Records
‘ U. /. PUP
ALFIE
If You Happy With You Need Do Nothing (TI/“>304 NOD/0i .0.
; 'rxne's In the NAM ‘ ‘:.'.’ A’filiffl'f, .e'r‘er‘t: keep up.
.rr (genre buffs at the 2:7 ’2 signed to
'. u‘e’: Nerve. the
: e.elierl and ‘ixroolly ' ::"eri shallow of one lair/2., Drawn Boy hangs "eag, over five—piece a'iibers Alfie. Mr up" has used the tar r: as both support .ir‘r: backing band. and "v: ads have returned 1' ir; ta'.ciir by turning in a or'r‘ so reiiizniscent of Badly Drawn one that .’ .. suspect they've got a r’,|f,f‘i"ltj machine down rtt l-.visteri Nerve HO. This debut album is full of ,'?lf:tlll}(:f$ sweet. occasonally weird and ilways cute folkie oneness. but a lack of ’lll":f,‘tl()li and killer rilelody riieans it seldom struggles above the tl‘.‘3l'£i(}(2. (Doug Johnstone)
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(me Hock RUN DMC
Crown Royal (Arista)
0.. e
Hurt DMC are back and this time they've brought their mates. This may scerii like some crass marketing exerCIse as they team up With the leading lights from today's hip hop and nu- metal scene. But hey. Run DMC practically :";‘.’t}llI(3(l the rap/rock
.4} L f W I" i
"I got thgEi‘
crossover with Aerosmith so they. if anyOne. deserve some slack. And when it works rt's prett, slick: Just check out the Mobb Deep and Third Eye Blind collaborations. But when It doesn't (in:th Fred Durst and the hidden dance remix of 'Walk This Way' for example). it's Just emt’)arraSSing. a bit like watching y0ur dad dancmg down the disco thinking he's still pretty fly. (Henry Northmorei
ROCK BLUES JOHN HAMMOND Wicked Grin (pointblank) O...
This isn't the first time a songwriter has produced an album of somebody else Singing their songs. but it marks a typically eccentric addition to Tom Waits‘ CV. John Hammond's lifelong devotion to classic blues fires 'Buzz Fledderjohn' and 'Get Behind the Mule' with the atmospheric heat of a Mississippi street corner, illuminating a neglected side of the writer. It's true that there are also gutter poems which cry out for Waits' distinctively pained delivery (‘There ain't no devil/There‘s Just God when he's drunkz'simply doesn‘t gain from tunefulness). But few followers of Waits will want to miss this compelling curio. (Ninian Dunnett)
ROCK
BARDO POND Dilate (Matador)
0
You have to wonder where some people's 'heads' are ‘at'. ‘Man'. Alarm bells ring
ROCK POP
STEREOPHONICS
Just Enough Education To Perform
(v2) 000
Stereophorvss are :nex‘auStbe. Ther endless tOuring and (X)'t’.lflLlal. and highly Successful, assault on the charts should be retarded. And the, have been. Five years don-m the line from their first release. the; find themser as. inexplicably. at the too of the heap. JEEP. their third album 5: a triumph of sorts but fails to (;()li'.’lfl(j(;‘ that this is a band of true substance and not Just at the right place at the
right time.
A patchy affair, 'Mr \fvriter'. the first
Single. is a paranoid and hariifisted SWipe at JOUTHOS and then' fickle ways.
With a chorus that has Noel Gallagher '.'.rritteii ail ’>‘.e' it. “Vegas l’.'.o lir'ies' tiltt} "Ht; .
liltf’v .twl tllit'wl .. .' 'i' t‘
excellent pair of Black Crorrt—zs—style boogie rifts snosxing the trim at trim in w; r our
countrified gentilin of 'Step On My Old Sl/t} Nines'. ‘.'.'l‘l(,‘ll harks back
moments. are the real highlights of the record.
Their penchant for titles that The Beautiful South would cringe at (,oritirtues; (sh ;
Tllr'l' 'ri'mw
Not messing with the status quo
a". lloT: n." .i l M".
Shuttleworth song? 'Nice To Be Out' is not the celebration of sexual £t.'.’(rl\6tl“l?(t one (“mint "abr' hr rr h‘t} or
and the wooden popisms of ‘Have A Nice Day '. '.‘.’llllt3 naviiig summer ‘est..ai hr. fattosi: l
Just reminds us Just how great early tracks likes of 'Same Sl/(l‘ l-eet' lt'ttll, ‘.‘.'<:ie.
