The Puddle have been the vehicle for George D Henderson’s ‘brainy outsider rock’ since 1984. Although No Love- No Hate is described by its record label as ‘the perfect prequel to their next great album’ and was apparently recorded in a home studio, this is a uncomfortable example of lo-fi minimalism: Harrison provides guitars, keyboards and voice over Ian Henderson’s supple drumming.
Despite the fragile beauty expressed on their latest album, Monade’s live set is neither unique nor subtle: the guitars are reduced to a fairly predictable Velvet Underground strum and the keyboards loom in that menacing, late sixties manner. What is chic and slight on Monstre Cosmic is blunt and drab in concert: even the French vocals are off-hand and desultory. more… “Monade”
Permanent Victim Syndrome is a jaunty collection of Songstore’s demos and uncollected tracks. The drums bounce along, the guitars jangle – sometimes mournfully (‘December’), mostly cheerful – and mildly unsuccessful relationships are mulled over more… “Songstore”
Across the SECC, the stars of X-Factor were enticing screams from girls in high heels and short skirts. Mustafa Zahid is a huge star in Pakistan, and he elicited a fair number of more respectful screams, and demonstrated a star quality that retained a humility.
more… “Mustafa Zahid”
For those who grew up in the 1980s, it can be galling to hear so many bands combining the intensity of new wave, the extravagance of stadium rock and the simple melodies of the haircut bands that infested Top of the Pops. After all, these trends were often in opposition: Joy Division, U2 and a Flock of Seagulls all pulled the punk revolution in different directions. The Cloud Room claims influences from Hendrix through to Bowie, but it sounds like a megamix of Now That’s What I Call Music 1981-84.
The Young and Lost Tour could be renamed Discreet and Polite: both Naked and the Boys and headliners Noah and The Whale seem determined to remain in the shadow of their perky tunes and upbeat reflections. Naked is more predictably skiffle, Noah is folkier, with a violin sketching out deeper passion over the light melodies. While neither band outstayed their welcome, they seemed oddly anonymous and withdrawn.
There is a tremendous optimism on Button Up’s MySpace page, where they claim to be soul/jazz/experimental. No Dancin’ is experimental in the same way that teenagers experiment with alcohol: they know exactly what is going to happen, but have great fun doing it. more… “Button Up”
Dana Wilson has left it late to kick-start his career: as his influences demonstrate, from Tom Petty through to doo-wop, he has a nostalgia for an earlier musical era. Transition is a perfectly amiable collection, never straying far from the classic template, but taking in country and latino motifs to vary the pace and mood.
There is something almost naïve in the way that The Gain inhabit rock clichés. If they didn’t have that slightly unpleasant edge of misogyny that inevitably accompanies thoughtless celebrations of the guitar and strained vocals, The Gain would be charming. As it is, Get is only really going to appeal to listeners who enjoy thrusting and strutting, probably in double denim and white trainers.
Unsurprisingly for the singer of Stereolab, Laetitia Sadler’s conception for Monade was cerebral rather than populist. “The original idea was to have one long track that would take its course and you would never hear the same part twice,” she said, and the wandering grandeur of the album certainly echoes the flow and change of the river that inspired it. more… “Monade”