JIMMY AGREN: Glass Finger Ghost CD
His first album was a pretty decent blues-rock kind of album, more blues than rock, a bit light until turned way up, but showing promise. He then played a blinder on the Captain Beefheart tribute album before I was lucky enough about a year ago to receive a short live video of his band in concert and that just blew me away. Here was a tight, dynamic blues-rock band, operating with more than a nod to 'Big Eyed Beans' style Beefeheart, but with so much more to offer, and a guitarist in the form of Agren, whose lead electric slide and red hot electric soloing gave you the chills as you sat there jaw-dropped at the sheer impact that such an outstanding band could be so unknown. Now, a year later, the much anticipated second album is finally complete, and it is with baited breath I put it on. After a brief acoustic slide intro, the band just launch into a sizzling instrumental opener where the Agren guitars, electric lead and electric slide, slide, glide, dive and burn, as the rolling rhythm section drives the whole lurching, surging shiny beast along. The second track features a similarly structured song, this time with its bluesy Beefheartian roots showing, but, and I stress this, the music is in no way awkward, overly angular or plain difficult, as much of Beefhearts' music was prone to being. No, this is real electric blues-rock injected with that style and spirit, done like no-one lese has dared before and getting it absolutely right. Throughout the album, the rhythm section is just magnificent, but it is Agren's guitar work which will have you transfixed throughout. As blues-rock albums go, this, despite its echoes of familiarity to people who know the more normal electrifying rocking side of Beefeheart, this is a veritable breath of fresh air and anyone into great guitar work, great original songs, electric blues and blue rock with some seriously wicked slide guitar playing, will just go ape over this album, for it is impeccable -as good as it gets and that's a fact.
ERIC ALEXANDRIS: I.V. Catatonia CD
For once, I'm stumped. I've played this a few times now and, possibly moreso than any other album I've come across recently, a review, in my style of reviewing, is a positive nightmare. I mean, where do you start on an album all done by one bloke, featuring twenty-two tracks in over seventy minutes, and full of so many effects, treatments, layers, sounds, songs and textures you can't possibly begin to sum them all up in so many line - christ, you could do a degree on this album. The overriding thing is a set of songs that are relatively mid-paced but bear more resemblance to something that came out of the psychedelic late seventies, from the drug era of late Beatles, Jefferson Airplane & that whole scene, but all backed with instrumentation that is so wide-ranging from delightfully played guitars, shimmering tremolos, undulating bass delicacy, echoed guitar layers and treatments, all manner of processed sounds made on everyday objects and now sounding like some unique electronic soundscapes, all that and so much more. The even more fascinating thing is that it all works superbly, the songs having all the charm and wistfulness of a lost decade, the feel and atmosphere of the heady sixties, but all capped off with contemporary backdrops and modern tweaking. It's one hell of a trip but is worth making and then some, one of those albums you just have to hear to believe, but one of the finest new song-based albums of contemporary music that you'll find, certainly one of the most unique. .
ANDALUSIA: Such A Heavenly Eyesore CD
Now this is genius.....no word of a lie. From one of the hottest new bands I've discovered in recent times comes their first full-length album and it is simply brilliant from start to finish. Ten tracks, nearly fifty minutes, guitars, bass and drums, three featuring vocals from female/male duet, and some of the finest tracks around. Musically we're talking big open canvases of epic proportions as the gorgeous full-sounding guitars stretch from horizon to horizon, all quite languid yet amazingly powerful at the same time, very much in the vein of classic Cocteau Twins only less edgy, more flowing, much more textural presence, deeper resonance, a superbly fluid yet tight rhythm section, almost a guitar orchestra at times and a full-to-overflowing sound that is just heavenly, exactly as it says on the packet, but certainly no eyesore, for this is bliss incarnate. The vocal tracks have the vocals largely buried in the mix to become another instrumental texture, here the Cocteau comparisons becoming even more apparent. There are also elements of early King Black Acid, hints of the vast Mellonova guitar canvas but with spirit, strength, energy and dynamics, building tracks quickly into pieces where the guitars shine out from the background textures that cover the musical spaces so superbly. In the area that many commentators describe as 'shoegazing' and as fashionable as similar things on current labels such as Kranky and Constellation, this is a tour-de-force of musical excellence. The penultimate track alone uses dynamics and layers to go from melodic bliss to a sonic cauldron of mighty proportions as guitars, bass and drums go effortlessly into orbit and explode into space. Overall, one of the most played albums in my possession right now, and I strongly urge you to repeat the experience. .
