June/ July 2007 Various Artists - Goodbye Nashville, Hello Camden Town: A Pub Rock Anthology (Castle Music) Given its influence on punk which evolved in its wake, the seemingly perennially unfashionable pub rock scene has been relatively poorly represented on CD over the years, at least as far as compilations go. It’s more that ten years since EMI’s excellent ‘Naughty Rhythms’ hit the shelves for example and even that’s now long out of print. Newly arriving in its place though, as welcome as an offer to buy a round, is this comprehensive 49-track set from Castle. Covering a lot more ground than its predecessor, while arguably not quite distilling the essence of pub rock quite as well, it still does a fine job - warts and all! Often regarded as a quintessentially English / British genre, pub rock, while obviously hugely stylistically indebted to US influences - primarily country and blues - specifically owes a great deal of its early development to an actual band made up of US ex-pats - Eggs Over Easy, whose residency at the Tally Ho pub in London’s Kentish Town would go on to influence countless other bands, bored and disenfranchised with the plastic pop and progressive rock so dominant at the time, to pursue a similarly roots-flavoured direction. Featuring many of the scene’s ‘big hitters’ - Brinsley Schwartz, Kilburn & The High Roads, Dr Feelgood, Kursaal Flyers, Count Bishops, The Pirates, Bees Make Honey as well as the aforementioned Eggs Over Easy, while some are conspicuous by the absence - Ducks Deluxe and The 101’ers for example, there’s plenty of room for some of the more minor players who still deliver the goods - The Johnny Young Band and Unicorn are both worth singling out. There’s some chaff here admittedly but on the whole the hit to miss ratio is very much favoured towards the former. And also check out former NME scribe Mick Farren’s Feelgoods’ backed slice of proto-punk ‘I Want A Drink’ for a sign of things to come. From pub rock such individual talents as Nick Lowe and Ian Dury would emerge as well as hugely influential labels like Stiff and Chiswick who would go on to establish a template for independent labels which still resonates today. Geraint J. The Glasspack - Dirty Women Sasquatch - II (both Small Stone) As might be expected of a stable boasting the likes of Five horse Johnson, Ironweed and Sons of Otis, and which proclaims itself to be “no gimmicks, no fluff, just good honest rock and roll”, these two new releases from the estimable Detroit-based Small Stone Records take the traditional sounds of heavy blues and classic metal as their starting point. The Glasspack incline more towards the latter, emphasising pounding stoner rhythms topped off by spaced out and fuzzed up psychedelic guitar passages. On their third release for the label the debt to Sabbath can be felt throughout, but there’s more than a nod to a range of contemporary influences of the Kyuss / Queens / Fu Manchu variety, notable on instrumental ‘Fastback’, and a cameo appearance from Nashville Pussy’s Adam Neal on ‘Play it Low’. When they vary it a bit, as they do from time to time, we get the decidedly thrashtastic opener ‘Taming of the Ram’, and the standout track ‘Louisiana Strawberry’ which starts off as a top notch driving rocker, moves into an extended instrumental a la ‘Freebird’, and finally collapses in a psychedelic train crash courtesy of the Dead on brown acid. The second set from Sasquatch updates the finest tradition of blues-based power trios (Experience, Cream, early ZZ Top) for the twenty-first century by aligning them with contemporaries such as Fireball Ministry and Clutch to produce a sound that is bigger and heavier and which incorporates some very modern metal flourishes. The result is a band which plays with massive confidence and authority, combining really fine guitar work with a thundering bass and the most gigantic drum sound since John Bonham. Keith Gibbs adds vocals with a nonchalant precision to medium paced songs delivered with a relaxed menace which rarely threaten to break sweat. Alongside outstanding rockers such as ‘The Judge’ and ‘Pleasure to Burn’ they prove themselves able to change mood and tempo to the largely acoustic but highly atmospheric Allmans-esque ‘Nikki’ and ‘Cataline’. This is seriously good stuff, and if Leicester Bangs gave stars (which he doesn’t) I think he’d give Sasquatch a gold