NEW TALENT First rate in 98
Get down the bookies now for the best prices on this year’s crop of young contenders. Words Jonathan Trew
This time last year The list predicted that The Supernaturals, Belle and Sebastian, 3 Colours Red and Geneva wculo‘ hit the bio trrric ‘v‘i'hile r“r‘-'.e of them ‘v‘rxet‘t ()lt tcr ert (/Ilr‘ ubiquitous as the Spice Girls, they all accounted pretty
respectany for their‘iselvi’s .{lgzgigi‘iig and saved us from havrng ,r g? large amounts of egg on a”??? “‘3 Our face (we won't (EiQi
mention some of our other tips except Hardbody, who have been dropped, Tiger, i-rho have vanished and Revelrno, who, we suspet 3, were nothing more than a figment of a deluded ;()llllil)lllt)l", iriiartinationi This year, it's all a damn srrlht n‘ore difficult There are n:r obvrously potential superstars, Itirkirzr; rn the Wings and ready to assume the mantle of globe straddlrnri rock beasts Instead, there's a svi/arnp-Iike morass of hopefuls who have a lot of potential but not a lot on show at the moment Anyway, deep breath, neck on the Cll()l)[)llltl bloc k and here we go. In a pointless ytttempt at classification, we're rioino to split the field into two camps those who r errie from a danc e background but are (tuite happy to nick the best llll‘ front the guitar kids and secondly, there's the (guitar kids who would ourte like to fill l: the best
in tt tuna: at“. the moment.
bits from the dance floor but feel too awkward to dance.
The List predicts that the big beat sound wrll spread and lift the likes of The Propellerheads (debut album, Decksanddrumsandrockandro/l out 26 Jan) and Bentley Rhythm Ace into the orbit, Coming from the same angle but wrthout a big beat name tag around their neck are Bedlam A-Go- Go who look set to follow The Prodigy in terms of being big, messy, noisy bastards Others to watch from a similar neck of the dance floOr are The Dub Pistols and Dust lunkys.
Meanwhile, back at the white boy» wrth guitars ranch, hold on to your neck hairs i no Men to Ultrasound, a theatre of groteSQue set to a soundtrack of loneliness, breaking
a sweeter-tare itiirr‘asts a; t, g t .v,‘ ,3 h t 3:.- «,4? ~ iUlfs W830 time’s, {73 212ith
ial but not a tot on
hearts and epic ernotrons Not one for parties but transfrxrng nonetheless A lot of people are also screaming for Beta Band who soond like Beck but come from Fife On a more ripped to the tits tip, pin back the lugs for Earl Brutus and more of their bar room brawls set to music Others to watch are nearly-goths subcircus who are going to resurface after nearly a year of inactivrty and one member of staff, who shall remain nameless, was heard to mutter 'lvlark my words, Tortoise are going to be huge '
All of which IllSl leaves enough space to cheer on local heroes Moctwai, Pilotcan, Annie Christian, Chickweerl, Soundbuggy and lv‘iac;icrlrive :aoaini Eyes peeled for an up and-coming pop combo called Pulp, Vat“ thznl they may have something.
