TOM JONES FEAT. WYCLEF JEAN - TOM JONES INTERNATIONAL
Jesus, seems like Tom Jones will work with anyone these days, though I guess the same could be said for Wyclef Jean. Not quite as embarrassing as Wyclef's collaboration with Brian Harvey, but quite close, this is nonsense of the lowest order, and the chorus is so unoriginal it actually hurts to listen to. Release Date: 28th October. Link: Fansite: http://www.jonesthevoice.com/index.htm
NIRVANA - YOU KNOW YOU'RE RIGHT
I think a lot of people were expected a masterpiece in the vein of "Pennyroyal Tea" or "All Apologies", or something of "Nevermind". As it is, it sounds like something of the Bleach album, possessing a more punk-ish sound, boasts growling pre-choruses, and the aggression shown by Cobain, puts Wes Scantlin and Craig Nicholls to shame. Never mind 'the new Nirvana' or the 'generic Nirvana', listen to the original Nirvana, and enjoy the Nirvana legacy close out on a good song, and a great Video, which shows Cobain to be an Artist who was happiest when on stage, and into his music. (CA). Release Date: The Anthology is released on October 28. Link: Fansite: http://www.nirvanaclub.com/
THE POLYPHONIC SPREE - HANGING AROUND
Mmmmmmm Mercury Revy. Which can be a bad thing if done badly, but luckily the Spree pull it off with panache, and whilst the b-sides are a little shaky, and it's not quite as good as Mercury Rev or The Flaming Lips (who they also sound like), but as this is their first album its of little surprise. More importantly, it shows so much promise that soon we're sure they'll be producing records that are something rather special. (AF). Release Date: 21st October. Link: Official Site: http://www.thepolyphonicspree.com/main.html
TURIN BRAKES - LONG DISTANCE
Some times its so hard to write anything interesting about a song, as it's so insipid itself. And Long Distance falls in to this category, it's not particularly poor, just so average, so dull, so uninspiring. And I feel let down by the band too, as most of the singles from their debut album showed promise, but they sure as hell haven't developed on it. (AF). Release Date: 21st October. Link: Fansite: http://www.mindovermoney.co.uk/
BADLY DRAWN BOY - YOU WERE RIGHT
Whimsical, fairly amusing, but, yes, you're guessed it, not that special. Lacking the passion and belief of songs from his debut, and more like something from the About A Boy soundtrack (which, bar the singles, is surprisingly poor), this is fairly disappointing. Maybe he's trying to carve out a reputation as the new Divine Comedy with this, but it lacks Hannon's majestic grandeur and careful use of irony. (AF). Release Date: 14th October. Link: Official Site: http://www.badlydrawnboy.co.uk/
MCALMONT AND BUTLER – BRING IT BACK
THE CORAL - DREAMING OF YOU
SHAGGY – HEY, SEXY LADY
Poor, poor, poor. Puerile lyrics and just oh so dumb. It Wasn’t Me was one of the most irritating pop songs ever, but this is somehow even worse. (AF) Release Date: 21st October. Link: Official Site: http://www.shaggyonline.com/
LONGVIEW – WHEN YOU SLEEP
Good old indie rock, well what can you say about it, there’s a lot of pretenders around at the moment, trying hard, failing to impress etc, I won’t mention any names but oh well Leaves, Haven et al spring to mind. So when you come across another band in that genre that manage to produce some tracks that actually stick in your mind, you know you might be on to a winner. Longview are part of the Manchester scene, the scene that has adopted Badly Drawn Boy and Haven amongst others as it’s own, they produce songs that combine plunging guitar with moments of fragility. When You Sleep is no exception to that ethic, from the guitar breaks to the harmonised vocals on the chorus, it’s typical of what you can expect from Longview. You could do much worse than spend a couple of pounds getting to know this band and the middle track on the single, Still, is one of the most beautiful guitar driven ballads you will hear this year. (IB) Release date: 14th October. Link: Official site: http://www.longviewmusic.com/
