BLIND JACKSON
Where Did You Sleep Last Night? (Deadskool; CD)
     Some things can really send your social life down the toilet.     They can also completely scupper your ability to write timely reviews.     One of these things would be attempting to do a 3 year law degree in 9 months, and I can only apologise to Blind Jackson for letting such an insane activity delay my assessment of a single they released many months ago.     However, it's still worth doing as this one completes a hat-trick of top-notch releases. ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night?' is an insanely catchy singalong, punctuated with Stylophone-type keyboard.     Nobody ever made rabid jealousy sound so jaunty before.     ‘Trouble With Money' (which I'd describe as the B-side if CD singles technically had them) is a stomper complete with a cracking bass guitar break that for some reason brings to mind prime 10CC (‘Good Morning Judge' and ‘Silly Love' era). It's the instantly recognisable vocals that differentiate BJ (ooh-err!) from the rest of the crowd – think Tomas Antona of Alice Donut but blokier. The band have been gigging pretty consistently in the UK.     If only I had time to go see them play again. Or anyone for that matter. Sigh.
www.blindjackson.com
Jane Farrell

THE BOSS MARTIANS
The Set-Up (Screaming Apple; LP)
     Last time I noticed, The Boss Martians dressed like preppies and played pure instro music. Recently they have been criticised in some quarters for venturing beyond the narrow confines of the instro/surf band circle. Others have heaped praises on them in their new incarnation as a pop band.
     The first view is harsh and the latter premature. I can't blame ‘em for wanting to reach a wider audience. We can quickly dismiss the cynics who suggest     the Martians have abandoned their first love for     a good career move.     Few bands get rich and famous playing a brand of power pop based on late 70's US pop / new wave, ‘Bomp' bands, the likes of Paul Collins' Beat and early Elvis Costello when he was good.
     This LP has a lot going for it. The songs are mostly powerful, driving affairs that move at a rare old pace and would clearly get a live audience on their feet. For example, side two kicks off at a pace with Never Let It Happen Again, and powers through four rocking tunes without let up until the slower Vows, but even this tune has huge slabs of guitar and Hammond. Nick C's Hammond and Vox Jaguar organ sound is a real asset that fleshes out the basic sound, giving it more individuality than many solely guitar – based bands. The overall impression is that the songs have sufficient clout to wow a live audience, but lack the killer hooks to propel them into the major league of timeless power pop.
www.screaming-apple.de
Phil Suggitt

BRONCO BULLFROG
Oak Apple Day (Rock Indiana; CD)
     Like a bottle of fine wine, these London gents keep getting better with age, as their fourth album, Oak Apple Day, would attest. The band boasts three ready, willing, and able tunesmiths in Andy Morten, Louis Wiggett and Michael Poulson, and their songwriting, which had lacked a bit of cohesiveness on earlier efforts, is as tight as a drum here. Try to picture The Monkees playing cricket with The Byrds, with Teenage Fanclub waiting to play the winner and that will effectively describe Oak Apple Day. It's filled with classic pop songs with liberal doses of jangle, harmony, Michael Poulson's candy-coated (in a good way) vocals and the kind of good feelin' that harkens back to the American Top 40 as it was in the early ‘70s.     Songs like ‘I Don't Need The Sunshine', ‘Wrong Things Right' and ‘I Got The Rain' are bright, happy, and full of optimism, which is something we could all use plenty of these days. ‘Mock Orange Innocence' is a nice hybrid of power pop and psychedelia and should be considered a classic of the genre.     ‘New Day Way' builds on a sort of ‘Michael Rowed The Boat Ashore' melody line and adds warmth and harmony. ‘You're My Head' is a bit like Rare Earth meets Raspberries and features some amphetamine-fuelled drumming by Morten while Morten lends some fine lead vocal chops on the album's closing cut, the touching, alt-country ballad, ‘Litmus Paper Suit'.
     Congratulations lads, you've really done it this time!
www.rockindiana.biz
David Bash

