PAULA
ABDUL - Greatest Hits
Well this is one from leftfield…Being in the
back of many minds, the 80’s choreographer turned popstar and brief spouse to
Emilio Estevez rears up with a greatest hits album after many years in the “where
are they now?” file. And I thought she only brought out one album. But, in fact
she released four of which many tunes are instantly recognizable. Straight
Up and Forever Your Girl are probably the most notable. Opposites
Attract and Rush, Rush are right up there with them. There’s an R&B
mix of My Love Is For Real and a Megamix Medley thrown in for good
measure. Many of today’s kids will have no idea who Paula is, but might hopefully
discover her via this Hits collection - otherwise it’ll be great for those who
loved her back in the late 80’s, early 90’s and only had her records on vinyl.
3 / B
- PB
ABOMINATOR - Subversives For
Lucifer
Brutal, Evil and all that kinda creepy stuff
ABSOLUTE HIGH ENERGY
This incredible locally mixed 80's
dance collection is a total blast from the past
ABSU - Tara (exhibit v)
Still intent on spreading the dark word, Absu returns
AEROSMITH
- Jaded
Old rockers never die - they just keep on releasing hits
AFRICAN DOPE Vol.1
Homegrown tunes
AFROCELT SOUNDSYSTEM - Volume 3: Further
in Time
Great blend of world/folk music & electronic modern sounds
AFROMAN - Because I Got High
Silly rappin' Weed humour - Dope tunes, in the smokin' sense
A-HA - Lifelines
After the Swedish hit trio reformed, they realised they still had quite a bit
of Pop left in them
AIR
- 10 000hz Legend
French retro poppers shift gears a touch and go a little darker
ALASTIS- Unity
Smooth blend of doom metal and hardgoth
ALI - Motion
Picture Soundtrack
Focussing on the songs in stead of the thematic music, this soundtrack tries to
capture the mood of this historic living legend in that way
ALIEN ANT FARM - Anthology
New young rock act with good songs & good production
ALL
SAINTS - Saints & Sinners
Cute, pretty voices and with a highly competent
& professional production team behind them, the girls are back (post natal and
all that) to once more rival the likes of the Spice Girls’ stale new effort.
All these factors considered, it is still sometimes hard to enjoy when the sincerity
and passion seems so by-the-book and artificial. Still, I don’t think they should
be forgiven for that cover version of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Under The
Bridge…
- PB
3 / C
AMEN - We Have Come For
Your Parents
Hard hitting and intese social commentary fueled by hate and discontent for
a world going down
AMERICAN HI-FI
Youngblooded new rock
AMERICAN PIE 2 - Motion Picture
Soundtrack
A collection of new American alternative rock spliced all over
this unnecessary
movie sequel
AMORPHIS - Am Universum
Talented metallers drift deeper into a milder hard rock state of being
A.C.
- Everyone Should Be Killed (Earache)
Nutzo. That’s what they are.
And you gotta love ‘em for it. This little 56 track gem (yes, fifty-six), can
be used as the “Getting into Grindcore without prior Experience” handbook if you
like music without any volume-, structural-, commercial- or talent restrictions.
This is total abandon. Punk, Noise-, Hard- & Grindcore all rolled into one…and
then some. Seth Putnam and the boys let with some of the shortest (and brutal)
song ever. Well most people wouldn't regard these “songs” as such - more like
an involuntary airwave assault. But, I love it, purely for its absolute anarchy
and unhinged energy and aggression. Rumours of their live shows turning into riots
within a few songs isn’t hard to believe. The whacky humour is not only in the
attitude and psycho vocals (which is, obviously, most of the time inaudible),
but also in their ludicrous song titles. Some of them are: Brutally Morbid Axe
of Satan, Our Band is Wicked Sick (We Have The Flu), When I Think of True Punk
Rock Bands, I Think of Nirvana and The Melvins, Song Titles Are Fucking Stupid,
Selling Out By Having Song Titles On This Album etc. Then, the ever present cover
versions, or rather rape, crippling or destruction of existing songs. Here EMF’s
Unbelievable and Eddy Grant stand out. Totally brilliant. For a wake up call into
music you never knew existed, check this out. At just under an hour of total mayhem,
see if you’re tough enough to handle it.
- PB
5 / A
A.C.
