Titan, Elevator
Name a Mexican band. Betcha can't. It's a task on a difficulty par with naming five famous Belgians (members of dEUS excluded). Which makes it all the more remarkable that the instantly lovable Elevator has reached our shores. Because not only are Titan from Mexico, they're a Latino dance collective who sound like, among others, the Chemical Brothers (the beats) and the Beastie Boys (everything else). On top of all this, they're actually good. Great, even....
Music: Bon Jovi: Crush
What a lazy bastard! Jonny Boy has had three full years after his last supremely mediocre, critically shat upon album, to prepare his latest Crush. You'd think he'd put some effort into it, but noooo, Mr Lazy-socks thought he'd rehash some lame ass, unoriginal late 80's soft-rock. What, did you think that we wouldn't notice that all you did was replace a few words and chords from your last albums with some more of your easy-listening crap? I bet you threw the whole thing together the night before you were meant to hand it in to the producer guy. You had three years you lazy, lazy man! I can't emphasise how lazy and crap you are!! (Calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean... and relax)....
Music: VariousArtists
The unstoppable rise of nu-metal has been one of the more perplexing musical trends of recent years. Where once impressionable fifteen-year-old girls were fawning over harmless (mostly gay) members of boy bands, now they lust after proboscis-face from Slipknot and plaster their walls with posters of bands such as Incubus and Full Devil Jacket (!) As long as it keeps the kids away from Feeder and Stereophonics, this is a good thing. The downside, however, is a resurgence in those awful purple tie-dye shirts and an abundance of sweaty men screaming about... well, it's hard to tell - they're screaming, you see....
Music: Belle and Sebastian
Everyone's favourite purveyors of melodic rock are back with their fourth, and possibly most fully-realised, album. If The Boy With The Arab Strap was their weakest album, despite several excellent tracks, Fold Your Hands Child... gives little to whinge about.
Music: Badly Drawn Boy
At this point in the new Millennium, with not much of cosmic import having happened, maybe the time is right for an album of quasi-mystical jazz-folk-pop written, recorded and produced by an obnoxious Mancunian called Damon. Badly Drawn Boy (easily the best moniker in showbiz, anywhere, ever) has resisted the slide into Beta Band-style perversion and has actually given us an album to love. Seriously: this is good shit....