Hayseed Dixie - No Covers (Cooking Vinyl) 18/02/2008

T: It might be because the Dixie have heeded my advice and released an album full of original material this time around, or it might also be that we've been reviewing a lot of utter garbage this time around, but suddenly Hayseed Dixie seem extremely appealing...

N: I also think that their place is perhaps overrated, but in the context of what we've been listening to today, this is very nearly a relief.

T: Funnily enough though, I've quite often preferred their original material to their covers on previos albums - "Kirby Hill" still holds up as their best tune if you ask me, and they have proved that they are more than adept at writing folksy Americana and bluegrass music that would make for an extremely enjoyable evening if you saw them live. 7/10

web site - myspace

Mark Timothy - Falling For You (Delamont Records) 11/02/2008

T: If the Lighthouse Family were too exciting for you, I must warn you that Mark Timothy is ALMOST as exciting.

N: He has the shining ability of these former stars and WILL light up your life.

T: I reckon, if I was in a pub with him and I said "I've just done a parachute jump, whereupon I rescued some hostages from a violent crime syndicate, then managed to get off with Kylie on the way home, performing every position in the Kama Sutra", he'd sit there and say "Oh, right".

N: This album really is that much of an experience. You must experience this album, as an alternative to general anaesthetic. 2/10

web site - myspace

Black Tide - Light From Above (Polydor) 11/02/2008

N: Talking of a previous decade...

T: Saxon?

N: No, more recent than that, it's certainly post Victorian...

T: You're not thinking of auditioning for Jongleurs just yet are you?

N: Well, yes practising. I've sent them my application.

T: I think maybe these guys should as well. They'd probably get further than you. I can only envisage them being exactly like Spinal Tap...or possibly even Bad News. Having said that "Warriors Of Time" begins in a very different style, with flamenco style guitar playing, before deteriorating ino yet another sad pastiche of early eighties rawk.

N: Funnily enough Def Leppard came to mind last night as I was trying to get to sleep - I've no idea why, probably it's that I may've lost their Hysteria album or something like that, but they sold so many records because they had a commercial edge that brought them success at that time. This is neither good, commercial or the time for Black Tide. It's dreadful.

T: You dreamt of Def Leppard? Wow, that's a coincidence, I dreamt of Blynd Munky.

N: You are still taking the medication aren't you? You know that when a Doctor prescribes something for you, it's not a choice that you take it - well ok we all have choices to make, but really this could affect the wider community you know. As could prolonged exposure to Black Tide, or Blynd Munky come to that. 1/10

web site - myspace

Helen Boulding - New Red Dress (Maid In Sheffield) 11/02/2008

T: While I'm left in no doubt that Helen Boulding is a decent commercial songwriter, I can't get past the fact that her music sounds like a hybrid of Texas and Andrea Corr. This is not a marriage made in heaven...

N: I think you hit the nail on the head there. On first sight, this is hardly exciting. It is detectable that Helen's ability is there, but a commercial one? This may have been better received in a previous decade, but for those hankering after a previous decade, this could well be a welcome relief,

T: (sings) Birdseye Potato Waffles are waffly versatile.

N: This is hardly of a Birdseye variety mate, but I can see you're looking a little emaciated right now, so perhaps it is you I should be giving the benefit of the doubt to. Anyway, the important part... 4/10

web site - myspace

Ziggy Marley - Love Is My Religion [Live DVD] (Cooking Vinyl) 11/02/2008

Recorded at the Avalon Theatre, Los Angeles, back in December 2006, on Ziggy's most extensive worldwide tour of his career, which wrapped up a year later.

T: He LOOKS a lot like Bob, doesn't he?

N: He's definitely got his father's spirit.

T: It could so easily have been a pastiche, but manages to avoid that, thankfully.

N: Having the pictures to go along with the music is so much better than just having a live audio CD.

T: The second guitarist looks, bizarrely, as though he's had something in his eye throughout the gig. Even stranger is that Ziggy's guitar looks like one he's bought from an Argos catalogue.

N: Stranger things have happened. It's like being caught at a UB40 gig, only better.

T: I'm not entirely sure that's a compliment...

N: Did you not understand the "better" part?

T: Yes. I'm just still not sure it was a compliment. Hmmm...there appears to be a seven year old kid in the audience wearing a bright red bobble hat. Rock 'n' roll eh? And the girl on stage looks like she's a teacher trying to entice the shy kid to dance at the school disco. I have to say though, that this is a DVD of the highest quality with exquisitely performed laid back reggae grooves...

N: ...that leaves you wondering whether when Ziggy goes to buy his milk, bread and daily newspaper, he speaks in rhyme to the girl at the checkout...

(Having considered whether we should try to illustrate the point, we decided that the dreadful puns we were coming up with would nullify the message Ziggy is trying to convey).

T: Quite possibly. Whatever, it's great that Bowie has brought this Ziggy character back, albeit in a different guise. Hang on! The audience has gone green!

N: That's the lighting mate.

T: Ah. I knew that.

N: Anyway, on that subject, it should be said that this DVD also features a wealth of behind the scenes footage, including interviews with the artists in a casual and organic manner.