MANIC STREET PREACHERS – THERE BY THE GRACE OF GOD
Early on in the song, Nicky Wire sings ‘With grace we shall suffer, with grace we shall recover’. But they’re lying folks. Because this is by far the worst Manic’s song I’ve heard, and it’s low key sound and boredom inducing pace simply reminds you that they used to be so special, but have now become so bland. As they promised to do so long ago, it really is time for them to split up before they wake up one morning and find they’ve turned in to U2. (AF). Very much in the mould of the 'This is my Truth..' album; This is a sombre offering to support their Greatest Hits package, and unlike their best work, does not seem to go anywhere. Personally, I'm more of a fan of the angsty stuff; "Faster", "Kevin Carter", "Motown Junk", "Found that Soul" , "The Masses against the Classes" etc. This just seems to amble along too depressingly, although the backing beat is certainly fresh for the Manics, as it smacks of an electronica influence. "Forever Delayed" compilation out soon. Tour to follow. (CA). Release Date: 14th October. Link: Official Site: http://www.manics.co.uk/manics/
IDLEWILD – IN A HIDING PLACE
Yet more dull droning rock, which is near on identical to their last single American English, and I’m beyond bored with them now, hell, even Roddy looks near on comatose in the video to the song. We’d like to think that this might be a one off, that for the next album they make a return to the early punky sound found on Captain, or perhaps even mix the two, but this looks increasingly unlikely. (AF) Release Date: 14th October. Link: Official Site: http://www.idlewild.co.uk/
RICHARD ASHCROFT – CHECK THE MEANING
So has he made up for that disappointing first solo album? Come back with something fantastically original which wow all those who claim he’s lost it? No.
THE STROKES - SOMEDAY
RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS – THE ZEPHYR SONG
At first I was resigned to the fact that this was another identikit Chilli Pepper’s song, but then the track mellows, and is certainly more experimental than anything they’ve done recently. It’s a shame it wasn’t the first release from their latest album, as it would have been perfect listening to on a long hot summer’s day, but hey, their’s always next year for that. And for the first time in too long, I’ll still want to be hearing this by then. (AF) Release Date: 7th October. Link: Fansite: http://onehotglobe.com/
U2 – ELECTRICAL STORM
Most bands put out a token single to promote a Best of…Compilation. Not the case here with U2. On the evidence of both this single, and the accompanying video Bono is the best frontman in the world, and this is far more emotive than anything covered in the past two albums. Bono's vocals are so serene, The Edge's trademark guitar parts are all there, and Larry and Adam keep it moving nicely. The lyrics are very powerful, and the crescendo to the column of noise coming from the Edge makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. It is such a wonderful track, and that number one position should be a given. (CA) Release Date: 21st October. Link: Fansite: http://www.u2wanderer.org/
THE STREETS – DON’T MUG YOURSELF
Sorry, but I’m just so lost here, as I don’t get for a second how this twat ever got a record deal. Rambling annoyingly about how much he fancies someone, but how his mates think she’s out of his league, half of it is inane, tedious nonsense which seems to be just filling time, and the rest is even worse. And sound wise, well, a five year old could come up with a better tune than this. Fucking awful. (AF) Release Date: October 14th. Link: Official Site: http://www.the-streets.co.uk/
DOVES – CAUGHT BY THE RIVER
The third single from The Last Broadcast, it’s not as immediately lovable as Pounding or There Goes The Fear, but still easily one of the best singles released this month, and if you haven’t bought the album yet, well, then you’re just crazy, really. (AF) Release Date: 14th October. Link: Official Site: http://www.doves.net/newsite/