COOL JERKS
Wir Beaten Mehr (Soundflat; CD)
     Lutz, who runs the excellent Soundflat mail order, is a member of the Cool Jerks. I can't tell much more, as the sleeve notes are in German and there are no song credits.
     I can appreciate The Cool Jerks decision to sing only in German. Singing in their native tongue makes a positive statement about the value of multi – cultural music. Unfortunately the downside is that most bands want to reach as wide an audience as possible, and the German vocals severely limit their international audience.
     Language aside, this is an inconsistent, erratic collection. Some of the songs, such as ‘Vorbye Und Schloss' and ‘Junge Junge' are pedestrian rock tunes with elements of punk and garage. The rock trio format doesn't leave scope for much imaginative playing. Of the three instrumentals, ‘Das Habblut Apanatschi' is quite good, yet ‘Tower Twist' and ‘November Madchen 89' start well but don't really go anywhere.
     I can't work out why they include a faithful German language version of ‘I'll Be There For You' (‘Ich Bin Da Fur Dich') as it's one of the most recognisable tunes in the western world.     Perhaps they have substituted lewd and lascivious new lyrics?     – I don't know any German!
     The better songs include an organ and backing vocals to flesh out the basic three piece sound. More in this style please.
www.soundflat.de
Phil Suggitt

COME ON
Come On: New York City 1976-80 (Heliocentric; CD)
     OK, it can't be avoided, so without further ado, let's chuck in the usual reference: Talking Heads.     There's no escaping how much Come On sounded like Byrne and co., though whether they were ripping off a local up-and-coming bunch of contemporaries or it was all a big coincidence is unclear.     The band aren't completely obscure, ‘Disneyland' having been included on legendary ROIR compilation The Great New York Singles Scene, whilst guitarist George Elliot has the huge kudos (in this reviewer's book) of subsequent collaborations with the late and very great Klaus Nomi.     But failing to include any biographical details amongst the wad of photos and lyrics in the thick CD booklet seems a surprising omission for this anthology of a basically unrecognised band's work.     Personally I think Come On have the edge on the critically fetishised Rhode Island lot, largely due to their utterly mad lyrics.     Who wants to hear ‘Psycho Killer' when you can hear CO inciting pensioners to riot in ‘Old People', or indulging in the uneasy (and possibly illegal) sexual reveries of ‘Housewives Play Tennis' and ‘I'm Five'?     One question though: why is this type of music always described as “angular”?    
www.heliocd.com
Jane Farrell

E T DOOLIN
S/T (Merry; CD)
     Apparently E T Doolin used to be in a heavy progressive band! Happily you would never guess from listening to this album, which is full of simple, melodic tunes. There is a straightforward, uncluttered feel to the backing, eschewing frills or studio gimmicks. The vocals are strong and figure prominently in the mix. E.T. (Proper name never revealed) made the album with his pal Aaron, and it isn't clear if they sing harmonies or if ET double tracks his own voice.
     There is a happy, good-time vibe throughout. Even on the mournful tunes ET doesn't sound if his heart has been broken forever.
www.merryrecords.com
Phil Suggitt

EVERGREEN HILL
Evergreen Hill 2 (Gzonk; CD)
     Well, much like The Foxx (see elsewhere this month), there's a bit of a split in the music on Evergreen Hill's second album.     Nine of the songs are, as they correctly describe it, “soft/retro rock”.     Actually, let's be even more specific: they have a sound very close to the songs Christine McVie contributed to 1970s/80s-era Fleetwood Mac, overlain with some poppier psych influences (‘Seesaw People') and country (‘Goin' Home').     But the two remaining tracks dodge wildly off this beaten path into somewhat Tom-Tom Club (‘Weird Sex') and Frank Zappa (‘Hooky Little Nooky') territory.     Given that the band comprises an aunt and uncle and their nephew, perhaps these songs were the nipper's contribution.     Or more likely it's just a reflection of Tim and Sue Montgomery's admirably laidback attitude to what they reckon is a “pretty bogus” music industry, as exemplified by their statement “you can make a copy of this CD if anybody you know wants one”.     That's the spirit!     Apart from ‘Never Apart From You', which strays too far into anodyne modern AOR, it's tuneful and very pleasant stuff which Shindiggers into the Californian folky pop end of things might well enjoy.    
montgomery224@msn.com
Betty Chienne

