Albums

"Is it real, son? Is it really real, son?" asked Method Man back in 1994, the implication being that if it ain't real, it ain't worth shit. Well, interesting theory, with just one fundamental flaw - it's a load of bullshit. Ugly Duckling are three geeky looking white guys, they worship the 'Dookie gold rope' - a piece of jewellery that they claim is a hip-hop artefact but is in fact made of plastic, and they namecheck Cardiff on their B-sides. They're about as 'unreal' as it is possible to be. And yet they've just released the hip-hop album of the year so far. So you see the problem right there. ...

Music: Singles

So 'quiet is the new loud' then? Some people clearly have no idea of trends or fashion though, because we have here two snippets of pure noise. Unfortunately though, just because it's loud doesn't actually mean that it's any good.

Music: Interview

Let's get one thing straight before we start. Zero 7 do not sound like Air. Okay, so they sound a bit like Air at certain points, but that's it. The comparison certainly doesn't justify the extensive media hype it's earned them. If you're going to make lazy comparisons, you could as likely use the strings and suave vocal of 'I Have Seen', the opening track of their excellent debut album Simple Things, to compare them to the Divine Comedy. Perhaps that's just me, but it's no more absurd than the Air comparisons at certain points. Despite all this, it was still a nice irony when I called the band's management's offices for the interview and was put on hold with the familiar sound of Air to listen to while I waited. The irony increased further when I realised that I was actually listening to a track from Simple Things. ...

Music: Live

I'll come clean, I'm not a big fan of thrash. But Napalm Death are CLASSIC thrash, and so I decided to give it a go anyway. When I arrived at the Zodiac I was confronted by a large number of long-haired bedenimed men in their early forties. Jesus, thought I, I'm not going to mosh. These people were the passed masters of killing innocent people in a pogoing frenzy. So I quietly sloped off to the bar and hid in a corner with my pint of Foster's....