THE BEAUTIFUL FEW
The Nights You Did Your Hair
Popboomerang CD
www.popboomerang.com
The Beautiful Few write AOP - Adult Orientated Pop, Their songs are intelligent, sad and slow tunes with engaging lyrics( by producer Kieran Carroll). Their music is subtle but not immediate - it rewards a careful listener but doesn't work as background music and it isn't danceable power pop with big choruses and lots of guitars. It works for me when I am in the right mood. For 'The Nights You Did Your Hair' they have taken the unusual and bold step of inviting 16 guest vocalists (some male, some female, with four duets) to interpret their tunes. They have chosen carefully, as the singers aren't so different that this sounds like a compilation album, yet they all offer something unique, which makes the effort worthwhile. As the guests are drawn from the Melbourne independent scene, they aren't names I have come across before.
Strangely the opening song,(and singer) 'The Grouch' is untypical. The mournful 'Afternoon Pier Song' and 'Never Felt More Heartbroken' are much more characteristic of the album's feel.
Phil Suggitt
JOHHNY CASINO & THE SECRETS
Live On 3PBS
Off The Hip CD
www.offthehip.com.au
This live radio broadcast doesn't show Johhny Casino in the best light, lacking the subtlety, backing vocals and invention of his better studio work. Most of the material is competent tough-guy guitar rock, but it has all been done many times before. The guitars are predictable and workmanlike rather than exciting, and the vocals aren't uplifting. The cover versions aren't a patch on the originals and the version of Dylan's 'The Ballad Of A Thin Man' is particularly sludgy.
Phil Suggitt
THE DUNHILL BLUES
Featuring Car Crash! and Other Hits
Off The Hip CD
www.offthehip.com.au
Billy Bragg wrote that '..teenage music without attitude is just pop'. The Dunhill Blues have bags of rock'n'roll attitude but no pop. Oddly enough, the whole band are credited with vocals, but almost all the 'singing' consists of shouting over grungy guitars and squawking saxes, an unpalatable modern indie rock combination. Maybe I'm getting too old to be a reviewer, or maybe I just like a decent tune. Some albums recorded in two days are great, but in this case you wish they had taken a while longer.
Phil Suggitt
EVE AND THE EXILES
Blow Your Mind
Serpent CD
www.eveand theexiles.com
Good female vocals give modern 60s influenced garage records an extra dimension that really enhances them. In this case the vocals of guitarist Eve Montees and organist Donna Pearl do the trick, especially on 8(I Could) Blow Your Mind' and the four other original tunes, grafting a 60s girl-group feel to the garage guitars. It's a shame that quite a few of the songs are covers of well known tunes such as 'You Better Move On' , 'I'll Come To You' . Whilst this type of song probably fits well into a live song, the more obscure covers are far more effective, as they haven't been played to death, unlike 'Night Of the Phantom'.
The band are true to their Texas roots, mixing a dash of R&B, pop, and early R&B into their 60s stew. (The rhythm section are Mike Buck and Pat Collins of roots rockers The LeRoi Brothers).
Phil Suggitt
COLIN POLLOCK
Long Gone
Self released CD
www.colinpollock.com
There's no denying the influence of Dire Straits on Colin Pollock's songwriting. Some seem to have a prejudice against Mr. Knopfler, but. for those with a more open mind, there is much of real quality here, resulting in an excellent debut album.. Pollock is not a copyist and his songs are genuinely uplifting. Many of the twelve songs are brooding, engagingly melodic tunes, which often feature semi-spoken vocals and varied, intelligent lyrics. The lead guitar playing has echoes of Knopfler and J.J. Cale, being traditional, yet warm and inventive. There is a high level of musicianship, great occasional use of brass and fine female backing vocals from Kim Chandler. On the final tune, 'The Road Is Long' features some impressive Maria McKee-style vocals fromRietta Austin and Annabel Williams.
Phil Suggitt
THE SCRATCH
Whatever Happened To Friday Night?
Ponyland CD
www.ponylandrecords.co.uk
It's a shame that so many bands are unaware of the poor impression their CD cover art conveys. In this case the ugly photo of a girl with running mascara conjurs up images of Goth or Metal, when The Scratch are nothing of the sort; they are in fact a punk pop band. Based in the pleasant town of St. Albans, their influences are classic English po-rock from the 70s to the 90s.The spirit of The Buzzcocks looms large. It is no surprise that one of the songs is called 'Independent and Unrepentant', as The Scratch strongly embrace the punk DIY ethic, producing and releasing their own music. 'Against The Grain' has a great chorus and is the most memorable song here. This album will appeal to fans of the punky pop bands that the Damaged Goods label specialises in.
Phil Suggitt |
