"Reissue! Repackage! Repackage!"

Billy Bragg - Reissue Promo



There are two sides to Billy Bragg:

There’s the politically aware, protest song singing, working class hero… and then there’s the boy who just wants to be loved.

Both sides of Bragg are well represented on this sampler from four of Billy’s earliest albums. No Wilco to be found here, this (for the most part) is just Bragg and his guitar churning out youthful 3-minute Costello-esque songs.

The songs about love are (of course) timeless with topics ranging from heartbreak (A New England) to unrequited love (The Saturday Boy) to being played (Only Bad Signs).

It also features a biting look at London’s club-land (Talking Wag Club Blues) that might have laid the groundwork for Elvis Costello’s “This is Hell.”

The political songs are surprisingly relevant despite being written in the Reagan/Thatcher era. Lyrics such as "you can fight for democracy at home and not in some foreign land" and "if you thought the army was here protecting people like yourself, I've some news for you, we're here to defend wealth", perhaps mean more today than they did in the 1980’s.

Politics aside, Billy Bragg knows his way around a melody. The best song on the album by far is 1986’s Greeting To The New Brunette. It features not only Johnny Marr’s layered musical landscape of guitar work, but also features the late great Kirsty MacColl on backing vocals.

The tale of a young, volatile couple remains (in my humble opinion), Billy Bragg’s finest piece of work in his 20+ year career.

Well there's a light and there's a hope..."

The Magic Numbers - Self Titled



The Magic Numbers are the 21st century’s answer to The Mama’s and The Papa’s, who met their demise when Mama Cass choked to death on a ham sandwich years ago.

Made up of two sets of siblings, The Magic Numbers are a ride down Highway One in a convertible on a late sixties summer’s day. Twangy guitars, breezy harmonies, and handclaps set the tone for the trip down Memory Lane.

Romeo Stodart’s vocals are folky in a Schoolhouse Rock kinda way, and you would think the band grew up in sunny California rather than the dreary old UK!

It’s a decent enough album, but there isn’t that ONE song… that “California Dreaming” to put them over the top.

The sunshiney Forever Lost comes close, but won’t make The Magic Numbers a household name. Other standouts include the “Let’s Get It On”-esque Love’s a game, the “Suffragette City” beats of Love Me Like You, and the tender I See You,You See Me, which showcases singer Angela Gannon’s sweet vocals (She’s a dead ringer for Brianna Corrigan!) up front and center.

The Magic Numbers aren’t your traditional pop band, “They’re a little bit country, they’re a little bit rock-n-roll…” they’re also a bit twee, a little soul and a whole lotta pop!

Expect great things from The Magic Numbers in the future… they WILL find their “California Dreaming!"

And when they do...

let’s hope they stay away from the ham sandwiches!

"Let's Have Some Fun Tonight..."

Saint Etienne - Tales From Turnpike House



Ahhh… the concept album. The one where a common thread ties it all together. Not easily done these days, but Saint Etienne proves it’s possible!

Tales from Turnpike House gives us insight into the day-to-day lives of ordinary people living in an outer London high-rise housing complex.

Musically, it’s a bit dance, a bit bossa nova, a bit Beach Boys… running the gamut of emotions one feels on a daily basis.
The original version released in the UK has the album beginning at sunrise and ending at bedtime… However, this U.S. version fucks up the order for some reason.

Nevertheless, the album is full of silvery sparkly gems we’ve come to expect from our beloved Saint Etienne.

Stars Above Us is light and airy and I’m suddenly dancing around the room in my jammies! The darker Lightning Strikes Twice continues the dance party as The Miss joins in… Dancing along to A Good Thing, you forget that breaking up is a bad thing!

Last orders For Gary Stead comes on… Time for a break… and a drink!

Chocotini’s are in order.

The party is winding down… turn down the lights as Dream Lover plays. Almost time for bed, but perhaps one more drink…

We sit in a candle lit room on our red couch sipping our velvety drinks and listening to the sweet harmonies of Side Streets Home and Sun In My Morning.

The candle goes out…

Happy Valentine’s Day.

"Love's Not Only Blind, But Deaf"

Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not



In a music world dominated by Joy Division wannabe’s, Talking Heads sound-a-likes, Coldplay copycats, and Robert Smith rip-offs, listening to Arctic Monkeys is like biting into a Peppermint Patty!

REFRESHING!

Not that Arctic Monkeys don’t have their influences as well… They sound like a Who’s Who of England’s past: Sex Pistols, Blur, The Clash, The Jam, Oasis, The Police, David Bowie, Franz Ferdinand, Shed Seven… the list goes on...

And then there are those influences we’d rather not accept, such as System of a Down and Queens of the Stone Age.

Heh. Well, we all have our faults.

Nevertheless, the debut album from these four Northern English lads rocks!

