BENNY & LOU WITH THE TEEN AXEL SOUL ARKESTRA
‘Dents De Lait Dans De Loup’ / ‘These Eyes’(B-Soul; 45)
Phew! The artist credits on this single are even longer than The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band!In fact this a family release, Benny, a.k.a. Denis of Larsen records, sings with his daughter Lou, with all the instruments played by his son and fellow Slow Slushy Boy Teen Axel. On the Gainsbourg side there is some nifty Mysterians style organ, but Lou’s choral-sounding vocals sound a bit frail. She sounds much more comfortable sharing verses on the rocksteady B side. Surely Lou should also join The Godzillas with mum?
www.larsen.asso.fr
Phil Suggitt
STEVE ELLIS
A Sort of Innocence (Red Rock; CD)
The ex-Love Affair front man’s latest solo offering comprises of a selection of (for the most part) mid paced bluesy and soulful ballads. Ellis’s voice is still in good shape and the
songs, for this sort of project, are actually quite substantial. The kick off track is Paul Weller’s ‘Brand New Start’ but the ear catchers are ‘As The Crow Flies’ with its brooding rhythm and ‘El Doomo’, a naff title for a rather good (5 minute) song that employs orchestral embellishments. The (almost) unplugged and slowed down version of ‘Everlasting Love’ (repeated live as a bonus track) works surprisingly well as a ballad, though of course could never eclipse the original. It seems to work as some kind of rehabilitatory medium for Ellis with his Love Affair past if you read between the lines of the blurb on the sleeve. Overall, if you like (e.g.) a modern Chris Farlowe style of presentation then Mr Ellis’s new disc will probably suit you down to the ground.
www.purplehazerecords.com
www.steveellis.co.uk
Paul Martin
EVEN
Downpayment On Future Glories (1995-2003) (Orange Sky; CD)
This US compilation of releases on Australia’s Rubber Records gives Perth power poppers Even their first full international release. Even make a big sound for a three piece,
in the tradition of the tougher English 60’s bands like The Who, Move, etc, and their
'90s fans like Oasis. The difference is that singer/songwriter/guitarist Ashley Naylor has a tuneful, poppy voice that sounds best on the more ambitious numbers where the band don’t just rock out. The songs that really stick ion my mind are ‘Tell Me How’, with shiny chiming guitars and soaring harmonies. Some of the most promising songs are the most recent, such as the anthemic ‘Rock and Roll Ssaved My Life’ and the longer ‘Bowie In My Dreams’, which builds nicely from an acoustic ballad. I even hear a flute (?) on the equally strong ‘Shining Star’.
In some respects Even are moving beyond the 3-piece format, as their best songs include extra guitar parts, keyboards or other instruments that would be difficult to reproduce on stage.
Does the fact that these 12 songs actually come from the period 1996-2000 (not 2003 as it says on the cover) mean that Even’s more recent material is awaiting an Orange Sky release? Hope it doesn’t mean the band are no more.
www.dionysusrecords.com/orangesky
Phil Suggitt
THEE FINE LINES
Thee Fine Lines (Licorice Tree; CD)
This Springfield, Mo. Trio are strongly influenced by Thee Headcoats. In some respects this is a good thing – Billy Childish openly borrowed most of his tunes from
elsewhere, when all is said and done. I loved Thee Headcoats when they donned their Downliners/Pretties/R&B hats, especially with girlie backups from Thee Headcoatees. Thee Fine Lines best songs they follow this fine tradition, with female bassist Trista Winston contributin+g vocals, which add extra tunefulness to the primal raunch of tunes like ‘Something Right’, ‘Feelin’Blue’ and ‘Open Up My Heart’. Trista’s input is important, as guitarist Justin Kearbey is a much more limited singer than Billy Childish (!). However, Thee Fine Lines have also inherited the downside of Thee Headcoats. I never cared for Billy Childish’s other hat, the 70’s punk stuff, and it doesn’t go down well here either. The opening song ‘Feelin’ Fine’ is simply a mess, a punk thrash with a pedestrian riff and awful shouted vocals. There are other cuts in the same vein. Justin should listen again to his favourite 60’s comps to remember that the best 60’s garage bands didn’t sound at all like this – they tried hard to sing! When Justin sings instead of shouting, and when Trista has a major role, Thee Fine Lines have the potential to be a rockin’ little band.
www.licoricetree.com
Phil Suggitt
MARTIN GORDON
The Joy of More Hogwash (Radiant Future; CD)
After more than a decade as sideman, session man and songwriter, this is the second new release from Martin Gordon in a year. Although Martin probably regards his stints in
Sparks, Jet and is Radio Stars as prehistory, there is a clear link to his previous bands – hook happy, accessible and literate pop.
