If every band had the same sparkling effervescence and energy as Stereolab, the world would be a much better place. It may not lead to the public execution of Tony Blair and his muppet government, but it would at least make it more hospitable. For a day at least, we could all swarm about in the same wildly merry cosmic glow as the late Mary Hansen and her chums, spaced-out on the very glad tidings of life and the universe. Continue Reading
Chic urban disco lizards? Hip Parisian dancefloor chill-out cats? Aloof and debonair lords of the electro manor? Perhaps. On a good day, when nobody’s asking too many questions. Wolves in sheep fur coats when they do. But after ’10,000 Hz Legend’ nobody could be heard denying they were a prog band with a makeover who just got it right. Their debut ‘Moon Safari’ itself was quintessentially no more than a jazz-funk lounge odyssey, but dressed up like it was going Continue Reading
One minute your lifting CDs from one room to another at your job at Mushroom Records, the next your lifting melodies off Oasis’s ‘Songbird’ – itself a less than complex steal off a ‘Yoko’ period Lennon. And here, complete with poorly executed harmonica (‘executed’ being a reasonably accurate phrase) deliriously happy nasal vocal, clatter-bucket acoustic guitars and shuffling wash-board daftness is a bright, breezy and cheerful lo-fi rainbow of a tune. Italian born songwriter Francesco Cinelli (vocals, guitar, harp) and Continue Reading
You know those shots in films and on TV, the ones where the camera pulls away sharply to reveal a vast functional world swamping the concentrated area on which you’ve been focused feverishly for the last 90 minutes, as a reminder – should you require one – that any tale told is part of a richer, wider tapestry. Hitching in on that metaphor, this might be a bit mid-budget, the camera won’t stretch much beyond the rooftops, but you get Continue Reading
Earl Slick is one of those artists you didn’t know you knew. The kind of name you’d recognise in a pub quiz if you hadn’t been drinking, but whose name you might forget well before the end of the night when you’ve had a couple. The reason? Earl Slick has teetered precariously at the fringes of genius for years now, having already played alongside David Bowie (with whom he’s now touring), John Lennon and even the great but sadly unrecognised Continue Reading
There’s goofy and there’s goofy and there’s folks who refuse to draw a line between either. Whilst the words ‘oddball’, ‘tangential’ and ‘fruitcake’ sound fun enough when in the hands of true visionaries, in the hands of fools they’re simply an indication of madness. Camper Van Beethoven fell loosely in both camps. Camper Van Beethoven offshoot, Cracker, featuring principle camper, David Lowery, on the otherhand simply fell over and died. And Leftover Salmon? Well what do you think? As the Continue Reading
Since the release of his ‘Folk Songs for Train Trees and Honey’ album back in 2000, you might be forgiven for thinking Scott Herren (a.k.a. Prefuse 73, a.k.a. Savath & Savalas) had sailed into a slinky red sunset of his own sumptuous imagination, and retired his meticulous eye for heavenly music in favour of sandals and margaritas. Well truth is, the sandals may still be in use – so too are the margaritas – but if the evidence here is Continue Reading
If you thought producer Dave Fridmann was just a one trick pony, you’d be wise to consider this kick-ass thrusting beast of a record. Gone are the tender, timber algorithms of his oft-cited production work for The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Longwave and Mogwai and in their place is one blistering big daddy of a wall of sound. The band may be more famous in their native America for their 2002 tune ‘California’ and for actor/drummer Jason Schwartzman, but pretty Continue Reading
Apparently ‘Blue Eyed Soul’ is a catch-all-term to describe white performers playing black music. So consider, if you will, everything from sixties RnB, West Coast Hippy Chic, Miami soul, and northern soul. In fact, think just about everything from Elvis to Justin Timberlake, for that matter. With the release of Elton John’s ‘Are You Ready For Love’ Southern Fried stumbled across something rather remarkable: white artists could produce great soul music when push came to shove. And what’s more, you could Continue Reading
All hail the ‘king of electronic futurism’. It may be something of an understatement but Si Begg enjoys mixing his styles. Not content with shredding large chunks of electro-funk and space-rock in his quest for eclectic sovereignity, ‘Buss’ sees his experiments rim the remits of UK Garage. And there’s nothing like a good rimming. With a MC Rap courtesy of Miss MC, some big fat liquid bass and some extraordinarily infectious Bansuri-like riff ‘Buss’ just abouts hits the spot. Like the Directors Continue Reading