Pro<luction—v./ise this is lea 3s and bounds ahead of both Porto/mam:e Aw," (,‘oqkfaa's and '.'.'t (it l
but Kelly Jones' guitarwork remains extremely pedestrian and tiiiiiiiagiiiati-.e.
Expansive production and a half do/en great tunes do not an album riiake. Some iranr is are put on was...
‘t -,[\[\,
push the boundaries and challenge the status ouo. but there is a real danger that the; 'il rrlltl .ip bet our rig Status Quo. (Mark Pobertsoni
immediately on reading in the press release that ‘Bardo Pond venture further into the stoner— rock territory that they pioneered'. And by Christ they're not joking. Dilate is full of insanely dreary posty-proggy- rock dirges so utterly soporific they c0uld make even lifelong amphetamine Junkie Lemmy fall into a coma. When Isobel Sollenberger doesn't sing. Bardo Pond sound like Mogwai on horse pills. when she does they sound like Mogwai on horse pills; with Patti Smith falling asleep on top of them. And all the songs last abom eight hours. This record sapped my Will to live. (Doug Johnstone)
hands than most
other men"
mmm.LUorLdsfireatestLouermm
98 THE LIST 29 Mar—1 2 Apr 2000
ROCK POP VARIOUS ARTISTS
We Love You . . . 80 Love Us Too (We Love You ) O...
This odd little coriipilation release of all things new and blue is an exquisite delight. There is so much lush stuff here it is difficult to know where to begin. but the highlights include 'You Make No Bones' by Alfie. which is basically Ian Brown meets Fairport Convention round Badly Drawn Boy's house. ‘I Walk The Earth' by King Biscuit Time. which s like Paul Simon being physically abused by The Wondermints. and J. Xaverre vvith 'Milky Lychee' which is quite Simply kookie. as in Angie BoWie kookie. You don't have to beg. we love yOu too. (Paul Dalei
ELECTRONIC PUCHI Soundtrack (Plump) .0.
Edinburgh duo Puchi have created a collection of tunes with titles like 'Time Lapse‘ and 'Deep Space. so think ambient
electronica and llltrllf).‘.l beats to clizll out to «the only dancing you'll be doing to this is ballet oi contemporaryi. Utilising a broad variety of instruments from Moog to tabla. trumpet and Violins. the tracks are layered to create a textured sound and in places feel like cl; ssical compositions. Strangely filmic. many of the tracks would make a perfect accoiiipaniiiient to scenes of late night driving around the city. whether real or on celluloid. Music that'll put you in a reflective mood and help your houseplants grow. (louisa Pearson.
[Li l (LTHUNlC/k TALVIN SINGH Ha (Universal Islandi CO.
\l'\.(inning the Mercury Music Pri/e lESE flllxtfll blessing. Badly Drawn Boy's sticcess .vas tempered by the abuse subseouently shorxere'l upon his shambolir; live shows and silly hat. ‘.'/'t‘ile. after Screamrao’e/ica's ffrU'lIUlT. the Pririiais :e:t compelled to take e .re': more drugs and record art addled album o‘ Southern boogie. Tainan Sir‘gh hash't beer‘ over'y changed by OK's ‘999 brush the pane. bu; Ha does ack its
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we as. caste" ih,".'i'its arid crisp f1".'l‘ bass 13‘s albuir 'rigw: it (ireai background ll‘il_l‘;l’,, bri. a data of Sangli's talents
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i ll (gll?()N|’, VARIOUS ARTISTS
House of III Repute — Compiled and Mixed by Murray Richardson (Kickin' tecorrlsi
CO.
The .veiglit of expectation (Mil/W Bedroom Bodlaiii ‘.’/lflflf,‘l 109/. rated as one of Scotland's brightest hopes in this very iiiaga/ine last month; hasn't encumbered lvlurray Richardson. llie Ediiiburgli-base'l deep houser plays Australia, South Africa and the U3) regularly. but has still had time to .vlieel out this mix of funky malignant grooves from the llktfl‘ ()l tll‘: lfllarirl Knights and H Foundation. .vho 'la/e some fun WIU‘ the tribal percussion of Glétf3().‘.’(;t}l£tll ’li/J Silicone Soul's marvellous Cine 0 l_aa'. It's a satisfying and chunky compilation. if a little stuck in its own groove. rriakirig it more of a pointer to .vhat cotild be than a great alburii in itself.
lJames Smarti