This album was recorded in Sweden and Germany with the same guys who played on the well received The Baboon In The Basement. Martin follows the same approach as he did in Radio Stars, being the main songwriter, bassist and keyboard player, leaving the lead vocals to Pelle Almgren. Almgren is in the fine tradition of “clean” sounding power pop vocalists that seem to emerge effortlessly from every Swedish town (This Perfect Day, Eggstone, The Wannadies, etc etc).
Martin writes all the tunes apart from ‘Every Little Thing’, a mop-top favourite, and a good version of ‘Love Power’ from Mel Brooks The Producers. On first hearing the witty and intelligent themes and lyrics are often secondary to the catchy, meaty modern pop arrangements. The opening song, ‘Oh No What Shall We Do, Daddy Lost His Head In a Coup’, is a case in point. The snappy hooks make it hard to notice the song is actually about Nigerian Internet banking scams. The lyrical content becomes more obvious on repeated plays. I particularly like ‘Her Daddy Was A Dalek’, about the perils of romantic involvement with aliens, and ‘Stop The World ( I Want To Get Off)’. One song is homage to one of Gordon’s favourite bands, ‘Cheap Trick’, whose influence can be heard on a number of these tunes. 10cc and Todd Rundgren were also an inspiration, but this is much more than a list of influences.
www.martingordon.de
Phil Suggitt
THE HIVES
Tyrannosaurus Hives (Universal / Polydor CD)
Yes they’re back and this time in spats! Looking like a “Mr Hyde” version of Savoy waiters, The Hives present their third album proper. Like their first two albums, the riffs and playing are ass pinchingly, crotch cripplingly trouser tight. Unlike the other two however, you get something of a multiple personality Hives on here.
‘Abra Cadaver’ (he he), ‘Two-Timing Touch And Broken Bones’ and ‘Missing Link’ all represent the classic Hives riff-o-rama and most appealingly (my absolute fave on the disc) ‘See Through Head’. ‘Walk Idiot Walk’ has clearly been designed for a prod at
commercial (as in CD singles) recognition. It sounds too American, I almost expected Tom Petty to take the lead vocal! ‘A Little More For Little You’ would, had a teenage girl been substituted for Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, have sounded like a homage to Nicky and the Corvettes circa 1979. Sticking with the ‘70s, there are three distinctly ’77ish sounding numbers in ‘No Pun Intended’ (with a Live At The Roxy album aesthetic to it), ‘Love In Plaster’ which sounds like something Nick Cash and 999 would have come up with in 1977-‘78 and ‘Dead Quote Olympics’ which is reminiscent of The Boys or The Vibrators from the same period. ‘B Is For Brutus’ could easily have been an ‘80s band doing the ‘60s (take your pick, I’ll plump for Rudi Protrudi).
Possibly this is a transitional album as our suave Swedes look around for direction. Clearly there must come a point where you just get plain all riffed out, even The Ramones went comparatively MOR in their later years (yeh, yeh I said “comparatively” ok). In two decades will we be seeing Scandi-garage and punk-pop package tours with a middle-aged Hives leading the pack? Their sort of onslaught needs a lot of energy so they better stay fit if so. For now, in terms of keeping ahead of their game, they need to find an angle. This might be intimated in ‘Diabolic Scheme’ a track quite unlike any of the others. It’s presaged on a mid-paced (gasp!) staccato guitar riff with (of all things) orchestral accompaniment. It works well and is sufficiently different enough in the context of the album as a whole to be a style worth pursuing further in my opinion.
In any event, good luck to ‘em. If you liked the first two albums you’re not going to be disappointed by this one, but perhaps a little surprised. Stick with The Hives, unlike some of their competition, they deserve your commitment.
www.hivesmusic.com
Paul Martin
MICHAL KAHAN
Baby Escapo (Fast Music; CD)
Michal Kahan is apparently “The Israeli Queen of Garage”. Forgive me if my instant
reaction was to see this as akin to being “The Uzbekistani King of Ska” or “The Tanzanian Princess of Krautrock”. Oh, and the album’s sung in Spanish, which just adds to the surreal quality of the whole enterprise when viewed from a (no doubt blinkered) British perspective. The seven tracks are unambitious, straight-ahead garage punk with Ms Kahan on keyboards and aggressive lead vocals. Production is traditionally low-fi, with every instrument set on distort. They concentrate on feel and having a good time rather than perfection. Michal lets her dad loose on trumpet at one point (he’s clearly NOT a professional musician – it doesn’t sound like he’s ever been in the same room as the instrument before, let alone practiced it), and the drummer seems to have a problem keeping up with the rest of the band. Songs are all a bit samey, but if you’re not in a mood for anything too demanding Baby Escapo is fun listening.
