Music
The innovative fusion of classic bass, funky ska and a crisp beat proves to be a successful formula for 'Trick Me', getting Kelis' third release off to a promising start, followed by the track that looks set to re-launch her career following the flop that was Wanderland. Storming into this week's singles chart at #3, the simple yet effective synthesised riff and bitchy chorus make 'Milkshake' a contagious and quirky anthem.
With the likes of The Neptunes and Grammy Award-winning Raphael Saadiq in the producer credits, flawless production is evident throughout the album. However, it's perhaps all a bit too artificial at times, with tacky repetitive effects in 'Keep It Down', where snare-heavy rock contrasts with lighter acoustic choruses. Her fiancé Nas also lends a hand with 'In Public', a simple track where mediocre verses are made up by the fairly uplifting chorus. After this, Pharrell Williams' contribution in 'Flashback' is instantly recognisable, with the strings backing, high pitched shorts and pausing reminiscent to his hit 'Frontin''. The punchier 'Protect my Heart' makes a refreshing change, though the cheesy lyrics and harmonies are not quite her style. Further experimentation in Millionaire introduces a fresh genre, though Kelis' sultry vocals add little to the track, dominated by André 3000's unique vocal and musical style. Moving back into more familiar territory with 'Glow' however gives a feeling of same old, same old, with unimaginative lyrics such as 'one plus two just equals three'. The quality of 'Sugar Honey Ice Tea' is far from what its acronym suggests, being a feel-good soulful tune, though the following track 'Attention' deserves no special treatment, providing more of the same. 'Rolling Through the Hood' suggests that for Kelis to stand out, a basic melody accompanied by a heavy beat should be adopted rather than the heavy over-layering evident elsewhere. It sounds like a cheap Casio keyboard accompanying her in the chorus, however.
The album's highlight is 'Stick Up', a darker masterpiece with a tight beat and infectious chorus melody ('Put your hands up in the air, it's a stick up'). The mysterious atmosphere continues with the final track 'Marathon', where dual vocals work well, though the crescendo finale to the album is perhaps overdone.
"I'm going to give you some things to taste, and you tell me what you think, OK?" Kelis asks in the intro to Tasty. Well, whilst the production's on top form and there's an impressive line-up of guests, she appears unsure which direction to take things. That's not necessarily a problem though, as Harlem's finest need not stick to the overplayed mainstream hip hop scene.
This should be dire. This should be the most painful audio experience known to man. It is quite a shock when it turns out to be one of the best party records ever. At times it transcends taste, playing the Dallas and Dynasty theme tunes side by side, mixing Betty Boo's 'Dooing The Doo' into 'The Final Countdown'. As if he wants to prove how tasteless this CD is, Timmy Mallett AND Pat Sharp make cameos. I thought Pat Sharp had died.
But its insanely loveable; it certainly helps that this particular decade is currently fashionable. The obvious cheesey bits are there, but there's also a sense of humour and slabs of classic, early hip-hop. 'The Message', 'White Lines' and 'The Rockit' are all there, and they succeed in being the more memorable moments on the album. In fact, DJ Yoda sometimes appears to be trying to rewrite accepted musical history. Its not quite the decade we remember (or, perhaps, are instructed to remember by various 'I Love...' programs) - there's quite a few relatively obscure choices but these tend to be the gems.
Sadly, it doesn't compare with some of the 2 Many DJs efforts, although this would be a result of limiting the selection to about one hour of music from one particular decade, and the mixing is often quite brutal. But for a party record, it doesn't go too far wrong.
God almighty, I hate The Darkness. Why do the British public have such a morbid desire for 'novelty' things? Why does everyone in this country insist upon glorifying cheap one-shot jokes, and doggedly refuse to let go of them until they are years past their sell by date? More specifically, why are we allowing ourselves to be beguiled by a bunch of craggy middle-aged ironists who have long outstayed their 15 minutes? The real indignity is the release of a Christmas single, tapping into the inexplicable vein of awfulness that underpins the British psyche. Powered by the same force that keep Pantomimes and DFS adverts in ready circulation, with the release of 'Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)', the band reveal their true colours as utter imbeciles. They get a knob joke into a Christmas song, marking the exact point at which our culture finally eats itself. TM
Irony? Who really cares about irony when the songs are as good as 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love'? At least the Darkness know what a tune sounds like. If we all stop thinking of them as the Saviours Of Rock, or some similar nonsense, and see them as heirs to Queen's crown, then they'll appear a lot less silly. It is just pop music, very good pop music, but played by people with complete collections of AC/DC and Thin Lizzy vinyl. The joke might be wear a bit thin and they are certainly a guilty pleasure but, in Permission To Land, they had more potential hit singles than some bands write in a career. And why should it matter so much if its retro or a pastiche? Bands like Jet and The Kings Of Leon are just as unoriginal but copy from less maligned decades and genres. All that really matters is if the songs are good. With The Darkness, they usually are. RE
Was it Britney Spears who once declared 'I love rock and roll'? Yes, it was. And well she might, 'cos it's a lot of fun. Where better, then, tomake like Ms Spears and tuck into a bit of old school musical action? This term, it would seem, pretty much anywhere but Oxford.
