track ‘Motion Sickness’ sounds like something Thom and Co. left off ‘OK Computer’, but it still retains it’s own sense of impending doom and claustrophobic paranoia. The lovely harmonies and the glittering guitars flow on a bed of frantic drumming to create a pretty uneasy atmosphere, but a very listenable one.

‘Reverberation’ sees Telex experimenting with computer glitches and strange Boards of Canada esque haunting synth sweeps. Mix that together with some eerie vocals and a distant e-bow in the background and you have another reason to check out this EP.

The church organ flavoured ‘System’ brings back the glacial guitar sound and has it skipping over some more computer aided beats and more sickly sweet harmonies.

It’s engaging stuff, and as the EP progresses, it’s hard to switch off- something this beautiful needs repeated listens to truly grasp.

The last two on offer, ‘Patches in the Sky’ and ‘Tropism’ sees the band go back to their haunting guitar sound as evidenced on the EPs opener ‘Motion Sickness’.

‘Patches…’ is another stab at post-Radiohead songsmithery, with its odd samples, the strange chord changes and some more barely conscious vocals.

‘Tropism’ is another cold, downbeat piece which then erupts into a fuzz bass post rock free for all, with squealing guitar leads, sampled vocal lines and more frantic digital weirdness.

In the current climate of Libertines-esque nonsense, Telex stick out like a sore thumb, but in my eyes, that’s a very very good thing. Investigate this band now.

Gavin Miller

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Shitmat - The Lesser Spotted Burberry EP  

(Planet Mu)

Out Now

From the opening moments of rousing orchestral music sped up to sound like a rave tune, as two pill heads chat nonsensically, you know this is going to be fun.

If you’re unaware of who Shitmat is, change that, he makes the most insane gabba/electro dance tunes going, and has a vicious sense of humour.

Known for dressing like king chav, and performing with cardboard boxes (and anything he can grab) on his head, he paves the way in the electro anarchist circles showing Kid 606 how to do it and still keep the beat (slightly) tangible.

So this single is ferocious, the drums and squelches veer from unrelentless neck jutting to pill-head-nonsense-chatting ‘chill-out’.

Really it’s just the most wonderful madness.

Jonathan Falcone

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The Futureheads - Decent Days And Nights

(679 Recordings)

Sunderland’s mod, pop and Britpop skirting quartet pluck another catchy and excitable exhibit from their self-titled debut album. Musically and vocally it shakes hands and pats backs with fellow NME tour mates The Kaiser Chiefs. The Futureheads’ front pair Barry Hyde (Lead vocals) and Ross Millard (guitar/backing vocals) feed off each other, with the same degree of success Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips used to enjoy when representing Sunderland.

David Adair

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Animal Collective feat. Vashti Bunyan - Prospect Hummer EP

(FatCat)  

Released: 16 May 2005

This four-song e.p. from Animal Collective and the legendary Vashti Bunyan is magical. Vashti’s voice has remained unchanged in the thirty five years since her recently unearthed pastoral pop masterpiece Just Another Diamond Day (a full length album is currently being recorded for FatCat with some very special guests), and it is her sweet voice that is the wellspring for this collaboration with the ‘Collective. Recorded as a trio comprising Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Deakin (whilst the relentlessly evolving Brooklyn band were in the midst of a European tour) “It’s You” opens with Vashti’s pure tones slowly being surrounded by a miasma of autoharp and intertwining voices, weaving a dreamlike ambience, while “Prospect Hummer” emerges as a surreal campfire song. With minimal percussion underpinning the shifting warmth of the acoustic guitars, distant chimes and vocal interplay, these serotonin stimulating harmonies are ideal for these days when the first rays of summer sun are peeking through the clouds. The instrumental “Baleen Sample” features band member Geologist (absent from the initial recordings) who provides the horror movie samples which wheeze over the track, an accumulation of variously strummed stringed instruments, while things draw to a close with “I Remember Learning How To Dive”. If this song had a colour it would be golden, like sunlight refracted through a jar of honey. Though only fifteen minutes in length I’ve been playing this record for hours and it’s completely refreshing and spellbinding. The Animal Collective and Vashti Bunyan enchant unlike anything you will hear this or any year.  

