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LIVE
King Adora, The Zodiac 26th April. 4 Stars
King Adora gives us a prime example of the fickle nature of the music industry. Hyped to the high-heavens by the NME fucktards following their 2001 Vibrate You album, these Brummie glam-sleaze rockers have spectacularly falling from grace. In 2001 they were on NME Brat Pack tour, the launch pad for many a band, and now they?re playing to a less than full downstairs at the Zodiac.
So they might have lost all of their trendy ?fans? but King Adora seem to have a small group of hardcore fans who were obviously enjoying the chance to get right up close to their heroes. This was certainly the most animated I have ever seen the downstairs. The crowd engaged in a bit of friendly banter with the exceptionally charismatic frontman that they possess in Maxi. Think Justin Hawkins, with more of a Michael Monroe, dude looks like a lady, thang goin? on. He was also clearly on something, which makes him even more rock?n?roll.
Their set was tight and the show entertaining ? they should really be playing at a much higher level than this. I dunno whose dick they wouldn?t suck, but someone is obviously pissed at them and has quite successfully ruined their career. If they?re in town again go and see them ? more original, fun and downright dirtier than the Darkness.
Support came from youngsters This Town Needs More Guns and fellow students At Risk. Despite the really shit name, TTNMG were really very promising, mixing Placebo with Muse to great effect. However, their inexperience really showed as their singer/guitarist was constantly moving his head away from the mic thus vocals were regularly lost and the set did drag in the middle. However, they had the vital ingredient that was lacking with At Risk: tunes. They had memorable riffs and melodies and I feel that greater stage presence will come with more experience. At Risk ended their set with their best song, but up until then it had been a bit of a struggle. Their songs aren?t catchy and the incomparably beautiful Cat doesn?t have the kind of voice that can simply carry a tune. They are well rehearsed, seem at ease on stage, but do not have the material to work with. If they worked more on their songs I think they could be a decent band. Maybe they could give The Cure?s Rob Smith a call, see if he could help? He was on the new Blink 182 album, so he?s obviously got nothing better to do.
Michael Wayofplean
The Walkmen/The Stills Oxford Zodiac, 25th April 2004
Despite the unglamorous date of Sunday of 0th week, a sell-out crowd turned up to welcome The Walkmen and The Stills to the Zodiac, the mixture of old and young leading to an expectant atmosphere in which both of these stylish and energetic bands showed their respective capacities to both entertain and live up to expectations. First up were the Walkmen, a band whose New York roots seem to condemn them to comparisons with The Strokes and Interpol, but the reality is they?re nothing like either of them. Frontman Hamilton Leithauser contorted and distorted as he sang, screamed and down right yelled his words to the audience, drummer Matt Barrick crashed and pounded a beat behind him, whilst the rest of the band forcefully and vigorously provided the rhythm to Leithauser?s almost incidental lyrics. The sad thing is that for all their uniqueness and style, not to mention the energy they put into their performance, it is hard to see such an unconventional band prospering, and they may well develop into a love-them-or-hate-them cliché, but for the time being, it seems enough that this band enjoys what it?s doing, and isn?t prepared to change it?s style to bring themselves in line with their more famous home-town contemporaries, which in itself is something to admire. Hotly- tipped Montreal band The Stills then took to the stage, themselves another band to be unfairly branded with the ?post-Strokes? iron, and rounded off the evening superbly with their modish and classy sound, drawn from a range of influences along the lines of Echo and the Bunny Men or Joy Division. Marrying their adroit musical talents to an artistic visual display, the band neatly ran song into song as they enticed the crowd with catchy, serenading choruses followed by explosions of sound led by the guitars of Greg Paquet and Tim Fletcher. The set, although short, was essentially a run-through of their album Logic Will Break Your Heart, but whereas many bands lose something in a live show when they play familiar studio songs with a weary perfection, The Stills radiated an assured originality that brought a fresh slant to their songs, the overall impression being that of a band entirely confident in the ability of one another. ?We?ve only played four tracks, and already I know this is going to be our best night in England?, Fletcher told the appreciative crowd. That may well be, but on tonight?s evidence, there?s going to be plenty more of them to come.
Chris Wilson
SINGLES
Avril Lavigne - Don?t Tell Me 10th May
The cheap shot would be to say ?Don?t Tell Me? she?s back. As embarrassed as I should probably be to admit it though, I have to say while blatantly manufactured ?punk? Avril?s first album wasn?t actually that bad, with several fine pop singles. Anyone who hoped she?d throw off the record companies and establish herself as her own artist is in for a disappointment though. Unfortunately the cringe-worthy chorus (?He gave me a kiss/ It was something like this?) reveals there?s been absolutely no artistic development. It sounds like Britney Spears trying to be Alanis Morissette and ending up at Natalie Imbruglia.
