A brace of new albums from Lambchop suggests the soundbyte generation is ready for something more substantial. Eamon Sweeney talks it out with Kurt Wagner.
Très formidable. A lush collection of chilled cosmic electronica is just what a weary post-Chrimbo body needs. What’s more, nobody does it better than that duo with those haughty sounding names, JB Duncknel and Nicolas Godin.
After what seemed like an eternity of enduring processed boy/girl band hell, 2003 was the year that pop became exciting again. Finally, we got a long hot summer soundtracked by Beyoncé (song of the year – hands down), 50 Cent’s awesome ‘In Da Club’ and even a band from my own ‘hood whose debut album was the feelgood hit of the season.
Ja Rule sounds like the meanest rapper in da hood, possessing a husky rasp that screams don’t fuck with me. “It’s all about sex, money and murdah”, he exclaims on ‘N***s & B*****s’, which is likely to have been christened with a more politically correct title so it can be sold at K-Mart.
The Coldspoon Conspiracy have made steady progess in both Chicago and Glasgow in addition to their hometown, building up a substantial profile. The Dubliners have enlisted the recording savvy of Rod Bochnik, responsible for engineering duties with Smog, Shellac and The Breeders.
The supposed one-hit wonders who are now big – no, make that massive – in Japan, Underworld are celebrating ten years of stream of consciousness, musical collages and, er, the greyhound form book.
Spiritualized are back with a new album which confirms Jason Pierce’s theory that “the best music is made by people who are out of control.” Loving the alien:
Music Review | Live
14 Oct 2003
Eamon Sweeney
I don’t necessarily think Frank should play more or less Pixies numbers, even though that’s exactly what his audience want.
The reviews may be mixed but Tim Burgess is chuffed to bits with his solo album. The moonlighting Charlatan talks to Eamon Sweeney about positive vibes,
marital bliss and why he’s not giving up the day job yet.
They are far, far superior to anyone in the current retro brat pack, with songs that remind you of Sonic Youth without the feedback, the Velvets without the drones, Joy Division without the doom laden fatalism and The Fall with lyrics that you can actually decipher.
During the heady days of Italia ’90, The Stunning provided the unofficial soundtrack to the nation’s summer-long party, playing a series of uproarious shows around the country and treating the top-ten like their local. thirteen years later, having just re-released their classic album, Paradise In The Picturehouse, the group reflect on what a long, strange trip it’s been and why they’re not ready to hang up their guitars just yet.
A compilation, a new album in the works, more distressing rumours about Richey and the prospect of the greatest football song ever – Eamon Sweeney finds Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers with plenty to talk about
From Timeless to Celebrity Big Brother to stopping Esso, and all points in-between – is it any wonder Eamon Sweeney has to ask if the real Goldie would please stand up
The experimental arrangements can be fascinating, and the songs themselves are strong, but a really monotonous tone and texture really begins to grate after a while.
McCulloch always possessed an unfortunate penchant for grating melodrama, so when the tunes don’t come up to scratch that’s pretty much all you’re left with.
The making of Phantom Power, bringing it all back home to Wales and (sigh) why the Irish are great – the Super Furry Animals share a jar with Eamon Sweeney
Many of these gorgeous songs, which are steeped in mournful pedal steel (especially the thematically representative ‘Sex, War and Robots’) and couched in intricate arrangements, deal directly with broken relationships and war.
From strange days coming second in a yoghurt-sponsored competition and playing awful gigs sandwiched between boy bands, Damien Dempsey, with a little help from Shane, Sinéad and Christy, has survived and thrived. Eamon Sweeney meets a rap balladeer with a hit album, a social conscience and more than a few stories to tell.
Fast developing a reputation as one of the hardest working and most interesting live bands around, their sophomore effort is a bizarre, bewildering but always charming collection.
"Its hardly the “revolutionary point of view” that she is laying claim to, but it does sound all the more invigorating coming straight from the lips of the most famous woman in pop"
"Air’s dreamy atmospherics are lost in the project and Baricco’s monotone dominates the proceedings, because this is, technically, a spoken word album"
While the arrangements, production and execution of ideas are as excellent as you’d expect the songwriting is surprisingly lightweight and indistinctive.