ANDALUSIA: This Is Noplace CDEP
Where it all started - the ultra limited three-tracker - featuring the band's red hot brew of swirling, flowing, floating, drifting, solid, textural and breathtakingly delivered instrumental music as the trio of guitars, bass and drums create a magical musical world that is so vast and yet so perfect, intense yet fragile, fuzzed yet crystalline, the guitar layers, for they are more layers than leads, almost electronic in a sense, climbing ever higher, travelling slowly forward, all anchored and supported by the oh-so fluid rhythm section, the melodic content shining out of the shoegazing soup. Each track is nothing short of jaw-dropping in its almost guitar orchestra-like textures, and this is one to get before you miss out and live to regret it, but get the album first.
ANDALUSIA: Around Three In The Morning CD
Second full album and, for this one, they've abandoned the all-instrumental stance and added a female vocalist who is just delicious. She has a high-register voice and sings like an angel, song after glorious song ringing out with solo and mulit-tracked vocals over the band's panoramic and deep instrumental textures courtesy of chiming guitars, rippling guitars, undulating bass, crisp drumming and horizon-stretching soundscaping. With hints of everything from State Of Grace, Sundays, Cocteau Twins & Kate Bush to name but a few, this is a strong set of tracks that really hold your attention for the duration as the songs rise heavenwards on this sea of guitars, synth, bass, drums and heavenly vocals. One of the finest of its kind I've heard in years, this is quality music that shines and soars, from which you take ages to come back down to earth - although you'll be hard-pressed not to repeat the experiences often as you can and wallow in these mighty wall-to-wall, full-sounding compositions with vocals and instrumental work to satisfy the hardest of hearts. Magical music that is to die for.
BLUES SO BAD: The Monday Of The Shoemaker CD
Italian psychedelic bluesy trio singing in English with a debut studio album of self-penned material - and it's like 1969 all over again. With elements of things such as Blue Cheer, MC5, Cream, The Seeds and other blues-psych bands of the time, this album virtually recreates the feel and atmosphere of those days, with a song-based album featuring a good selection of red-hot solos, but no extended jams or epic guitar-led tracks. The vocals are slightly accented, hardly noticeable in that respect, and remind me of some more famous vocalist I can't for the life of me recall at this moment, but they fit well with the songs, most of which are, indeed, taken at a bluesy mid-pace, and are pretty darned good for a set of originals in this well-trodden musical arena. A hot debut and a band to watch.
EASTERN DARK: Where Are All The Single Girls? CD
If you go back to the eighties, subsection "jangly guitar bands", you'll find the likes of Long Ryders, Rain Parade, Miracle Legion and the like as beacons along a trail that the Flamin Groovies colliding with the Byrds and Radio Birdman first started. However, out of all that scene, one of the finest yet most underrated of all of them was this band - Australia's Eastern Dark.
The overriding thing that tells you just HOW underrated this band was, and still is, comes along on tracks 5-9 of this album, an album that gathers together on CD for the first time, all the studio recordings from this amazing band. So, before you do anything, go immediately to 'Walking', turn the volume up to L-O-U-D and just let this incendiary track pour all over you, the guitars chiming and riffing to perfection, a magical slide electric guitar searing all over as the lead and harmony vocals dish out a brew that is as potent as it is hair-raising, as addictive as it is simply glorious - one of the finest examples of its kind on the planet. But it doesn't end there - oh no - for the following track, 'Over Now' is every bit as powerful, dynamic and downright amazing - jut listen to those guitars and the way the song just climbs to that incredible chorus, the band playing supernova and then some. Another outstanding, timeless, guitar-driven song, that, if there were any justice, would be heralded in the same breath as things like 'Shake Some Action' and 'Mr Tambourine Man'-on-adrenaline cocktails. Absolutely magical. 'I Don't Need The Reasons' then scorches into view with a rush of guitars, racing rhythms and a song that just flies down the highway with steaming choruses and fantastic lyrics, another absolutely addictive gem of a track, the guitars even more red hot than before. Two more equally incendiary compositions complete this amazing quintet of guitars-driven nirvana, and there you have five tracks that sum up the greatness, the playing, the song-writing and the delivery that should rightly hail this band as truly legendary. But, there are a further four studio tracks, including the fantastic 'Johnny And Dee Dee' plus 'Julie Is A Junkie' from the first seven inch, and nine scorching live tracks to end the album. In short, for this musical arena, you won't find a more consistent, class A, top quality album of guitars-driven songs than here - the sort of album you will want to play every day, twice a day for the rest of your days - yes, it really is THAT hot.