Keith Wallace

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www.fat-cat.co.uk

www.perfectsoundforever.com

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Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies - Ores  

(Fierce Panda)

Out Now

2/5

You want to love these guys, they run through the musical candy shop like they’re millionaires intent on stuffing their arteries before lunchtime. Screamo wails bang their heads into the post-rock lampposts and end up with a flock of disco dancing birdies flying round their heads.

But at the end of the day it’s not big and it’s not clever. Racked with emo vocals that have neither the whimsy for a pop melody to underpin the angled chugs nor the brutality to shred out the math-rock of Thor, they’re left hopelessly abandoned in a limbo.

Whilst they’re gloriously lost and directionless, which is no bad thing, it’s like they’re not really trying to either get out or pummel themselves into an abyss of their own musical creation. And whilst it’s perfectly fair to ask, “why should they?” well maybe because of what it produces, a meandering Coldplay version of hardcore music (gulp) that for all its condensed and irritated flicks and changes, loses all semblance impact through just not doing much of interest. Listen to a Locust album, or the Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower, or Cat On Form (RIP) instead I reckon.

Jonathan Falcone  

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www.fiercepanda.co.uk

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Yuppie Flu - Our Nature  

(Homesleep)

Released: 9 May 2005

‘Our Nature’ the latest single by the Italian four-piece, Yuppie Flu is an upbeat, summery pop track which starts with a catchy guitar line, before being joined by whirling organs and pounding beats.  ‘Our Nature’ is an unpredictable pop gem flowing into different directions and instrumentation with ease.  With a nod towards The Zombies the track is very 60’s sounding but with today’s more pristine production.

‘Stay For A While’ is one of the CD’s B-sides and slightly differs from ‘Our Nature’.  The track is yearning, desperate and a slightly bitter track reminiscent of early Pavement.  The track shows a contrast in Yuppie Flu’s sound showing they can be light and poppy to dark and bitter.

‘Cold Rays Of Sunshine’ the second b-side, is a slow piano led track with a gentle string accompaniment and slightly sad undertone.  The track is very hushed and fragile showing again Yuppie Flu’s palette of styles and sounds.

‘Our Nature’ is a great single and serves as a great introduction to the sounds and past works of Yuppie Flu.  Let’s hope with this offering that Yuppie Flu will get the attention and success they deserve.

Daniel Ogden  

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www.homesleep.it

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Betamax Format - XXX Robot/Raus! Raus!  

(Risc)

Housed in a dizzying op-art sleeve this is the heavy-duty vinyl debut single from Dublin’s Betamax Format. As their name suggests, old-skool lo-fi electronics are on hand and both these tunes will regulate yr heartbeat in different ways. “XXX Robot” is punky slab of motorik melodicism, with serrated guitars strangled over analogue dronetones and 8-bit squiggles, while excellent dynamics fuse string and synth and wave and wire into an infectious, giddy invigoration. “Raus! Raus!” on the flipside is a kontemplative krautrocky groove, gently pulsating with whirrs and a guitar that seems to be attempting to communicate in Morse code, kinda like The Rapture (if they were good at dubby instrumentals) trapped in honey. Then the plug gets pulled and you got no other choice but to flip this fine record over and start again…

Keith Wallace

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www.betamaxformat.com

www.riscrecords.com

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Review #1

Maximo Park - Graffiti  

(Warp)

Released: 2 May 2005

Man this broke my heart when I found out it was on Warp. A label that in its past has put out endless cultural saboteurs, dance floor scientists and worked with some of the finest music directors going now puts out some bog standard band that’s main selling point is being a bit ‘chirpy’.

