Stephen Duffy – I Love My Friends (Cooking Vinyl) 30/01/2006

Turn on, tune in, it’s Stephen Duffy, he of ‘tin tin’ fame, first vocalist with Duran Duran so I understood, he of the liquid tongue and pop sensibilities, yet still real enough to touch. This is a re-issue special edition, featuring 7 bonus tracks and updated sleeve notes of the 1998 album, “I Love My Friends”. It’s almost as if this is the beginning of what we know today, Stephen draws upon his years leading up to this album’s production as fodder for his songs certainly with the opening “Tune In”, a musical journey and “Eucharist” which is the written version.

This album really is a fine pop album, as Stephen always was a fine pop singer, but dipping out from ‘Tin Tin’ fame probably ensured he’d always remain just that at a time prior to Robbie Williams. Stephen may not be as flashy or as uncertain of himself, as others might’ve been, but I’ve always enjoyed his work, even seen the performer at a time when this country tinged story telling was envogue. Now is the right time to rediscover this work and bathe in its abundant musical wealth, love it! 8/10

Nick James

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John Parkes – Faithlessness (Aaz Recordings) 30/01/2006

Name and voice seems familiar, but all I am certain of is what I read from within the press release, that John Parkes is the front man of the Greenhouse, Fuzzbird and The Sinister Cleaners among others. Well ok, this is sounding a very home-grown affair, organic if you will, he even takes off sounding a little like The Wonder Stuff’s Miles Hunt. Then with his six-string proceeds into 12 very ‘real’ sounding songs telling of ‘real’ characters in ‘real’ situations, those that are every bit as believable as the headlines from tonight’s news programs. I’d even say from the pages of the Daily Mail, a paper from which John refers in “To Go Round”, along with his CCTV’s and paedophiles, but have the impression that this is tongue in cheek, doah.

In fact turn up the hi-fi and position the speakers, tonight you could have John performing in your front room, better still immerse yourself in the lyrics provided within the tiny 5” book and you may even find yourself within the head of the writer himself. This modern day observer of life is very astute in his presentation and a lovely guitarist to boot! And finally, to quote the author… “Catch me while I’m not famous, while I’m just plain JP. While I’m in it for the glamour, before I charge a fee…”, wonderful. 7/10

Nick James

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Various – Back To Mine [Compiled By Liam Howlett] (DMC) 30/01/2006

Our opinions of compilations may be mixed, you’ll either love or loathe those albums produced to relieve you of your cash. That ‘Now…’ label devised in the 80’s now still appears to be riding high and those ‘Club’ compilations brought out to celebrate the dance music genre, in my view appear better than most. Well fear not, because this latest in the “Back To Mine” series has produced a slamming set of choons compiled by Prodigy main man Liam Howlett.

“Start as you mean to go on…” and here we see this taken to heart as an exclusive to this compilation is heard in the guise of The Prodigy’s “Wake The Fuck Up” heading proceedings that move from the sublime to the absurd. Among those featured here are Queens Of The Stoneage, Public Enemy through vintage sounds from The Third Bardo, punk rock in the from of Vatican DC and their “Smiling Dogs” and then onto something we’d never thought we’d hear coming from the decks of Mr Prodigy, that of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”. Hurrh? But wait, remember I did say “sublime, to the absurd” and in the crazy mixed up world of the compiler this works, reducing the heavy bass, acidic guitars and thumping drums to a treble heavy whimper of the transistor radio. Hey this is as much of an education as it is an entertaining listen.

Back on track now we hear the sounds of Mr Lydon’s greatest moment, that of P.I.L.’s “Rise”, then onto the seed for the rave anthem and The Prodigy’s “Out Of Space”, but this time presented in the original guise of Max Romeo and his “I Chase The Devil”. Heavier bass breaks in, as Meat Beat Manifesto present “Radio Babylon”, but never standing still we loosen collar’s as Wood Allen turn up the heat with their “Airport ‘89”, then come down with a Prodigy mix of Method Man’s “Release Yourself” and ‘get street’ as Noreaga tells us “Nothing”.