one. Despite their hailing from Louisville, Kentucky and L.A. respectively, one of the most profound features linking these bands is a distinct air of Southern Gothic, shrouding them like clinging fog. It is precisely the brooding, sinister aura that this implies which separates them from UK bands such as Roadstar, The Answer and Tokyo Dragons who are swimming in otherwise similar waters. God knows what they’re feeding them at Small Stone, but it’s high time they bottled it and sent some over. Speaking of which, it would be good to see a package of Small Stone’s finest doing the rounds of UK venues some time soon. How about it? www.smallstone.com Neil B. Richard X Heyman - Actual Sighs (Turn-Up Records) For his sixth full-length release, Richard X Heyman has taken the unusual step of revisiting and re-recording the half dozen tracks that comprised ‘Actual Size’, his debut EP released in 1986, augmenting those new versions with fourteen ‘new’ tracks which were written during the same period. The resulting ‘Actual Sighs’, now an ambitious twenty track set, essentially makes up the full-length album he wished he’d been able to make at the time. So has the long delay and obvious effort been worth waiting for - you betcha! Not having heard the original 1986 EP recordings I can’t compare, but being familiar with Heyman from his excellent 1998 album ‘Cornerstone’, I was already appreciative of his pop credentials. Crisply produced and superbly arranged, Heyman also handles by far the majority of instrumentation and all of the vocals himself. Heyman’s wife Nancy contributes occasional bass and a number of songs benefit handsomely from strings and brass courtesy of the additional musicians that make up the Actual Sighs Ensemble. From the immediate, in-your-face hooks offered by ‘Stockpile’ to the more introspective likes of ‘Winter Blue’, ‘Actual Sighs’ delivers enough pop, rock and melodic thrills to satiate even the most jaded palate. On the darker ‘Mr Murphy’s Son’ Heyman sounds uncannily like the late, great Warren Zevon before following immediately with the manic shuffle of ‘Twelve Bars And I Still Have The Blues’. Diversity Heyman has that covered here in some fashion. Richard X Heyman’s decision to revisit his past has resulted in a fascinating and supremely entertaining aural document from start to finish, and whether you are a newcomer or a seasoned fan of his work, I promise you will not be disappointed. Geraint J. The Rubinoos - Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Rubinoos But Were Afraid To Ask! (Castle Music) Superbly annotated, with copious pics, this excellent three-disc set does a mighty fine job of compiling The Rubinoos’ output, from their debut single ‘Gorilla’ originally released on the then fledging Berserkley, almost right up to date with four cuts from their most recent studio set ‘Twist Pop Sin’ released in 2005. Peppered among a selection of their best cuts across discs one and two are also a number of rarities out-takes and demos. Disc three meanwhile features a live set recorded at Hammersmith Odeon on April 1st, 1978. Clearly the support on the night in question - to whom it doesn’t say - despite putting in a valiant performance, the audience don’t want to seem to want to play ball so its lack of atmosphere means it’s probably not something you’ll want to revisit too often. Perhaps a little sugary for some, the band nevertheless found favour on both sides of the pond among new wave audiences as edgier punk mutated into more radio friendly power pop sounds. Their definitive version of the Tommy James & The Shondells sixties US hit ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ remains a favourite and at 49p proved an irresistible purchase back in 1978. Belying their harmony-laden clean cut sound, the band proved they could also rock out with the best of them on ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Dead’ a storming effort that successfully fused the very best that power pop had to offer in a head on collision with AC/DC. Listening back to the likes of ‘Leave My Heart Alone’, ‘Hard To Get’ and ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend’ it’s baffling why the band failed to enjoy a lot more success at the time. A couple of occasional line-up changes and several albums have ensued in the thirty odd years since the band’s inception. They continue to record and play