It's been five whole years to the month since Elastica released their eponymous, million-selling debut so I guess you could say they've been away for a long stretch (sorry, couldn't resist!).
Stuart Clark – himself a black belt in origami – discovers how The Ramones and kickboxing chinese detectives have helped Ash to overcome their sordid heavy metal past and become Top of the Chops.
Three special singles made for much pre-release hype, and the remix commissions (EMF, Elastica and Medal to name but three) and soundtracks (Rancid Aliminium, Complicity and There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble) secured since then prove it’s not just the critics that have been impressed by Ian Davenport and Andy Lovegrove.
Marc Carroll is shouting to be heard above the din at the Falcon, a legendary dive in London s Camden Town, but I have the feeling that if the place was as hushed as a library he d be yelling anyway.
What does Peter Buck have in his bathroom? What does Justine Frischmann do all day? stephen j. malkmus and spiral stairs of the decidedly non-lo-fi and non-slacker indie rock gods pavement spill the beans to nick kelly.
The Sultans of Ping may have a penchant still for fetishwear and dirty three-minute pop songs but they’re definitely mellowing as Stuart Clark discovers when he meets Niall O’Flaherty and Pat O’Connell for
afternoon tea. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON
Cakes: Mr. Kipling
Jackie Hayden calls round to visit Miriam Ingram’s current abode at the foot of the Dublin Mountains and gets to hear his first Christmas carol of the season.
It's head-scratching, nail-biting, on-the-tip-of-your-tongue time again, as GEORGE BYRNE presides over our renowned annual music quiz [this is for the year 2000]
From Oasis to The Ping Pong Bitches, ALAN McGEE is living proof that there s life after
success, excess, Labour, near-death and, oh yes, Creation Records. Even if you re a Rangers
supporter. Interview: STUART CLARK
After a lengthy period spent "feeding my brain" CERYS MATTHEWS insists she’s really "up for it" again. Although our stop press news suggests her optimism may be slightly premature. Meantime, OLAF TYARANSEN hears about love, politics, presidents, boy bands and CATATONIA's best album yet
Fashion mags have been drooling over Sheffield’s Long Blondes for months now – a pavlovian reaction, one guesses, to frontwoman Kate Jackson’s knack for looking quite dapper in a vintage neck cravat.
So… Blair Witch 2 has hit the big screen and Mr Manson has assumed charge of all things original sound track. Quite fitting really. The musical emulation of hype, eyeliner and distortion pedals meets the cinematic emulation of forests, shaky cameras crews and things that go bump in the night.
South London’s Add N To (X), when not making hardcore porn promo cartoons, specialise in a bolstered and reupholstered variation of what used to be known as electro-rock (pre-post-post rock anyone?) constructed from real-time drums, manipulated synth, robot bass and vocoded vocals.
In case you haven't already heard, here's the lowdown. Two years ago, former flatmates Damon Albarn of Blur and Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett came up with the notion of creating the UK's first virtual band.
The Rentals are fronted by former Weezer member Matt Sharp and buddies, and the sound is not a million miles away from the geeky American college kids style of Matt's previous band.
The Hours' mainmen may not have the names or, indeed, the faces needed these days to launch a thousand fansites, but they have something much rarer in their lockers – a history.
Having debuted at Number One in the UK album charts last week, it would appear that working-class Coventry trio The Enemy are now officially the next big thing.
He may have been a mere whippersnapper when the punk wars erupted in London- but Stuart Clark hustled his way into the Roxy when it was all happening, and survived. At least, we think he did!
Turbulence, the debut album proper from Saucy Monky, is one of those records. It is at once rich, smart, sexy, thrilling, entertaining, diverse and hugely accomplished. It is a great, rock’n’roll record, both playful and deep, its sometimes dark indie heart-core spangled with enough sparks of pop magic to light up the western sky.
Q: Which top Irish quiz-masters’ pathological obsessions include Something Happens, Shamrock Rovers and the amount of shopping days left to the next Suede gig? A: George “You Started, So I’ll Finish” Byrne