The journey has been a sweet and progressive one, but the final four tracks on the album tell of Liam’s musical upbringing as we hear The Special’s tribute “…. To Rudy”, The Stranglers ultimate two fingers in the form of “Peaches”, The Jam’s “In The City” and the final shock of the compilation as ELO end in the cultured form of “Living Thing”, complete with violins and overblown production. – Nigel Kennedy would be in 7th heaven.

Yeah, yeah, we could all do better, but this is possibly the closest I’ve come to hearing the ultimate compilation. 9/10

Nick James

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Richard Ashcroft – Keys To The World (Parlophone) 23/01/2006

Richard’s first album for new label Parlophone, sees an invigorated Ashcroft heading off this affair with a track more in common with the Gallagher brother’s than this man born out of Verve fame. “Why Not Nothing” is a carnival of hard rocking defiance, where we hear this author hardly setting a pace for what is to come. “Why Not Nothing” is like the ripple on calm water’s as with the track’s that follow; possibly his mantra “Music Is Power”, the recently released single, the ethereal “Break The Night With Colour” and absorbing “Word’s Just Get In The Way”, we’re back to a more familiar Ashcroft, where words become his amour.

“Keys To The World” sees Richard closing this first half of the album with a very familiar riding bass/rhythm and again lyrics telling of another troubled soul. It’s obvious this man is a connoisseur of all music as “Sweet Brother Malcom” hears of an intro. that might be considered more in fitting with that of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair”, but soon develops into an orchestral led minor master, sweet in its exercise of this story.

Richard’s voice, filled with emotion, constantly sounds on the edge of breaking and yet manages never to meet this turn of fate. In fact at times almost hears him becoming a tribute to the ‘boss’, whilst at others, “Blonde On Blonde”, Dylan spring from the speakers through which he is played. Consistent in his duty to music, Richard Ashcroft produces an other good album and one that might again become another ‘mainstay’ of record collections, whilst avoiding the rigors of fashion. 8/10

Nick James

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Yellow Card - Lights and Sounds (Parlophone) 23/01/2006

"When I say that I was surprised when I warmed to this band, I really mean it...", were my feelings on reviewing this bands debut album "Ocean Avenue" on its release. So here I'm sat, 9 months since this first affair found my grace and surprisingly I find myself once again offering these guy's tea and cake as their hard rocking sounds meet my ears once again. Has that much remained unchanged?

Well somewhat at least, "Lights and Sounds" was this time recorded in LA's historic Sunset Sound Studios, whilst maintaining producer Neal Avron at the helm. Vocalist Ryan Key does his best in including those intelligently penned lyrics just to prove my initial point, whilst violinist Sean Macklin is brought in to add that of class to the familair 'Emo' sounds that made "Ocean Avenue" such a hit.

Well I guess that somethings are best left unchanged afterall, although perhaps it's about time I ignored this when it comes to my socks! The band are set to tour the UK in early March 2006. 8/10

Nick James

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Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (Domino) 23/01/2006

N: So what is the world and his wife fussing about? As Tone put it when considering the forthcoming release of this album "...I'm champing at the bit to hear it..." This group of 20-somethings from Sheffield even made it to the pre 9-o'clock slot on Radio 4's Today programme this week, praise indeed, to consider that not just the pre-20 something's are being told to take note! (Although in all fairness, it is they who are creating this future).

Kicking off, this album starts like some inter-bred cross between the Sex Pistols and Nirvana; all the venomous spit of Lydon and the cutting guitar & thunderous stomping's of Cobain, Grohl and Novoselic. Are we really standing on the edge of a precipice looking down and staring the future square in the face?

From "The View From The Afternoon", thru' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor", "Fake Tales Of San Francisco" (where admittedly we take a breath), this whole album (well the first half anyway) sounds as if it's on speed, or the studio decks are stuck on 78 rpm at least. From track 7, the album appears to have succumbed to all those cigarettes that can be found printed on the CD and the band are taking a moment to catch breath, apply 'Nicorette' patches, as we smooch up to that "Riot Van", lean in and breath stale air onto its windscreen as we're pressed against cold steel.

This band appear refreshingly honest, from the way in which they are not afraid to use their own colloquial English when approaching a song, even if that means using less than 'nice' words or phrases, but never over using these. And like their way of retelling stories that are painted or sprayed onto the canvas with the most intricate detail considered, the band that plays as artillery to vocalist Alex Turner appear totally truthful in their presentation too. Maybe it's the way in which the album's producer, Jim Abbiss has conveyed exactly who they are and where they have come from, grown up and lived is either a very clever subterfuge, or just 'exactly as it says on the packet'.