THE CORAL - DREAMING OF YOU
The Scousers that love the sixties return with a pop song that the Animals, Gerry and Pacemakers, early Moody Blues, and all those classy sixties outfits would be proud of. OK, the cynics would say this is 40 years out-of-date, it's been done. Like 'The Music', this is something influenced by the greatness of the past, and can be classed as the alternative to the tired format of cobbling together a manufactured outfit, and constructing a hit factory, so they can have a greatest hits CD, when they've only been going for 4-5 years (soap box rant over). Frankly, the only thing people should concern themselves about is the music,
FOO FIGHTERS - ALL MY LIFE
In which the Foo's get all serious on your arse, and though there's still the odd hint of their shiny metal days, this is much more angst ridden, and, surprisingly, all the better for it. This has instantly become my favourite song of theirs, but then they're still a band who's albums I cant ever see myself buying...So kinda of good, but nothing astounding, then. (AF) Second single to be released off forthcoming "One By one" album, inintially I thought this was a lot more disjointed than any of there previous efforts, but it grows on you, and it is great to see them stay true to their word, and move from the melodic nature of "There is nothing Left to Lose" to a faster paced sound, and hit with a harder sound. Incidentally, I'll be buying the album, but then that's me all over, isn't it. (CA) Release Date: 7th October. Link: Fansite: http://www.mattsmusicpage.com/nfoo.htm
THE DELGADO’S – COMING IN FROM THE COLD
Disappointing, and hopefully not an indication of what’s to come from their forthcoming album HATE. Much drabber than anything from The Great Eastern, and whilst we wanted them to get even more experimental, this seems like an attempt to make it in the mainstream, which has turned out be an unfortunate mistake. Much better than the majority of bands, but for The Delgaldo’s it’s a disappointment. (AF) Release Date: 30th September. Link: Fansite: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Mezzanine/3023/
ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE – SAME WAY EVERY DAY
Well it starts off promisingly with the kind of poppy beat and melody last seen in the single Empty At The End. But come the chorus, it gets all trippy on you with an airy vocal and psychedelic keyboard swirl. It’s pure ESP – you can’t fail to recognise it, but it’s not as immediately catchy as the last singles, stick with it till towards the end when the hippie airy stuff gives way to plunging guitar riffs. Not destined for chart greatness I fear but well worth a few listens as I think it will be grower. Word of advice, save your £3.99 and go and buy the album Holes in the Wall instead. (IB) Release Date: 30th September. Link: Official site: http://www.electricsoftparade.com/
LIBERTINES – UP THE BRACKET
Mmmm, this is just oh so slightly cool. Previous single What A Waster was fine in a catchy Menswear pop way, but this is more of a cross between Supergrass and Pulp (Different Class era, anyway) and its one of those great tunes that you’ll never tire of listening to over and over again. Sure, it could have been released seven years ago at the height of britpop, and fitted in seamlessly, but hey, since when has that become a crime? Release Date: 30th September. Link: Fansite: http://www.thelibertines.org/
THE JEEVAS - VIRGINIA
An example of the B-sides being better than the single. "Virginia" just sounds like a by-the-numbers record, but "Stoned love" is much more like what I want to hear from Crispian, Andy and Dan. Worth buying, if only for the B-sides. Already released, with an album to follow. Release Date: 16th September. Link: Official Site: http://www.thejeevas.com/
WILDHEARTS - VANILLA RADIO
Don't know what the song's about. Don't know what the lyrics say. Love the song. Nice to see Ginger and Danny McCormack back together semi- permanently, hopefully it will last this time. Regarding the song, it's not rocket science. It's just anthemic hard rock and I'm glad that it is. Release Date: September 30th. Link: Official Site: http://www.silverginger.com/