Kristen Hersh’s new solo effort The Grotto is being released on the same day as her first album in seven years with her former band, Throwing Muses. she explains this curious coincidence – and lots more – to Eamon Sweeney
How do you follow the gig of 2002 in Christchurch? Not in the Ambassador I would have thought, but given Low’s minimal format it makes it a little harder for the sound gremlins to come out to play.
Although dissatisfied with mainstream media and wary of having his own work pigeonholed, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr revels in his role as elder statesman to a generation of maverick musicians and is no less proud of his new album, Boomslang.
The extremely swish and sonically streamlined production will put off those who like their electronic music a little more rough and ready, but those who prefer their grooves to be as smoothly atmospheric as possible cannot fail be impressed.
Currently riding the crest of a wave following the unexpected chart success of ‘Danger! High Voltage’, Electric Six frontman Dick Valentine here puts paid to those rumoured Jack White/Bill Clinton collaborations.
He emigrated in '95, sang with jeff at sin-e, acted with denis leary, consoled nyc's firefighters and tripped around the planet with emmylou harris – but for mark geary, the adventure is only beginning
As tonight’s performance grates on, it’s apparent that the entire rhythm section is buried underneath a treble heavy din. Norman Blake’s guitar solos are beautiful, but in no way as crisp and clear as they should be.
Music Review | Live
17 Feb 2003
Eamon Sweeney
...robust and angular workouts in the best tradition of guitar pop, managing to sound touchingly vulnerable but toweringly defiant. There is an ever so slight whiff of The Smiths, which speaks volumes about their progress
Fourteen tracks marry a musical box of icy chimes and wintry melodies with an inviting acoustic warmth, allowing the brain to run riot and imagine the various goings on in the Gothica world.
One of the new breed of value for your euro events with a free CD-R for the first 100 punters, this is the ultimate anecdote to the rip off of spiralling ticket costs.
The tunes buckle under the weight of lofty ambitions, wearing gossamer thin in a tinny eighties electro pop way without good hooks or choruses to carry the tunes.
This is highly atmospheric stuff, charged with unexpected noises; the rattle and hum of traffic, deranged beatboxes kicking off and settling back into an eerie calm, gentle shuffles and strange clanging.
From the tragic death of Cliff the fish to turning Madonna down, praise from Nick Hornby and fanmail from Bono, Badly Drawn Boy ’s life is certainly bewildering.
and that’s before you consider his hellenic aspirations…
I’d caution the casuals, but if you are a fan then dive straight in. You’ll love this rich stew of subtle pleasures and nocturnes that’ll ferment and season with each listening.
The Smiths: the band who helped re-write the book of guitar rock, the indie darlings who became mainstream legends, the dream of a group which gave the world the unique reality of Morrissey. guitarist Johnny Marr recalls the thrilling heyday of Manchester’s finest.
The whole exasperating but bloody entertaining farce is still part spoken word, part stand up, part witty raconteur and part carry on being a rock star.
A real humdinger of a noisefest which firmly refutes charges of noodling self-indulgence and stays well wide of any meandering musical cul de sacs, apart from the very best kind
The Roses have been compiled numerous times before against the band’s wishes, hence the fact that Ian Brown and John Squire buried their grievances and hand-picked these fifteen stone cold classics for the one disc is an event in itself.
Headgear’s debut album proves that the ‘have portastudio, will travel’ theory can yield ace results, especially when mainman Daragh Dukes gets a little help from his friends.
'Tis the season, so it's Christmas gigs a-go-go with Woodstar, Josh'n'James, the Juice Machine and a Very Corpo Christmas Caper to say the least. Ho ho ho
Coldplay do big spaces extremely well, and considering that the only acts that genuinely wowed me in this horrible dockside barn are Primal Scream, the Pixies and Metallica, that is a telling indication of their calibre in 2002
What do Hope Sandoval, Liam Gallagher, Susan Dillane, Dr. Subranamian and Paul Weller have in common? They all guest on the new Death In Vegas album, as DIV’s Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes explain
After years of pale imitations and wholesale corporate plagiarism, this is a typically stunning eardrum assault from arguably the greatest rock trio that world has ever known.
