 DEAD ROCK, DEAD SQUIRRELS... AND NEW ALBUMS
The editor of dance music monthly Mixmag has just announced that indie rock is dead, "the music for cat-food commercials", and that dance is, thus, once again where it's at. Apart from being a somewhat self-serving analysis, his comments also struck me as being both one-sided and a little bit simplistic. For what is dance music now if not the soundtrack of a million trainer, chewing gum and chat-line commercials? Virtually every school, college and uni in the land have evening classes - or even mainstream courses - in rap and electronic dance.
Besides all that, it doesn't have to be either/or situation anyway. There can be a flow of quality music in more than one genre at any one time. As I believe the albums below demonstrate.
THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS The Age of The Understatement (Domino)
As I suspect many of us now know, the Last Shadow Puppets are Arctic Monkey star Alex Turner and Miles Kane of the lesser-known Rascals. This, their debut album, finds the indie boys deep in Scott Walker territory circa 1967. With the exception of the odd edgy ballad, most tracks therefore sound like variations on Walker's 'Jackie' - i.e. they tear along at the kind of horse-on-speed pace that drummers love while strings glide and, over it all, the mop-top duo blare out cynical 'street romantic' lyrics (the latter usually torn between hope and sad nostalgia for the fun that a person, or city, once represented - "Burglary and fireworks, the skies they were alight!"). Energetic and, at times, exciting, 'The Age of Understatement' does have a style of its own even as, perversely, it demonstrates that the appeal of the mid-to-late Sixties remains undiminished. Comes complete with the 22 piece London Metropolitan Orchestra and a black & white cover featuring a leggy blonde pouting through her fringe. It also suggests that Turner is going to be a lyricist to watch for a long time yet. 'On your toes, Nagels, the new Nanker Phlege is here...'
**** Four stars
JAMES HUNTER The Hard Way (Go)
His last album - 'People Gonna Talk', also Sixties-influenced - made Hunter's name and led to sizeable sales as well as critical acclaim and a Grammy-nomination. Even Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin took notice (and approved). This follow-up still has JH sounding like a blue-eyed cross between Sam Cooke and an Impressions-era Curtis Mayfield, still has him in a dark suit, still has him working the bluesy pop soul groove...but what's actually wrong with that? Pleasantly tuneful and with memorably dry vocals, 'The Hard Way' really makes it all sound quite snappy and effortless. Maybe too effortless because some skeptics are bound to call it a pastiche. In fact, some blood, sweat and tears has gone in here, it's just that our James is too much of a modernist to ever let that show. Not all the songs stick around long but a class set all the same. A hard way that's easy on the ears.
*** Three stars
THE FALL Imperial Wax Solvent (Sanctuary/Universal)
Mark E. Smith has long been Manchester's answer to John Lydon - a snarling curmudgeon who's most recent brush with the tabloids had the animal rights lobby up in arms (Smith seemingly boasting about using his hedge clippers to execute two red squirrels before claiming a desire to run over seagulls - I'm not making this up ...) 'Imperial Wax Solvent' is the latest of the dozens of albums he's cut since 1977 with an ever-changing line-up of the talented and thick-skinned. It is a bizarre smorgasbord of twanging guitars, rambling jazz jams, James Osterburg phrasings and indie-punk-rush. Although it's like being locked in a drunken DJ's nightmare, 'IWS' is never, ever boring.
*** Three stars |