live and despite their sporadic bursts of activity of late, their high standards have been maintained as more recent recordings and performances on this set more than testify. Fun, frivolous and frothy they may be but they’re also extremely accomplished songsmiths and performers. Deserving of more than a footnote in the history of pop, this excellent set does a fine job of spreading the word. Geraint J. Archer Avenue - We Watched The Headlights; We Watched The Stars (That Phantom Sound) Wikipedia, the internet’s premier source of unreliable information, informs us that Archer Avenue in Chicago is one of the most haunted locations in the world. Not only is it the spiritual home of renowned spook Resurrection Mary, it was also built over an Indian sacred line, and in the 19th Century, a host of immigrant labourers were killed constructing the Illinois and Michigan Canal which runs alongside. Tellingly, there’s no mention of an alt. country band from Texas called Archer Avenue, yet their CD is in front of me and it’s definitely not an apparition. Not only does it move when prodded, but when placed in the CD player, it makes a most agreeable noise. If one were forced to make comparisons, then it would be to groups such as Uncle Tupelo / Son Volt, the Replacements and Green On Red. That’s good company to be in and Archer Avenue not only share a similar sound to those bands, but back it up with some superior song-writing. ‘Cops Don’t Care’ is particularly toothsome, ‘Breakdown On N. St. Mary’s’ is a twangy treat and ‘Most Permanent Tattoo’ provides a gritty highlight later on. www.archeravenuemusic.com Jim P. Black Forest/Black Sea - Black Forest/Black Sea (The Music Fellowship) Here Black Forest/Black Sea present their fourth full-length release: a 2 track CD (titled “side 1” and “side 2”!) of beautiful, loosely improvised music. The outing features freely associated musical concepts hosted by strings, keyboards, pastoral folk guitar and vocals, feedback, noise, electronics, sampled birds, amongst other instruments to produce a truly imaginative and moving score. Complex textures, strange melodies and fractured percussion interweave throughout and one plateau can metamorphosise to another by layers being added, or removed, and there are instances where any number of ideas happen simultaneously. A breathtaking, grounded (rather than otherworldly) and radical piece of free psych folk weirdness. www.blackforestblacksea.com Will F. Red Seven - Anywhere But Here (Self Released) Like Hootie covering Counting Crows, Chicago’s red Seven have quality at their core. Patrick Bazan’s rich vocals mould together a pop / rock blend of smooth harmonies and guitar rhythms. The showcase CD is a little one-paced but stands as a promising debut and a marker for the future. I got stuck on ‘Gone’ and the title track ‘Anywhere But Here’ has a touch of Lynyrd Skynyrd about it. With a couple of tracks over six minutes long it’s a listener’s album. It’s unfortunate that a band that sounds impressive but looks like a bunch of lecturers won’t be heard by as wide an audience as they deserve. Tell your friends. www.redsevenband.com Carl J. Emily Grogan - At Sea (One Way) Massachusetts singer-songwriter Emily Grogan employs plenty of pop hookery on her 3rd album though, when it comes to influences, there’s nothing too contemporary here. In fact, it’s the glossy chart sounds of the 80s and early 90s that most readily spring to mind when listening to ‘At Sea’. There are highlights - opening cut, ‘End Of The Line’, exhibits all the power pop pomp of Ocean Colour Scene in their ‘Moseley Shoals’ prime, ‘Time Is Waiting’ applies Portishead atmospherics with a classic pop vocal, and a song Kimerley Rew might have written for Katrina and the Waves. Not an essential release by any means, but there are enough good bits here to warrant further investigation. www.emilygrogan.com Rob F. Buswell - Buy Me New Shoes (4th Street Records) Lilting and gorgeous and desperate for a big production job. If this album had more strings attached it could take over the world. As it is, I love the gentle poignancy of the interplay between piano and violin, underpinned by a subtly effective rhythm section. Buswell are hard to pin down but if you are into a cocktail of The Waterboys, David Gray and Belle and Sebastian swilled down with a swell of emotion and intelligence then give this a