It’s hardcore heaven this autumn as Dischord records release a 20-year retrospective CD, the story of Hope Promotions is chronicled in a new book and Fugazi return for an Irish tour
Paul O'Reilly brings us Songs; Luc and the Platelets and The Warlords Of Pez say Let's Battle in the Storehouse; and Leagues and Robert Stephenson get famous
You mightn’t be familiar with the name Ken McHugh, but chances are you own and love at least one record he has produced, such as Creative Controle’s calling card debut ‘Bloodrush’ or David Kitt’s exquisite modern Irish masterpiece The Big Romance.
From Stone Roses' stringsman to stand alone soloist, John Squire's musical journey has had both highs and lows, yet he's returned with a new album and this time he's getting vocal
Largo is another dazzling display of Mehldau's breathtaking artistry, instantly accessible for its sheer beauty and exquisite musicianship and a daringly progressive musical odyssey with few if any peers or parallels
As the Creamfields dance juggernaut heads towards Punchestown we catch up with the carnvial at Prague in the Czech Republic and offer a preview of what’s to come
It's one of the most heartwarming and deserved success stories in music - how Beth Orton learned to cope with illness, rebuilt her career and found herself sharing studios and stages with artists as diverse as Emmylou Harris, Ryan Adams, The Chemical Brothers and David Kitt
So far, think classic '80s Depeche Mode, The Young Gods, Nine Inch Nails, Faithless and Death in Vegas - good goth/dance/pomp rock/freaked out fusion stuff - all shouty and melodramatic but still sweet and smooth
Clare man J-Healy releases his debut album this month, he has been playing and performing music since a very tender age. “I’ve been playing since I was very small, but I really only knuckled down to write songs, or what I consider as songs, for the last five years or so,” Healy explains. “When I settled down a year and half ago in Dublin to do the record it really sharpened me up and made me focus and finish a lot of songs. Conor Brady (The Sofas) booted the arse off me as well and helped me knock them into shape!”
Their honest jangly pop recalls the dark beauty of The La's and Shack, as they share that relentless drive for truth and that magical knack for turning dreary urbane rituals into poetic paeans to everyday life
The best electro-rock outfit since KLF or this year's Sigue Sigue Sputnik? The jury's still out, but Fischerspooner's Casey Spooner tells us he's more than just a cheap stunt
Dragged Four Ways Out Of Town saw a cast of fellow musicians, friends and clowns immerse themselves in the rustic charms of a house in Avoca, Co. Wicklow
What on paper could have a some sort of post-modern Raggle TaggleFest 2002, turned out to be one of the most moving celebrations of friendship and music this city has ever seen
Growling guitars buzz over scattershot drums and rumbling drums, sounding all the more strange complimented with a plaintive vocal delivery and a minimum of shouting
1 guitar + 1 drum kit + 1 boy + 1 girl = The White Stripes. In other words, sweet, sweet noise meets the best brother and sister penned pop since The Carpenters. Eamon Sweeney meets Detroit's finest, who play Dublin Castle on Saturday, May 4th as part of the Heineken Green Energy Festival
TRM fans will take delight in being both surprised and disorientated - two signs of an excellent band that aren't afraid to flip the script and take a couple of risks
Wonky was conceived for the eyes and ears as a celebration of the best live bands around sharing a stage with the best new electronic producers with the most entertaining visual backdrop possible courtesy of D.A.D.D.Y. and Del-9
The Reindeer Section return with not-difficult-at-all second album; Del 9 get The Frames animated; Kevin Shields produces Primal Scream; and The Sabbath means no work and all play
An overnight success story that was years in the making, The Strokes have been dismissed as flagrant hype and lauded as the saviours of rock 'n' roll. Eamon Sweeney, a journalist who has spent more time in their company than most, gets the fullest account yet of the rise and rise of New York's band of brothers. "Whatever happens, we'll be there together," they tell him. "we won’t let each other fall."