First up, on the 14th, are cheeky cosmic scallies, The Zutons. They sound an awful lot like The Coral, which is all that can really be said for them. Not bad, as it goes, but hardly life changing, if we are to be brutally honest. Local boys made (marginally) good, Goldrush make an appearance on Saturday 17th. They once got a half page feature in the NME. They make well-crafted jangle-pop ditties. They set up local music festival, Truckfest.
Drumroll please... on Friday 23rd, arrive titans of rock, colossae of tunefullness and sultans of average mid-nineties forgetable Britpop Gene, bringing light to your lives with their superannuated pipe 'n' slippers music. They have fans - a friend of the editors jeopardised his career in fast food for this band. Have you heard of Brand New, Carina Round, Matchbook Romance or Jackson? No, we haven't either. The last lot feature the Foo Fighters' guitarist, if you still care. Who knows, all three of them could be really good...The next day sees a rearranged gig, and Ginger from the Wildhearts playing a solo gig. This could be a very special gig, with Ginger playing a selection of songs from what is a huge back catalogue, containing some classic songs.
Februrary, I am overjoyed to say, is slightly more promising. The Zodiac have coaxed style magazine darlings The Rapture into town on the first. They are the ultimate style over substance band, and they have managed to seduce every trendy mag in town. Rubbish on record, but actually quite good for a boogie. If angular sax-infused post-punk-funk-house is not your cup of tea, then I suggest you get down to a little bit of Swedish death metal action with Entombed, who are on downstairs on the same night. As talented as they are undoubtedly easy on the eye, these cheerful chaps could be just the thing to chase those mid-winter blues away. Or leave you deaf for a few days.
Tuesday the third brings another mighty double-header. The Webb Brothers, fresh from supporting The Darkness, are upstairs. They have a famous dad and sound a bit retro. Almost like that one from The Strokes. Meanwhile dowanstairs are The Open, lukewarm tips for 2004. Then, we hit paydirt on the 5th. Spiritualised and The Raveonettes on the same day at the same gig! Anyway, they're both highly thought of, and make some quite beguilling drone rock. The former are certainly the most famous band to visit our fair city this term. Rob saw what was meant to be their last ever gig, and now feels a bit cheated. On the 7th, Seattle indie/emo crossover dudes Death Cab For Cutie rock up. Though your humble correspondent knows little of their oeuvre, they come highly recommened to him, and thus he suggests you go. Gentle songs about girls sung by earnest young men - the very spice of life.
Scissor Sisters are the flavour of the moment. Let's hope they don't go stale by the tenth of next month. In a word, camp. In several: naff, voguish disco purveyed by a couple of ropey queens in feather boas. God only knows why everyone from The Face to Ceefax have been lapping them up recently. There's the chance of a real Valentine's Day treat with Winnebago Deal. Expect guitars, drums and screaming. Beats a rose any day of the week.
Happy New Year to you all and happy New Year to Mr Janácek! He's 150 this year and to give him a bit of respect, I've decided to act upon several suggestions and review Oxford's most recently released disc. Janácek had a strong relationship with the choral tradition. So this disc is much welcomed considering its rare programme (except, possibly, the opening piece, Otcenás (The Lord's Prayer)). The Elegie 'on the death of daughter Olga', the only secular track sung - with the knowledge that Olga is indeed Janácek's own daughter coupled with the piano accompaniment - is very moving. The Ave Maria and Veni Sancte Spiritus also stand out, sung by the men of the choir. (There's a charming bass duet in the Ave Maria with the gorgeuous bartone, Michael Davis.) The most conventional piece, Exaudi Deus - at only 1.5 mins - is still my favourite track: the balance and tuning are accurate, making the loveliest sound in ascending phrases.
However, as much as I would like to tell you how great the rest of the performance is, I'm afraid in reality, it's mostly very disappointing. Or, rather, frustrating. I say this because, firstly, the choir have been poorly recorded: the mics have been attractively distanced, but because, for one, there are not enough of them, the balance isn't great and the building can occasionally interfere. The mediocre balance isn't only a result of poor production. The direction lacks discipline and tends to allow for certain - often vulgar and/or out of tune - sounds to distract one from fully enjoying the performance: this is full of insensitivity and over-singing from particular voices. If only the culprits had been informed of such setbacks. Secondly, the tenor and violin soloists could've been far better. Why on earth the choir's own tenor, Adrian Lowe, did not do this - when he had already recorded it for the BBC weeks before - is only a mystery. His singing of Otcenás for Radio 3 felt more at ease with Janácek: he was responsive and full of musicianship, and the top register - especially - was full of colour, tone and precision, qualities which Andrew Carwood doesn't always display here. Critics would have paid far more attention to this recording if Adrian had sung: they always like new blood when it's good. Andrew's singing isn't all that bad, though. Zdrávas Maria is strong and meaningful. Finally, another reason for the disc's poor start is the inadequate presentation. It's as though some chap on his computer has simply thrown together a design without any consideration for what will actually persuade browsers to buy this.
At the end of the day, it's not the appearance, but the music that matters, and this is why I would be happy to have this on my shelf. The repertoire is, as I say, very pleasing. Driskill-Smith's keyboard skills are fantastic and Vicky Davis plays with phenomenal musicianship. One just wishes that if there was a bit more fine-tuning, tidying up, linguistic articulation and general musical discipline during the sessions, this could have been worthy of real praise.
15th Jan 2004