T: Top stuff.

web site - myspace

Various Artists - Liverpool - The Number Ones Album (EMI) 04/02/2008

T: A charity compilation that kicks off with Atomic Kitten covering an old Cilla Black number one does not, generally, inspire much confidence, but if I'm totally honest, they've actually made a decent fist of it. Looking at the rest of the tracklisting, there are some far more credible artists included, such as the great formed Icicle Works man Ian McNabb, Elvis Costello, OMD, The Real People and Towers Of London. I'm not so sure about Ray Quinn, The Real Thing and...wait for it...Sonia! Still, it's a fascinating collection of covers that no doubt will pop up in my local pub quiz at some point in the near future.

N: An album with a heart and body of sound emanating for and from the city of Liverpool. An interesting document of work, collected together on behalf of six different Liverpool charities that, on the whole, make a pretty decent effort of reciprocating the spirit these songs originally stood for. Yes, some are cringeworthy, but there are those, like OMD's "Whole Again" - a reverse cover version, if you will - of a song originally written for Atomic Kitten by Andy McCluskey himself.

T: A worthwhile listen. 7/10

web site - myspace

Robots In Disguise - We're In The Music Biz (President) 04/02/2008

T: Like Bis having a tea party with Shampoo, but with more tits.

N: Damn shame this isn't the vinyl LP.

T: True, but are you going to say anything about the music? Or are you just going to stare at my tits....er I mean their tits all day?

N: In the same vain as those subversive female fronted bands that have gone before - X-ray Spex's Polly Styrene, The Slits' Ari Up, Blondie's Debbie Harry and Bow Wow Wow's Annabella Lwin (although how much was Malcolm McLaren's doing is out there to be considered). These girls' songs possess overtly punk pretenses and lyrics that tell more than girl power alone.

T: Ultimately an enjoyable listen.

N: Initial thoughts were that I wasn't expecting this to be up to much were hastily dispelled when the music rang through. 8/10

web site - myspace

American Music Club - The Golden Age (Cooking Vinyl) 04/02/2008

T: Isn't it weird how, a whole quarter of a decade after the band formed, AMC are right at the top of their game, and releasing consistent records of the highest quality, perhaps even edging towards the pinnacle of their career? This is an example, being an utterly gorgeous set of minimalistic foot tappers.

N: The AMC are most certainly a "legendary band", as described in their PR, and a band who have sadly failed to attract the mainstream following of a group of their class. Looking at it another way, however, the fact they can be described as "a best kept secret" holds an appeal in itself. "The Golden Age" saunters through numbers that have the ability to lift the soul and free the spirit.

T: As contrived as that last comment may sound, I totally agree. In the same way that Fellini's films have a dreamlike quality about them, often being a metaphor for those deep reveries, much like David Lynch movies too, but in a less off the wall manner. Bloody hell, shall I stop stroking my beard now? I think we'd be better off just kicking back and listening to the music. Nothing would sound better if you were out on a boat somewhere, as this has that supremely relaxing feel that could cure the stresses of the biggest city slicker.

N: I'm in agreement, you should shut up. Like their previous releases, I know I'm going to be able to enjoy this album for countless hours to come. That's not of course suggesting I would be discarding any of their former documents, it'll just add to my understanding. When exactly does our next philosophy class start?

T: Bloody hell, we just need Frank Beard to turn up now and we're ZZ Top... 9/10

web site - myspace

Various Artists - Juno OST (Rhino) 28/01/2008

N: I think the best way to truely appreciate this album is in the context of the film for which it stands and my experience here was one that was truly agreeable. It fitted so perfectly the dialogue and story, it was just a perfectly compiled soundtrack. But here as one of us listens familiar with the film and the other non-conversant, I think I'm right in assuming that as a collection of music, it works either way.

T: Well yes, they're great tunes after all. Don't you think it's a good idea to let our readers know who features on it?!! Let's start by mentioning The Kinks "Well Respected Man", Sonic Youth's "Superstar" and the Velvet Underground's "I'm Sticking With You", just to give you an idea how eclectic it all gets.

N: You forgot to mention Buddy Holly's 'Dearest', and the track that I think acts as the central song, The Moldy Peaches 'Anyone Else But You', also reprised and performed by the film's stars, Michael Cera & Ellen Page. A soundtrack album with truly indie credentials. 9/10

Juno web site - iTunes US store (requires iTunes to open) - Rhino Records (retail link) - myspace

Eels - Meet The Eels: Essential Eels Vol. 1 (Geffen) 21/01/2008

T: Well this is long overdue. A "Greatest Hits" of sorts, featuring a whole Aladdin's Cave of gems, along with a couple of new recordings, most interestingly a version of Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On"! You can only marvel at how fresh modern day classics like "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues", "My Beloved Monster" and "Your Lucky Day In Hell" still sound. Brilliant stuff.

N: A worthwhile insight into this band, who have surely escaped the level of popular acclaim they truly deserve. This collection of idiosyncratic pop walks the line between the alternative and mainstream superbly. 9/10

web site - myspace