The album is heavy on melody and harmony – but they’re in danger of being over formulaic and although their choruses tend to be strong, their lyrics lack originality.
The little Nick Drake-alike rather suspiciously neither batted an eyelid nor dropped a note, but instantly recaptured the intense hush of the atmosphere, his folky melancholics, strongs dynamics and the fierce haunting quality of his voice rounding off a spookily beautiful evening.
They’re men behaving wonderfully and they’ve taken Irish television by storm. Now into its second series, Bachelors Walk has made household names of Barry, Ray and Michael, themselves inhabitants of a particularly memorable household. Fiona Reid meets the actors behind the true wise guys. Photos Roger Woolman
After what was at times a stressful year, Damien Rice is on the verge of a major international breakthrough. Fiona Reid gets the inside story from the hungover but happy singer
Although they risk disturbing the natural flow of things by alternating songs, swapping instruments and taking turns at centre stage, the warm, relaxed, if occasionally spiky dynamic between the three friends makes for an interesting gig.
She may have met her prince in a bar in Santa Fe but their marriage has introduced her to a sacred oriental art that she is bringing to the west for the first time. Princess Marianne of Bali describes how ‘tantra’ turned her life around.
There’s less self-aggrandizing posturing here than on his last album G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) and as the single ‘Luv U Better’ demonstrates, plenty of positive vibes as well as gansta-isms.
soul and gospel elements combine with her trademark folkish feel on all manner of songs of praise – India's lyrics are incessantly inspirational, counting blessings and giving thanks for all the wonders of her world
Respected as one of the stalwarts of P-funk in his Parliament and Funkadelic days, Bootsy’s still keen to come up with fresh sounds and this collaborative effort sees him teaming up with a host of guests with fairly mixed results
The quiff may have thinned somewhat, but at the grand old age of 43, Morrissey is still in great shape, his white shirt soon transparent with sweat, his collar loosened to accommodate frequent skin-revealing tugs
What’s impressive is how they manage to reproduce the epic sound of the album, with an aurally competitive blaze of samples, funky basslines and John Squire-ish guitars, all nailed together by Robert Harvey’s improbable vocals
Intergalactic Sonic Seven's (soon to be followed by a B-side compilation) is a collection of absoloutely cracking tunes that might just bring the acclaim that has so far escaped Ash in the US
Only the proverbial record company misfortunes have prevented Mundy from releasing a follow up to his '96 debut Jellylegs, and it's criminal that an album this good took so long to see the light
Lyrically, Crave possesses less of the grand gothic guignol of their debut, with a slightly more sophisticated, if not always staggeringly original, approach to wordplay
Turn are toughing it out and their new offering is a fine indicator that their position as one of the strongest rock bands in Ireland today is more than secure
Despite an annoyingly chatty Thursday night crowd, Hawley created a sort of magical, and very cosy, atmosphere, constructing a cocoon of the kind of delicious sadness you want to wallow and revel in
The Charlatans' kitchen-sink included arrangements which can be slightly overwhelming on record proving to be dynamite live, a surprisingly sonically coherent mass of big, bold, super-charged soul.
The new album from Gomez has less of the 'shambling' quality of old - they retain some of the bluesy New Orleans muse that marked their previous albums Bring It On and Liquid Skin, but combine it with a harder-edged technological feel
Katell Keineg confesses that she's lazy, eccentric and mis-understood yet she's back with a live appearance in dublin in February and a new EP due in the spring. Interview: Fiona Reid
Rabbit Songs is the debut album by Hem, a slice of arcane americana that fuses
old-time sounds with modern musical sensibilities. Fiona Reid met (t)hem
It ought to be one of the happiest moments of a woman's life – and for many it is. But for some women the birth of a child can be a traumatic, invasive and distressing event. Author Naomi Wolf tells Fiona Reid about the blues of the birth
FIONA REID meets SEAN MILLAR, the acclaimed singer/songwriter who’s currently overseeing a music workshop for inner-city youths and talks to one young participant, IAN FAGAN
Souljacker is a black road-movie view of America’s (or E’s) seedy underbelly, with a harum-scarum parade of comi-tragic characters scattered along the way
MACY GRAY’s latest album "THE ID" documents two years of “love-life changes, sex-life changes and body changes”. FIONA REID hears her tales of drugs, men, music and late nights
By dragging leprechauns into the new millennium, Wexford author EOIN COLFER has enraptured children and adults alike and given Harry Potter a right run for his money. FIONA REID meets the brains behind Artemis Fowl
Mary J. Blige has always commanded the respect of her peers, and as usual the album features an abundance of movers and shakers like Missy Elliot and Dr Dre on production.
