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Liam Carey reviews
V o l u m e # 1 1 2 5 J u n e 2 0 0 3
ALL BY MYSELF
The name Siobhan Donaghey (first on left in pic) might not be immediately recognisable to many people, but she was one-third of the original Sugababes line-up; the lanky redhead with unorthodox good looks who was replaced by blonde babe Heidi Range when Donaghey quit the band in late 2001.
Now, armed with a fine single Overrated, Siobhan launches her solo career. Overrated is an edgy industrial pop track, showcasing Donaghey’s qualities as both writer and performer which characterised early Sugababes hits such as Run For Cover. The striking video, meanwhile, is a world away from the FHM-friendly image that her former colleagues have since appropriated.
STATUESQUE
The pop landscape may be dominated by an avalanche of airbrushed, gyrating females with little or no substance to them or their music, but dig deeper and you’ll find the likes of the aforementioned Siobahn Donaghey and also Roisin Murphy, Moloko‘s captivating frontwoman.
Murphy flirted with major popstardom between 1999 and 2000, when Moloko’s back-to-back Top 5 hits Sing It Back and The Time Is Now placed her firmly in the spotlight. Since then, it’s been fringe success with modest Top 30 singles like Pure Pleasure Seeker, Indigo and the recent Familiar Feeling. It’s no exaggeration to claim they deserve better than these brief dalliances with the chart, and Forever More might just reclaim some of the commercial ground lost since The Time Is Now.
The second single from Statues, their superb current album, Forever More is an insistent groove laced with urgent vocals, that builds to a mantra-like climax. As anyone who saw Roisin’s commanding, electrifying performance on Late With Jools Holland last week knows, Moloko should be much bigger than they are.
GIMME SHELTER
The year is almost six months old, but Unrest – the solo set from Kings Of Covenience vocalist Erlend Oye – remains one of the two or three most outstanding releases of 2003. Oye, best-known as the voice on Royksopp’s exquisite #21 hit Remind Me from last summer, has swiftly carved out his own niche in the Nordic ambient-technopop market.
Unrest is the result of Oye’s travels around Europe, collaborating with musicians and producers from different locales on each track. Sheltered Life, arguably the standout moment on Unrest, is issued as a single this week but in reality will probably fare no better than its predecessor Sudden Rush, which fell short of even the UK Top 75.
FUTURE SOUNDS
The best music on the horizon:
- SUZANNE VEGA – RETROSPECTIVE: Second compilation of Vega’s work follows 1998’s Tried And True, but aside from the inclusion of a trio of cuts from Songs In Red & Gray (her only studio record in the interim) the two differ very little.
The UK edition, out on July 7, has different artwork to the US equivalent (see right) which was released there in April.
- MORCHEEBA – PARTS OF THE PROCESS: Morcheeba, having failed to replicate the sales levels or ubiquity of their 1998 album Big Calm with either Fragments Of Freedom (2000) or last year’s excellent Charango, now get the Best Of treatment on June 30th.
The obligatory new single to trail the collection, What’s Your Name, is out this week.
Page Content copyright © Liam Carey, 2003.
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.