BABY SCREAM
Monsters (Beyond Your Mind CD EP)
     Baby Scream are a testament to today's international internet pop culture, where an album can be made in Brisbane, Birmingham or Buenos Aires without anyone being able to tell the difference. Whether that's a good thing is an argument for another day. This album was made in Buenos Aires, but there are few traces of Argentina – this is pop from the Western world! Although Baby Scream are a band, songwriter and vocalist Juan Mazzola is the driving force. Since 2001 the band has existed as a solo project, an acoustic duo or a full band, performing and recording in a variety of styles from Britpop to punk, before settling on their current approach, which involves tuneful acoustic pop based around acoustic guitars with keyboard and electric guitar backing.
     The first song gives a slightly misleading impression of what is to follow, being a sparse cover of Alex Chilton's 'Blue River', using only acoustic guitar, cello and violin. The other tunes feature a full band sound, where Cristian and Sebastians' electric guitars and Maria's keyboards combine well to support Juan's attractive and well sung tunes. The urgent acoustic guitars and insistent chorus of 'Gone Forever' are the pick of the bunch, but the quality is consistent throughout. Other tunes like 'Mars' and '1983' suggest that the band have a bright future. I will try and catch the band live when they tour Europe in the near future.
www.beyondyourmindrec.de
Phil Suggitt

BRILLIANT FANZINE
Then Comes Monday (Pop Boomerang CD)
     Australian popsters Brilliant Fanzine come into their own on tunes like 'Would We Go Back' and 'Omens' where clouds of breathy harmonies float over background layers of delicate keyboards and shimmering guitars. Lead singer Matt O'Neill has a warm voice that is great for this type of yearning, melodic pop. The sound is contemporary, and doesn't try to evoke the sound of past masters of the genre. Overall Brilliant Fanzine succeed with their attempts to produce sophisticated, subtle, restrained 'grown-up' modern pop. When it works, it works really well, as on the simple but gorgeous 'One In 10,000' and 'Come Up And See Me', which boast big sing along choruses. Not all the songs are in this class. It isn't that the Fanzine's sound is bland, but just a little too polite and restrained on songs like 'When It's Through, It's Gone'. By this I don't mean that they should turn the guitars to 11 and crank out out some tired rock clichés, but that they could develop and accentuate the melodic inventiveness displayed in their best songs.
     Following this release the band has grown and new personnel have arrived to augment the original line up, so there are high hopes for the follow-up.
www.popboomerang.com
Phil Suggitt

JOHNNY CASINO & THE SECRETS
Cowboys and Indians (Off The Hip CD EP)
     This EP has little in common with John Spittles previous releases with Asteroid B612 or as his alter ego of Johhny Casino. All five songs have different styles and different personnel. The title track is good anthemic power pop with layers of acoustic and electric guitars. 'The Country Mile' is so-so country rock, with Johnny handing over the vocal duties to Bill Gibson. 'The Letter' is a cover of the classic Boxtops number. Johnny sings well, but Kent Steedman's rock guitar doesn't fit. 'Drunk and Tired' is a sweary sing-along ode to male self pity which will delight young teenage boys. The final track is a solo acoustic folk number. Johnny is obviously keen to play and record in a wide range of styles that he doesn't usually work in; like me, you'll probably find some more satisfying than others.
www.offthehip.com.au
Phil Suggitt

RAY DAYTONA & GOOGOOBOMBOS
One Eyed Jack (66Sixties CD)
     All of Ray Daytona's records come in neat packages with great artwork, and this one is no exception, with paintings of strange and bizarre creatures who I hope don't represent the band!
     I always enjoy half of Ray Daytona's stuff – the instrumentals. Ray's lead guitar mix classic spaghetti western twang with surf licks. Meanwhile the band lay down some fine garage rhythms and, on this release, Italian keyboard Maestro Paolo Apollo Negri weighs in with some Moog and Hammond as well. The seemingly strange surf, spaghetti and sci-fi music works really well on tracks like 'Heart of Darkness' and the wonderfully named 'Dr. Phibes Clockwork Wizard'. The trouble is that only half of the ten tunes are instros; vocal and instrumental tracks alternate, and the instros win hands down. What it comes down to is that the band lacks a natural singer. Female bassist Rosie sounds out of her depth and out of tune on 'It's Not That I Don't Like', and guitarist Doctor D doesn't sound much better on the male vocal numbers. They both play well but sound as if they are only singing because no-one else can. The instros are good, solid tunes that stand up well beside the work of other contemporary instrumental outfits. Somehow the band lose their musical touch on the vocal numbers. Not only is the singing weak but the band the interesting and memorable tunes they conjure up elsewhere, and opt for dull and predictable rock numbers. My advice is that the band should stick to what they do best, or draft in a charismatic lead singer!
www.66sixties.org 
Phil Suggitt

