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POP BIS
Return To Central (Artful) 000.
There's so much crammed into this thirteen-tracker it's hard to see it as a whole. Its grand striding intro. ‘We're Complicated'. glides through interesting territory (is that a dub- break Out therein. knock- back track 'Chicago' builds beautifully and the lush ‘Two Million' seems to have escaped from the first Garbage album. Amanda sounding scarin Shirley. The vocals are deIiCious throughout. Stuart Braithwaite lending subtle backing on 'Robotic'. which melts into the near-operatic ‘A Portrait From Space'. ascending into the realms of Spirituali’xed.
At worst t‘Don't Let The Rain Come Down’l it's electro-pop by numbers. At best lforthcoming Single 'The End Starts Today'l. it's impressive. Wide-ranging. epic electronica. At the very least it's an Outstanding progress report from the land of Bis.
(Vicky Dawdsoni
POP
JIM O’ROURKE lnsignificance (Dominoi um
an apparently more personal statement. Singing like a grumpy Cat Stevens and playing like a dream, O'Rourke swnigs between Vibrant Bronx soul and melancholic celintry beauty. Short but so. so sweet. lTim Abrahamsi
JAZZ
ORNETTE COLEMAN TRIO At The Golden Circle Vols 1 & 2
Blue Notei 0000
The ongoing Rudy Van Gelder Edition brings freshly mastered discs of two classic trio outings. recorded live at the Golden Circle club in Stockholm in late 196:"). They remain among the strongest of Coleman's recordings from his most important decade. although the dark, acid ferocity of their attac. won't be to all tastes. The saxophonist is on great form on alto nvith the obligatory. decidedly less compelling outing on Violin and trumpet thrown ini. while l/en/on
onto this quartet of unliinged Weegie clianct-zrs.
Egual partswannabe piano-bar blues drunks. metal ironists and emocore noise sprogs. this racket is more discordant and unpredictable than their earlier singles aiiu despite occasional llll‘iS of oveily-exuberant studio tiiikeri'ig. it ‘53 a adrenaline-tlipi)e<l trip. The Tei‘se Crimp' may be pure Bii't.ida',' Party. but it is on 'Cuiiibernau'd'. 'Tangeriiie Torso Brace and the teen All)llll--lf§ll‘-ES of ‘Olesti‘a' » flieu' rnoi'e iiielodic'iioiiieuts that they truly sparkle.
Lapsus l inguae have a drama and ariotance about them that suggests tl‘ey wtlt continue the l-ierce Panda legacy iMa'k Robertsoni :IYIEIAN COPE
The Collection iUniversali COCO
t .'
Sure. co'iipilatio'i {ltlxl'l‘f‘} are the first '.'.'o"u " iiiusicai rip o‘ts. anil
there are plel‘t',’ ‘ans :.'
(ZOUN l HY SILVER JEWS Bright Flight lD()llllll()i 0...
David Berman’s Silver Jews have been ploughing a lonely country furrow for quite a time now. Bright Flight is their fourth release and it’s easily their most accomplished. Refusing to play live has led to Berman being labelled as an introverted miserablist, yet nothing could be further from the truth.
Berman’s flight of fancy
‘lt’s a misconception I get all the time,‘ he says down the phone, 'l’m really not shy at all. Within the town I live in I’m probably considered a nuisance,
I’m certainly not the quiet, retiring type.’
The town Berman now resides in is none other than the home of country, Nashville, although he is an incongruity among the Garth Brooks brigade of
shiny, polished country-lite.
With a distinctly downbeat air, yet a knowingly self-mocking wry attitude, Bright Flight yet again displays intelligence and emotional resonance that other, better known country acts would sell their rhinestone—encrusted
outfits for.
To the fore, as ever, is Berman’s beautiful and deceptively simple wordsmithery. It‘s no surprise that the man is an accomplished poet and author, as every lyrical line smacks of the careful and careworn precision
of a Carver story.
‘I wanna be like water if I can/cos water doesn’t give a damn,’ he laments in ‘Horselegs Swastika’, and somehow, dammit, you know exactly what he means. Likewise, ‘I wish I had a thousand bucks/l wish I was the Royal Trux/but mostly I wish l was with you,’ is the plainest of sentiments, yet given Berman’s distinct tongue-in-cheek, skewed twist.
That lyrical precision is in direct contrast to the wonderfully spontaneous, rough and ready musicianship on Bright Flight. ‘There’s a degree of truth to the idea that l was drunk the whole time — at least just managing a buzz from early on in the day — and you can hear that,’ says Berman. ‘I don’t believe there are ideal versions of our songs. Songs that exist in some shithead Nashville songwriter’s head are just stripped clean and vacuumed but ours will always be covered in turf stains, you know?’
