CD REVIEWS
Vast
Free
Mushroom
It must be said that Vast seems to have lost their way a bit.
After they jumped on the scene with their very original and enjoyable
debut, Visual Audio Sensory Theatre they seem to have gone
decidedly mainstream with this single from their next album Music
For People.
Gone are all the kooky sounds – the Buddhist monks,
weird instruments and so on. Free seems to be a very restrained,
though clean, sound that has been done countless times before.
Like all singles, it could potentially be a bit of a (bad) oasis
in the desert, and Music For People will feature all sorts
of original sounds and weird collections from all over the world
- according to the press release, it will feature international
groups such as the New Bombay Recording Orchestra. Time will tell,
as Music for People is not due until early October, so
Free will have to do for now. This CD features the standard
song and remixes by Ben Grosse and Chris Vrenna, formerly of Nine
Inch Nails, and each song is about as good as the other. And that
is not really a good thing.
Bug rating: 2/5
- Michael Gordon-Brown
The Tragically Hip
Music @ Work
Warner
Reviewing this CD provided one of those odd occasions where
you have never heard or heard of the band in question. So you
can really approach it with honest objectivity, with no illusions
or little tidbits you have heard and really get stuck in there
and decide whether it is yay or nay.
The Tragically Hip, it can be said with certainty, are firmly
in the middle. For those not in the know, The Tragically Hip are
Canadian quintent Rob Baker, Gordon Downie. Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois
and Gord Sinclair, though five additional musicians are listed
- in the interests of brevity, we won’t name them. Music
@ Work is their ninth album, with the titular Tragically
Hip starting things off in 1987. So what of The Tragically
Hip’s music? It is basically a nice, even alternative sound.
It is not too slow, but not overly fast either. And they have
one of those nice ironic names that you can always remember –
most of their songs seem a little bit ironic. Music @ Work
is a nice collaboration that showcases their offbeat music. Putting
Down, Freak Turbulence and Wild Mountain Honey are
the pick of the bunch, though each song offers something different,
to keep the variety factor high. If you haven’t heard of
The Tragically Hip before, you should give them a whirl. They
don’t set the world on fire, but if you are seeking asylum
from pop princesses and Boyzone et al, you will enjoy them.
Bug rating: 3/5
- Michael Gordon-Brown
Not From There
Sticky Wes
Mushroom
Intrigued by the title Sticky Wes? As it turns out, Albert
“Sticky” Wes was a cult hero of sorts from mid 1940’s
San Francisco. He could possibly be best described as a poet,
who was fairly indiscriminate in his choice of language.
Which, as you could imagine, may not have bode well in the roaring
40’s. In any event, Sticky Wes has provided Not From There
with the inspiration for their first single from their upcoming
album. According to the press release, it focuses on Sticky’s
“pink nippon period”, when he became colour blind and
could only see pink and white. Which must have been a damn weird
experience, much like this album. It also probably wouldn’t
have been much fun, again like this album. It features Sticky
Wes, obviously, and it turns out to be pure alternative, complete
with the softly spoken lyrics that may be in another language
(who knows). Also included are a few mixes, with few or no words
so interest isn’t maintained their very long either. Finally,
The Orb of Lomaz provides some interest with an unusual beginning,
heavy breathing and techno leanings, though it doesn’t cross
the fence to techno completely. And it isn’t that good either,
it just provides some interest. So in all in all, this is not
the world’s greatest album. Pity, considering Not From There
won Best Alternative Release for their debut Sand On Seven.
Bug rating: 2/5
-Michael Gordon-Brown
Morcheeba
Fragments of freedom
Warner
Morcheeba consists of brothers Paul and Ross Baldwin together
with vocalist Skye (a woman, just in case you were a little suspicious).
When you first hear her voice, you could be forgiven for thinking
this was a Spice Girls or Bardot (heaven forid) clone and throwing
it away without hearing another note. But fortunately, Morcheeba
turn out to be a pretty decent band with a nice pop sound with
some alternative values mixed in.
The instrumentals from the Baldwin Bros (could they possibly be
related to Alec and company?) are rock solid, but the real star
here is Skye's voice. I know what you're thinking. Just a moment
ago this review was stating her voice sounded like a cross between
the Spice Girls and Bardot (heaven forbid) – suddenly it
is the best feature?
It sort of grows on one. Her voice is hard to describe, but it
is definitely smooth and almost flinty.
Morcheeba first hit the scene in 1996 with Trigger Hippie and
followed in 1998 with Big Calm, making Fragments of
Freedom their third effort.
And, on the whole, it is a good CD. It features pop sounds (World
Looking In, Rome Wasn't Built in a Day), jazzy sounds (Love
is Rare) and Jamacian style calypso drums (Let it Go).
And those are just the first three songs.
Of course, it would be typical if the rest of the songs were mindless
disappointments, but they are not and each offers something a
little different.
Bug rating: 3/5
- Michael Gordon-Brown
Soulwax
Much Against Everyone's Advice
Festival
A Belgian rock group? It's an interesting concept –
athough there are probably millions of bands in Belgium, you just
don't really think of them making it big.
And if this band is any indication... then Belgium bands should
go ok.
Sorry to be indecisive, but the most conspicuous feature from
this album is its inconsistency. Some songs, such as Much Against
Everyone's Advice, are well paced and enjoyable to listen
to. Others, such as When Logics Die, are slow and boring.
Soulwax features brothers Stephen (vocals) and David (guitar)
Dewaele, Stefaan Van Leuven (bass), Stephane Misseghers (drums)
Inge Flipts (keyboards). Their sound could possibly be described
as rock, but too often they slow it to almost country music pace
– which is fine – if the music is country music, which
this isn't.
So Soulwax at present is suffering an identity crisis, and to
make the next step they need to firmly decide what band they will
be. Variety is good, but not just for the sake of it.
But Soulwax should not feel too bad. After all this is only their
second effort, so Belgium might be producing a few more bands
yet.
Bug rating: 2.5/5
-Michael Gordon-Brown