LA FLEUR FATALE
Night Generation (Killer Cobra CD)
     This album opens with sitar, then flute, then strummed acoustics and strong pop harmonies, leaving the listener in no doubt that we are in pop-psych territory! In the same way that some contemporary garage bands are equally inspired by the '80's garage revival as well as the original '60's punkers, La Fleur Fatale are inspired by the sounds of psychedelically inclined '90's indie and Britpop bands (Stone Roses, Boo Radleys etc) as much as the pop-psych of the late '60's. The band may hotly dispute this, but I'm just trying to find a reference point for potential listeners! For a young band from Sweden they have an extremely polished sound with carefully arranged vocals. A range of instruments are employed to give variety and texture, without overdoing it and drowning the tunes in novelty.
     This isn't self-indulgent psych noodling – like the Britpop boys, these guys want to have hits. They 'Wanna Be Adored' as the third song proclaims, although it's a long way from the Stone Roses. Songs like 'Night Generation' are carefully arranged up-beat pop, with a big sing along chorus. The driving 'Sister Fatale' highlights the strong vocal arrangements. Sadly some mainstream reviews didn't dig the psych elements.
     The thirteen songs are consistently strong and well produced. The musicians are uncredited but the organ and acoustic guitars figure prominently, as do the driving rhythm section. An assured debut.
www.killercobrarecords.com
Phil Suggitt

THE GO
Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride (Cass CD)
     No self esteemed Shindigger will be able to avoid the impression caused by the cover art and the fact that The Go come from Detroit. However, this is an entirely different kind of a Motor City engine (though there ARE 4 of them, instead of 5 ifyouknowhatimean), overloaded with late'60s-Beatles-through-Badfingerisms as a FABulous surprise. Not that there's no sweaty power-chord crunch or two, but the vocals are what puts it all back again into the late'60s Brit ambience.
     The opening 'You go bangin' on' is a kind of a tamer Diddley beat, by way of an imaginary 'White album' outtake by Lennon. It's followed by a pair of what's quite close to Badfinger covering The Beach Boys ('Invisible friends') or Bowie ('Caroline'), before they hit the very bullseye of Badfinger's own genuine vintage power-pop sound itself, with 'So long Johnny'. Back to late The Beatles' bluesy roots side, that "comes together" perfectly with well 'Yer stoned Italian cowboy', and the first one that takes a detour from the initial concept is 'Refrain', a poem by Allen Ginsberg, turned into a long lost Ray Davies tune. On "side two", they seem to get a little harder and more psychedelic as well, starting with 'Down a spiral', still close enough to late '60s Lennon, spiced with some of the lysergic vibes of the SF-era Pretties. 'Help you out' adds a Roy Wood-like "move-ment" or two, while 'Mercurial girl' might as well be the most psychedelic The American Breed had ever gotten. The album's finale gets more innocent once again, with the girly group sound of 'She's prettiest when she cries' mixed up with the early Velvet Underground's more gentler side, and 'Mary Ann' is as close as possible to how the "Wild honey"-era Beach Boys would've sounded while playing some of their mid'60s stuff. Actually, it's only the closing 'Smile' (no B-reference here) that doesn't really work quite well for me comapred to the rest of it, even though it is a decent enough piece of popsike, with a shoegazing touch to it.
     Considering that this is their third longplayer (since 1999), I have to admit that I'm a bit late on catching up with The Go, but now that I'm on the case, I say GO get it, because it's one of THE albums of 2007!!!
www.thegodetroit.com
Garwood Pickjon

GOLDENBOY
Underneath The Radio (Split CD)
     Goldenboy is actually a duo, drummer and percussionist Bryan Bos and Shon Sullivan, who sings and plays guitar and keyboards. Shon is gifted with a great voice that perfectly suits Goldenboys' quiet and beguiling melodic pop tunes. His voice is quiet yet yearning, breathy and romantic.
Goldenboy write slow, delicate songs that are a modern take on the Californian sunshine pop of the past. Acoustic or gently chiming electric guitars, piano and subtle percussion support fragile but gorgeous melodies. The album starts with four superb tunes. Terrific breathy background vocals build up on 'Icebreaker Blues' and 'End of Forever'. 'Summer Of The Evening' is fine folk-rock, and 'Motorbike' must be one the gentlest, least macho biker songs ever written, with lovely electric and acoustic guitar parts. One of the songs is called 'China Doll', evoking the fragile but pretty nature of the songs, which avoid the trap of slipping into ezy-listening territory. On 'Perfect One' it's touch and go for a while, but then some great little guitar fills save the day completely.
     This is one of my favourite albums of 2008 so far. If Goldenboy were a girl they wouldn't be the rock chick who wants to dance and party all night - they would be the quiet shy girl who steals your heart once you get to know her.
www.splitrecords.co.uk
Phil Suggitt