- Top 40 Hits (Earache)
These nuts will never give up. And that fact
brings me comfort, for the simple reason that the deconstruction of music as we
know it is an essential part of our renewal process. A.C. (full name the rather
commercially unacceptable and shocking Anal Cunt) again deliver a truckload of
tracks. Blasting through 40, to be exact, from there the album title. But, the
loony sense of humour branches out in the fact that they are incapable of ever
getting airplay (and proud of it), but had the cover’s track list design look
like the Billboard Charts. Pure genius or a philosophical antithesis of everything
they’re not? Neither, perhaps. But, these maniacs can blast and grind through
a 3 second song as much as one of, oh, as long as under a whole two minutes, with
as much ferocity and dare I say it, humour (?). Sick, silly and mad humour, to
be exact. The funniest bits are the cover versions. Here the highlight is by far
the Oi version of the Bee Gees’s Stayin Alive. A classic rendition. Then there’s
the 10 second version of Elton John’s I’m Still Standing, The Guess Who’s American
Woman (outstripping and preceding Lenny Kravitz’s lame rendition). Then, of course
there is the crazy take on the A-Team theme song. Then of course, as usual, there
are the crazy song titles: Living Colour Is My Favourite Black Metal Band, “Stealing
Seth’s Ideas”-The New Book By Kevin Chang, I Liked Earache Better When Dig Answered
The Phone, Old Lady Across The Hall With No Life…and so forth. A.C. is a phenomenon
that should never go away. Each time I play these albums (usually to uninitiated
friends) I crack up laughing, not only because my friends are freaked out at the
ear rattling distorted rumbling-screeching-blasting-screaming noise, but because
through the cacophony lies a primal release of just going “fuck it, I’m going
crazy for half an hour”. A vibrant exorcism that could make some people appreciate
music they’d normally call “noisy” as not that bad, once they’ve been assaulted
by A.C.
- PB
5 / A
ANATHEMA - A Fine Day To Exit
UK doom rockers make the final transition to impactful hard rock
...AND OCEANS - a.m.g.o.d.
One of the more impressive acts to emerge from the Black Metal ashes that
aren't afraid of experimenting with technlogy
ANVIL-
Plenty Of Power
Classic old school Euro-Metallers are back on the war path
AFTERGLOW
- original soundtrack by Mark Isham (Sony)
Those of you who hate jazz
and never considered giving it a shot should grab this and be enlightened. The
main man who gets a featured credit is saxophonist Charles Lloyd. Other fine musicians
include Gary Burton on vibes, Sid Page on violin, Geri Allen on piano, Billy Higgins
on drums, Jeff Littleton on bass and of course, Mark Isham who plays trumpet &
flumpet. The moods created here are so warm, deep and emotional it'll transport
you in an instant. I can listen to the hardest Grindcore available and love it,
but mellow-time is also a must. One of the many times I listened to this CD was
while lazing on the couch. It relaxed me and sent me off to a most calm snooze.
It was great. Without being pretentiously progressive or trailing off into self-indulgence,
this soundtrack propels you into a state of mellow reserve. Great therapy. As
the film's director Alan Rudolph states on the sleeve: "You don't listen to this
music; it listens to you."
- PB
5 / A ANASTACIA
- Not That Kind
Nowadays it is not enough to have a pretty face alone
- you need a voice to back it up. Anastacia certainly has the latter with which
to back up her more mature sex appeal. Her strong voice has an R&B/Gospel foundation
surpassing the teen sex kitten chirping as well as the moaning, weaving (yet versatile)
sound of say, a Whitney Houston. She sounds a lot like a more gritty Vonda Shepard;
not bad for a white girl (but then, I’m still not sure what Mariah Carey is…not
like it matters, know what I mean?). The subject matter at hand pretty obviously
mingles around the usual love/relationships/romance areas. Anastacia’s brand of
music can loosely be described as vocal pop with funky undertones. The instrumentation
on Cowboys & Kisses has a classic Verve/Oasis mood that blends into a country
style. Musically she (or her manager and label representative) managed to garner
a wide range of musicians to play on her album. So much so that almost each song
has a different drummer, guitarist and keyboard player. Never having heard of
her, it’s quite an accomplishment in itself, besides the relief to have another
real woman emerge as a new artist in stead of those 16 year old bimbos marketed
for schoolboys’ libidos (and pocket money).
- PB
4 / B FIONA
APPLE - When The Pawn (Epic/Sony)
Many think this interesting lady
is weird, strange & pretenscious. Her pleasant sounds and poetic soul however
surpasses any such closed minded preconceptions.