More records could do with such glorious stains. (Doug Johnstone)
reminds us what a great the Arm Druzie \.'.~":: t has gone io aim: .;'-..- l“ /‘~-'\ W i " x 3'“ bass player he was. and already have {her :>~.'.'n. tuck. along (ti/Ht: THE COOPER MILTON Moffat stokes the perfectly fine iiai‘a'i‘ade itftflltlilf:lEliit"€:lf1"Mark TEMPLE JACKSON ,‘ .. " CLAUSE The Bionic Boy flames Willi relentless best-o's. l-":>..gl‘. and loin \, ,n.:-;; See This Through And 3g:sz LNMLEKWN: rhythmic energy. The probably 'ic'ie tight: a ll S." are the. am: Leave y. g .... ‘ remastered sound is a cone" (it353ltt't .'.'th .'.i':at make “,(it. <iat‘::-:: Lt.’.:_l" l .g. big improvement on looks suspiciously I:k-::- your titaniimn; nan-t t".‘:.". t eners earlier CD issues. and Badly DREW" Box. "léir<."§; monkey :;'.1.l»’:--¢.lu\-¢ .:*-.. '. aux " ~ '1 w 12‘1'1‘, no..::-:- and It w0u|d be a foolish man botli discs contain a crank ::al;_ ‘.'.’(}l(} a go:i‘<l:ii'i'i ":pi ‘tr' . . '- .: t3.-.::.i.;.-. ::-_--..-~‘:: t. i:-:‘- who listed to one of Jim extra tracks. Stif‘. it's lia":l to a'g..e lll baggy parity; .itlitlll. a: '\, "‘ -.' :" :f :‘f ' " " -.~ '.. .ar. " had O'Rourke's albums and (Kenny Mathiesoni with the chance -c Pear ' l v said. yes. this is the Jim the flout‘ci. ‘.'-::-“g-.2ar‘<;-:> of I : O'Rourke SOLlnd. He's "Bill i.)l'tl:’l‘ll‘()"(l 8a :9’ i the pretid owner of a LINGUAE foiloweu by the ' ' . ‘rx. t ' a: degree in composition You Got Me Fraiche {ll)()(iéth.’l)ttli acoust-cs in . . . .- "‘ . and a mixed bunch of (Home pmm, .... ‘Upvrai'ils At .15; l)e;,i"-::-<:-s' v ' ~ . i :: albums that traverses or the nruzsi'ig, E‘x,"£t'.‘.€f'l"t; '1 i .t ‘ (Everything analogue and ant aato ioarne. cf 'l as: \. f r ' ‘ ': it ' ir'iteresting that's come l asy Rder' pieced "t; . . . ma n 0th Ci Alllencali lit the the Jlfitll", sntiairr‘t; :;‘ :.;'-- . _.‘. " -~ :" 1‘ ‘ 2-4 :If :g "Aims; lil‘o‘l COHTUW. 'Sunspots'. tlr*-::ss ‘.:;;. l ()l a ’it’riitii remix-u. 'l. .. 3:1 From altcountry. art already have t'ieli‘ l/oxtis /" .’."z> '. Is an ." '. wa ix '. 1' : '.".:‘. :r.l’ ‘. \ ' ' ‘ FUCK- Jii/Z and classical. segue-rig at "(I'll-Z}. £lf$i()l‘ii:§i‘ill‘(_l", itf}f;tl":\} . .. .:' '..:-»'_v- '_' w :w ~t.'.-.-.l'. : i. "t: litit O'Rourke's liitislc tends 'Bl'litl‘ [)cnaiusoi‘ ittcil .'.:tl‘ illl' tt- -_~.-.~_: .f' ' . 2. 51.: it“ " .a'x-sx. '. 1' TO morph ""0 the lads pitcliiitti 'i w '.'.: '.".:‘. -."2 '.'.:_"\:~ .ir- 'i3“00'\ anibience of those he ELECTRIC t;,,,.\,,,i‘-y,,,,,,. i 3 , t . ~ \ ,\ 1.. , ‘ works Wltll, be they Fierce Panda Records SOFT PARADE Super l tl'lll'f‘». l-‘. .. $17.; I .:' '.-‘ .. T" -- s l" «‘- Faust. Bill ‘Smog' has become a teething Holes In The Wall it{l(liz:‘,:} Lt";t '.".-u l '."t"." " :' '~. I .:'11 Callahan or banio ground for soon to be M“), .... 1,) “my 4.”; _, i_._ y, .- . f \ up, Surrealist Eugene famous names. being the l-liitisii un‘tx'. i f: :2' : : "a t" Chadbourne. foi‘iiier home :if lliindi'ed Sigh. Wliat's ;~ 'zitlei and ate-r. ltli :‘.ii\; .i': i i r .: , ' :'_' ‘1' c lvl ain't Ins/griificance. though is Reasons and ()oldplay. cynical .ild iii.isi<: back goorli '1‘ w 2. I‘m.“ '~ - : :z :' ' . : .'. ..-. " fame: tire-er not only a nigh on perfect Furthering this pioneering to do? Just when ;,<iii tlit:.i t «i, ’l::it'f‘, :- '- = “: 1 - : t. ' in “it-ants. collection of songs. but spirt. they have latched think the iiiiisiiz lll(illt;il‘, ll )tfltlll .li ill'liii' i .. : .. ' ~' "v ' k: '
98 THE LIST 131 .Jan Ht int) 11/»?