More fab new Volta and Road Relish releases, additional servings of The Jimmy Cake, Nick Drake getting a Tongue-lashing and Adrian Crowley blowing horns and screaming louder
given the choice, I’d prefer to see him in front of a comfortable-sized crowd, but due to his immense popularity, grander things are called for these days. .
It’s a good life being a FUN LOVIN' CRIMINAL. You get to party at your own club in Dublin, chill out in Maui, dress like "an irish soccer hooligan" and watch astral television in germany. All this and you’re a nice guy too. HUEY MORGAN tells FIONA REID about life on the town
I suppose there’s no law requiring any change in style by a band’s fifth album, and if a good mixture of grunge and pop sensibilities floats your boat then you’ll be happy enough with this.
Notorious in her native China for her sexually graphic novel Shanghai Baby, Wei Hui looks sure to upset the authorities even more with her next literary outing. Fiona reid meets the controversial young author.
photography: cathal dawson
Prefab Sprout have written some of the most swoonsomely beautiful pop songs known to man, but latterly the prolific Paddy McAloon has been keeping himself busy and maintaining the cash flow by penning songs for other artists and TV themes, while staying well out of the limelight, as is his semi-reclusive wont.
There’s a fair helping of standard Faithless tracks on Outrospective. The sinister dance epics ‘We Come 1’ and the dark and dangerous ‘Tarantula’ come from a familiar place. But the magic of Outrospective lies in the unexpected, which is magic thankfully in abundance.
YO LA TENGO
(Olympia, Dublin)
If not as cohesive as they might be at times, Yo La Tengo tend to fray the edges without unravelling, or, if coming apart very occasionally, then it's a case of deliberately pulling threads.
STEREO MC’S
HQ, Dublin
It’s certainly been a while, but the Stereo MC’s remain the same. To witness the pale spectre of main man Rob Birch as bouncy and baggy-trousered as ever, alongside the familiar gap-toothed smile of singer Cath Coffey – well, it’s like 1992 all over again.
A surreal start heralds Craig David's appearance: the big screens show a clip from Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory of a sweet shop owner and a gang of wide-eyed kids.
The Brisbane band's fourth album has already gone platinum in Australia, and it's not hard to understand Powderfinger's populist appeal - they're rock, but not too hard, alternative, but not inaccessible, intelligent but not too obtuse, melodic but not too twee.
First on stage tonight were Lucas, whose songs were melodic and meandering but with enough unexpected twists to maintain interest, and an ultra-confident singer boasting a voice like Vedder's, but with high notes.
"Make every album as if it's your last," is Snow Patrol's motto, and if, heaven forfend, their second album should be their swansong, it would certainly stand as a fine legacy.
Lina is a sultry diva who looks set to achieve major success with her harmonious marriage of R 'n' B with Roaring Twenties Harlem jazz, incorporating the distinct style and presentation of the era.
Down to Earth is a welcome return from the Ozzman, and demonstrates how easy it is for him to show his vulnerable side while still rocking like an absolute mother. Fucking legend.
FAST tells Fiona Reid about the Fun Lovin Criminals' plans to posthumously record with Reggie Kray and takes her track by track through their new album Loco
The voice of Stardust’s massive hit ‘Music Sounds Better With You’ Benjamin Diamond has the perfect tones for dirty dance anthems, but nothing here comes close to former glory.
