:m/r/ ;//:. THE SLEEPY JACKSON
Lovers
(tiffll fffét'l'N; "’,’,Vf:"3 UT":
back and removal w. the
new 'r'ust ham In 't‘usic,
like the myertftmnds and mullet on the artschooi muppet Follicl. blesse'l scruffsters, Kinds of
l eon. with also unleash their highly anticipated debut this year have faith. as does Luke Steele of Aussie four piece The Sleepy Jackson. and by the sounds of this subu'ne offering its a 'ntdht‘, good move.
Building on the gospel guitar pop of last year's self-titled mini-LP. and featuring two of .t:; lllelthllf; tracks ‘Good Dancers and 'Mtnisktrt'. The Sleepy Jackson have added rock stompers. electro psychedelia and heartbroken arnericana to their sparkling Beach Boys esoue harmonies. Diverse, dreamy and Simply (twine.
(Camilla Pia)
ROCK POP THE
PHENOMENO- LOGICAL BOYS Where’s The Magic in the Music
(Penthouse llotplatei O.
The Phertomenological Boys have been described as puryeyors of "clutter pop' and ultimately this seven- track mini-album has the same grinding down effect as the prospect of picking up after the kids. The only constant factOr across the album is Angela Alden's atrily fragile \ocal, to which have been added. seemingly Without thought 0r care. a mix of electronic and acoustic instruments. amid a scrappy patchwork of Influences. Such as Jazz. pSychedelia and punk. Admittedly. this works on not Qttlte (:lOytngly sweet opening track 'What Do Bears Do Hi the Woods'. while everything else simply irritates.
(Allan Radcliffe)
CIBELLE Ziriguiboom
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anti lit/7 smoothly ‘?c.'.
:: .e' raye'e'l ezements gleaned from club culture not scbtiy. Bra/than. stye. they form one part of a mesmer's'r‘g
sounds :ape. Grey-ring up w'th British pot). C belie ofter‘ sings 2n Engls't. sounding totally natural Recently featarerl wrtn V:"'c us Cantuar-a on. Later .20.”: Jools Holland. this Is ar‘ album for late night chili. first coffee of the day. lunch. wine time lJan Fazrleyl
JAZZ DAVE MILLIGAN TRIO
Late Show (Caber Music 0000
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Dave Mtlltgan's long anticipated debut album as a leader proves to have been worth the wait. The Borders-born pianrst has been a signzftcant presence on both the jazz and folk scenes :n Scotland. and has been notably successfa: ll‘. ‘tndtng original ways Of brnging the two together within his muSIc. Hts compos'ttcns en Late Show intenyeave a complex matrix of generic influences In highly sat:sf,:ng fashion. and oroyrde ar‘ excellent
sh wcase fOr both his prodigtmts ablllileb‘ as a l'd/Iz‘ :rnpro. se' and the empath-c :r‘terplay of his trio. wth Tom L‘yne on bass and Tom Bancroft on drums.
lKenny Mathtesonl
es; BLACK AND BRUISED (Vivendi) 239.99 .0.
Comedy :s "of something I.I;.l as:;<::: ate with compute' :;a"‘.es, though. to be lair.
ll(?lil‘t(3.' it; l(;"l£t.’l£i(1. drama. or a", other ‘.'|(l(3() rental sft ne shelf title other than
action adventure and sci—fl. Yet there is no denying; that Black and Bur/SOC ts indeed a comedy computer game. To be more precise. it is a cartoon boxrng ga'ne with tonnes of great animation to bring; each of the t8 wacky pugilists to col-shaded life.
All the boxers. sporting names such as Knuckles Nadine. Mélel Flak and Ally Gator. have their own personalttes and fighting styles B/ack and Brursed would make a fantastic Saturday morning kids cartoon. Unfortunately it doesn't make a fantastic game.
The feedback is sloppy. to say the least. and when you cannot beat the training dummy because the blocking :s sooooooo slooooooow. you know this is not going to be a particularly skilful contest. Yet there is something eminently likeable about Black and Bruised that keeps you coming back for more. The lights are random slapstick with special moves and silly knockout animations. while the characters and their stories genuinely raise a laugh. lt's not perfect but. then again, comedy rarely ts.
XBOX
THE HULK (Vivendi) £39.99 0000
Fer those worried ab0ut what Ang 'I can even make a Kung Fu film
Games
Comic boxing .' : ' :....- ;' v..:',,v,. "~. ° " ‘l 1" \ ..._. :~- ’.' .1 c r l t". on)”. ‘i o. . I' ' NI" ' '23. "‘ft “‘2‘ 't't‘ ‘1 r‘. ‘ ‘tia' :t I v '7 "r‘. ' 1K 3: i9 ‘0' 't ' . . J‘. K". ‘ t] l 'i.ztl... ' :3" "’. .‘g l r '1t'_[,rvu.. '. ° 1:. ""e- H r 1‘. it tea: Tv-t- "« ’ yx II. ‘lv* y“ o". o ,y o ‘,, J let-"m. : ".-:t' ".t.‘l‘t;..:tfir"it‘l t"i".:‘;a.ta" ‘\';a.t.t'ne “In ' i"‘- . '- . ‘ar 1‘ ; "‘erl..~.tsmts‘. t; tet l '« .t'k‘r'w: '1.!l‘»".%:ef.’_"‘. .z-t l"f“.l7.l'.lfflitut'.t*ttl‘l a<;a:'*2‘. " I"? a s. tr "l 'l""‘el‘5u"l‘. t"ll"‘.tl:‘lt' ‘ftl'l‘i‘. .w; '.'u:'. s-a “"t iffii- .l " " a‘. 1‘ ti l" the same ua' twl ;a tu "t " .t" . >‘ "er-1' the n t" ota'n ‘ H l Elana m' o It ta 4' i The ltn"a ts”
SOCOM US NAVY SEALS (Sony) £49.99 000
So here it is. Sony’s answer to XBox Live. And it would seem that this answer is initially more expensive than Microsoft's option because you have to buy the network adapter to plug into your P82 in order to bring it up to the same specifications as the XBox. From then on, the experience is much the same. Possible frustration at non-connection. Eventual connection only to find all the good names are gone and you are left with Geek3475. But once the set up is, well. set up, all you need is something to play. And SOCOM Navy Seals is as good a place to start as any.
Did you notice the price? Yes. SOCOM is at least a tenner more than you would normally pay for a PS2 title. But worry not, because that extra brown note earns you a headset to wear. connecting you aurally to the rest of the world. Or at least the other 3474 geeks out there. But communicate with them you must. for this is no simple game. This is an experience to immerse yourself in. This is you and some pals against the most evil armed groups the world has seen. This is war and. as all armchair generals know, the best weapon in war is information. The headset allows the immediate transfer of this valuable information. ensuring all human combatants are up to speed and in the know. It also allows many American children to shout ‘Yeah, well your momma sucks dogs!’ at each other.
The game? Oh yes, the game. Well it is 50-50. Not as many missions as you would like. Enough realistic weaponry to keep you interested. Looks OK considering how few online glitches there are. If you have itched to play Counterstrike but were unable to afford a PC then SOCOM will give you a fair idea of what it is like. Though only a fair idea. You really can’t beat the real thing. (lain Davidson)
You and some pals up against the most evil groups the world has ever known
'14 li.’ THE LIST 107