Various
"Cheffing & Blinding"
(Fierce Panda)
review by Ruth
The latest compilation from those fine purveyors of quality aural entertainment
turn
their attentions to the rubbishing of a certain rubbery-mugged mockney celebrity
chef,
while still giving us six of the best. It's quite a diverse selection this time,
going
from the twisted twee euro-pop of KaitO's "Thwip-Side" (which sounds
like they nicked
one of those special effects keyrings we had as kids for half of the
sound-effects, so
gets the thumbs-up for nostalgia value) to the twisted tape distortion of Six By
Seven's
"Pull The Wires From The Wall", with the dark intensity of an suburban
horror story.
Purple Munkie take a similar punk grunge spin to Crackout, but mix it with the
vocals
of Dreyfuss on their track "Standoffish", followed by Jameson's
"Sprinkle The Axis",
alternating between tiny vocals and grinding guitar noise. Brazil's "School
Daze" sounds
like cross between Pulp and King Adora, with it's poppy singalong chorus about,
well,
school days. But they've saved the best for last with the excellent "Tell
Me What You Are
Before I Tell You What You Are" (also winner of the coveted "Longest
Single Title This
Issue" Prize), with "Man Who Sold The World" chords leading into
a thundering riff chorus
...it's utterly triumphant and rocks like Niagra and we love it to pieces.
Another
superlative collection - go buy.
5/5
|
Various
"Chairs Missing 7"
(Soviet Union Records)
review by Ruth
A rather interesting amalgamation of the current musical talent trying to escape
the hotbed that is Manchester, the Chairmissing 7 compilation showcases some
promising
stuff. Filo Radio's "Pretty Bones" kicks things off with a dirty
fistful of melodic rock,
and a distinctly poppy twinge. With vocals reminiscent of the Madchester sound
occasionally lapsing into the deep-throated vitriol of the likes of Henry
Rollins
it is intense in the American sense of the word, without losing the
characteristic
Mancunian swagger. This is followed by a thunderous At The Drive In wall of
noise
mongery...... which soon calms down to a spectral jangliness and broken,
strained but
compelling vocals. Tsuji Giri's "Dead Ivan Groove" is certainly
groovy, with it's
screechy guitars and half-hearted funky bass, but lacks the sparkle of the
American
rock such as At The Drive in and ...Trail of The Dead that it imitates.
Amplifier are
about as imaginative as their name suggests. "Motorhead" is a
stumbling drunken rock
dinosaur with vocals reminiscent of Pearl Jam's Eddy Vedder and other
singing-from the
VERY bottom of your broken heart - American 'Jock-rockers' such as Staind and
Creed.
The heavy and menacing basslines endorse this idea as do the quieter vocal
showcases
that punctuate the traditional rock riffery. Oceansize's "Heaven
Alive" rounds off
"Manchester Does America in 5 Easy Steps" quite nicely. It is funky
and cheerful
Incubus-driven pop. It is, at once, melodic and inspired, with twinkling
guitars, soft,
muffled vocals and simple lyrics. It is however nothing CHALLENGING. It does not
excite
or entice the listener, or the musicians for that matter. It is pleasant
listening to
good, rousing pop songs with nice melodies and thoughtful lyrics. However, it is
safe to
say that none of this is capable of pulling the British music industry out of
the
stagnant pool in which it has been languishing for years. C'mon you lot... try
HARDER!
3.5/5
|