Black Sabbath guitar legend Tony Iommi’s first solo album has an embarrassing wealth of guest vocalists in harness, but with Skin from Skunk Anansie involved, as well as Dave Grohl’s serious Soundgardenish ‘Goodbye Lament’ and Billy Corgan’s turgid molten metal whine on ‘Black Oblivion’, things are in danger of becoming dreary indeed. Attempting subtlety in this company just doesn’t seem to work.
Another appeal to the armies of alienated youth, We Have Come For Your Parents is a 14-track manifesto of unAmerican, anti-establishment, bible-burning rants.
Swansong For You is the second ‘solo’ album of string-soaked and heart broken love songs from Isobel Campbell, cellist and songwriter with Belle and Sebastian.
Bell X1’s debut album displays a touching uncertainty. Apart from the robust vanguard of ‘Pinball Machine’ and the confident swish of ‘Man On Mir,’ Neither Am I has a preponderance of translucent ballads. Most of these, while genuinely lovely, are not as striking as they might be, due to the distant, dreamy production style.
Ah, just what I wanted – a Christmas concept album. How did you know? Spearmint have obviously set themselves the challenge to write a series of songs with a wintery setting in spite of their summery pop sound. Little vignettes and tender kitchen-sink mini-dramas abound here.
Some offbeat and delinquent music from two weirdos from Sydney and a Canadian exchange student: in the world of Gerling, all is permitted, nothing is taken seriously. This debut album sees them unleash their wilful experimentation, executed under the scrawled motto of 'D-construct popular culture.'
The Deftones sound can be described as heavy. It's a heaviness, however, which is attributable to the bruising weight of emotion and atmosphere in the music, as much as to the effect of guitars and drums. The influence of The Cure and The Smiths is obvious: there is a real and pressing darkness to their music, absent in goth metal peers, such as Korn and Marilyn Manson.
Since this album came my way dressed only in a white promotional sleeve and an accompanying press release for the wrong record, I've had to work blindly without the benefit of any prior information about 23 Skidoo.
Mission: Impossible 2 opens with a bit of a damp squib - Limp Bizkit's 'Take A Look Around', in which Fred Durst ruins Lalo Schifrin's original Mission Impossible theme with the addition of a lacklustre rap and the occasional burst of noise.
Joe Pernice's second solo album in under six months, Big Tobacco picks up where February's Chappaquiddick Skyline left off, supplying a sumptuous blend of languid, melodic music with dark tales of quiet despair and lonesome longing.
This pairing of a Cork techno-wizard and an African/French chanteuse is set to make a sizeable (and well-deserved) commercial impact given the marketability of the Mitisse sound and image, . . .
The Irons are back with an album of overblown air-punchers which, as ever, scavenge the plots of wizards-and-goblin fantasy novels for their lyrical content, . . .
Damon Gough aka Badly Drawn Boy has been quoted as saying he doesn't mind if it takes twenty years for people to realise how good this album is, but hopes it will one day be considered a classic piece of work.
On the opening track of 'Lived', psychedelic drugs guru Dr Timothy Leary introduces Babes in Toyland to the crowd at Lolapalooza '93 as "one of the greatest bands of the 21st century".
Opening with a song called 'Ex-Girlfriend', it's clear No Doubt's Gwen Stefani is taking the opportunity to vent some spleen about the bitter end of a relationship.
Liquor, women, drugs and killing. This is how the Supersuckers sum up the subject matter of their songs. Comprising a singer called Eddie Spaghetti, guitarist Dan 'Thunder' Bolton and a personage known as The Dancing Eagle on drums, expect a band who don't take themselves all that seriously.
'Best of' compilations which throw in a few new tracks to tempt the fans are commonplace, but it seems an unlikely project for an artist of Perry Farrell's ilk to get involved in, particularly as the album in question incorporates the finer moments from two separate incarnations, Jane's Addiction and Porno For Pyros.