‘ V K ‘ s‘ \ r.» taint-
opellerheads impending fame and joins forces fast
music
record reviews
ALBUMS
ROCK Royal Trux
Singles, Live, Unreleased (Domino)
& (r it
Royal Trux: the sleazy core of the Big Apple
The title gives it all away of course A variable collection of the gems, the curios and the plain torturous from New York’s finest exponents of sleaze rock When it comes to torture, there are few who can handle it better Usually the preserve of the completists and fanatics, compilations can give a great introduction to a band. We are treated to 32 moments front the band (essentially Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty) ranging from the prog-rock Stones of 'Strawberry Soda to the morphine-ingested cover of the Theme from M'A'S'H'. Definitely worth looking out, but Just don't expect it to cheer you up. (CR)
Carter USM
l Blame The Government (Cooking Vinyl) wk ‘9':
i used to love Carter a few years back 'Sheriff Fatman' and getting sweaty down the front while bellowing along to assorted punk pop ditties about a diverse range of social injustices Brilliant. So whem did it all do wrortrl7 This is Carter's farewell album and it sOunds tired, hackneyed, weak, ineffectual, bland and merely morose where they used to be gloriously melancholy. 'The Wrong Plat e At The Wrong Time' is the opening track and unfortunately it's an apt description of the album They should have stopped oefore they became toothless. (JT,
POP
Splendid
Splendid (Splenl) ~'=:
While not ciurte as good as their nan»? might Suggest, this Edinburgh four- precc aren’t bad at all Mature guitar pop is their game wrth just the right balance of reflective numbers weighing up against the sparlciy, upbeat ones, This ceutd appeal to a Wide range of folk courtesy of its llllllll"='ldl)l(} melodies and QdSy-(l'ilncl bree/iness. Whether they have the polish to take it any further remains to be seen Decide for yourselt by ordering It for £9.99 frorr- SPLEIlDiD, PO Box i3863, Edinburgh, Eit‘i‘s 22C:
DANCE
Oforia
Delirious (Dragonfly) st:
The reason for Ofer Dikovsky's sur‘r css on the trance floors of the world is obvrous from the first beat of the CD's
preview MUSIC
opener, 'Maximiser’. That unsubtle, pounding, I60bpm kick drum is so high up in the mix that its nose is almost solid. But turning the volume up and, in order to sustain life in the speakers, the bass down, reveals the subtleties of this leading trance merchant. Not only is Delirious well constructed -- in a top ranking, psychedelic, brain-cell shattering way ~ but the s0unds he gets from his machines are splendidly cosmic while their shape-shifting properties are, well, off-world Best heard on the dance floor (TD)
Various
Dragoni v (lassix (Dragonfly) it it t The pr'obtern with inclu5ive torriprlations is the warts you get wrth the wonder stuff. The first nine A sides from top trance label Dragonfly, featured on CDl, might include Hallucinogen’s powerful ’LSD' and Green Nuns Of The Revolutions cranky ’Optirnum Creakage' (both completely self-explanatow titles) but you also get some relatively standard tracks. The remarkable thing is how little psychedelic trance has aged since 1992 C02 features eight unreleased tracks from Dragonfly's vaults. All have their good points but the production tends towards the muddy and they remain interesting starts from which better trance excursions could and should have been burlt. (TD)
Maxrmum Speed: Underground House 8: Garage Mix
Various (Virgin) * * it
Another 'speed garage' mix compilation anyone.7 Actually, this one's not too bad. It's got all the big anthems like Rosie Gaines, Roy Davis and Arnira, plus it's got loads of good garage cuts like lay Williams, Ultra :‘late and Kim English. The usual suspects from the underground scene like Scott Garcra, Dreem Teem, Ramsey ls’i t'en, Gant, 187 Lockdown and RIP are also all present and correct. Then there's all the artists like The Braxtons, The Heartists and Sneaker Pimps all in remix form If you want an insight into how garage got faster and more bass- ‘rieavy then this” do the rob nicely if you already know the score, avoid. (JB)
UK Garage Fever
Various (Subversive) as air at
This ’speed garage’ mix compilation is going to appeal to the enthusiasts rather than the first-timers Unlike so many other cash-in compilations from this scene, it prefers to dig a little deeper Instead of the usual anthems and commerCral artists, you get a series of tracks drawn exclusively from the real, underground scene. 187 Lockdown and Tuff Jan. appear as rei'nixers, while scene leaders Ramsey s Fen, Dreem Team and Baffled Republrc are featured artists. In keeping wrth the nature of the music, it's a ruff and bumpy ride through skippy, up-tempo percussion and bowel-quakrnq basslines And Just in case you hadn't got the message, it closes wrth Scott Garcia’s ’It's A London Thing’. ()8)
(,or‘itinued over page
9—22 Jan 1998 THE UST 57