listen. As you let the melancholy wonder that is the excellent single Sleep take you in its arms, you realise that Buswell sound like everybody and nobody else. They are Buswell. www.buswellmusic.com Carl J. The Noisettes - Automatons (Self-Released) In this soundtrack to “a low-tech effects film about the horrors of war and robots” The Noisettes (not to be confused with the British art-blues outfit of the same name) create sinister science fiction atmospherics from which you can almost hear the dirt. It’s synthetic pulses, sampled crackles, deep rumbles and modulation, filling the entire space, are at times extremely claustrophobic (‘Bunker Dreams’ and ‘Death by Automaton’). Quite out of place is ‘Automatons Attack!’ (by Noah DeFilippis), the soundtrack’s centre piece, which, with it’s epic drums would not seem out of place on ‘Ben Hur’! Gritty, Radiophonic workshop meets Joe Meek. www.myspace.com/noisettes Will F. Unknown Instructors - The Masters Voice (Smog Veil) Even if you didn’t know it was coming, the entrance of David Thomas on ‘This Black Hat is Rage’, four tracks into this vital and intelligent collection on Smog Veil records, wouldn’t seem altogether surprising. The scene set by the rolling rumbling rhythms of Minutemen Mike Watt and George Hurley and the deformed blues guitar of Joe Baiza is a perfect landscape for founder Dan MacGuire’s doom-laden beat narratives, and one into which Thomas strolls effortlessly. His essential contribution, of course, is to make it darker, more intimidating and, as you’d imagine, fundamentally weirder. This is a very good thing to have happen, and it is equally pleasing when he does it again on ‘Tar Baby’ and ‘Doghouse Riley’. Always a welcome addition to anyone’s album, the Pere Ubu man perfectly compliments this strange supergroup of sorts who seem to respect no boundaries as they draw from free-form jazz, surreal poetry and the furthest corners of the rock spectrum to create what a twenty-first century Beefheart and the Magic Band would have been proud of, without being for one second in their shadow. www.smogveil.com Neil B. Cedars - Another Season (Self-Released) A mini-lp of uninspiring anthemic indie rock. Cedars are certainly cut from surplus of the same cloth as stadium fillers Coldplay, U2, Snow Patrol, Keane, et al. The tracks here seem to err towards each of their influences in turn with nondescript pastiche after another. If you must refer to the source material. www.cedarmusic.com Will F. Keller Williams - Dream (Sci Fidelity) There’s no shortage of detail to accompany this ninth release from singer songwriter Keller Williams. The record has been painstakingly compiled using a star-studded cast of guest musicians, and every song comes with a complete history and overview of its own which is never less than a complete essay. As you’d expect with that level of attention, there’s a very high degree of technical musicianship on display covering an impressive range of styles from traditional country (‘Sing for my Dinner’), through jazz-lite (‘Celebrate Your Youth’) to aor (‘Slo Mo Balloon’). However, whilst the playing is generally impeccable, the lyrics are often embarrassing, particularly the cringe-worthy ‘People Watching’ and ‘Rainy Day’, and some songs, including the “ironic” take on fm radio rock in opening track, ‘Play This’, and the cod-reggae of ‘Ninja of Love’ are seriously misguided. The latter is arguably the worst case of its kind since ‘Dreadlock Holiday’. Williams at his best is probably found on the instrumental pieces, ‘Cookies’, ‘Twinkle’ and ‘L’il Sexy Blues’, all of which are skillful, vibrant and imaginative, but elsewhere there’s a serious re-think needed. www.scifidelity.com Neil B. Peter Walker / Various - A Raga for Peter Walker (Tompkins Square) Here Tompkins Square - whose aim is to re-ignite interest in long absent folk and blues guitarists as well as promoting talent that fits the bill - resurrect Peter Walker. Walker released two ‘Folk Raga’ LPs at the tail end of the 60’s and was musical director for Timothy Leary’s psychedelic ‘Celebrations’. His first recordings in 37 years (4 of the 10) flank work from artists paying homage to him. Now a dedicated disciple of flamenco Walker’s Ragas are backed by Tamboura and percussion and, with exception of Jaleo Para Angela, are not as tinged as would have been expected. The selection of artists included