The Sabbath means no work and all play; The Last Post wrap up number two; Exile Eye find hip-hop equilibrium; and The Road Relish Singles Club says, We are ten
Original Pirate Material is the best album by a British artist since OK Computer. He is a rapper, producer, songwriter and bedroom boffin extraordinaire that has set a new benchmark for just how thrilling, insightful, innovative and brilliant music can get
While some white label mixes are illegal, Belgian outfit Soulwax have gone through an arduous process in order to licence the music featured on their 'legal bootleg' album 2 many DJs, as Eamon Sweeney reports
Laundry Service is by no means a great album, but Shakira Rimpoll's eccentricities elevate her head and shoulders - and at least three cup sizes - above the pop conveyor belt pack
The Rednecks deliver a second manifesto; the 'Fuzz request rebels without causes; Woodstar know what time it is; and a new flute'n'turntablism odyssey from Cork display shades of brilliance
The stakes are high, and BOC raise the benchmark further by opting for a final selection of 23 tracks sprawled across a lush electro-symphonic soundscape
Scouser outfit Clinic return with another eleven offerings of skewered pop cooked according to the recipes revealed in their first album Internal Wrangler
A stuffed-full and truly delish chocolate box of small but perfectly formed releases: the debut EP from the pretty/violent Holy Ghost Fathers; a Road Relish split single from Nina Hynes and Adrian Crowley; and - just in the nick of time! - the compilation A Quiet Riot: Songs To Save Your Life
After defining the currency and potency of much contemporary instrumental guitar music, Pajo acquaints himself with the role of a skewered folk and blues artist astonishingly well
Intially conceived as the third single release from Amnesiac, the project gloriously mutated into another 40 minute goody bag akin to the extended Airbag/How Am I Driving? package.
Distant Hearts, A Little Closer is a stirring statement of intent, with crisp, clean guitar strokes and vocals that are for the most part totally intelligible
Film buffs will be more familiar with the name Vincent Gallo as the producer, director and writer of Buffalo 66, which incidentally he scored and performed the music for, being the Hollywood Renaissance man that he is.
The Charlatans have finally made the sun-kissed Californian album they always threatened since Tim Burgess turned his back on Blighty for LA a few years back.
Here comes the moment we’ve all been anticipating for the last four years, and the really good news is that the return of the mighty Spiritualized is one to relish.
Back once again with the real renegade master! Richard D. James AKA Aphex Twin unleashes his first new work since the 1999 classic ‘Windowlicker’ in a low key, limited edition white label stylee.
The big soul sister returns with a rare collaboration with the fantastic Erykah Badu, best known for her stunning work with Philadelphia hip-hoppers The Roots.
The boy Kittser’s seemingly unstoppable rise towards world domination continues with the second single from this summer’s certifiable soundtrack album The Big Romance.
Marley, Merlin, Christ, coke, the mighty wind and extraterrestrial healing - EAMON SWEENEY hears the gospel according to LEE SCRATCH PERRY, currently starring in the latest cult commercial for Guinness stout
Staying true to their post OK Computer resolution to minimise touring to a bare but intimate handful, Oxford’s most revered sons have chosen to play one single English date in 2001...
It is hardly a surprise to learn that the fifth Super Furry Animals’ album was due to be christened Text Messaging Is Killing The Pub Quiz As We Know It.
National Prayer Breakfast’s decision to abbreviate their moniker to the snappier, more minimal NPB is indicative of a newly streamlined groove machine.
The lavish cover art says it all. Almond casts himself as a 21st century troubadour adorned with diamonds and pearls. The tone is lavish and luxurious, but thankfully Marc resists the temptation of totally re-inventing himself in uncomfortable futuristic clothes.
It has become a very prevalent 2001 trend to infuse house music with ’80s synths and vocodered vocals. Daft Punk returned in March with Discovery – which was either underwhelming retro or pop genius depending on how much of a purist you deem yourself to be.
Squarepusher is an alias for a one man electronic army that answers to the name Tom Jenkinson, arguably the most fabulous breakbeat terrorist in the world today and most certainly the strangest.
Pram’s sixth album is a half-way house between a fully realised ‘proper’ follow up to the subtly wonderful The Museum Of Imaginary Animals and a rag and bone collection of remixes with a few newies tacked on for posterity.
A double set of singles compilations released in 1998 prompted many a pundit to speculate on the future of one of the most prolific, influential, traumatic and twisted sonic soap operas starring David Gahan in the world today.