- PB
4 / B ARDIJAH
- Time
Besides the All Blacks, sheep and Once Were Warriors, many
of us don’t really know what else comes from New Zealand. That’s why it’s good
to see (& of course hear) some music blowing over from that region of Oceania.
For a start, Ardijah is quite attached to “da fonk” and they make this point clear
from the outset. Their danceable tracks seem a little outdated in sound, its old
school funky approach mixed with retro sounding modern technology taking a while
to settle in ones psyche. At first it carries little impact, but when it becomes
clear how strongly they feel about it (mentioning Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind &
Fire and The Commodores in the lyrics as influences that seriously “fonked them
up”). The foundation of their musical direction is a direct result of these classic
bands. It’s interesting to hear what they do with these influences, but the outcome
is pretty commercial and “safe”. With fine vocals, the lyrics are, however, painfully
predictable and a bit vacant. They include two cover versions: Paul & Linda McCartney’s
Silly Love Songs and the Bee Gees’ Love So Right. (Not like it’s at all necessary
or a prerequisite, but) there is no trace of traditional New Zealand influences
in this straight to the point pop-funk excursion.
- PB
3 / B
ARKHON INFAUSTUS - Hell Injection
Noizy dark metal with a comical evil slant and quite a few chuckles
ASH - Free All Angels
Energized young gun rock with a carefree aura
AT
THE GATES - Suicidal Final Art
Unexpected return by old-school Deathmetallers
- or a re-release we weren't aware of?
After
the Death Metal wave of the ‘90s I was under the impression that At
The Gates had called it a
day - especially with their principle songwriter leaving to venture into his solo
project Oxyplegatz
(a spaced-out Black tinged PC created phenomenon with operatic vocals thrown in
between the dark and extreme screams and growls). But, hey, here they are, in
full glory, on Peaceville Records - another ‘90s name in metal that seemed to
have vanished (releasing early Paradise
Lost, Anathema
& My Dying Bride
albums - as well as other experimentally rich projects like Kong,
old school Sabbath
style outfit Pentagram
and one of the first real Black Metal bands, Dark
Throne). This At
The Gates album is like a
flashback, that raw aggression a presence - but, the equally raw production setting
it back when it comes to convincing the fans of modern Metal and its slick production
values. That doesn’t mean that a large segment of the Metal fraternity doesn’t
like the more hardcore underground approach. In fact, the over processed, reverb
drenched epic sound can sometimes lose its touch. This album is reserved for those
who like their music with a no-holds-barred temperament and execution.
3 / B
- PB
ROBIN
AULD - Iron In The Sky (EMI)
This man has given his voice to South
Africans for over a decade - and he still looks and sounds almost exactly the
same! This can be taken two ways. He either stuck to his guns & carried on doing
what he’s good at, or he hasn’t progressed or evolved much. Adamant or conservative?
Brave or ignorant? Whichever, it doesn’t matter. Robin has become a part of the
SA landscape, almost like David Kramer, albeit in a more diminished acoustic blues
laced pop-rock kind of way sans humour. Where there are some people who don’t
take much note of Robin Auld, they’ll noticed that there is something missing
they can’t quite put their finger on if he disappears.
- PB
3 / B
AUTONOMY
Nu-Metal with just enough of its own identity to keep you interested
THE
AWAKENING - Ethereal Menace (Special Edition)
That The Awakening is
as much a foreign contender as it is the only real SA Goth project to speak of,
is known to all. First off, the packaging of this release is not bad at all. Complete
with special CD casing cover and hazey, waxpapered centre spread, it’s professional
if nothing else. And the whole thing only features about 10 images of the man
behind the sound, Mr Nyte. Hey, even if it tries to be more mysterious, it’s still
a form of glam. Ethereal Menace attempts a harder approach, with more energy and
electronica injected that definitely veers away from the dreary Goth -cliché.
It still reflects, however, the timeless Gothic sensibilities of love-lorn, love-lost,
scorned broken hearts with the will and courage to overcome emotional trauma in
a world where they don’t fit in. The ominous, atmospheric mood does explode with
many peaks and a pace that luckily doesn’t slog along. The outcry against an unjust
world covers many levels but has its roots firmly set in the tombs of passion.
If you’re (still) a Sisters Of Mercy fan or prefer the likes of Rosetta Stone,
it doesn’t matter, this album will give a shine to your black nail varnish and
give new colour to your dead roses.
4 / B
- PB |