THE DATSUNS - IN LOVE
There is a plethora of indie/rock bands around at the moment – all sporting the same mad hair do’s which they shake about violently in their moody black and white videos (see MTV2 for that). New blokes on the scene and contenders for the throne currently occupied by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club et al. Ladies and Gentleman I give you The Datsuns. Forget about their hideously overrated Australian rivals The Vines for a second and get with the Kiwi programme. Sporting the obligatory mad hair and black monochrome video, they unleash their debut single on the world on the 23rd September, but hurry as it is deleted the same day. Full on and raucous it reminds me of (for some reason) early Stones stuff crossed with a bit of Zeppelin. From the opening guitar riff to the drum beat kicking in to the ever so slightly cheesy backing vocals, (why do you keep on running?) it’s a debut single to die for that is already filling the dance floor down my local seedy rock club! To sum up? Well if a rock song can possibly be described as jaunty then The Datsuns is as jaunty as they come. (IB)
Release Date: 23rd September. Link: Official Site: http://www.thedatsuns.com/
Not as out an out a hit as "It's my Life", but the commercial airplay alone should garner enough attention to warrant a Top 20 place. Shame really as Jon Bongiovi is the most infuriating person in Rock. What's that you say? Above Kelly Osbourne? Well, leeching off relatives is one thing, but leeching off relative and not acknowledging their help - well that's pretty low. Don't buy it, 'cause I don't like the smarmy over-confident, self righteous son of a gun. Release Date: 16th September. Link: Fansite: http://www.drycounty.com/
FEEDER – COME BACK AROUND
Whilst we felt much sympathy for the band after the tragic loss of their drummer Jon Lee, Feeder were never the greatest band (or even close to being so) and don’t really deserve the acclaim they’ve received recently, just because of the aforementioned tragedy. This is a little harsher than their usual brand of pop rock, but its been done millions of times before, and sadly there’s very little of interest to see here. So move along, people, move along. (AF) Another band that
THE VINES – OUT OF THE WAY
Nope, sorry, but this still just doesn’t cut it. Maybe three years ago it’d have been worthy of some interest, but with competition like The White Stripes, The Hives and The Strokes, they come off looking like the poor, dumb and incestuous cousins you secretly know they are. Just ignore them, they’ll go away soon. (AF) They were billed as the most spontaneous act since Nirvana. They aren't. If Craig Nicholls' exuberance and wanton abandon assimilated with Puddle of Mudd's Wes Scantlin's generic Cobain Vocals, the press might have something, but they dont', so they don't. Incidentally this tune is geat when cranked up to 10 (or 11 if you're a Tap fan), but other than that, that's it. No major substance to it, but OK. (CA) Release Date: 30th Sept. Link: http://www.the-vines.net/
OASIS - LITTLE BY LITTLE
This is Oasis in epic mode, so it's one of the long drawn out ones which is supposed to be anthemic, but hey, it'll come as no surprise that it's just ridiculously dull. Sure, its better than most of the singles from the last two albums, but that’s not really saying much is it, and it feels strangely pointless, and lyrically this is one of Noel's worst yet. Best band in the world? Ha, they're not even the best band in the road they live in these days. Release Date: 23rd September. Link: Fansite: http://www.madfer.it/
WILL YOUNG AND GARETH GATES - THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
Oh fuck right off. The only reason why this whiney, shiny, shitey shite should be bought is so that it can then be burned by all self respecting music lovers. We’re not saying anymore. Just try to pretend that it never happened. Release Date: 23rd Sept.