alongside Walker is superb, as they could easily have been dwarfed by the majesty that opens. James Blackshaw’s “Spiralling Skeleton Memorial (Live)” is pure warmth of the sun and contrasts with Thurston Moore’s “Dirt Raga” which it truly is. www.tompkinssquare.com Will F. The Jennifers - Colors From The Future (Beef Platter) They don’t half mess about, this lot. This is only the third release from the Baltimore guitar-pop combo in thirteen years! While there is not the punky immediacy of the storming last album Book of Bad Advice, Colors From the Future shows a developing maturity and breadth to the Jennifers’ sound. There are touches of theremin, mellotron and backwards percussion amongst the melodic hooks and sweet harmonies. Opener, ‘Mrs. Gray’ is a blood rush to the head and the album throbs along to the spaced out chime of closer ‘Saturday’. All this and the yummiest cover shot of the year. The future’s bright... www.thejennifers.com Carl J. The Soul of John Black: - Good Girl Blues (Yellow Dog) When John Bigham left ska / jazz / rock outfit Fishbone in 1996 after ‘Chim Chim’s Bad Ass Revenge’, the heaviest and punkiest album of their career, he set off in a very different direction, and the years since have seen him working as sideman and session player with everyone from Bruce Hornsby to Dr Dre. His credentials as a guitarist and keyboard player secured he now takes on lead vocals for what is essentially his first solo outing. Unfortunately, what the accompanying press release hails as “a primer on the history of the blues” isn’t entirely a success. There’s nothing wrong with the voice, which encompasses a range from Al Green at his most falsetto to the deeper soul blues of, say, Keb Mo, and it’s true that he does take on a range of styles. Throughout, however, both the playing and the production lack the subtlety needed to see the venture through. On tracks like opener ‘The Hole’ the drumming is clumsy and unsettling, bass lines often jar (as on ‘I Got Work’ for example), and for ‘Good Girl’ the guitars are overloud to the point of brutality. Elsewhere, ‘Slippin and Slidin’ and ‘Moanin’ are very messy, and most of the other songs fail to develop into much at all. It’s a shame this, because Bigham is undoubtedly a talented artist; here though, he really seems out of his depth. www.yellowdogrecords.com Neil B. Nelson Bragg - Day Into Night (SideBMusic) Nelson Bragg is a drummer-percussionist-singer-songwriter-producer-arranger who plays with Brian Wilson, The Quarter After, The Now People, The Mello Cads, Carolyn Edwards, Jeff Merchant and has played and recorded with The Tyde, Stew, Cloud Eleven, and The Mockers. He gets around. On ‘Day Into Night’, his folky pop chops make for some truly inspired listening, especially if partial to the classic west coast sounds of the early ‘70s. The harmonies are rich and involving and Bragg’s voice provides the perfect vehicle for the mostly original collection of songs. He’s backed by some of the cream of the indie-pop circuit, including members of Cloud Eleven and The Wondermints, and fellow Brian Wilson associate Probyn Gregory lays down some horns on a couple of songs - the yielding, melancholic ‘Every Minute Of The Day’, providing a multi-layered highlight. It’s an easy album to put on a sunny Sunday morning and leave on repeat all day, or maybe spin alternatively with something like Colin Blunstone’s ‘One Year’ album for a bit of complimentary diversity - you get the idea. www.sidebmusic.com Rob F. Hans Fjellestad - Snails R Sexy (Accretions) Hans, being the director of 2004’s ‘Moog’ comes with ticks already in boxes. The CD, in it’s entirety, veers from science fiction soundtrack to insane discordance. This is the work of an extremely mad professor (see sleeve photograph with protruding tongue!!) who at times combines layers of synth drone with the bleeps and beeps synonymous with Techno (‘Pull Breath’), yet without a beat in earshot. Other tracks are sheer hellish, distorted, experimental cacophonies (‘Que Es Mas Sexy’). Totally uneasy listening in the realms of Aphex Twin. www.accretions.com Will F. Jesus H Christ and the Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse - S/T (Self Released) New York-based Jesus H Christ and the Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse are an eight-piece rock / pop / punk / folk / metal / cabaret band. Likened to B-52s meets