Has Warp been bought out? Have they become so entangled into the London scene that they now detest electronica, choosing instead ill sitting haircuts and skinny boys rehashing the past on guitars (and occasional feeble keyboard). The signing of Maximo Park would certainly suggest so.

So the single itself – bit angled, bit poppy, nearest comparison would be the Jam, art-school lyrics, like so much other stuff out there it’s instantly… who am I writing about again?

Maximo Park, helping to over saturate London’s already shit-fat bloated indulgent self. Let’s pray for Warp.

Jonathan Falcone 

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Review #2

Maximo Park - Graffiti  

(Warp)

Released: 2 May 2005

Splashing their Geordie garage/indie rock sound with vigour, vitality and rasping rhythm this Tom English fronted quartet are a raw and refreshing bunch of no sap music lovers. The impact of ‘Graffiti’ can be described as a Friday night sound; a cathartic release that pushes woes to one side with precision and passion in a provocative manner. B-side ‘Trial and Error’ shows a slower more pop friendly side to this outfit and is something that may help them leap frog other bands of this elk, giving them another dimension.

David Adair

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Review #3

Maximo Park - Graffiti  

(Warp)

Released: 2 May 2005

4½/5

If The Futureheads have opened the doors for the north-east as a hotbed of musical excitement after Gazza and Lindisfarne firmly bolted them shut a decade or so ago, then Maximo Park have come hurtling through the hallway like Steve Cram approaching the finishing line at Athens in 1982.

‘Graffiti’ is like a call to arms for anyone who’s ever had the (dis)pleasure of growing up and settling down in a dead-end hellhole on the outskirts of nowhere. “I’ve had enough, I can’t take any more” storms Paul Smith before adding, “You’ve lost your conscience, because nothing happens in my town.”

Whether the over elaborate references to the Situationist riots in 1968 are a deliberate attempt at enforcing a pretentious-moi stigma or just a cleverly worded synonym alluding to getting off your arse and making something happen is another thing, but the fact that ‘Graffiti’ is one of the most compulsive and complete pop singles of 2005 cannot be ignored.

Dom Gourlay

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www.maximopark.com  

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Eels – Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)  

(Polydor)

Released: 16 May 2005

Ahhh Eels. All seems well in the world when the man Mark Oliver Everett puts out a new record.

Here’s his first offering since the under-rated ‘Shootenany!’ received nothing but lukewarm press a few years back. So what do Eels sound like in 2005? Well, let me tell you…

Never have I heard such unashamed joy and fun in one song than I have in ‘Hey Man…’

It would seem from this single that E’s cheered up again, as the pseudo doo wop track rips along, all bouncy hand claps and screaming saxophone.

“Do you know what it’s like to fall on the floor? Cry your guts out till you ain’t got no more? Hey man! Now you’re really living” goes the opening line, and as with past Eels material, it’s the perfect mix of quietly dark lyrics, matched to a song so happy and lively, it’s almost like a children’s TV theme.

Gavin Miller

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The Duke Spirit - Love Is An Unfamiliar Name  

(Loog Records)

Released 16 May 2005

This starts with determination, voodoo percussion, Justine Frischman inspired vocal delivery, heroine chic with sassy confidence.

After the first chord sequence it gets boring, there’s one rather staid chord change throughout; an ascension of little impact, save the occasional string bend at its close. The melody is repetitive, performed with little dexterity or effort, more a half drawl that comes across as smug. The whole song doesn’t go anywhere or do anything, it tries to hit a wall of sound towards the end but it’s just another rather ineffective guitar layer, with no real willingness or inspiration to try and fuck with the sequence, destroy the established mantra and find the beauty hidden deep within the potential dissonance that prowls inside. Instead it plods on, feeling safe in its own monotony. Bitterly disappointing.

Jonathan Falcone.

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www.loogrecords.co.uk

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Battle - Isabelle

(Fierce Panda)

Out Now  

4/5

Four years ago when ridiculous excesses of Limp Bizkit seemed like they were set for global domination, the rest of the world were crying out for something a bit more subtle without being subdued, intense not intrusive, dark but never destructive.