Ben Saunders
B2K Badaboom 8th March
These prissy purveyors of rap-sploitation just don?t learn. Catchy and clever they may be, but they?re essentially the tiresome lovechild of MTV-inspired pop-py, excitement-lite sentiment with a pseudo-gangsta, semi-hip-hop producer of little note on the decks, and like the forsaken illegitimate wretch of many a Victorian novel, the filthy little urchin just refuses to leave its ashamed father ? proper hip-hop ? alone. Good try, boys, but B2Kind and fuck off back to the orphanage of superfluous pop-nincompoops.
Brian Melican
Wolfman feat. Peter Doherty ? For Lovers (Rough Trade) 12th April
Junkie, waster, with or without Carlos - call Peter Doherty what you will, but he reveals himself as a true soppy romantic with lyrics like ?we?ll talk while the sun goes down, watch the lovers leaving town? on top of edgy electric guitars and sparkling piano arrangements courtesy of fellow druggie pal Wolfman. The raw but lovelorn vocals of Doherty make this an epic and the Good Ship Albion sails on course, for a chart hit is surely on the horizon.
?Back From the Dead? the B-side features the musical talent of Pete?s better half on guitar (Carlos) producing a more standard downbeat indie track. Not quite the housewife?s favourite like ?For Lovers? but the verdict is certainly good on both fronts.
Tarah Nawaz. ***** (5 star rating)
Aqualung ? Easier to lie 15th March
Aqualung have truly cornered the market in pleasant, if not bland music. ?Easier to lie? is skilfully mediocre and expertly average, perfect then for elevators and shopping centres across the country. At times it is reminiscent of Badly Drawn Boy, with an uplifting and energetic chorus. Ultimately however, it is unexceptional, similar in style to Travis and Athlete, not un-likeable but forgettable.
Kieran Coleman
Busted: Air Hostess (EMI) 26th April
?The cabin pressure?s rising/my coke has got no ice in?. Whoever wrote that line deserves to undergo eternal torment in hell. Everyone knows brainless teenyboppers love repetitive, vacuous quasi-songs that rhyme, especially if they?re about absolutely nothing: Busted exploit that fact to make money. Air Hostess is a prime example ? it has no soul, it is evil. Children listen to this utter tripe and think its rock. I feel dirty just having heard it. Deeply, personally, offensive.
James Strong
ALBUMS
The Rasmus: Dead Letters 22nd March
The Rasmus, ?Helsinki?s premier nu-metal outfit?? to be honest I didn?t expect too much. This is a truly abysmal record that encapsulates every rock cliché ever conceived, fuses it with the worst sort of European metal and throws in enough angst to make Linkin Park look like happy, well-adjusted members of society.
I am at odds to suggest a bigger mish-mash of musical genres in one album. Diversity in this case is not a virtue as every one, with the possible exception of cheese, is executed with such dire consequences. A band apparently devoid of any sense of identity, they have borrowed from a vast array of musical styles and created a monster that quite simply must be stopped before it goes any further. ?In my life? starts promisingly with a Rage against the Machine-esque intro, before making a painful progression, mid-song, into a cheese ridden chorus of which Savage Garden would be proud. The possible highlight, although admittedly from a comedy point of view, is the song surely perfect for a certain Mr Gates? next cover version, ?F-F-F-Falling?. A less than perfect grasp of the English language is in fact a major stumbling point throughout, providing a host of priceless lyrics. Is anyone else out there ?haunted to be wanted??
This of course brings us to the band?s flagship song, ?In the shadows?, a track needing no introduction. This annoyingly catchy rock pomp is single-handedly responsible for unleashing The Rasmus to a nation simply not ready for the sophisticated tones of Europe?s finest exponents of alternative music. Dead Letters is a most bemusing collection of songs, but final track ?Funeral Song? simply must be heard to be believed. In a frankly baffling decision the band ends with an audacious attempt to resurrect the power ballad. Think Nickelback meets Celine Dion, with strings. Frightening!
I have no doubt that the Rasmus? fifteen minutes of fame will culminate in reasonable record sales, a few high profile shows and a short lived cult status amongst our many legions of mini-moshers. When something is this bad it almost comes full circle and becomes virtually listenable, although I must stress ?almost?. It would be laughable if not for the fact that the band themselves, and seemingly a large percentage of their native Finland, take it so seriously. Maybe it?s a European thing but how a band can be more outlandish than The Darkness at the spandex clad best and not see the irony is beyond me. A travesty from start to Finnish!
Will Unsworth
6th May 2004