THE STROKES – SOMEDAY
Yep,it’s another great Strokes track, though, as with 99% of all fourth singles, isn’t as good as those that have preceded it. Do we really need to say anything more? Oh, alright, just this once – it’s the belief, the strength of Casablanca’s voice and a fine line in attitude that makes them so much fun, though if you’ve not bought the album you’re not going to be persuaded by this that you’ve made a mistake. Oh, but you have by the way. Release Date: September 23rd. Link: Fansite: http://www.thestrokes.org/
EMINEM – CLEANING OUT MY CLOSET
80'S MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTER - CELEBRATE YOUR MOTHER
Bizarre blues metal which gets pretty thrashy but never too heavy. I accidentally caught them playing an instore gig at the Oxford Street Virgin Megastore about a month ago, and have to say it was a lot of fun, dark but moshable to nu-metal, with a few crazy keyboard moments slipped in to most of the songs to keep things interesting. The lead singer sounds like a really angry Nick Cave, which strangely works and this is proof that nu-metals not quite dead yet. Release Date: 16th Sept. Link: Official Site: http://www.tembd.co.uk/
AQUALUNG – STRANGE AND BEAUTIUL
Yet another band who fall in to the ‘would like to like more than we do’ category, as this sounds quite, fragile, subtle, yet exquisite. But there’s a downside – lyrically it’s weak, more a string of cliches than anything else, and whilst we don’t like to use the phrase, it really is little better than sixth form poetry. Sorry. But still, pleasant enough, and there’s much promise shown here. Release Date: 16th September. Link: Official Site: http://www.aqualung.net/
SUPERGRASS – GRACE
Yay! The grass are finally back to sounding at the best, after a rather lukewarm third album, and this is packed with harmonies, oh so cool lyrics and a rocky but fresh sounding, um, well, sound. It’s great to see that they haven’t become the too serious muso’s they threatened to become, and if the rest of the new album sounds anything like this, it wont be long before they finally headline a major festival. (AF) You see, the musician in me wanted to see an extension in the vibrant,
expansive solos from Gaz that were on the eponymous third album, but now, we get a tongue-in-cheek simplistic song instead. Which is fine, as it turns out. As remarked previously, it's a return to the basics of the first album, but without the under-polished punky 'less is more' production policy. Still, it is effective at what it does, and I hope the album proves to be intriguing as well as enjoyable. (CA) Release Date: 16th September. Link: Fansite: http://www.strangeones.com/
JJ72 - FORMULAE
I first caught JJ72 for free, completely by accident, as they were forced to headline after Prolapse pulled out of a gig at the Cambridge Boat Race. And they were astonishing. One of the few bands I’ve seen in a small venue and thought, wow, in years to come I’ll be boasting of being at this gig. And their first album was pretty marvellous too, a little too Radioheady maybe, but for a debut, it was one of the finest recently seen. But this, the first release from their forthcoming second album, is more Muse-ish, more overdramatic than genuinely touching, and not the direction I’d hoped they’d go in. Mark Greaney’s voice is still pretty beautiful, but it’s lost some of its fragility, and as a result, the overall product isn’t that satisfying. Release Date: 16th September. Fansite: http://www.jj72.org/
RONAN KEATING - I LOVE IT WHEN YOU DO
Well, as trivial, nonsensical catchy pop songs go, there have been far worse made. But hell, there's no way in hell we're going to give this a good review, because it's just so annoying, one of those songs that you know you don’t like but you just cant get out of your head. Ronan seems to be doing the best he can to sound American, presumably in the hope he'll finally make it in the US, and it all feels so fake. So dont even think about buying, yeah? Release Date: 9th September.Link: Official Site: http://www.ronankeating.com/
SARAH WHATMORE - WHEN I LOST YOU
Every so often we get emails asking why we bother reviewing manufactured pop shite when we always give them bad reviews - and whilst thats not always 100% true, they have a point. So it's nice to be able to say that this a fairly enjoyable slice of pop nonsense, one which will make you want to dance stupidly around the room/pub/club too. And no, we’re not writing this just because we fancy her. Well, at least that’s not the only reason. Release Date: 9th September. Link: Fansite: http://www.efanguide.com/~swhatmore/
KELLY OSBOURNE & INCUBUS – PAPA DON’T PREACH
So you know that this would never have happened if Ozzy wasn’t the Papa in question, and that it’s just a dumb novelty single (with, unfortunately, a novelty album following), but the question still begs, is it any good? Well, if you like the idea of a even higher pitched Placebo speed thrashing through a not that great eighties song, well, you’ll love this – the other 99.9% of the population wont though. Release Date: 9th September. Link: Official Site: http://www.theosbournesonline.com/
