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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
REVIEWS
Gig Reviews -
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Gig Reviews
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PREACHER BOY, THE MERCHANTS INN, RUGBY,
SEPTEMBER 27
 We
travelled a couple of hundred miles to see one of my favourite artists, Preacher
Boy, aka Chris Watkins. And it was well worth it – a great venue with a
wonderful atmosphere, a friendly welcome from Steve Roberts who was promoting
the gig, and fantastic music from Preacher Boy.
Much of the set came from Preacher Boy’s latest album “Demanding To Be Next,” a
copy of which Preach kindly gave me after the gig, and which will be reviewed in
our Reviews section in due course. Alternating between playing his battered 1936
National Steel guitar and a Martin acoustic guitar, Preach’s fretwork and slide
playing was even better than I remembered. Every song in his set told a story
from the early “Comin’ Up Aces” to the closing “My Gold Canoe,” each song
embellished by his husky, rasping vocals.
Preacher Boy is an artist with immense charisma and his quirky folk blues style
had the audience mesmerised as he continued with songs like “Catfish” and
“Ninety Nine Bottles.” I particularly enjoyed “Rock Skipper” with its’ evocative
chorus, “a bruise is a bruise and a break is a break, to an ol’ rock skipper
from the Great Lakes, it ain’t for me to worry why I never got the breaks, I’m
just and ol’ rock skipper from the Great Lakes.” The witty “Umbrella” also
impressed and Preach chose exactly the right song to finish his set, the
gospelly “My Gold Canoe” which has been ringing around my head ever since this
memorable gig.
GIG REVIEW BY PETER ASHTON
CD Album Reviews
(top)
Demanding To Be Next by Preacher Boy
 This
is not a brand new release – it’s been out for a couple of years but I only got
hold of a copy from Preacher Boy at a gig in Rugby recently. And it’s a great
album, hence this late review! For those of you not familiar with Preacher Boy,
he is a New York based blues/roots artist and this album is acoustic with plenty
of slide guitar, gruff vocals in the style of Captain Beefheart/Tom Waits, but
Preach has very much his own style which is a throwback to early blues with the
emphasis on meaningful lyrics and melody.
The album gets off to a great start with the wistful “A Little Better When It
Rains” and the quality is maintained through another dozen tracks which feature
some great National Steel guitar work. Moody, atmospheric and totally riveting
“Demanding To Be Next” really is Preacher Boy at his best with 12 self-penned
tracks and one cover “Death Letter” originally recorded by Son House. It’s one
of those albums that has you hooked from the first track; my favourite tracks
are “Whistleman,” “Rock Skipper,” “Ninety Nine Bottles” and “My Gold Canoe,” but
everybody will have their own favourite. I urge you to get hold of a copy,
either through Amazon or through Preach’s website
www.preacherboy.com .
Although it wasn’t released this year, I think it’s going to be my own personal
“Album of the Year!”
ALBUM REVIEW BY PETER ASHTON
Beyond The Neighbourhood by Athlete
 An
album that shows the best and the worst of Athlete. On the one hand we have
ambient ballads like The Outsiders and the excellent This Is What I Sound Like;
on the other throwaway pop like Hurricane (the current single) and In The
Library. When Athlete dare to be different, as on the adventurous instrumental
opener In Between 2 States they show themselves as a highly talented bunch of
individuals who know that the feel of a song is every bit as important as the
melody. They can be lyrically astute too and at times, as on the touching Second
Hand Stories, they write with such sympathy for their subject that one is put in
mind of the Velvet Underground in their more melancholy moments.
But too often the lure of commercialism takes over once more and
there are still too many cheap pop songs here. I guess in another age Beyond The
Neighbourhood could have been released as a fast side/slow side album, and I’m
pretty sure which side I’d have been listening to. In its present form, it’s
simply OK.
ALBUM REVIEW BY MARTIN SIRL
The First Crusade by Jakobinarina
 Take
one large dose of The Fall, throw in a couple of pinches of The Pixies, add the
anarchic irreverence of early Chumbawamba, mix well and leave to stand in the
frozen climes of Iceland for a few months and what do you get? Jakobinarina: a
bunch of out of control youngsters from the totally unpronounceable fishing port
of Hafnarfjörður with a love of movies and punk music and way too much time on
their hands.
To make a decent album you need experience, patience and a reasonable level of
musical expertise, right? The trouble is no-one bothered to tell this to
Jakobinarina because this is a pretty impressive debut outing. On first hearing
The First Crusade all sounds like a bit of a mess but, like many great albums,
starts to make perfect sense the second and third times through. The melodies
are not always obvious, buried as they are beneath the sheer weight of youthful
enthusiasm, but are always there if you just take the time to seek them out.