Starsailor
‘Good Souls’ [Chrysalis]
Coming on like a Verve tribute band, Starsailor recall the dreamy ballad feel of the Wigan outfit’s early career before their genius imploded in a whimper of acrimony and bombast.
Elbow
‘Red’ [V2]
More dreary overhyped pseudo-sensitive ‘I
love Jeff Buckley’ rubbish from the worst
named Manchester band since The New Fast Automatic Daffodils.
David Byrne
‘Like Humans Do’ [Virgin]
Claiming to hate the condescending catch-all entity that is known as world music, ‘Like Humans Do’ sees Byrne back on a similar observational pop tip to what informed all the best Talking Heads records.
Badly Drawn Boy
‘Spitting In The Wind’ [XL / Twisted Nerve]
It’s not Damon Gough’s style to censor himself, but when he reworks the quirky Hour Of Bewilderbeast ballad into a jaunty ‘lil gem he redeems the whole exercise.
Robbie WillIAms
‘Let Love Be Your Energy’ [Chrysalis]
This is the atrocious Robbie rocks out rubbish that has been polluting TV screens with that awful cartoon video.
Joan of Arse
‘Unwanted Gift’ [Julius Geezer]
Three new barbed beauties from the Arse camp celebrating/lamenting early morning sessions and bittersweet loves and losses.
The nebulous nature of To Rococco Rot's aural odyssey was best summed up by the Saint Etienne title, The Sound Of Water, which the industrious Germans co-produced last year. The nicely titled Music is A Hungry Ghost sees them swap sound notes with New York DJ and musician I-Sound on yet another long-playing showcase of eclectic electronica.
Do not be deceived. The bombastic call-to-arms of the title is magnificently misleading in the same cheeky spirit of Mogwai's 'Blur Are Shite' t-shirts.
The hall is stuffed with a cast of fabulous futuristic freaks of all persuasions, proudly nailing their dark colours to the Numan mast regardless of trend, fashion or susceptibility to having the almighty piss taken out of them.
Once you see the names Brian Eno and David Holmes printed on a soundtrack tracklist, you know it has to possess at least some serious heavyweight potential.
Once you see the names Brian Eno and David Holmes printed on a soundtrack tracklist, you know it has to possess at least some serious heavyweight potential.
The husband and wife songwriting core at the cold heart of Minnesota outfit Low construct gorgeously bleak and primal arrangements fused with an awesome elegant simplicity.
The man who co-orchestrated the creation of one of the truly incredible and timelessly influential long players (Slanted And Enchanted), is firing on all pop-picking cylinders
If that figure easing down the road looks strangely familiar then that s because it s WILL OLDHAM under yet another nom de plume. EAMON SWEENEY reports
The Christmas album concept isn't fairing too well in the credibility stakes, mainly thanks to the ‘milk-it’ strategies that Cliff Richard and Dustin have perfected.
As Neil Young enters his fifth decade of writing and performing music, the world needs to be reminded of his god-like contributions, particularly as recent young disciples such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam have either burnt out or faded away.
Trans Am have consistently been one of Americana's more intriguing exporters of out-there guitar pop – and the 21-track Red Lines consolidates that reputation.
Let’s face it, we all love the Puerto Rican heart-throb that answers to the name Ricky; well, in small doses. In summer '99, 'Livin' La Vida Loca' lit up the charts as one of the finest sunshine and kookiness hits in recent years.
The sub-title says it all. You really couldn't sum up Alan McGee's arrogant revisionism of British music in the last fifteen or so years in a better and more overblown phrase. Despite the illusions of grandeur, there is no denying Creation's mighty influence.
Art punk soundsculptors Estel have already wowed and wooed a limited edition legion of ardent admirers with a lovingly homecrafted and homemade 7". Now it’s debut album time and the artefact in question, Angelpie I Think I Ate Your Face, is worthy of the wait and expectation
They'll never go away you know. Despite releasing only two full length studio albums, they have posthumously (and against the original members' wishes) been anthologized and compiled to an extent befitting a band with a far more prolific and extensive back catalogue.
The Franks' last release was a shimmering seductress of a single remixed by the hand of God (Kevin Shields!), and their fourth album contains more sonic surprises but not all necessarily of the pleasant kind.