Raucous, garage-y, punky sing-a-longs dominate the album, (I bet you look good on the dancefloor, The View From Here) but the band show they have an ear for melody, (A Certain Romance, Mardy Bum) and surprising depth as well (Riot Van, When The Sun Goes Down).

What really makes Arctic Monkeys stand out however, are the lyrics. Singer Alex Turner admits to being a hip-hop fan, and the words spew out like machine gun bullets. The tales of life on the gritty streets of Northern England are insightful and real, with the wit of Morrissey and Jarvis Cocker thrown in for good measure.

Perhaps the best line of the album can be heard in Fake Tales of San Francisco when Turner sings about a crap band: “Yeah, but his bird thinks it amazing, though, so all that’s left is the proof, that love’s not only blind, but deaf!”

The album was recently voted by NME readers as one of the ten best English albums of all time… I wouldn’t go that far, but they certainly live up to the initial hype…

and you get the feeling that their best is still yet to come.

RIYL: Blur. The Sex Pistols, Oasis, Strokes, The Clash, The Jam, Franz Ferdinand, Shed Seven, The Police, David Bowie


(Reviewed for KSCU)

Turn Down The Lights... It's Time For Vacabou!

Vacabou - Self-Titled


This is the type of album you’d put on if you were hosting a dinner party, wanted to “appear” hip, and not have the music obstruct the flow of conversation.

Who am I kidding? This is the type of album you’d put on for a late afternoon love-making session!

Vacabou are a Franco-Spanish electronic duo who produce trip-hoppy ambient dreamy unobtrusive ear candy in the tradition of Portishead, Goldfrapp, and Broadcast.

They are commonly compared to Bjork which I find a bit of bollocks as Pascale Saravelli sounds nothing like Bjork! Her voice IS familiar, though I can’t quite put my finger on who… think Dominique from Ivy or AnneMarie from Northern Picture Library.

Juan Feliu’s arrangements are a mixture of trip-hop beats, ambient “noisies” and hollow guitar lines that, when mixed with Saravelli’s quiet melodies, become the soundtrack to your minds’ fantasy.

Can’t ask for much more than that.

Standout tracks include:
1. Meditation Park… “Wicked Game” meets “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
2. Russia In White… Evokes memories of a lonely, rainy morning after a previous nights’ break-up.
3. Life As Interference… (6:17) A bit long for radio, but you can get away with fading it up around the 4:45 mark. Harmonies are reminiscent of “Ride.” Best song on the album.
6. Blue Glass Highway… This semi-acoustic song sounds like "Everything But The Girl" doing “Walking Wounded” versions of “Eden” songs. Lovely.
7. Barunka Left… Very "Kings of Convenience" inspired. Could definitely hear "Erlend" singing this one.
8. Iceland… Fans of “Broadcast” will love this. Very moody and atmospheric.
9. Angel Of Night… Reminds me a bit of something "Pulp" would have put on “This Is Hardcore.” If length doesn’t matter (heh), this song is a go.

RIYL: Broadcast, Portishead, Goldfrapp, Bows, EBTG, Sing-Sing, Northern Picture Library, Nouvelle Vague, Ivy

(Reviewed for KSCU)

"I know the score, I've heard it all before..."

“There’s always someone, somewhere with a big nose who knows… and who trips you up and laughs when you fall. (S.P. Morrissey)

The problem with being compared to a band, is that you rarely live up to the comparison. The problem with emulating a band, is that you end up sounding like a cheap imitation. The problem with reviewing a band who is compared to and emulates bands you LOVE, is that you set your standards way too high.

Case in Point: Elizabeth Harper's self-titled album is compared to the Sundays and The Smiths… pretty big shoes to fill if you ask me! A better comparison would have been Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s doing a Morrissey impression of a Sundays song!

Seriously though… musically speaking there are some nice moments. The band have obviously studied at the “SMITHSonian” school of music. The music will take you back to the mellower moments of the Smiths ala “Reel Around The Fountain” (Low Tide) at times, whilst Ms. Harper does her best “ah-ha-ha” Morrissey imitation (Trouble In The Palace).

Other songs she whisps along softly like Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays (Rock Like a Baby, Clean Cut) but ends up sounding more like Joni Mitchell (Seawater Lullaby, Accidental Flirt) or Natalie Merchant (Turn Down Your Bed, Charles Bridge).

The more upbeat songs finds the whispiness suddenly disappear and Harper becomes Karen O/ Chrissie Hynde (same person?!) covering Smiths tunes complete with This Charming Man yipes! (Parlor Window, Don Juan)

It’s too bad really. The band are actually quite good, Elizabeth Harper just tends to over-sing a bit, instead of letting the music do its part.

You get the feeling that she is still finding her voice, and when/if she does find it, she might look back on this album with a mixture of pride and embarrassment… as if it were a childhood art project or something!