THE FLASHCUBES
Brilliant! (Screaming Apple; LP)
     The back sleeve shows an onstage photo of four middle aged guys. In a flash (ouch!) I remembered Christi Girl, a fine jangly pop tune on Bomp's Waves compilation from the late 70's. This had to be the same band. A quick check of the bands detailed web site confirmed this.
     The first incarnation of the ‘Cubes flashed brightly but briefly, but the light went out before they were able to develop or be exposed on a major label. (Cringe – sorry guys!) In other words the band formed in '77, fans of punk rock and the bands who were later to be called power pop, especially The Raspberries. Despite being a good local draw they never released an LP, and faded away in the summer of 1980. Their mistake was to mistakenly believe they could make it on the pop front if they ditched the punk influences of English born guitarist Paul Armstrong. Happily the band reunited for sporadic reunion shows in the 90's, and have undergone a renaissance in the past couple of years. Having toured Japan they recorded a bunch of new songs after a gap of over 20 years.
     It's a shame that the sleeve doesn't even give the song writing credits, because it is clear that the contrast of Armstrong's raunchier approach and the poppier songs of guitarist Steve Lenin and bassist Gary Frenay give the LP balance and variety.     The harmonies are good throughout, particularly on ‘Natalie', a jangly ballad, and the excellent chorus of ‘When We Close Our Eyes'. ‘Catherine' is terrific – although self penned, it sounds like The Byrds covering a Dylan tune.
     The LP opens with a solid cover of The Hot Rods' classic ‘Do Anything You Wanna Do'. It is an odd choice to kick off your first proper album in 25 years with such a well known cover, however.     ‘Pathetic' is the best of the tougher songs. My only reservation is that one or two mediocre cuts are included, such as ‘Stalk',but I'll forgive them the occasional lows for highs like ‘Catherine'.
www.screaming-apple.de
Phil Suggitt

THE HEATSEEKERS
In Praise Of (Ohev; CD)
     After a hard day genre-wrangling for Shindig!, what I really want, no, what I really need is straight down the line rawk from a band that have had the superb good sense to nick their name from an AC/DC song.     Florida's Heatseekers combine the melodic tendencies of The Ramones with the aggression of The Devil Dogs and the thrashy rama-lama of The New Bomb Turks.     10 songs in 22 minutes and there is no note, beat or syllable on this album that is in any way extraneous or less than wonderful.     If you don't buy this album forthwith, then you, sir or madam, are one crazy foo'.
www.heatseekers.org
www.ohevrecords.com
Jane Farrell

THE IDLE WILDS
Unheard (Kool Kat CD)
     This is GUITAR pop, in the sense that most songs have prominent “big guitar” parts, played with verve. Vocalist and songwriter David Gray plays rhythm, with Adam McClaughlin, Paul Denyon or John Shatz playing lead. The emphasis on guitars doesn't mean The Idle Wilds sound like Weezer, or any number of mediocre punky-pop bands where the tunes are buried, struggling to be heard beneath a wall of sound. For The Idlewilds the song is the main thing, and the guitars are its servants not its executioners. They drive the songs along and the opener, ‘Tender Distance' is a case in point.     Sometimes a bands' first unrecorded demos are raw and unsophisticated, but this song has the urgency and tunefulness of a band that really meant business.
     Usually you have to be a devoted fan to need a collection of rare and previously demos, but this CD doesn't sound at all like a bunch of out-takes. The songs are taken from the band's four year life span, 1992-1996, but they sound like an album.
     Some of them are good rather than great, but there are some fine songs here, which make you wonder why they stayed in the can for over eight years.
www.koolkatmusik.com
Phil Suggitt

