Reviews

Latest Reviews

28-07-2010 Wavves – King of the Beach

There could hardly be a more apt sounding death knell for lo-fi indie garage than Nathan Williams’ infantile pop farts. Both the genre and Wavves itself have been due a backlash for some time now.

27-07-2010 M.I.A. – /\/\ /\ Y /\

In another universe, parallel to ours but not too distant, Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasam is the pivotal character in Pulp’s ‘Common People’.

27-07-2010 Sleigh Bells – Treats

Everyone seems to hear something different in the kind of piercing racket that only the pairing of a former hardcore guitarist and an ex-girl group singer could produce

27-07-2010 Devo – Something for Everybody

The album rolls back the years and sates Devo-addicts’ cravings for more of the same. The lack of artistic progression is inevitable. After all, de-evolution is real…

26-04-2010 The Black Keys – Brothers

There’s no reason why the soul or spirit of a recording studio should rub off on people who record there (…)

On the bumph that comes with this record Ms Bunyan says that these cute songs, which were recorded before she became a folky, were not the result of Andrew Oldham hoodwinking her into becoming a pop starlet. Eh? She told this paper exactly the opposite a year or so ago. No matter, they’re perfectly delightful, if a bit twee. You hear her talent but sense also that she didn’t find her voice till she later took off on a wagon up to Scotland.

Madlib

Production ace Madlib’s Beat Konducta series is about him indulging in his passion for discovering new sounds, re-working them and then slinging out his clever little edits, sans MCs, just for the hell of it. A kind of exercise in self-indulgence, if you like, but he’s managed before to capture real ambience and he does again here. MIA nuts, check this out: your gal ain’t the only one digging for a lil’ of that Asian shizzle.

Magik Markers

Magik Markers lie. They are no longer from Hartford, Connecticut, but instead have become part of the firmament at Butlins, emerging from prole-piss-sodden mattresses and a chaos of chip dinners to play every ATP ever. So you know what this has writ tenon the tin: backing of wibbling discord, pompous crashing piano, appallingly earnest Yank vocals and less sex appeal than an acne-ridden Red Coat confusedly making rutty with a pasty indie bastard on Minehead seafront. ‘Boss’: not boss.

Necro

Horrorcore rap loon Necro’s first ever gig in the UK last year was a real eye opener. I had no idea there were so many Eminem look-a-likes in the UK, nor indeed that people were so completely obsessed with this heavy-set hip hop survivor. He’s been doing thing away from the critics’ eye for years and with some success. Here he keeps the flag-flying for offensive rhymes and dated hardcore beats. Not a disaster, but not nearly is best.

Percee P

Almost 20 years after his debut single, the Bronx’s legendary, lung-collapsing rapper gets a first album out and how aptly titled it is. He’s been doing guest verses, freestyles and hounding his tapes since 1992, generally keeping it real and, well, persevering. He’s undoubtedly one of the finest to have graced the mic and though the wilfully weird Madlib’s shoehorning of beats under his killer rhymes has produced some odd results, most of it works. Just don’t call it a comeback.

Republic of Loose

Republic of Loose are a total oddity: a bunch of rough-looking piss heads from Ireland who love smooth R&B. Their debut ought to have made no sense at all, but worked in some weird ‘Dublin meets LA G-funk’ kind of way. On Aaagh!, they’ve called it wrong: polishing themselves up too much even sometimes slipping into hideous soft rock territory. They have soul but they were better when they didn’t know how to deal with it.

Sleeping States

A record for a somnambulant autumn afternoon or staring at the lights of airplanes stacking in the night sky, Sleeping States’ There The Open Spaces combines bittersweet melodies with rolling guitar lines and scattered bursts of found sound. These are the vehicle for Statesman Markland Starkie’s rich and captivating vocals as he explores the broad vistas of love and life in a record that makes for a heartfelt and understated delight.

Stars

Stars’ fourth album is all over the place, but in a gloriously messy, enveloping way. My Favourite Book sounds like Morcheeba; ‘Midnight Coward’ like Captain; ‘The Ghost Of Genova Heights’ perhaps Scissor Sisters. It’s tied together by a gentle decadence: swirling, ambient sounds wash over you, capturing the same spirit as Death Cab’s ‘Transatlanticism’ and taking you somewhere purer and otherworldly. A fantastic, majestic album from a band with an insatiable creative spirit.