They've always been the pet love for critics and musos the world over, with Pavement, Belle And Sebastian and The Auteurs all queuing up with a trolley full of praises and cover versions.
Rock has become the preserve of the nice guy. The rock trio, once synonymous with the emotive and dynamic primal noise of the likes of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Husker Du and Nirvana, is now populated by safe, catchy indie-by-numbers popsters such as Stereophonics.
Formerly known as Baby Astrolab and Big Ten Shed, Divebomb are a seasoned sounding three piece that manage to sound far more brash than their skeletal line up would initially suggest. Their penchant for big melodies and bombastic 'Rebel Rebel' era Bowie workouts is immediately apparent on the opening lo-fi glam stomper 'Stupid'.
You couldn't ask for a more appropriate title for Movietone's third album. The Bristol sextet's gentle breezy nu-jazz is based around the axis of Kate Wright and Rachel Brook, and it is exactly what you would imagine listening to on a brisk mid-winter's day walk when Sunday television has become a far too brain numbing exercise.
An Irish bouncer at closing time and a plague of frogs in America EAMON SWEENEY hears about the weird and wonderful inspiration for the new album from LOOPER
With Lights Of The City, underground faves JUBILEE ALLSTARS have finally made the album they ve always talked about. And they re still talking about disappearing Dublin, real Irish pop, love songs, dinner parties and much more. words: EAMON SWEENEY. Star Charts: Declan English
The Dandy Warhols once teetered on the verge of a gigantic mainstream crossover with a song that boasted the opening lines "I never thought you'd be a junkie/Because heroin is so passe",
Ever since 'Trigger Hippie' hit the sophisto pop spot, Morcheeba's one girl-two boy chilled contemporary blues have slinkily found their place in the muso-sun.
The same stable that gave us the turntable symphonies of DJ Shadow and Rob D, amidst a formidable miniature galaxy of others, now releases a bare, raw and . . .
Saville are proud bearers of all the best kooky traditions of pop - dreaming and not scheming, singing paeans to the stars when everyone else is getting a market strategy plan.
"Home emerged in Tampa, FL in 1992 when longtime collaborators Eric Morrison (piano) and Andrew Deutsch (guitar) joined up with Brad Truax (bass) and Sean Martin (drums).
After delighting us with one of 1999's best singles and perfect pop moments, 'The Ballad of Ray Suzuki', prodigious and prolific couple Stuart and Karn deliver another wildly eclectic and electric collection of slick technoid pop.
While last September's Homelands Ireland debut was unquestionably a great day out, the sleeve notes here take the hyperbole to new found hyperbollocks levels.
While they may simultaneously delight and sadden tender souls everywhere, Scottish paltry popsters Belle And Sebastian fail to convince non-believers of their genius.
The Apache Tribe label is an offshoot of a Belfast clothes shop that prides itself on being much more than just a store - a hybrid of modern culture showcasing the previously hidden talents of local DJs and first-time producers from as far afield as South Africa.
THE SUBTONICS are young, gifted . . . and angry. Having made a name for themselves through their guerilla promotional tactics, they now tell EAMON SWEENEY that we re coming close to the end of rock n roll in Ireland.
Chore of Enchantment is no less than the eighteenth long player from Giant Sand - the most enduring and innovative trio you'll find in the pantheon of twisted alt-country legends.
Unlike most soundtrack albums A Clockwork Orange OST assumes a mystique of its own, befitting the relentless cinematic onslaught that Kubrick aspired to create.
RAIDIS NA GAELTACHTA seems an unlikely home for one of the most adventurous music shows on the Irish airwaves. Drop your prejudices and check out An Taobh Tuathail, says EAMON SWEENEY.
This album, Danz's second, shows that while their development has been an exciting affair - the music speaks volumes for that - their core beliefs are still strongly rooted in the active tradition.
No matter how many spoken word tours or books Henry Rollins does, he always predictably returns to what he did first - making fast and furious rock music that injects a little food for thought into dumb rock cliches.