Lyrically, Jakobinarina are not without wit too, as titles like (I've Got A Date
With) My Television, Nice Guys Don't Play Good Music and His Lyrics Are
Disastrous testify, typically putting themselves down wonderfully on This Is An
Advertisement, on which lead singer Gunnar Bergmann yells "We are Jakobinarina.
We officially announce that we are sell-outs. We will even change our name to
the Coca Cola Band just to get our pockets filled". Or maybe I'm missing the
joke and they really do mean it. One thing is for sure, under whatever name they
choose to use you'll be hearing about these boys for some time to come. Check
them out supporting The Cribs at Southampton Guildhall on 14th October to get
the Jakobinarina experience first hand.
ALBUM REVIEW BY MARTIN SIRL
THESE ARE THE FACTS by MILBURN
 Milburn’s
second album finds Sheffield’s second best popsters in a more retrospective pose
with producer Alan Smyth opting for a more 60s sound. With sparse production and
twangy guitars sitting high in the mix throughout, These Are The Facts suggest
that the Milburn stable have been carefully observing the work of other
throwbacks like The Zutons and The Coral.
The album opens with the short and sweet Lo And Behold before lurching slightly
clumsily into What Will You Do When The Money’s Gone? - the single and by far
the most commercial number here. The 60s feel is to the fore on Summertime and
Lucy Lovemenot, both of which have more than a touch of Herman’s Hermits about
them, with vocalist Joe Carnall at times sounding uncannily like a young Peter
Noone.
As with all of Milburn’s output the songs on These Are The Facts are
consistently well crafted and lyrically astute, with the possible exception of
the forgettable Sinking Ships, which sounds suspiciously like what was once
called B-side material. The album’s Achilles heel, if it has one, is that it
lacks variety of pace; although there are a few changes in style, Being A Rogue
and Count To 10 displaying shades of ska and psychedelia respectively, Milburn
can rarely be accused of straying from a well-worn and familiar formula. Only
the slower Come Away With Me and the touching ballad Rubicon provide any real
breathing space here. But this is but a minor criticism. Genius And The Tramp,
on which strings make a brief one-off showing wrap up proceedings on a high note
suggesting that Milburn are reaching new levels of maturity and, on their day,
can make music every bit as wonderful as anything produced by much-lauded
neighbours The Arctic Monkeys. As the album fades out Carnall sings “Well I
guess we’re not that clever after all”. Incorrect, young man: Milburn are clever
and will one day make a really great album. This isn’t it, but in the meantime
These Are The Facts offers good reason to keep our eyes firmly glued on the New
Yorkshire horizon.
ALBUM REVIEW BY MARTIN SIRL
CD Single Reviews
(top)
BY MARTIN SIRL
The Sex Has Made Me Stupid by Robots In
Disguise
There are six different mixes and one cover version on this CD but try as I may
I can see little value in any of them. This is little more than run of the mill
electro dance from Mighty Boosh extras Dee Plume and Sue Denim. It's all nice
enough but in truth all the remixing in the world isn't going to instil
greatness into something which is essentially little more than instant,
disposable pop.
Hurricane by Athlete
Already gaining a ton of national airplay, Hurricane is a strange and pointless
song about global warming from a band rapidly shaping up to become stadium
rockers of the future. Not exactly essential listening for those who like their
music hot dirty. No, this is very cool, squeaky clean and ultimately tailor-made
for those Radio 2 listeners who prefer their music hummable and harmless.
Questions with no answers, indie rock without a sharp edge in site, this
Hurricane will blow its way into the charts, do some minor damage, and in a few
months be little more than a distant memory.
Delivery by Babyshambles
Despite Pete Doherty’s vilification by the UK press, much of which is of course
self-inflicted, it’s not hard to see why he is held in such high esteem by a
large section of the music buying public. Delivery is one more step towards
confirming Doherty as arguably today’s most cutting edge songwriter, combining
as it does punk sensibilities with a melody as clever and memorable as anything
heard since The Smiths’ heyday. As with Morrissey, Marr and Co, one suspects
this is music that will be listened to long after its makers have given up and
moved on.
The Count Of Monte Christo by The Noisettes
Up until now The Noisette’s output has been sometimes good, sometimes bad but
always quirky and interesting. Sadly this breaks the run. The Count Of Monte
Christo starts brightly enough amid a mass of flamenco style guitars but soon
descends into sub-Lily Allen narrative, only in this case with neither the wit
nor the charm leaving one with the feeling that this is three minutes and 37
seconds that could be spent doing something much more interesting
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