BAKER MAULTSBY: Bingo = Sin CD
Attn all you Jason & The Scorchers fans.....now I know you might be thinking there's only one Jason, etc, but just to prove you wrong, along comes this guy and his cohorts with a similarly rousing fusion of country and rock, plus some equally fantastic songs on a stunning debut album. There's some ace guitar work and the vocals are delivered in a similar style. The opener tells you right how it's going to be from the off with an infectious song that'll be swirling around your head for hours after, complete with great lyrics too. The guy's got a superb voice and the band plays it solid in an enjoyable country-rock vein, while finally the production and song-writing are just perfect. If this one doesn't rouse you, I'd worry. From there on you get twelve tracks of corking country-rock, the Jason & Scorchers comparison never that far away, but the individuality of delivery and writing still shining through. Not a less than brilliant track on the album, it has clever lyrics, drive and passion but always with dynamics and depth well intact, not to mention some corking guitar leads and rhythms, backed by tight and swinging rhythms from bass and drums. Superb stuff.
NOTHING 2 DECLARE: Frozen Child CDEP£5.99
New group from the North East, and playing 3-4 minute songs. The opener has a kind of wistful Neil Young quality to it and you find yourself with something more famous going on in the back of your mind for the first couple of mins, but then the accoustic mood changes to a fierce electric guitar-led one and the slightly melancholic air becomes highly charged as the solo develops. The sound quality has a slightly demo-ish edge to it, and the vocalist is clearly straining a bit to be heard over the guitar towards the end, but overall, not a bad track. The next is an equally melancholic affair, with slow start, high register harmonies, lone throaty male vocal, and a general air of gloom that I could well have done without I have to say - not at all my sort of thing. Then track three comes in like a rocket with a sizzling electric guitar lead, a more dynamic rhythm section, and then drops back to just the mournful vocals, bass and drums, until the guitar surges in again. The track, like the rest, has clearly been recorded 'live' in the studio without any overdubs, certainly the vocals, and so at least you get its sense of feel but it's all pretty depressing. Track four is more raging with guitars and almost shouted vocal, so at least there's now some angst to add to the proceedings, and I do love the guitar work. But, with two similar tracks to end the EP. I have to say that the ideas are OK, the guitars are great, the rhythm section is decently recorded, but I just did not get on with the vocals - try it, you might like it.
JENNIFER PARSIGNAULT: Oh, My CD The moment she opens her mouth on track one, you think 'Kate Bush' and this is the feel and, to an extent, the style of her early work, that pervades a lot of the mood on this excellent debut album. With much less annoying and warmer, deeper vocals ranging from husky, through multi-tracked, to ethereal and soaring, this is an album of sheer class tracks where each song is a new experience and you actually find yourself looking forward all the time to what is around the next corner, while still getting maximum enjoyment out of the present one. At other times there's a touch of (good - and she did have the odd great song) Beverley Craven, with some gorgeous arrangements and sky-high hooks, multi-tracked choruses that all bring out the best in both the vocals, the musical backing and the songs themselves. This is the sort of album that has you transfixed, but is also one that you have to be in the right mood to hear, but once that mood appears, there is nothing else to fit the bill. I would imagine that, the more you play it, the more you will want to play it, and it's an album which I have now heard three or four times and every time I realise just what a good, full-sounding, well arranged, melodic, rhythmic, atmospheric yet deceptively simple album it really is. Highly recommended.
THORNHILL: S/T CD
Let's get the easy bit over first - if you have a penchant for the glory days of Heart or a more rock-less prog version of Lana Lane, then you really should investigate this album. Right from the opener with its Wilson sisters-like vocals care of Carol & Julie Thornhill, its chunky guitars and insistent hooks, you know this is going to be a set of easily accessible and ultimately long-lasting songs, arranged, produced, delivered and played to perfection. The pace drops a bit for the synths-led track two as the strong ballad-like opening starts the proceedings, shortly joined by brief sharp guitar figures that act as a perfect counterpoint to the flowing synths, rhythm section, surging lead vocal and great dual harmonies, as the track opens up and flies high. Track 3 is a neat mix of dynamics with cruising vocals leading into the strong guitar/synth rocking section as the lead and duelling vocals work their magic. Throughout the album there is a strong mix of ballads and rockers, synths and guitars, tight and flowing rhythms, but it is the mix of songwriting, arrangements and the glorious lead and harmony vocals from the two sisters that takes centre stage - this is great stuff and we can present it to you for a limited period at a special price, so take advantage and enjoy.
