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One Word Extinguisher (Warp) .0000
Llectronic music can be such po-faced twaddle sometimes. so when someone shows up With a sense of humour and breaks big enough snap your spine like a drinking straw. it's difficult not to fall at their feet and worship them as the second coming
Scott Heren is not the reincarnation of Christ (we checked) but he does know how to gather together tons of itchy hip hop beats. crunky squelches. hums. burps and other garbled disc0urse into one celebratory suncase.
Tracks never outstay their welcome. 'Perverted Undertone' shuffles along like an 83- year old Eno. while ‘Storm Returns'. Herren's collaboration With skater/’hoboi’troubad0ur Tommy Guerrero. is nothing short of Sublime. Cut this up With the fader abusmg frenzy of ‘The End of Biters' and you have an album With enough textures and flavours to keep y0u rooting around in for months.
(Mark Robertson)
ELtCT RONICA VARIOUS
LATO 001
(Gdansk Recordings) CO.
131:.
Gdansk Recordings is the latest label run by students at Stow College. Predecessor Electric Honey scored well in the world of indie.
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Tner debut sariiple' li} a darr n goof start. there's established acts (Ala" Vega. Future Pilot AKA. but the artists Gdansk have unearthed do well in distinguished company. Provrnylistkarim scratches up rap cliches over IOping bass. Tycho do a neat line in cod- futurist electro. and there's even some ethereal break-folk from Cruiser. Sure. there are low points. With acts in thrall to Boards of Canada follownig the pastoral whimsy template too closely, but this is a strong compilation. making the label one to watch. (Jack Mottram)
808 Bl UES
HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS Plan B
(Curb) OO
Huey Lewis looked middle-aged back in the mid 808. when he urged us all to get With the ‘Power Of Love'. Almost 20 years on. auld Cajun- preface looks . . . middle aged. At least there has been a slight temporal shift in his mUSIC — away from nasty SynthS and back to more trad instruments.
Most of this album [8 a big joke for Huey — his huge band and selected friends havrng a fine time playing raucous but mediocre blues/'SOuI- driven rock'n'roll between mouthfulls of gumbo. The album has a few moments to saVOur. though: there's a seamless verSion of Costello's ‘Everyday I Write the Book' and a SOUr little (aunt called ‘I Never Think About You'. (Paul Dale)
HIP HOP NORTHERN
STATE
Dying in Stereo (Wichita) 0...
You might recall seeing NOrthern State being hyped by Curious
106 THE LIST 2-1 Apr—J5 May 2003
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Hesta PHIL"). Guinea Love and Sprouts biog suggests they're influenced by everyone from Public Enem, to Joni Mitchell. but the actual effect is more Wu Tang-rr‘ieets-Fr‘esh'n'Fl‘y (One for all you Grange Hill experts). Deep. intelligent. urban beats meet cocky. sister friendly lyrics. and standout tracks like ‘Trinity' and ‘Dying in Stereo' are airin smart enough to be class
summer soundtracks.
Bonus pernts for the lyric ‘my bark is worse than your Nigella me. too. (DaVid Pollock)
HIPPY ROCK CHRIS ROBINSON New Earth Mud (Wagram) .0.
While the rest of the
Black Crowes seem Willing to caICIfy on the Stadium R88 CirCuit. COunting the cheques. their lead Singer has seemed of late genurnely interesting in re-evaluating the mUSic that formed him, noticeably Humbie Pie and the Byrds.
This. of COurse. is nothing like them. but it does contain some of the best tunes Robinson has recorded in a while. At the helm is OaSis arranger Paul Stacey. so it retains that slightly modish flav0ur of anaesthetised nostalgia. ‘COuId you Really Love Me' is a sweet song shot through With the Spirit of Elton John Circa Tumbleweed COnneCt/on. ‘Fables'. ‘Sunday SOund' and ‘Ride' certainly show an impressive understanding of the structural rules of low- slung painful SOul music. Certainly wonh a listen. (Paul Dale)
games@list.co.uk
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