http://fastmusic.co.il/
Jane Farrell
KILLERS ON CAMERA
Demo (No Label/Demo; CD)
It’s pretty common for a band to claim to sound like Magazine: there’s something about
Devoto’s second seminal moment that deludes people into thinking they can recreate that monotone, sneery vocal over urgent guitar thing with the greatest of ease. Usually they’re woefully mistaken, though Killers On Camera aren’t the worst offenders I’ve heard. The group certainly look cool, like a cross between the Black Halos and the Cooper Temple Clause, so it’s ironic that their gentle moments (the start of ‘My Town Face Down’ (Editor: which indeed, does have a nice UK psych vibe) and the unnamed fourth track) are far more memorable than the rock stuff. If they want to rise above the host of similarly Jesse Hector-de-nos-jours-barneted contemporaries, they’ll have get a bit more melodically distinctive.
www.killersoncamera.com
Betty Chienne
THE LIKE YOUNG
So Serious (Parasol; CD)
Awww goddamnit, not again! Why is it always me, proven indie-schmindie records hater, who always gets this kind of stuff to review? OK, let’s get it over with. The Like
Young are husband and wife duo Amanda and Joe Ziemba. She plays drums and sings, he plays everything else and sings. No, they do not sound like the White Stripes. Yes, they do sound like refugees from early 1990s Teenbeat Records. The same intertwining boy/girl vocals, the same chopping rhythm guitar lines, the same forced beat in every song (with the exception of the one obligatory ballad). The words are interchangeable and all seem to be addressed to some nameless and genderless rotter who done them wrong. The musical approach derives from The Ramones, but the sentiment and fondness for “I’m a victim, me” lyrics makes one think (if you can bear to) of Unrest, or Helen Love with their sense of humour cruelly amputated, or any of that legion of emo bands who never got over their mum making them tidy their rooms when they were 14. Journalists who wouldn’t recognise a proper pop song if it bit them on the nose like a flying piranha have described this as “perfect pop”. It just makes me pine for the perfect chainsaw. Now please go away quickly, or I won’t be responsible for my actions.
www.thelikeyoung.com
Betty Chienne
PAR LINDH & BJORN JOHANSSON
Dreamsongs From Middle Earth (Crimsonic; CD)
Ahhh the Swedes I love ‘em… when they do something. They do it! Whether it’s
garage, psych, punk or even progressive, they DO it…. And… live it. This duo (as the title suggests) go in for the Mike Oldfield, Camel, Bo Hansson style of symphonic progressive music: instrumental, in movements and with a totally authentic, high and mighty musical approach. Rock & roll it ain’t! This is done well though and it sounds the part with elfin classical guitar passages and swathes of analogue synths… but how many SDers may want to hear this type of bombastic, considered material is another matter.
www.parlindh.com
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills
PAMA INTERNATIONAL
“All About you” / “Don’t Live A Lie” (B-Soul; 45)
Of the two originals by this U.K. rocksteady / soul band, I prefer the B-side, ‘Don’t Live A Lie’which has a more inventive rhythm and stronger vocals. (Yeah, yeah, I know rocksteady beats are supposed to be rocksteady, but still…) On both sides it would help if the vocals were a little more prominent and confident.
www.larsen.asso.fr
Phil Suggitt
THE PORCUPINES
Eanie, Meanie, Meinie, Mojo! (Maize; CD)
Bill Retoff, “porcupine prime” accurately describes this album as a “total pop homage to the mid-‘60s”. Inspired by listening to The Jetset, he conspired with old chum Dan
McKenzie and new recruits Chris Earl and Jamie Lehmann to write and play songs in the style of “pre Beatles For Sale Fab Four, first season Monkees, Peter Noone fronting The Searchers and some of that Jeff Barry BangShangALang vibe”. He decided an imaginary cartoon band would be more convincing than four middle aged guys, hence The Porcupines, stars of a Monkees-style Saturday morning TV show that never was.
