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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
REVIEWS
Gig Reviews -
CD Album Reviews - CD Single
Reviews
Gig Reviews
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Gig Reviews added throughout the month. Watch
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CD Album Reviews
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The Tarka Groove Experiment. I’ve
Fallen Over.
 Debut
album by London-based Yorkshiremen (plus one exiled Brazilian on guitar). I’ve
Fallen Over is an intriguing mix of folk, rock, funk and country which hints at
good things to come. But for now this is in many ways your typical first album,
on which The TGE wander down a number of different paths in an attempt to find
one sound with which they feel truly at home. Along the way they tackle
Streets-style narration (as on The 5108), modern folk a la Seth Lakeman (Red Sky
At Night, What A Wonderful Sight), and occasionally even try both at the same
time, as on the bluesy opener Belmont Hill. But arguably TGE are hotter (or
should that be ‘otter’..sorry) on tracks like Two Day Change, where elements of
folk and country are overlaid carefully onto a funky backdrop to produce
something as unique and interesting as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers once managed
in their pre-superstardom years.
All in all a really interesting first attempt. With successive plays the good
tracks get better and the ordinary ones become more forgettable, but there are
enough good ones here to make I’ve Fallen Over well worth the purchase price for
anyone seeking something a step or two away from the musical mainstream.
Review by Martin Sirl.
Thea Gilmore. Harpo’s Ghost.
 Sanctuary.
Running time: 49:30
British indie singer-songwriter Thea Gilmore has come up with a well produced
album with her strong voice and thoughtful lyrics to the fore. The only problem
is the lack of variety in the songs which vary from slow to a little bit faster!
The doleful opener, “The Gambler,” sets the tone, the following “Everybody’s
Numb” picks up the pace a little, but there isn’t really a standout track on the
whole album.
Listenable, but without the humour and feistiness of her earlier album, “Rules
For Jokers,” which I much preferred to this offering.
I also found the artwork for the album a little pretentious, e.g. Going DoWn,
cHeap tricks etc – random capital letters – what’s that all about?
Sparklehorse. Dreamt For Light Years In
The Belly of a Mountain.
 Capitol.
Running time: 53:14
The music of Sparklehorse has been described elsewhere as “beautifully arranged
Americana with a broken heart.
” There’s also a strong psychedelic element in the mainly gentle and wistful
songs by vocalist Linkous, notably on the opening “Don’t Take My Sunshine Away.”
One of the standouts is “Ghost In The Sky,” which blasts out on the eardrums
after a series of quieter songs.
A nice slice of indie rock much more like the earlier Sparklehorse sound. “It’s
A Wonderful Life” features the piano playing of no less than Tom Waits. A very
listenable album, full of variety and vocal harmonies.
Juicy Lucy. Do That and You’ll Lose It.
 JLCD002
Sore Feet Productions. Running time: 1:10:29
A very generous helping of blues-tinged rock which has a very 70s flavour,
recalling the days of Free and Thin Lizzy.
Very riffy rock too with great vocals from Ray Owen from the opening “Silver
Bird” onwards. Good unpretentious rocking music from a band who have twice
impressed at The Brook in Southampton.
In fact this album has a very live and spontaneous feel to it and great
instrumental work from Ray, Mr Fish on lead and rhythm guitar, Fletch on drums
and Fudge on bass.
If you like your rock riffy but not too heavy, you’ll love this. Recommended.
Drama Queen by Neurosonic
 Neurosonic
are essentially the creation of one Jason Darr, a multi-talented Canadian huge
in his homeland but with designs on world domination. Drama Queen represents
Stage 1 in the master plan and jolly good it is too.
From the first few bars of the opener, So Many People, one could easily be
tempted to write Neurosonic off as simply another bunch of gloomy goth-rockers
but give this album a chance and you will soon discover they are actually so
much more. Musically one part Slipknot, two parts Placebo, and displaying the
kind of lyrical dry humour which illustrates how much closer culturally
Canadians are to the UK than to their American neighbours, this is a thoroughly
enjoyable mixture of rockers and tuneful ballads.
Very few songs here are what they first appear, with most incorporating
impressive changes in tempo and style. On the one hand Neurosonic can produce
great pop-rock, as on the classy I Will Always Be Your Fool and the catchy Until
I Die, while on the other more laid back numbers like the album’s finale For The
Boy show that Darr and Co. are anything but one-trick ponies. If you like what
you hear, and I do, Neurosonic will be appearing at The Joiners on 23rd January
2007. See you there.
CD Single Reviews
(top)
BY MARTIN SIRL
Tell Ya Mama by Dirty Fuzz
Those who like their music tough and dirty will take a great deal of enjoyment
from this highly-charged rock number. Imagine early AC/DC with Patti Labelle
standing in for Bon Scott and you’ll get the general idea. Hard-edged guitar
riffs that even the hairiest air guitar player would be proud of are more than
matched by the most powerful instrument on show here, namely singer Elida’s
voice which is nothing less than impressive, though perhaps not recommended
listening for anyone nursing a New Years Day hangover. Like it or not there’ll
always be an audience for this stuff so don’t attempt to judge. Just grab your
leathers and rock out to something that, when all’s said and done, is one big
stinky heap of unadulterated fun.
Crazy Horses by Captain Flashback
Why take a song that was actually pretty good in the first place and rehash it
30 years on? The answer? Because, by jacking up the BPM and chucking in some
technological elbow grease and a red hot brass section you can come up with
something that has all the elements of the original, but with that little extra
spark likely to render it instantly appealing to a new generation of listeners,
few of whom would have been around when the jump-suited Mormons were doing it
the first time around. If this isn’t frequently gracing decks in Clubland in
2007 then I’ll eat my Donny Osmond cap. In fact, frankly it’s a wonder no-one’s
thought of it before.
Get Up by Chris Singleton
A fine offering from a young London-based Irishman with, by all accounts,
something of a London Underground obsession. Combining the pop sensibility of an
Elvis Costello with the voice of a Richard Hawley Get Up is as fresh and catchy
as any of this year’s releases. It’s taken a long time in coming but this might
just be my favourite single of the year. If the first hearing doesn’t get you
the second one certainly will, and by the third you’ll be stuck with this
playing in your head for most of the festive period. If I had to offer up one
tip for stardom in 2007 Chris Singleton might well be it.
You Don’t Know Me by Mukul
Great ambient chill-out music from a man rightly recognised as a pioneer of the
trip-hop scene in his native India. Seven minutes and fifteen seconds of pure
musical hypnosis that doesn’t so much grab you as ushers you gently into a
completely different musical dimension in which everything seems a lot more
fuzzy and all the better to boot. Nothing less then impressive, but this kind of
music is really tailor-made for film scores so if the mass CD buying market is
not impressed there is still certain to be a large band of film documentary
makers beating their way to Mukul’s door.
Remind You by Recoup
The cover to this CD is a re-used crisp packet, lovingly restored and recycled
by south London schoolchildren. It’s an admirable policy and is already winning
Recoup some valuable press attention. However, sadly the music here isn’t half
as interesting: a strange mish-mash of sub-U2 aural posturing and Left Field
techno, with what few good ideas there are being stretched out and pounded so
far as to become as thin and flavourless as the aforementioned crisp packet.
Nice idea about the cover though, just a shame about what’s inside.
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Martin Harley Band Tower Arts Centre,
Winchester
Friday January 19
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Tuesday January 23
Jamie Moses
The Brook, Southampton Thursday January 18
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Tuesday January 23
Drum Blondes
Turner Sims, Southampton
Sunday January 21
Guy Barker
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Wednesday Jan 17 |
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