He has; always; swaggered cheerfully across; the genres. and the range here —- encompassing a lost album rthe cheerfully titled Sure/rte Handbook. a dreamy session rn Stockholm. and a good dose of attitude from the Adams-band's; rock- beas;t alter egos. the Prnkhearts ~ rs richly varied. It's far from a shapeless miscellany. though: the singer's; voice stamps; a coherent r.)ersona|rty on songs; whose musicianship and production defy their status; as unretouched demos. and cleyer programming makes this; a collectron which sounds as; rt rt was assenrbled by design.
Not since Bruce Springsteen grout/led hrs vary to superstar'dom 20 years; ago has; anyone ploughing a furrox'r in
roots; rock looked more certainly hound for glory rNrnran Dunnettr
COUNiRY
AURA CANTRELL When the Roses Bloom Again rSprt & Polish) 00..
Anyone corrrrng to Laura ()antrell's second album on the strength of the hype surrounding her first John Peel pronounced rt was
'p( ssrbly the best record of hrs; life» may suffer an rnrtral disar)porntment. but this; rs a record xyhos 3 yrrtues; arc- ot the old-fashioned kind.
A New York country DJ. Cantrell has an ear for a good song. a voice ‘.'/hose srmplrcrt‘, rs; disarming and a fondness; for the krnd of disciplined. crafty musicianship '.'.rhrch goes a long way to redeernrng the tarnished
name of pop country. Three or four listens. and the effect rs errtrrely beguiling.
rNrnran Dunnettr
ROCK
THE LIBERTINES Up The Bracket rRough Trader .00.
It makes; a change to see a guitar hand yrrth smiles on their fucking faces. i'hrs; rs that rarest of things; rn the Age of l-tadrohead: an Intelligent. yrbrant and. yes. funny British rock record. In the classic [English songsmrth tradition of the Kinks. the Buncocks. the Jam. Supergrass and. yup. Chas 'n' Dave. Up the Bracket rs; a rrght old
knees; up of puke~ splattered p;rnk and bitter soaked 'the beer. not the attrtude: clatter. OK at trmes rt gets;
slightly slapdash. like in the half—arsed waggle of “Radio Arrrerrca' but
m< s;t|y this; rs a saucy frolrc of a r‘ock'n'roll record to cherish.
(Doug Johnstoner
ROCK
GRAHAM COXON The Kiss of Morning tTrans;coprcr I...
In the light of recent events. er.r'er1.’tlrrrrg Graham Coxon utters; on tlrrs hrs; second solo platter sounds; like it's; berrroarrrrrg hrs; untidy electron from Blur but in reality. rt harks; back to another break up - that last year of hrrrr and hrs; long-time partner.
the sentiment of ‘l-scape Song'. 'i‘Jo Vii/hat you're told' and 'Locked [)oors rs; one of 'l'rn disappointed it's oyer but hey. '.'.’il!l(3 the sound rs; io ii and off the cuff ~ a rrreetrng of the
CD/LP
OUT Now
INCLUDES THE SINGLE
AVAILABLE FROM THESE STORES
missing
Beastre Boys. Gram Parson and Sebadoh but more beguiling than hrs; preyrous;_ rather obtuse solo excursions. l le's; a survivor good luck to hrm.
rtvtark Robertsonl
HOOK FOO FIGHTERS One by One rHoswelll O...
The lurrnorl in the Foo canrp rs; un<lerstandable - splits. Dave Grohl moonlighting for Queens: of the Stone age. Taylor Hawkins alleged 'chernrcal excesses -— it's enough make you expect a schr/ophrenrc fourth album.
Which rs exactly arr/hat you get. Grohl has errrbraced the radio friendly chorus; like never before. rnakrng this; an album part-filled With instant head nodders. Of these. 'Oyer‘drrye' rs; tu/xy dr'ryel but the lovely ‘Haye rt All" happily reanages to out- V‘vJee/er \rVee/er.
It's when things get dark that the sparks; truly start to fly, though. 'Low‘ and single ‘All my ere' are both incendiary
Records
and wrth eprc closer ‘Come Back'. they prove there rs; real depth and weight to Foo Fighters' 2002 rnanrfesto. /\ mixed blessing.
rlvtark Robertson}
(ION l LMPORAHY JAMES MACMILLAN The Confessions of Isobel Gowdie
rBlSr 0000
This early masterpiece rfrom 199m rnsprred by the barbaric death of a '~.'.rorrran accused of \.'.rrtchcraft in 1662 rernarns one of Maclvtrllan's nrost pox-rerful works. and the one which established hrs; name in London after a triumphant Proms performance.
It has; been on disc before. but this; new recording by Osmo Vanska and the BBC
0. t .‘ THE LIST 107