DENNY WALLEY:Spare Parts CD
Debut solo album from ex-Zappa electric slide and lead guitarist and this is an album consisting of 10 corking cover versions including 2 by Zappa ('Suicide Chump/Bamboozled By Love'), plus some truly sizzling versions of blue standards such as 'Shake Your Moneymaker', a steaming electric slide-dominated 'Down In The Bottom', 'I Can't Be Satisfied', 'Howlin' For My Baby' and more, on an album that is just so darned good and a must for anyone into rockin' blues, especially as Mr Walley breathes new life into a set of songs that have been done for years, rarely this well. Oh yes, I should mention that it's a group at work here with bass and drums accompaniment, just in case you were thinking that it was just guitar and vocals......ah yes, the vocals are great, too.
MICHELLE YOUNG: Song Of The Siren - Remaster CD
Thanks to us finding Ms Young, this wonderful album is now back in stock for the first time in about three years or more, and it's interesting to re-review this. You see, once you know it secret, you approach it thinking that you really won't be as blown away by it as you were the first time you heard it, unaware of its content. Yet to my surprise, it was exactly the opposite, and the album actually sounded better now than it did when I first heard it. In my original review I stressed the sonic comparisons with a certain Kate Bush, and while this comparison is decidedly valid, if a little overdone on the original review, once you know this, you get past the actual voice and really start to concentrate on the music, the structure, the arrangements and the overall makeup of the songs, discovering glory after glory as you go. The first track is a masterpiece of dynamics and layers, using synths, guitars, drums and bass mixed with high-flying solo vocals and multi-layered harmonies plus glorious choruses, all leading to a full-sounding musical landscape of divine clarity, that is essentially prog-rock in nature but so much better sounding and in no way overblown. 'Les Talk', however, is pure early (not too early however) Kate Bush, from sound to sense of humour, although injecting magical touches of originality to the arrangements to give it a unique flavour, one that endears it to you every time you hear it, as the wondrous vocals tell the tale. 'Your Boots Are Heavy' opens as a vocal and piano ballad before kicking into a marching rhythm and accordion melody, then returning to the piano, all the time the superb voice crusing effortelessly over the assorted musical backdrops, developing into string-like synth, bass and piano to add yet another dimension to a truly beautiful track, and you could easily have imagined this emanating from the second, third or fourth Kate Bush albums, in terms of sound, feel, dynamics and arrangement. Here I go, overdoing the comparisons once more, but this is a major tribute to the sheer talent of this lady, producing a set of songs and arrangements that are similar yet wholly original and even more timeless as what went down all those years ago in the Bush camp. 'Song To The Siren(Prelude)' at over ten minutes in length, is a swirling kaleidoscope of musical colours as all sorts of vocal layers from whispers to the soaring lead voice dive and swoop over backing that range from lush synths to a strident mix of mini-moog style synth leads, bass rhythms and vibrant strings, with several distinct 'sections' to the flowing instrumental delights that occupy the majority of the piece, leading into the title track itself, this time with a more sultry jazzy flavour to the vocals and a more uptempo, muscular musical arrangement than we've heard so far, one that adds a new taste to the meal to great effect, as this time a mix of electric guitar leads and rhythms takes the pivotal central role. Track six, 'No Excuses', is a live track that sounds amazing and proves that she can be every bit as incredible in a live setting as she is in the studio, no mean feat believe me, as a brilliant slice of multi-harmony and solo vocals weave a flowing web of wonder over a flying synth, strong piano rhythm, mid-paced driving rhythm section, with the vocals providing the framework and content from which a simply magnificent song emerges. 'The Innocent One' is a six minute instrumental, perfectly in context with the feel and atmosphere of the album, and showcasing the flute and keyboard talents in particular of our favourite vocalist, on a full-sounding track of some delicacy. 'Bamboo You' opens with just treated vocal and sparse instrumentation before diving into an almost rock-like song that just takes off into the heavens, guitars, bass synth, rhythms and vocals all combining to strong effect as the composition bursts into life, as strong as an ox, as clear as a bell, as varied as they come, original and works a treat, with a flow as good as anything on the album, but totally unique. 'Big Deal' is a mix of lilting ballad and power ballad, full of gorgeous solo and harmony vocals, more reatrained thunder from below mixing with string synth and keyboards, then floating to just piano and voice, again in perfect Bush-like tones. 'Another Frog', is a short track at less than a minute long, apparently the last track, but then it moves right into an unlisted 'hidden' track eleven that features spoken word vocal mixing with lush-sounding harmonies and clipped violin-like and bass guitar backdrops, all quite engaging and every bit as spellbinding as what has gone before, vocal laye adding to vocal layer, and with more than a hint of Roches to the feel of the piece. The album ends leaving you immensely satisfied but wanting more, the need to repeat the process barely able to be resisted. A magical, mighty and glorious album of stunning beauty and originality that, if there was justice, would put this lady at the top of the tree - if the next album has a hit single on it, watch the doors fly open - but for now you owe it to yourself to explore and enjoy, as you surely will, the myriad delights present in a remarkable debut album.