X-Ray Spex meets Weezer meets Blood Sweat and Tears, the JHC "difference" is horny, thinking-person's, emotionally-bare lyrics protectively cloaked in hard candy pop. All original, stylishly diverse, stick-in-your-head songs about being bicoastal, stealing your boyfriends' Kenneth Anger and Balzac references, compassion fatigue, boobs, and widower-lust, with roaring guitars and celestial horns. Like asparagus, olives, Zappa and cum, Jesus H Christ are an acquired taste. www.jesushchristrocks.com Carl J. Nonloc - Between Hemispheres (Strange Attractors Audio House) Backed entirely from loops (or repetitions) of many instruments (guitar, piano, harp, mandolin, accordion, banjo, cello to name a few), ‘Between Hemispheres’ is an ingeniously realised, and beautifully recorded album. The rhythms and melodies - of differing lengths and directions - do not often stray too far from conventional time signatures allowing easy access to what is essentially the realms of the avant garde composer, ‘Piano Stream’ and ‘A Popular Tune’ are the most - but not too - deviant. The passive, primarily acoustic backdrops are layered upon glorious layers and absorb soaring electric, impromptu vocals and Saxophone. ‘Candide’ with it’s simple bass hook, velvets-esque guitar figure and laid back vocal delivery is amazing. Closes with the title track constructed of subtly caustic, industrial drone and field recording. Never aggressive, never otherworldly and in a single word, Brilliant. www.strange-attractors.com / www.nonloc.com Will F. El Ray - Holiday On Ice (Heptown Records) Surf music recorded in a Copenhagen blizzard, you gotta be kidding! El Ray do surf instrumentals with a punky edge. Cool stuff for the aficionado. I was searching out my baggies and waxing down my board and there’s no more landlocked place than Leicester in the whole of England. Get this latest offering on hip 10 inch vinyl and you’ll be the cat that the other dudes and chicks think of as the most swell... oh I can’t be bothered with all of this jive talk shit. Listen, El Ray do surf and they do it well. Go buy now. www.elray.dk Carl J. Black Helicopter - Invisible Jet (Ecstatic Peace) With its insistent Fugazi-esque undertow breaking off into shimmering guitar solos which distinctly echo Tom Verlaine this first album from Black Helicopter on Ecstatic Peace Records is pretty much an object lesson in how to do alt-rock properly. The ten songs in the collection display an attendant world-weariness even when describing a much-loved automobile in opening track ‘Buick Electra’, but come fully into their own when addressing themes of self-abuse and self-loathing, or taking barbed stabs at the world at large. It’s a lo-fi set with a vague air of menace which has endeared them to touring partners Mission of Burma, Shellac and Sonic Youth, and will no doubt appeal to their respective audiences in turn. There’s no real standout tracks to be honest, but no bummers either - just a solid collection worth checking out if any of the aforementioned float your boat. www.ecstaticpeace.com Neil B. Dave Stephens - Stories For Copper (Self Released) Choosing such a determinedly retrospective path as Canadian Dave Stephens has on his second, Seventies-flavoured set, might seem like folly to some. However his pure untarnished approach across a dozen self-penned songs, more or less evenly split between warm fuzzy pop and heartfelt ballads (Stephens again producing and playing virtually everything on the album himself, as on his 2004 debut ‘Here We Go…’) primarily delivers in the big hooks and bold arrangements department - choirs, strings and more besides all key constituents of Stephens’ grand plan. While not without occasional flaws on ‘Stories For Copper’, Stephens’ DIY, at times ‘throw it all into the mix’ approach to his craft ultimately makes for a refreshing and unpretentious set of deceptively appealing high quality pop. www.davestephens.ca Geraint J. Microwaves - Contagion Heuristic (Crucial Blast) At a time when much of the metal scene has returned to its default position of complacent sameness, it is a real pleasure to hear something as intelligent, diverse and engaging as this album from Microwaves. Their record company, Crucial Blast, boasts a strap line of “new mutations in extreme music”, and on this showing they’re not bluffing. Dig below the sonic fury and you’ll find distinct traces of