THE JELLYBRICKS
Power This (Kool Kat; CD)
     The Jellybricks have been around a while on the power pop scene; this is their third CD in an eight year existence. The experience of a lot of live gigs shows through on this CD. The songs sound like they've been honed on stage, rather than being studio creations. All four of the band are involved in the song writing, and this is a consistent band effort.
     The two guitar / vocalists, Larry Kennedy and Bryce Connor, vary their approach so that the sound is never one-dimensional. I'm not sure who plays the jangly acoustic/electric rhythm parts and who does the soaring electric leads, but they are is particularly effective on songs like ‘Can't Be Wrong'and‘Easy For You'.
     Songs like ‘Takes Too Long' have hooks aplenty and fine background vocals, just like good power pop should. The vocal sound reminds me of The Candyskins, a great English pop band of the early ‘90s.     In addition the lyrics are not the usual “moon in june” stuff. Whilst they are not up there with great poetry, songs like ‘All Fired Up' and ‘Over Now' offer literate, left – field approaches to the usual boy-girl scenarios. Sometimes it doesn't do songs justice to quote favourite lines, (“She throws her arms around my empty shell of nothing”) you have to hear the whole thing.
     Essentially this is a “grower”; good on first hearing, but catchier with every play. It is misleading to highlight individual songs, because they are consistently decent. Give them a chance.
www.koolkatmusik.com
Phil Suggitt

MAPLE MARS
Circular Haze (Kool Kat; CD)
     Rick Hromecka is clearly a man of many talents. In essence Maple Mars is Rick plus a rhythm section. He wrote all the songs, did the vocals, guitars and keyboards, produced, mixed and mastered this record. Oh, and he did the sleeve art design too. (And any cover that includes Avebury stone circle, one of my favourite places in England, deserves a special mention.)
     The promo sheet for this CD describes Maple Mars sound as “a dash of Cheap Trick, a sprinkle of ELO, some Jellyfish on the side, and a big dollop of the Beatles”.      On this release I don't hear many specific Fab Four references, but main Maple Rick Hromecka is certainly a fan of the three other bands. The problem with this is that I always found it hard to take those bands in anything but small doses. In common with ELO and Jellyfish the standard of musicianship is very high, the production is highly professional and the vocal parts are well crafted.
     Unfortunately the songs don't quite make it. The opener, ‘The Beginning', is a case in point. At 5:19 it is overlong. The songs contain a lot of different passages, but none of them really stick in my head. There is a slick studio sheen, but the use of studio effects and gimmickry can be annoying. Similarly the heavier guitar sound can be off putting. At best some of the songs are pleasant, but lack the individuality and personality to really make me want to come back to them.
www.koolkatmusik.com
Phil Suggitt

OCTOPUS SYNG
Beyond The Karmadelic Coldness, There's The Lovedelic Warmth (Horus; CD)
     As I noted in a review last month, I'm not a big fan of the lone muso approach to recording (one or even two people playing all the instruments). Octopus Syng (aka ‘Jaire') however, might just prove the exception. For a start, the layering of the instrumentation sounds well integrated, plus the songs themselves are good. One of the pitfalls of the lone muso is that they can seldom sing very well even if they are more than competent instrumentally and there lack of vocal chops often lets the music down. Octopus Syng may not have the best voice in the world either, but he is at least clearly aware of his limitations and makes the very best of them.
     The eleven track CD opens with a delightful four minute, sitar drenched ‘We Could Be Everywhere'. This could easily feature on a volume of the Electric Psychedelic Sitar Headswirlers series at some point! The vocal approach is a hushed, sometimes semi-whispered one with lots of close micing for effect. This sometimes lends the songs a kind of fairytale quality in a very 1967ish sort of way; on others the vocals go very much into a post-Floyd Syd direction. Syng is a Finnish musician (hence the ‘cold' reference in the title I would imagine) and sings here in heavily accented English. I only make this point because (as with Japanese GS groups for instance) I would always prefer to hear a singer in their native language (the lyrics are reproduced in the accompanying booklet in English which would be sufficient). It is sad that the global cultural imperialism of the English language coerces non-native speakers to use it in deference to their own.
     Syng also has another ‘brutally named group' called Dildo Mania, I'm assuming as some sort of release from the gentleness and musicality of this project. Occasionally he plays his sets with a full band, now that I would like to hear recorded. Even so, overall, this is a very likeable disc that I find grows quickly with repeated plays. If you are minded towards contemporary light-sike sounds then you would most certainly enjoy this set.
www.soundhawkrecords.com
Paul Martin