EASYWORLD – YOU AND ME
This nearly left us speechless, not for any remotely good reasons mind, just because it’s so utterly, horribly, almost painfully dull. Standard indie rock pop, there’s nowt here even remotely original, and it’s not worth evening listening to once. Release Date: 9th September. Link: Official Site: http://www.easyworldinfo.co.uk/
TRUCKS - ITS JUST PORN MUM
More punk pop, but at least this is rather comedy-tastic, and fine jumping up and down mosh-tastic stuff. Based around the idea that parents have no idea what their spawn are like, and how "You wouldn’t believe what the kids see today", it’s sharp, surprisingly tuneful and vaguely insightful, well, for punk pop anyway.Release Date: Sept 9th. Link: Official Site: http://www.trucksmusic.com/
MINUTEMAN – 5000 MINUTES OF PAIN
Maybe we were too harsh on Minuteman back in July when we reviewed previous single Big Boy, as this is so much better, an epic touching guitary track that manages not to be too OTT, dramatic or as contrite as that release. Still not yet worthy of losing your heart too, this at least suggests that one day they might be. Release Date: 9th September. Link: Official Site: http://www.minutemanmusic.com/
THE SHINING – YOUNG AGAIN
Haplessly, The Shining are one of those bands who live can be pretty damn fun, with a frontman who really knows how to manipulate the audience, but on record it sounds a little substandard. This is another of their songs which sounds like a cross between The Stone Roses and The Verve, and it’s guaranteed to make you feel insidiously bored within a couple of listens. Still, they may come back with a second album which proves us all wrong, and I’d like to think that they might just do that. Release Date: 2nd September. Link: Official Site: http://www.theshiningarehere.com/
HUNDRED REASONS – FALTER
A nice Smashing Pumpkinsy lowkey start led me to hope that for once those chunky riffs wouldn’t crash in after a minute or so. And for once they didn’t! What are the chances of that happening, etc, etc. This is a rather fine release from the Surrey rocksters, and whilst it’s a little more ballad-y than their previous singles releases, it benefits from it. Their first single which hasn’t sounded exactly like everything else they’ve ever done, which just cant be a bad thing. Release Date: 2nd September. Link: Original Site: http://www.hundredreasons.com/
APPLETON – FANTASY
A slow, sexy beginning which leads in to a thrashy bit, this attempt by the Appleton sisters to regain some credibility post the All Saints split and rather tedious tabloid tales on first hearing this could almost be mistaken for semi-decent indie pop if it weren’t the for the rather too manufactured pop and all too bland chorus. Oh, and the fact that the lyrics are the usual crappy nonsense of course. Release Date: 2nd September. Link: Fansite: http://www.theappletonsisters.cjb.net/
WEEZER – KEEP FISHING
Yep. It’s the one with the muppets in the video. The last couple of singles I’ve heard from the band started me getting a little interested in ‘em, but this is strictly mundane and by the numbers alt rock. It’s not too bad, but nowhere as near as catchy as their recent single Island in the Sun. Still worth keeping an eye on though. For the time being anyway. Release Date: 2nd September. Link: Official Site: http://www.weezer.com/
UNDERWORLD –TWO MONTHS OFF
The loss of member Darren Emerson seems to have made the group mellower, as is this a softer, less energetic dance track, one for 4am rather than 2. There’s nowt shockingly original about it, but it’s impossible to dislike. Release Date: 2nd September. Link: Official Site: http://www.dirty.org/
THE WHITE STRIPES – DEAD LEAVES AND THE DIRTY GROUND
More unique monkey business from Jack and Meg. Less catchy than Hotel Yorba, with a dirtier, blusier sound, which occasionally even reminds of Nirvana. But in a good way rather than a Bush way, fortunately. We were hesitant about the band at first, but with each new release they seem to prove just how special they are, and this, along with the album, should be bought as soon as humanely possible. Release Date: 2nd September. Link: Offical Site: http://www.whitestripes.net/
KORN – THOUGHTLESS
Dark, almost death metalish, though offset by the odd softer moment, this is Korn sounding more dated than ever. Always one of the more traditional nu-metal acts, it’s all okay, but nothing to get excited about, and a sure sign of a band fast on the decline. Release Date: 9th September. Link: Fansite: http://www.kornweb.com/
Alex Finch, Craig Aston and Izzy Brooks.
The Singles Review Archive:
July and August 2002
May and June 2002.
March and April 2002.
January & February 2002.
November & December 2001.
September & October 2001.
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