I remember we all went just as crazy when The Streets first burst onto the scene and maybe we are being tricked into considering these in just as crazier a fashion, but perhaps these really are 'just what the world has been waiting for', or maybe like the album's inspiration, Sillitoe's "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", we'll wake up, discover the girl we slept with the night before throwing up and cold chips pressed into our ear lobes? For that reason I'll enjoy, but won't get carried away. [possibly the first really great album of the new millennium.]

T: I completely agree - the album's a near masterpiece. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, I found that it reached its absolute pinnacle with the slower tracks here. Who'd have thought a band who are so remarkably adept at penning rollocking thunderous social commentaries on street violence, seedy nightclubs, prostitution and council estates would be just as capable in writing a song like "Mardy Bum", which, despite its Half Man Half Biscuit like title, is one of the sweetest love songs you'll ever hear.

The fact that it's one of those albums where it's impossible to pick a favourite track, and that the one song I wasn't so keen on at first listen ("Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong But...") is now right amongst the pick of the bunch in my mind, speaks volumes for the diversity and incredible musical awareness this band shows.

Having already achieved number one success with "...dancefloor" and possibly even a second with "When the Sun Goes Down" by the time you read this, Arctic Monkeys are displaying all the attributes needed to become one of the music world's all time greats.

This is an absolute must have album, but one question remains for me to ask you Nick - if this is "possibly the first really great album of the new millennium", how come it has received a "9" rating when you've given at least 100 other albums "10" since the turn of the decade?!!!

N: As I said, let's not get carried away now Tone. I'd hate us to throw a spanner in the works and end up with 'egg on (y)our face'! Just enjoy a cracking album. 9/10

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Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat (Rough Trade) 23/01/2006

Jenny Lewis, front woman with the critically acclaimed Rilo Kiley, goes solo and just after a year following the release of the awesome "More Adventurous" comes out with an album that really couldn't be further away. Think the Cohen Brother's celluloid gambit "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and your pretty much there, blue grass and steel guitar. This later day Juiliana Hatfiend soaks it up far to much for my liking here, taking the tested heavier weight grunt and bringing it way down, until there's no way further to go. I suppose I should be thankful for the fact those lyrics that could cut ice on a razor's edge are still intact, but as albums go I'd suggest this is one of those experimental affairs that you're either going to love of loathe. 3/10

Nick James.

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Tenebrous - Tenebrous (Fire Records) 16/01/2006

ten·e·brous; also te·neb·ri·ous (t-nbr-s) [adj.] - Dark and gloomy.

You're not kidding! The creator of this altogether gloomy affair is Steve Gullick (creator of 'Loose Lips Sink Ships' & 'Careless Talk Cost Lives' magazines, as well as being one third of musical troupe '...bender') and is this guy one Mr Happy or what? A photographer by trade, this is apparently the produce of spending far too long in the dark room, alone with his art and thoughts so it would seem. Not exactly the party album of the moment, Steve has crafted what could be easily described as a diary of his thoughts and feelings, but turn it into a musical landscape and you have a most intimate work, that is best served through a pair of headphones I found.

Likenesses of Nick Cave or Tom Waits might be drawn, in mood certainly, if not musically. This will certainly garner the award for the most melancholic album of the year. A brooding affair that shouldn't be written off after the first meeting. My first thoughts were that these were a collection of songs that really should've remained with the author and not shared, but the more I grew familiar with this work, the more I realised just how important it was that it was shared. If anything this was a brave step Gullick took when he decided to seek backing for the release of the album, it's almost like picking up someone else's personal journal and rifling through its contents. This could easily have been the soundtrack to Coppola's film 'Rumble Fish' and like its cover posses a monochrome refrain. Stunning, if not to everyone's tastes. 9/10

Nick James

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The Blue Aeroplanes - Swagger [Deluxe] (EMI) 16/01/2005

Love music? Well I can't help believing that the ever fantastic, Blue Aeroplanes should be easy to relate to. This band must shit music - so vast is their catalogue, 10 albums, well 21 years and still going it's easy to see why. This band, formed in the early 80's are every bit of the UK music scene, as well the Beatles and The Stones? Ummm, ok but at least these guy's are still producing music and although the music scene may have passed them by (with only a few minor entries in my Guinness book of Singles and Albums), you can hear the influences and those who have been influenced by them.