psychedelia, (Hawkwind, early Floyd, Soft Machine), 70’s Krautrock, post-punk, atonal jazz (Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman), Hendrix, Sabbath and God knows what else puncturing the canvass of thrash metal and futuristic electronic distortion. The pace goes from hard, repetitive, industrial rocking (not a million miles from Nine Inch Nails) through to passages of disparate squalling and feedback, taking in some powerful riffing along the way, while the mood passes from threatening to paranoid. Don’t let this put you off at all - it’s very accessible, commendably economical, relentlessly imaginative and constantly exciting. Die hard fans of the Beach Boys might do well to keep away, but for my money it’s the best of its kind (whatever that is) since the Dillinger Escape Plan’s ‘Miss Machine’. www.crucialblast.net Neil B. Autokat - Late Night Shopping (Akoustik Anarkhy) As the regeneration of our decaying cities gathers pace, the bleak industrial landscapes of Northern England are coming to exist more in legend than reality; but those grim images from the seventies remain as much an inspiration to many of today’s young musicians as they were in the 70’s. ‘Late Night Shopping’, the debut release on Akoustik Anarkhy Recordings by Manchester newcomers, Autokat, fits neatly into what is now a noble tradition of steely guitar pop with a lineage from The Cure, Echo and (of course) Joy Division, through to the Editors. There’s an enduring quality to these eleven songs which promises a bright future. Both of their well received singles to date, ‘The Driver’ and ‘Dish Out’ are present, and other stand-out tracks include the glistening ‘Bowling’ and the Wire-recalling siren-led ‘Innocence’, while ‘Shot’ could easily pass as a long lost gem by no less than Magazine. The sound overall would gain from being a little denser, only one of the two instrumentals represented (‘Uber Patriot’) is really interesting enough to merit its place, and the odd lightweight filler (‘Get off the Bar’ for example) stops this from qualifying as an instant classic. Overall, however, it’s a worthy addition to the canon. www.akoustikanarkhy.co.uk Neil B. Anna Rynefors and Erik Ask-Upmark - Dråm (Nordic Tradition) Anna Rynefors and Erik Ask-Upmark deliver reworkings of traditional swedish folk tunes backed predominantly by the Swedish bagpipes (Säckpipa), from which the title, Dråm - meaning drone - is derived. The delivery is pure and precise and is intrinsically Scandinavian sounding: although the key bagpipe drone tracks, ‘Sporren’ (coincidentally named after fiddler, Karl Sporr - not the article that accompanies a kilt!) and ‘Brudmarsch’ have an almost classical Indian temperament. It is however the choice of ancient vernacular instruments, such as the Nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle), Rebec and Harp that aid delivery of a true folk gem that provides a gateway into a past of Swedish tradition, medieval folk dancing... and herding! www.nordictradition.com Will F. Micah Wolf - S/T (Blockplane Records) Micah Wolf has gone too far. Not content with writing a bunch of accomplished folk-rock acoustic songs, he also had the instruments hand crafted, built his own studio and then set up his own record label. The strings on his guitar are woven from the whiskers of his pet cat and... ok, that bit isn’t true. Obviously, a surfy hunk playing sensitive sounds is going to draw comparisons with Jack Johnson and ‘Pay No Mind’ sounds like a tribute to Jack. Wolf finds his own voice on the beautiful ‘Muse’ and the jaunty polemic of ‘Plastics’. This album should be the backdrop to your summer barbecue, interrupted only by the chatter of friends and the soft belling of the wind chimes on the patio. www.micahwolf.com Carl J. Signal Hill Transmission - An Empty Space (PA Juice Records) My they’ve changed! Good as they were - I reviewed their debut EP ‘Home’ back in 2002 - the ensuing 5 year period has seen them completely reinvent themselves. Now augmented to a four piece line-up, the more hushed, primarily rootsy approach on their debut has been traded in for far more instant hooks, loud guitars delivered with an unexpectedly swaggering confidence. While there’s still occasional shade to be found pervading their lyrics, their newly found near-euphoric mastery of the big pop hook deserves to see them mentioned in the same breath as