The ace bass in the STONE ROSES and PRIMAL SCREAM, MANI is the living embodiment of the concept of largin it . In Ireland to dee-jay and hang out, he sinks a few beers and offers his uniquely colourful thoughts on music, Man U, drugs, Thatcher, Reagan, Blair and Bill Clinton s blow-jobs. Interview: EAMON SWEENEY.
If it s sombrely beautiful, slow-moving, Mogwai-esque instrumental mini-epics you re after, you ve come to the right place. EAMON SWEENEY meets THE REDNECK MANIFESTO.
A new Danny Boyle flick is never complete without a hyped to the hilt, in yer face compilation of the current cream of trendies, and The Beach is no exception.
Bristol duo Day One are the latest proteges of the ever-expanding Massive Attack/Wild Bunch circle. Signed by none other than 3D himself, 'Ordinary Man' represents a far sunnier take on the dark, moody soundscapes of trip-hop.
Symptoms is a luscious offering indeed. The brainchild of Klaus Ammitzboll it employs all manner of post-rock recording and writing techniques to create a seamless and beautiful soundscape.
"14 finger clicking choons from the Sunny South" reads the upful by-line from Southern Fried - a collection of music from producers based in and around the Cork area.
Resistance Isn't Futile
EAMON SWEENEY reports on Detroit's pivotal Underground Resistance label, and the controversy ignited when Sony released a 'cover version' of one of the label's best-known tracks.
After playing second fiddle to the Fugees and the Roots on support tours since 1995, Atlanta hip-hop collective Goodie Mob (an acronym of sorts for the Good Die Mostly Over Bullshit!) launch an all-out assault for major league hip-hopping glory.
EAMON SWEENEY reports on Detroit's pivotal Underground Resistance label, and the controversy
ignited when Sony released a 'cover version' of one of the label's best-known tracks.
Dermot Doran tells Eamon Sweeney how the most unusual collaboration of the year was born, how its going to raise some much-needed Christmas cash for Our Lady's Hospital Crumlin . . . and of course . . . why its time to party like it's 1999!
At no other stage in the history of human civilisation have there been more Ministry, Cream and I***a 2000 compilations attempting to recreate the pounding sounds of the club PA on home stereos.
Goodbye 20th Century is a double-CD compilation of various Sonic Youth collaborations and reinterpretations, with a cast including Christian Wolff, John Cage, Takehisa Kosugi, Steve Reich and Pauline Oliveros and even Yoko Ono.
While Beck Hansen's 'everything including the kitchen sink plughole' approach mightn't be to everyone's taste, you certainly can't accuse the man of ever being boring!
The credits may read – “produced by PRINCE and arranged, composed and performed by (insert stupid squiggle symbol),” but I think we can treat this album as the real return to the fray by the Purple Poet of Pervdom himself.
Stack dead actors, stacked to the rafters/Line up the bastards all I want is the truth/hey hey now can you take it?/And we cry when they all die blonde?"
The name Domino has deservedly become synonymous with the most cutting-edge and vital contemporary music. At the beginning of this year, Domino unleashed long-playing recordings from Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Smog and Sebadoh in quick-fire succession. Now they close their 1999 account with a similar burst of welcome activity.
No, it isn’t a spanking new album that managed to sneak out without one drop of hype. Rather, Mimosa is another of those hiatus filling, pre-Christmas odd ball collections of alternative versions and takes.
Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes, from Death in Vegas, explain how they survived Big Beat, made one of the albums of the year and ended up working with their heroes.
Interview: EAMON SWEENEY.
EAMON SWEENEY meets RELISH, a northern band just signed to EMI. Up for discussion: Ash, landing a deal, Van Morrison and ghosts in the (studio) machines.
Galway’s stable for unsigned talent, Origin Records, involving both the Zhivago Record store and Cuba live venue, follow up the successful release of this year’s To Boldly Go compilation with yet another album. This time, nine unsigned Galway-based acts contribute eighteen original tracks.
Punk is riding a new wave of end of the century nostalgia. Yet another addition to the fray is the timely release of a new Buzzcocks album, packaged with an additional greatest hits enhanced CD containing three videos and lots of multi-media memorabilia.
Royal Trux are not for the faint heated, or for those who want discernible melodies with their serving of pop. Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema’s fifth studio album retains and refines their fine art of making unsettling and, some might say, unlistenable music.