PIPITONE
Music For Minivans (Kool Kat; CD)
     Hey, North Americans, just what is a Minivan? The picture on the cover looks horribly like the ridiculous “people carriers” that blight European roads – i.e     family cars that look big and spacious but aren't. On the other hand is a minivan the modern power pop band equipment transporter of choice?
     This is a fine pop CD. Songwriter and lead vocalist Nick Pipitone honed his skills in his previous band Sugarsmack, and offers ten consistent, simple and uplifting tunes. The opening song, ‘Hey Kid', sets the tone, powered along by a nifty organ and rising to a catchy chorus. ‘Bringing Up Baby' quickly proves that the opener is not a one-off.     Pipitone understand simply jangly pop songs. None of the tunes outstay their welcome, and when they hit a good soaring chorus they sensibly repeat it lots of times! The songs are consistently good throughout, but I particularly liked ‘Gwyneth' and ‘Tell Me'. By strange coincidence the opening riff of ‘Tell Me' is weirdly reminiscent to'Something New', by     90's Finnish popsters The Peppermints. This isn't a problem, as both songs are really good!
www.koolkatmusik.com
Phil Suggitt

THE SPORTSMEN featuring CHRIS VON SNEIDERN
Spirited (Kool Kat; CD)
     The Sportsmen are a "side project" for Chris Von Sneidern – happily this isn't a euphemism for “self-indulgent hobby”.     What this band does is give Chris the chance to nip out of his usual power pop pool and swim in some looser, funkier, r&b and soul-stained waters. Five of the ten tunes are covers of songs by the likes of Allen Toussaint and Naomi Neville, which give a good idea of where this band are coming from.
     Having said this the opener, Toussaint's ‘Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky' doesn't really do a lot for me. The next two tunes, Neville's ‘I Feel Good' and ‘When It Goes Around', a Von Sneidern original, are excellent. Although CVS writes the five originals here, the impression is of a band, not CVS and some sidemen. Rob Douglas, (bass), Dave Gleason, (guitar), Khai Huyth, (electric piano), and Derek Ritchie, (drums), slip easily into a good groove. Although CVS says he wanted to “do something that was less confined than the narrow genre of power pop”, he can't conceal his pop inclinations, and some of the songs would sit happily on his solo recordings.     CVS sings really well, and is strong and convincing throughout. The overall feel is of a good time, New Orleans style. This CD was originally a limited Japan –only release in 1999, but this version comes with an extra song.
www.koolkatmusik.com
Phil Suggitt

VIVA VERTIGO
Viva Viva (Bad Afro; CD)
     Presumably the sleeve of this album depicts Viva Vertigo's guru Simon Beck, but nonetheless the bequiffed, shaded fellow thereon looks uncannily like The Cult's Billy Duffy circa 1987.     Meanwhile, the songs are very much akin to those Mr Duffy's contemporaries The Jesus and Mary Chain were releasing that same year – classic pop smothered in echo, feedback, reverb, and twang.     You know the kind of thing.     You'll particularly know the kind of thing they're up to if you've heard The Raveonettes.     And then some hasty consultation of Bad Afro's press release reveals that – a-ha! - Raveonettes' svengali Sune Rose Wagner is all over Viva Viva like a rash: producing, engineering and playing a ton of the instruments.     His involvement must have been beneficial in getting the record made, but it doesn't necessarily do any favours to Beck – they sound so close it raises a suspicion that VV might be merely another outlet for the Danish pop wizard.     However, there are enough clues present about the songs' pre-Wagnerian origins to suggest this isn't the case.     ‘Devilhead' has the doom-laden air of The Meteors about it.     ‘Waltzing With Sin' is reminiscent of the Verve's more contemplative moments, and ‘Sugar Cane' is rather like Transvision Vamp.     In fact, VV's hybridisation of 1950s twang, 1960s melody and post-punk has a distinct air of such quality British pop acts of the 1980s, recalling one of Billy Idol's finest moments ‘Don't Need A Gun' in the superb ‘Shangri La' as well as the aforementioned J&MC and TV.     So why duff title track ‘Viva Viva (Edie Sedgewick)' has been picked to be first single is a mystery; it makes The Cult's (yup, them again!) ‘Edie (Ciao Baby)' sound positively Wildean in its erudition and says very little about its subject.     Far better to have gone for one of the multitude of superior tracks here.     An excellent album by any standards – and as a debut, it's a positive triumph.
www.vivavertigo.com
Jane Farrell