Fountains Of Wayne, those other rare masters of alt country and pop - the album’s title track in particular ably demonstrating they’ve got a more than decent grasp of both genres. Elsewhere ‘Salt In The Sore’, close to being the cheekiest Oasis rip-off I’ve heard in quite some time, is actually an improvement on much of the Mancunian’s output of recent years. A quality fully realised guitar pop opus, ‘An Empty Space’ is anything but. www.signalhilltransmission.com Geraint J. Hell On Wheels - The Odd Church (Hybris Records) Check out the myspace of this Scandinavian indie outfit. You might not understand the text, but the music and lyrics speak to the heart. I have been seduced by the crashing guitars and punchy rhythms of ‘The Odd Church’, Hell On Wheels’ fourth album. Singer Rickard Lindgren has a voice somewhere between Bertrand Cantat and Robert Smith. Highlights include the catchy ‘Alexander’ and the quirkily goth ‘Stealing Notes from the Devil’s Notebook’. The ethereal final track, ‘Frozen State’, has already found its way onto my ipod. This tight band rock onstage and will blast a holy come-on from your hi fi. www.hybrism.com Carl J. The Zetland Players - Making Friends With... (Ugly Nephew) The seven tracks on The Zetland Players mini-album are a smorgasbord of classic UK folk-pop styles. Unfortunately, the three piece - two guitars and double bass - rattle through their set without quite providing enough excitement to really set things alight. Somehow, apart from a couple of tracks, ‘Jacks’ Little Zoo’ is the best song here and it’s performed like the band know it, and ‘1 In 7’, which begins like an acoustic Stones, and then has the decency to not let up, the dynamics seem a little lightweight. Interestingly, on their website, they say they need a drummer. They’re right - they do. www.zetlandplayers.com Rob F. Stormhat - Hypnagogia (A Beard of Snails Records) Hypnagogia is the state and time between sleeping and waking and vice versa during which distortions to true perception can occur. Stormhat is aiming to provide a soundtrack for, or a representation of, this. Through use of field recording, digital drone and microsound Stormhat succeeds in creating a hallucinogenic plethora of ambient noise that to the conscious mind would be relatively incomprehensible but to the sub/unconscious brain serve as a springboard into realms unknown. A real must for the lucid dreamers out there. www.bsbta.com/abeardofsnails / www.stormhat.dk Will F. Cherry Overdrive - Clear Light (Heptown Records) Loud and proud surf punk from wonderful Copenhagen. All girl and all garage, Cherry Overdrive rock. Denmark has a reputation for storytelling and the Cherry’s meteoric rise to daily rotation on national radio and a new booking deal to set them up for European domination would grace any punkette’s bedtime reading. ‘Sheryl’s Faith’ is a nugget of a track and ‘Hit the Right Note’ does what it says on the tin. We don’t want to trash the tale, but ten minutes for a closing track seems a bit excessive... but that’s what Cherry Overdrive are all about. www.cherryoverdrive.dk Carl J. Various Artists - Everybody Loves... Antiseen (TKO) Even for the die-hard punk Scum Rock is something of a rare breed, best known for its affiliation with the outrageous and reputedly odious GG Allin, whose squalid death in 1993 was prefaced by a much-publicised obsession with suicide. For Allin’s former backing band at the time of his classic ‘Murder Junkies’ album to be chalking up their 25th anniversary therefore seems both miraculous and utterly perverse. ‘Everybody Loves Antiseen’, boasts this “loving tribute” to the Boys from Brutalsville, and certainly a good number of minor league Scum and Punk luminaries (including Hank Williams III, Zeke, and The Hookers) have stepped forward to pay their respects by contributing to this 57 track set. Thus for our delight Rawhead perform ‘Drug Through the Heavy Ass Mud’, The Thrill Killers take on ‘White Trash Bitch’ and Pole Cat Boogie Revival charge through ‘Ten Pounds of Shit in a Five Pound Bag’. It’s slightly less of a full-on thrashfest than you might have feared - check out Volatile Baby’s spectral ‘Wifebeater’ for the soulful side of the Scum psyche but it’s still a reassuringly strong enough aural emetic to have Coldplay fans choking on their own vomit. www.tkorecords.com Neil B. Past Reviews: March 07, April 07, May 07