Whistler Intermission EP (Wiija) 1k it it it i:
A convent schoolgirl (maybe) shyly offers up other people's songs against spare, elegant strings. The whole project is ostensibly so prim and respectable that it winds up downright eerie, and hence completely marvellous. The standout is a version of 'I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself' that will slide under your skin and haunt you for days. (HM)
Macy Gray
I Try (Epic) *****
Second single from the staggeringly fantastic album Macy Gray On How Life Is. She sounds just like Billie Holiday, but this is Lady Day by way of Gloria Gaynor and Prince; a stirring diva anthem with an elasticated funk bassline and that tremendous Northern Soul quality of finding joyous redemption in loneliness and heartbreak. (HM)
Gorky's Zygotic Myncr Spanish Dance Troupe (Mantra)
it 1k it it it
While leaden guitar-chuggers Stereophonics dodge inky accusations of dangerously nationalistic gestures, the none-more-Welsh Gorky's Zygotic Mynci go all continental and effortlessly conjure a rich glass of castanet-tinged Rioja-and-roll. Okay, so they’ll never challenge the ’Honics on home soil but, on this form, Gorky’s still reign. Even if it is mostly on the plain. (GV)
Jepp
Baby (Hut) )k ‘k
A kind of rootsy racket that would be ramshackle if it wasn't for the sneakily high production values, the first spin would seem to suggest that Jepp wants to sound like a countrified Pretenders but can't shake an unhealthy Sheryl Crow fixation. 'Baby' is what Beth Orton would sound like if she took her Sanatogen like she's supposed to. (GV) Silt
Something New (Error) *tt
Silt are from Iceland. They've been championed by Damon after supporting Blur but their curiously American- sounding schizo-guitar racket (’Something New’, indeed) means they‘re louder and a lot less punchable than their heralds. And if in, say, ten years time they did a concert at Wembley playing all their singles in chronological order, this wouldn't be a bad opening shot. (GV)
Woodbine Mound Of Venus (Domino) ****
Over-before-it-begins shuffladelic breathy-beat nonsense proves that there's more to Birmingham musicality than mod con-artistes OCS. Nicking the chords from ’Loaded‘ proves they’ve got the smarts; now all Woodbine need is some staying power. Threatens to go a bit 'off' near the end; but they plump for the fadeout. (GV)
Catcher
Genius (West Nile) H:
An echoey guitar line that sounds spookin like the start of Buck Rogers should make this a fantastic record. Sadly, too many early-90$ indie compilations mean that, local boys or not, now is not Catcher's time. It's not even like there's a Catherine Wheel to support any more. But if Superstar need stunt doubles . . . (GV)
Merz
Lovely Daughter (Epic) *
Someone at Sony A&R must be running scared. After signing Merz for a skipload of cash, they've seen precious little return, and even after the dizzy- from-heavy-rotation yawn of ’Many Weathers Apart’, this follow-up is amusingly bargain-bin. Background monkey noises are ace. Foregrounded sub-Stereo MCs jiggery-pokery is misguided, at best. (GV)
Johnson
Skin & Gold (Play Records) inn: Obtrusive fairground-organ spirals overwhelm the studiously faded theatrical gestures of Johnson. Strangled in the studio, it’s really only on the live flipside ’Paradise’ that they threaten to sweep and sonically soar. But ultimately, their lethargic Doors- tribute miasma is less than slamming. (GV)
Slinky
Goodnight Christine (West Nile) *‘k‘k‘k
Imagine an A-class My Drug Hell: younger, more inspired and brimming with retro-voodoo guitar sleights. Heroically transcending the just-yer- basic rock 'n' roll mixture, Slinky are bags more fun than their working-your- way-head-over-heels-down-a-flight-of- stairs monicker might suggest. (GV)
Reachout The Bristo Square EP (Oh Eye) ****
Edinburgh’s underground hip hop scene is a cauldron of talent that should be watched with a close eye and this EP is testament to that. Reachout's smooth and sincere rhyming is laid over three slick and mellow tracks, with the likes of Roots Manuva and the Dynamic Duo guesting. Outstanding. (SB)
REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE:
Simone Baird, Norman Chalmers, Kenny Mathieson, Hannah McGiII, Mark Robertson, Graeme Virtue, Paul Whitelaw
STAR RATlNGS ****‘k Unmissable *‘k * * Very ood “i: W0 3 shot ink Below average * You've been warned
record reviews MUSIO
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23 Sep—7 Oct I999 THE LIST 49