There couldn't be a more productive and prolific time for drum n' bass in Ireland right now with a new release, act or DJ cutting the mustard on a seemingly weekly basis.
Oh, how we love our singer songwriters! They're the new flavour of the month, with artists you'd normally have playing in some poky toilet headlining festivals.
So it must be summer when the British Foreign Legion, fuelled by lager and libido, embark on their annual pilgrimage to the Clubber's Mecca and spiritual home of pills n' thrills and bellyaches that is Ibiza.
The hiatus between albums is often an excuse for record companies to recycle and repackage the most outrageous muck imaginable in the interests of exploiting an artist's marketability - particularly when the act in question has produced a twenty-four carat classic of modern times, and there's no indication of a follow-up in the foreseeable future.
Madder Rose, having sailed perilously close to the dreaded trap of being more famous for offstage excesses than onstage excellence, offer Hello June Fool as their parting shot for the century - and it's not a bad stab at greatness all things considered.
In an extremely frank interview with EAMON SWEENEY, MIKE HEAD of SHACK talks about his time as a heroin addict, the band s progress and their ambivalent attitude to media attention.
JOAN OF ARSE, with their fierece independence and desire to make lasting music, could become one of Dublin s most important bands. Interview: EAMON SWEENEY.
1999 and what the hell is going on? Leisure time in our booze economy is more likely to entail getting plastered, donning a cheap '70s wig and dancing to some awful tribute act than checking out something new. Even the silver screen is dominated by the likes of Boogie Nights and Special Agent Austin Powers celebrating the 'shagadelic' seventies. Groovy baby, yeah? Not if you are looking through The Auteurs' untainted glasses.
Musicians have always had a fruitful creative relationship with insanity. It can feed and fuel great music. On the other hand, some people are so off-the-wall, that they can't possibly connect with anyone. Welcome to The Beta Band.
Space rock is a term that has been bandied about a lot recently, in a facile attempt to nail down the other-worldly magical sounds of Spiritualized and Mercury Rev.
"Music is not just the expression of a feeling – it is the feeling itself." – Claude Debussy
It is possibly the year's most preposterously pretentious title. Indeed, the presentation of the whole project is so lofty there is a fear that Art of Noise's 'comeback' will fall hilariously flat on its arse.
We re surrounded by American culture from the breakfasts we eat through the beer we drink to the music and movies we define our lives by. And with Independence Day coming on July 4th, you might as well go ahead and enjoy it to the full. Here EAMON SWEENEY suggests how to become an American for a day.
Apart from the whacked-out glory of The Beta Band, few can match Scott 4's disregard for convention. This is the kind of thing terms like 'eclectic' stop well short of summing up.
It starts with the pulsating, warped, Neil Young-gone-bonkers country psycho-blues of 'Catastrophe', and from there on the London trio take as many sonic prisoners as is humanly possible.
The name is unfamiliar (and let's face it, absolutely ridiculous) but in the States they have notched up Grammy nominations and hit singles to beat the band. Of course, the fact that they have received such plaudits is no indication of quality. In fact, Sixpence None The Richer come across as an indie version of The Corrs, complete with titles like 'We Have Forgotten' and Andrea Corr-style vocals from Leigh Nash.
Dance music far too often falls into one of two extreme camps - either anal-retentive 'underground values, maaan' or else cheesy, commercial Ibiza-anthems hell.
Breathe is the debut offering from The Wilde Oscars' singer/songwriter Lesley Keye. It marks a distinctive departure from the accessible pop of The Oscars and attempts to cast Keye as a bona fide artist in his own right.
"And the sweetest sounds that you've not found are waiting there beneath the clouds." In cold print that might read like some sad-o, hippy-dippy sentiment but just listen to it radiating from the speakers as 'Plenty Times' kicks off The Frank and Walters' third album.
As over the top it may sound, the best way of describing Mogwai's music comes in a sample from their first LP Mogwai Young Team; "if the stars had a sound, they would sound like this."
EAMON SWEENEY meets LLOYD COLE to talk about his forthcoming Dublin gigs, the changing face of music, and why he doesn t want to write songs for a while.