I'd be inclined to call Swagger the band's breakthrough album, this is the record that first brought them to my attention and other than that was around the time the group could have been found playing support to a little known act hailing from Athens, Georgia. The album kicks off with Langley's commanding vocal telling us - "Pick a card, any card...", where is this album going? A band with a country tinged facade, that pours from the bottle with an intoxicating aroma, refuses to let this subside as "Jacket Hangs" flows into "World View Blue" and quite litterally "Weightless". "...And Stones" continues this surge of enthusiasm (hey, maybe this band are the new Stones afterall), and so it continues with nothing to suggest weakness, Langley's vocals still compelling we hear more, more, more!

As we continue it is emphasised of just when this record was produced, rings of that 90's carefree indie that makes this so sweet, but never sticky or claggy with it, instead just clear chords and Langley's poetry that is every bit as good as his comtemporaries, past and present. As the listener breathes these clear heaven's, we are reminded of the earlier intimated involvement, as Michael Stipe offers his air of atmospheric mystery on the track "What It Is", a tune that with this outting see's a previously unreleased demo - where the original recording drops the disguise offered to this artist and places Gerard Langley just where he should be in the mix.

Where the original release of this album saw 12 tracks grace the ears of the listener, this time round this deluxe edition proffers 2 discs and 14 more compositions and re-workings, both re-recorded and previously unreleased gems. Although on a regular album release these may be considered somewhat out of place, as a worthy chronicle, they should be well received and perhaps a reminder that somethings should never be kept a secret. Now 15 years old, this opus is presented as a reminder of the worthy part this band play in music's tapestry and looks forward to their brand new album, Altitude, marked for release sometime this coming Spring on the Harvest label. My skin is tingling already. 10/10

Nick James

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The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth (Rough Trade) 02/01/2006

T: I must confess, this has rather usurped me. After "Room on Fire" sounded pretty much the carbon copy of "Is This It?", I was anticipating more of the same, but no, Casablancas and co have dared to be different, incorporating some Led Zep style guitar solos and no longer using The Stooges as a blatant blueprint and hey, they're all the better for it if you ask me. It's rather a summery album, full of all kinds of positive emotion and prettiness. Perhaps I wrote them off too soon after their last album (although you wouldn't know that, because the ed reviewed the latter release on his own last time and loved it). Anyway, full credit to the band for this. It's great.

N: No complaints here then, the band have produced an album I felt on first encounter was a very liquid listen, and slipped into the conscientiousness with ease, although a little unsure if the twelfth track "Ize Of The World" should've stopped quite as abruptly as it did on my copy, or maybe this was just an artistic thing? Tone mentions bands like Led Zep and The Stogges, but I found some of the melodies bore a resemblance to the likes of Television and Verlaine's guitar work in particular. Certainly this album has a refreshing diversity, that I resign may have been abscent on earlier outings. Casablancas' lazy drawl is the band's trademark and this time round strays almost into a swagger as he sings his way throughout the album. You'll fall in love with this affair, so easy is this medicine to take and the melodies which act as their carrier. I think he's already said it, but just great! (eh Tone?). 9/10

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Sarandon – The Feminist Third (Wrath) [7" mini album] 05/12/2005

I’m not quite sure what to make of this band to be honest. One thing I’m utterly certain of though is that Peely would’ve loved them!

Ridiculously short tracks, often quirky, and flitting between sounding part Nightingales, part Wedding Present, “The Feminist Third” is an engaging listen all the way through. Don’t boil the kettle while it’s on though whatever you do, because you’ll miss about three quarters of the album if you do!

Standout track for me is the manically fucked up “Manky”, and you just can’t help wondering if the band’s just taking the piss at times…

What’s not to like about this band? It’s easily embraceable if you’re not completely stupid, and possibly more so if even if you are.
Play me a sillier release this year and I’ll willingly eat my own gall bladder. And a Pot Noodle. 8/10

Tone E

[Click the graphic in the margin to order this record direct from Wrath]

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