Artist Jaime Hitchcock has gone to lot of trouble to create cartoon artwork that faithfully recreates the Hanna-Barbara hack work of the time, but all eight pages of artwork are jammed together on two pages of the liners, completely spoiling the effect, as you need a microscope to read some of the dialogue.
As to the music, the Porcupines have created some great teen pop songs full of strummed acoustics, yearning harmony-drenched vocals and really catchy choruses. My particular favourites are ‘That Girl Is Gone Away’, ‘Yes I’ll Cry’, and the story of the sweet young thing who is, sadly, ‘Somebody Else’s Thing’. Oh, and ‘Wilson Porter’sGrown Up Daughter’may only be 57 seconds long, but I can’t get the chorus out of my head!
Wisely the songs and the total running time are kept short. The Porcupines stick to pure pop and don’t add any rockers, so an album in excess of 28 minutes would be “too much candy!”
www.geocities.com/maizepop
Phil Suggitt
THE RETROS
Summer in The City ( Eureka; CD single)
This is a very strange selection for a band just about to release their second album of (presumably) original material. Paul Aitken, drummer and leader of the band, is on record as saying he loathes the term “covers band”. If so, why release a single containing competent, faithful versions of two extremely well known, much covered songs, The Lovin’ Spoonfuls’ ‘Summer In the City’and Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Black Magic Woman’? Surely it would have been better to include some choice covers of unfamiliar songs or self-penned material?
The third song is also a puzzling choice, as ‘Sad Eyed Zombie’ is an original Retro’s song, but is taken from the Strings and Skins CD, which was released in …..
www.theretros.co.uk
Phil Suggitt
ROCK.E.ROLLINS
The Post-Modern Adventures Of 21st Century Rock’n’Roll Boy (Vinyl Frontier; CD)
I approached this CD warily. The first signs were not good. Rock.E.Rollins is a silly name, “Post Modern” conjures up images of tuneless, soulless avant garde music, and the plain pink cover looks home made (unless mine is a promo copy). First appearances can be very deceptive, although I was right about the misleading title – this CD has nothing to do with 21st century post-modernism. It’s classic power pop! In effect this is a solo album by Sal Baglio, (Rock’s alter ego), as he writes, co-produces, plays all the guitars and does all the vocals. The only thing he doesn’t do is bass and drums.
The title track is the most ordinary song on the album, but even so it’s not bad. Sal soon strikes gold with the third song ‘God Knows’, an excellent power pop ballad with banks of jangly guitars and harmony drenched vocals. The next song, ‘Almost September’, is even better, an epic ballad with terrific, memorable hooks and heartfelt vocals. Sal has a fine voice and sounds more relaxed on the mellower songs than on the rockers. The other songs aren’t quite up to the fab level of ‘Almost September’, but they are all good, and reveal a flair for strong melodies.
www.rockerollins.com
Phil Suggitt
THE SLOW SLUSHY BOYS
When Will We Get The Power parts 1 and 2 (B-Soul: 45)
The new Slow Slushy Boys single is presumably a taster for their next album. I played the B side first, which has the lead vocal removed but retains The Godzillas’ backing vocals. ‘When Will We Get The Power’is a good dance number in the style of recent Slushy Boys songs, with a driving organ beat and horns for good measure. It isn’t one of the band’s most distinctive melodies but it would certainly get me onto the dance floor.
www.larsen.asso.fr
Phil Suggitt
SWEATMASTER
Song With No Words (Bad Afro; CD)
If you’re putting out an EP that’s largely composed of covers, you’d better make damned sure your original songs bear juxtaposition with the rest or you’ll suffer the
consequences of comparison. And so it is with Sweatmaster. Their patchy first album produced a cracking single, ‘I Am A Demon And I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’, and this second one has ‘Dirty Little Things’, which is close but no cigar. The first two tracks are the band’s own, but the remaining six are retreads of songs by (deep breath) The Wipers, The Music Machine (yep, ‘Talk Talk’ again; they bring nothing new to it, but I’m sure Sean Bonniwell’s accountant will be happy), The Modern Lovers, The Misfits, Minor Threat and Money Mark. Excellent taste in tunes, but Sweatmaster’s own ‘Song With No Words’ versus Danzig & co’s ‘Where Eagles Dare’? Sorry guys: it just ain’t working. Rock colossi Gluecifer actually started off as a Misfits cover band and subsequently evolved until they were even better than their original inspiration, but I can’t see anything similar happening with Sweatmaster. This sort of thing should be restricted to live performance – doing it on record is just wrongheaded.