It may have taken a while for anyone brave enough to challenge the evil forces of corporate mediocrity, but if Interpol's 'Turn On The Bright Lights' felt like a never ending coach ride into timeless oblivion, no one could have predicted what would emerge in its wake.

Because, just like every bus service in any municipal town and city you'd care to mention, along come four at the same time. Following hot on the heels of Bloc Party, The Rakes and Editors come London four piece Battle, and if the other three echo the grandiose talents of the Gang Of Four, Joy Division and The Chameleons, then Battle display more than a touch of ingenuity in the hair and make-up department to draw parallels with the never ending phenomenon that is The Cure.

From Jason Bavanandan's haunting vocal on the title track, to the gut swelling reverb haze of 'Feel The Same', Battle conjure up a sound that is easily referenced but entirely futuristic in its vision. Thank God they dropped the Killing Moon moniker, as its stark implications of an 80s tribute act may have meant we might never have had the pleasure of hearing them, which on this evidence would be nothing short of a tragedy.

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www.thisisbattle.com

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Narcissus - The Window EP  

(Northern Ambition)

Out Now

Soaring music from the base of Manchester, or some would say the heart of this thriving music metropolis of the UK, as Narcissus definitely possesses a beat to be proud of. ‘The Window’ slowly opens out from a foundation of slow and funky beats associated with R N B and to a lesser extent the ambient genre. The sound then expands and broadens with the soaring vocals of Ben Guys, who grabs hold of a varied range of influences spanning New Order, A Man Called Adam, Doves, Massive Attack and Puressence then he harmonizes them. A bouncing almost deep/tech house style remix featuring soulful and heavenly backing vocals provided by Dark Matter.

The funky and feisty ‘Burning Candles’ jolts along at the outset before settling into cruising and jive friendly pace.  Guys’ vocals take on a distorted and echoing feel to drive home the point that whatever you do is:

 “Never gonna be enough”

This offering is surely going to enough to place a spoonful of spice into the mouths of followers of an ever-varying Manchester music scene. 

David Adair

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www.narcissusmusic.co.uk

www.northernambition.com  

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Clor - Love + Pain 

(EMI)

Out Now

Oxymoronically titled electro varnished indie tingles the senses, as Clor grasp your imagination with their Duran Duran crashing into guitar rock and come out the other side unscarred. ‘Love + Pain’ features catchy lyrics that have made bands like The Killers bigger than reality television;

“I was in love, but that was yesterday, now I’m in pain and it’s here to stay. I was the bird that buzzed the bees and stole the honey.”

The slow almost laid back, yearning, provocative and a little raw story-telling vocals of Barry Dobbin provides the B-side ‘Tough Love’ with a safe and comforting beginning akin to the eerie and slow climb up the slope of a roller coaster. Then the rampaging beats kick in like four shots of tequila, to leave you feeling invincible by the end. A slow and maudlin acoustic led conclusion that is ‘You’ll Change’ brings you slowly back down to earth. Clor has it what takes to grab hold of the nation’s attention and not let go. 

David Adair

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www.clor.co.uk

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Millencolin - Ray

(Softcore Inc)

The most frustrating thing about Good Charlotte is that behind the Fred Durst wannabe psychobabble, there is a semblance of talent. Every time they come on the radio you just want to wash away the pomposity. This is what Millencolin has done in their foray into the subject matter of assertiveness and human nature in the rasping offering that is ‘Ray’.

This Swedish quartet still retains an edge as is evident in the vibrant B-side ‘Phony Tony’, whereby coolness and bullying a given the short sharp shrift. Shades of Motion City Soundtrack creep into this offering via the clatteringly upbeat instrumentals and in the clarity of Nikola Sarcervic’s vocals. Despite the fact that Millencolin are now on their sixth album ‘Kingwood’, an emotion laden live track ‘Bullion’ finishes off a fresh offering. 

David Adair

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www.millencolin.com

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