MICHELLE YOUNG: Marked For Madness CD£12.99
Her long-awaited second album, following on from a red-hot debut. To figure that this is theoretically going to be something special is not hard when yuo find it's been produced by Clive Nolan, is the culmination of three years work and features the playing talents of Doane Perry (Jethro Tull), Clive Nolan (Arena/Pendragon), Karl Groom (Threshold), Peter Banks (Yes), Stan Whittaker (Happy The Man) and Bobby Kimball (Toto) to name but a few. So, while there calibre of musicianship is unquestionable, the album will only work if the writing, arranging, composing and delivery is spot-on, and here Ms Young has scored a bullseye, for this is one phenomenal song album that is way more than mere categorisation can ever describe. It's a quality album from start to finish with an idea-per-minute quotient greater than most. Magical doesn't begin to sum it up, so let's start at track one where the first thing you spot is a dep, resonant piano intro that reminded me instantly of the intro to 'Take A Pebble' as suddenly this gorgeous, soaring vocal comes in and flies above the piano melody, the voice quite similar to that of classy Kate Bush but whereas she could be a bit shrill, this is the voice of an angel. But when it comes to the balance of strength, beauty, dynamics, power and feeling, this takes your breath away. There's a brief mid-section that's almost like an eerie prog version of Grace Slick vocally, as swiftly the beautiful piano/vocal refrain returns and the song just cruises slowly and effortlessly to a point where the band come in and - BLAT!!! - you are taken to proggy heaven and back as a steaming lead guitar solo enters and flies over a landscape of drums, bass and synths, taking the instrumental coda to a fade at just over six minutes. The second track features the band right from the start as a jaunty song begins with a vocal section that covers, dynamics, range, feeling, and strength in the space of less than two minutes, overlaid vocal harmonies and choruses adding to the magic of the sprightly song that, instrumentally and vocally, twists and turns and flows, again very much in the Kate Bush mould only more prog oriented and smoother, and at just over three minutes, the sort of commercially acceptable snack you can eat again and again and again without any ill effects. Track three is a slower paced number, opening with haunting instrumental strings, full of depth and emotion, as this time a soothing yet powerful vocal glides above, on a song that is tender and strong at the same time, the sheer emotive feel of the song leaving hardly a dry eye in the house - but then suddenly the mood changes and you are in an altogether more anguished state as the feel darkens and the strings plus multi-tracked vocals intensify while remaining beautiful and haunting at the same time. As you can see, this is a devil of an album to review, because so much of its quality hangs on the sound, arrangements and sheer feel of the vocals and instrumental eloquence, one that you only have to hear a small portion of its magic, to realise that here you have an album that is way more than the sum of its parts, and that's impressive to say the least. Track four is altogether more symphonic, still string-laden, as drums, reeds and keys combine and then a huge layer of melodic synths and strings enters, dies back briefly, builds and then erupts into a sweeping orchestral march to lead out the instrumental track, that leads directly into the fifth number, as stabbing synth/sequencer leads the way, a male vocal is heard out the back, synths swirl upfront, then a bell rings out, thunder is heard, and THAT voice, sultry and passionate, enters, seemingly anguished, hurt, despairing, as the mood darkens and the track gradually builds, eventually turning into a slice of prog-meets-Bush songwriting and delivering that wipes the floor with anything the latter has ever turned out and is one of THE most incredible songs on the entire album, complete with soaring synth solo, Fleetwood-like drums and a stunning mix of writing and arranging, the Young voice and harmonies carrying it all and driving it on so effortlessly, you realise you are open-mouthed in disbelief at the overall majesty of it all, the song driving on to perfection. I would love to go on to do a track-by-track summary of the entire album, but sadly we don't have the space - suffice to say that this albums' fifteen tracks are all absolutely oozing class, quality and delivery, arranging, writing and vocalising at an all-time high, and, even though Michelle will probably hate me for saying it, is the album that Kate Bush should have made next had she melllowed and progged-out a little. This is utterly superb and every home should have one - the potential for world dominance is here if only it gets a chance to be heard - it doesn't come much better than this.
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