http://www.badafro.dk/
http://go.to/sweatmaster
Betty Chienne
COLIN LLOYD TUCKER
Fear of Flying (Samphire; CD)
Colin Lloyd Tucker has been following an unconventional musical path since playing with The The in the early ‘80s. I respect Colin’s individualism and disregard for trends, but
sometimes he seems deliberately contrary. Among the interesting recording locations a caravan, a bathroom and an outhouse are listed. Some of the more unusual instruments used include stylophone, theremin, dijeridoo, children’s toys, elephants and whales. Eight musicians play with Colin. The trouble is that you can’t tell who plays what and where! If I had played bellow powered euphonium in the bathroom, (or whales in the bathroom) I would want a credit!!
Fear of Flying sports a fine cover photo of a 50’s air hostess and ballerinas, and is essentially two separate albums. Songs 10 to 19 are “departures” but are actually the most accessible pieces on the album, with largely conventional song structures and instrumentation. These are enjoyable and unusual, slightly reminiscent of ex-Saint Ed Kuepper’s often excellent solo recordings.
Colin has chosen to put the more experimental and off-beat stuff at the start of the album, under the heading “arrivals”. On first hearing, I found the songs too self-consciously clever, as if Colin had tried to find a different musical language but only succeeded in sounding quirky. A baffling and divergent array of styles is employed, often in the same song. I am reminded of some 70’s progressive albums, where bands used unusual instruments and odd time changes simply because they could. Snatches of good ideas and tunes appear, but are not developed. Some of the songs do improve after repeated plays, but I am still a long way from making sense of it all.
www.colinlloydtucker.com
Phil Suggitt
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Shakin’ In My Boots: A Texas Rock’n’Roll Compilation (Licorice Tree; CD)
To stand out from the crowd of compilations of obscure artists the first thing you need is a good cover which suits the contents. Two pairs of long legs in white leather boots
tells me this is going to be a comp in a Wild Weekend/Las Vegas Grind vein! The legs belong to the Boom Chica Boom Go-Go girls, and the comp is from Licorice Tree, a new label from Austin, Texas. All of the bands are new to me, but then, I live a long way from Texas.
The compilers have put some thought into the running order, rather than just throwing it all together, so that you get variety rather than 15 doses of the same thing. I really enjoyed McLemore Avenue’s spacey organ instro, which gets bonus points for the cool title ‘A Toy Robot’! Also of note is The Ugly Beats authentic garage beat version of The Legends’ ‘I’ll Come Again’. The final song, The Ka-Nives ‘Let’s Dance’ has all the feral frenzy of The Gories at their best.
My problem is that some of the other songs would work in the context of a bar or a small club, but they aren’t strong enough or inventive enough to cut it on the CD player – and the punky songs I don’t like at all. My definition of rock’n’roll is that it should put a big happy grin on your face. Songs with the emphasis on punk not garage don’t do this; they just make a lot of fuss and noise without a boss tune, the vocals are horrible macho shouting and the Boom Chica Boom girls sure can’t dance to them!
www.licoricetree.com
Phil Suggitt
THE WAISTCOATS
Beat This! (Larsen; 10’ LP)
These days the only people who seem to put out 10’ vinyl are the legions of tiny Rockabilly labels and France’s Larsen records. The format certainly suits The Waistcoats,
champions of modern nederbeat. The phrase on the (original and well drawn) cover, ‘”he Waistcoats courteously advise their neighbours to vacate the premises” could mislead you into thinking that this album is a sonic attack by noise merchants who will force the neighbours to flee with their ears bleeding. Nothing could be further from the truth! If the neighbours knocked on the bands’ door, it won’t be to say “Stop that bleedin’ racket” but “We heard you playing through the wall. Can our teenage daughter and her friends come round and dance?”
‘It’s Not True’, the first of ten originals sets the theme for the whole LP. A great vocal sound that is part early Who, part early Golden Earrings and a rocking but melodic tune that is slightly reminiscent of Thee Milkshakes, (or, more properly, the guys who influenced The Milkshakes.). Bassist Gerry Burger’s organ contributions really add to the guitar/bass/drums instrumentation, especially on groovy instrumentals such as ‘Theme From W.A.I.ST.C.O.A.T’ and head Waistcoat Jan Veldkamp has the knack of writing strong pop tunes that are as good as much of the classic Nederbeat of the ‘60s.
www.larsen.asso.fr
Phil Suggitt