MARVIN B. NAYLOR
The Last Flight Of Billy Balloon (Barcarole CD)
     The opening song, 'Little Piece Of Magic' is a five minute mini-epic, and shows Naylor at his best. There is a good sense of dynamics, strange lyrics and interesting instrumental passages that appear where you wouldn't expect them.
     There are many pleasant instrumental passages, particularly the acoustic guitars and keyboards (Marvin plays everything) resulting in some delicate soft pop, such as 'Alice and Marianne' and the folky 'Portrait Of A Woman' which reminds me, instrumentally and vocally, of a young Cat Stevens. If there is ever a 'Fading Yellow' volume 23 Marvin Naylor may be on it.
     Elsewhere the vocals can be rather mannered and precious, especially when Naylor croons in a deeper voice than normal, particularly the corny 'Belle-Amie' and the annoyingly melodramatic 'Beautiful Balloon'. Richard Hawley can pull off this kind of thing, but it doesn't work here. Other tunes like 'Out Of My Mind' are pleasant but drift by without having much impact.
www.myspace.com/mbnaylor
Phil Suggitt

HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS & TIM STORY
Inlandish (Grönland CD)
     The third album springing from the alliance between American neo-classical composer Story and Krautrock legend Roedelius is an ambient flirt between beauty and menace. Marking a break from the electronic sounds he pioneered in Harmonia and Cluster, Roedelius sticks to straight, flawless piano playing on Inlandish, while it is Story who adds the electronics and sets the tone of the album.
     What we have then is a real friction between the organic and the manufactured. Roedelius' piano is restrained yet distinctive on every track, while Story alters the amount of electronic effects he uses, from the barest drone in the background at the beginning of the album to the prominence of a Stylophone-type effect on the penultimate 'Beforst'. The shifts are subtle, but they make sure that the album is never reduced to simply a background buzz.
     Some of the tracks use additional cello, oboe and viola, which generally work well in blurring the boundaries further between acoustic sounds and artificial electronics. Occasionally it goes awry – the grace of earlier tracks gives way to a car advertiser's dream soundtrack on 'Riddled' – but usually the equilibrium is maintained, particularly on 'Serpentining' where the beauty of the piano rubs against the threatening medical sounds of the electronics in a perfect balance.
     It's a modern take on the more avant-garde, ambient end of Roedelius' 70s Krautrock experimentation but Story's production is far more than homage. 73 and 50 years old respectively, Roedelius and Story bring their wealth of experience to this album but don't rely on their impressive biographies alone. Inlandish evokes a long walk through a minimalist landscape, where the side of the path is dotted with formations that could be either bluebells or inside-out fuseboxes.
www.groenland.com
Jeanette Leech

STOOK!
When The Needle Hits the Wax! (Draw Fire CD)
     Minneapolis songwriter and guitarist Stook! has produced a fine combination of rootsy rock'n'roll and bittersweet acoustic Americana. For the first thirty seconds of the opening track, 'Lovesick Firecracker' Stook's vocal sounds like the tortured baritone of a man who has chain smoked Camels for forty years, making me think 'This is fine for one song, but it won't work for a whole album.' Then the song hits the rousing chorus, courtesy of Stook's fine backing band, The Jukes, and you know everything is alright. Elsewhere Stook! proves he has several strings to his vocal and songwriting bows. The songs and performances dispel the initial impression and demonstrate variety and versatility. A particular highlight is the raucous 'Diggin' On You', which boasts a glorious chorus and the rough-round-the-edges charm of The Replacements. Local musicians must tire of Replacements' comparisons, but the similarity is there, and it is a complement in this case.
     The only lame thing about The Jukes is their name. (Does Southside Johnny know?) Toby Lee Marshall's contributions are particularly good. He plays some very appropriate 'Al Kooper-ish' organ parts and also does strong backing vocals in combination with guitarist Jonathan Earl.
     Elsewhere Stook! and the band mix tough-but-tender and tender-but-tough songs to great effect. Fans of the Replacements style of tender, rootsy rock and intelligent alt.country balladry will definitely enjoy this album.
www.drawfirerecords.com
Phil Suggitt