WONDERMINTS
Mind If We Make Love To You (Rev-Ola; CD)
     In the six years since their last studio album, Bali, the Wondermints have become more recognised as Brian Wilson's saviours and musical crutches than a going concern in their own right. While their world wide sojourns behind pop's wayward genius continue to dazzle at every turn, one could be forgiven for thinking that the weeks and months spent preparing Pet Sounds and Smile's road trips may have taken the wind out of their sails in terms of their own career.
     Mind If We Make Love To You redresses the balance somewhat, although those expecting more of Bali's hydra-headed kitchen sink stylings will be in for a surprise. This is a decidedly stripped-down affair that largely eschews the progressive studio sounds of yore in favour of a more organic approach, something akin to the band simply playing the material live in the studio with a minimum of unfussy overdubs. Perhaps their protracted tenure on the road has encouraged this shift.
     The material too has a certain understatement about it, particularly Nick Walusko's songs which never relied on huge roof-lifting choruses or dynamic leaps in the same way that other chief songwriter Darian Sahanaja's have done. Indeed, only Sahanaja's ‘Ride', ‘Shine On Me' and ‘Listen' and Walusko's ‘Out Of Mind' would fit comfortably on previous Wondermints releases with the lilting country-rock of ‘Time Has You' and the epic closer ‘So Nice' pointing the way to pastures new. After contributing the wonderful ‘Cellophane' to Bali, drummer Mike D'Amico pens three tunes here, of which ‘Something I Knew''s     waltz-time sunshine pop is the best.
     Brian Wilson and Evie Sands make guest appearances though you'd hardly clock their cameos in amongst the smooth swirling of their surroundings.
     The Wondermints' fourth studio album is a grower for sure and further proof of their confidence as writers and performers but possibly lacks that spark of personality and sexiness you'd need before you allowed them to make love to you.
www.revola.co.uk
Andy Morten

And... In Brief:
Colin Blunstone's Echo Bridge (Big Beat) bears Mr B's hallmark breathy voice, but the instrumentation of the sixties is long gone here. Nasty, over the tops synthesisers render sometimes otherwise reasonable songs into ‘80s sounding Miami Vice-a-like sound beds. DION also has his lesser known 1970s back catalogue over viewed in 70s: From Acoustic To The Wall Of Sound (Ace) and to paraphrase the Ronson's Wood Seal TV ad, ‘it is what it says on the packet'. Maybe to mixed a bag and eclectic for the generalist, but for Dion fans a good chance to get inside the man's head from his drug dependency to his clean as a whistle mind set as reflected in the songs. Dion himself does a good job of narrating and explaining his 1970s in the booklet. The Television Personalities' Closer To God (Fire Records) is a re-outing of some 1992 recordings which don't really add anything to the band's legacy unless you are a dedicated and completist fan or collector. THE KING MIXERS meanwhile offer a trio of funkyfied acid jazz instros on their Soul jazz / Boogaloo Style CD single which whilst perhaps not outstanding are far from unpleasant. The Helmut Stein Experience's On Return is a confessional blues soul affair which seems to want to ground itself in the 1970s Muscle Shoals studio sound, coming across all Spooner Oldham as the keyboards take the (often stark) lead melody. Polished and midnighty. TibI Lubin's I Don't See You As A Dead Girl (Rev-Ola) is a kind of minimalist kitchen sink opus concocted from skinny electric guitar and occasional drum(s) (and I think, machine) and Korg synth. It come across rather like P J Harvey trying to be polite, but none the worse for it, a grower I think for contemporary bedsitter sound fans. George Elliot's Child of The Moon and Taint Love are sets of a one man and his itinerary of songs and instruments approach. Some of these are very nice songs in essence but (yes I know it's getting to be a hobby horse, sorry) they would sound so much better if a band was playing them in which Mr Elliot was a part rather than the whole. Light and airy and oft times tunefully hummable, a rather nice project (woodwind, mandolins and all), but please invite some friends to play on the next one.
Paul Martin