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Liam Carey reviews
V o l u m e # 1 8 0 8 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 3
NEW KILLER ALBUM
There has been such an avalanche of new albums in this past few weeks that finding time and space within this column to mention them all would be impossible, and some exceptional releases have merely graced the Future Sounds section, when they perhaps deserved more detailed coverage. Take the new David Bowie opus, Reality, for example.
After a tricky decade in the 90s, brought on by the misdemeanours of his 80s output, Bowie has clearly found his stride again. If last summer’s Heathen was cause for celebration, as it indisputably was, then Reality continues the party well into the small hours and beyond. This is the sound of an artist well and truly on top of his game. The opening track New Killer Star (also issued as a DVD-only single last week) sets the tone; brooding yet accessible, underpinned by an insistent rhythm and boasting a strong chorus. His cover of Jonathan Richman’s Pablo Picasso is even more enthralling, a heady rush of guitars and synths that sounds remarkably fresh and zestful for an act of Bowie’s vintage.
George Harrison’s Try Some, Buy Some is turned into a tour-de-force of melodrama, while The Loneliest Guy is up there with the best Bowie ballads from his 70s heyday. A sombre 10-minute, jazz-inflected closer Bring Me The Disco King is in a very different vein, but no less affecting or effective.
I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW
The Darkness are rubbish. They’re just a silly neo-rock act, bordering on spoof with their aping of the most ludicrous and theatrical aspects of 70s and 80s rock (Kiss, Queen, Def Leppard). The lead singer ponces about in his Freedie Mercury-seque leotard, chest hairs all over the place. It’s poodle rock all over again, but playing the irony card as they revive pre-Nirvana heavy metal. Or so I thought.
Maybe, just maybe The Darkness are not so crap. Their debut set Permission To Land has dominated the UK album charts this summer, while their reputation has soared through word-of-mouth and two enjoyably daft videos for Growing On Me and the recent #2 smash I Believe In A Thing Called Love. While their extraordinary success still seems a little mystifying, the least they offer is a bit of old-fashioned fun and clichéd rock naffness. The most they bring to a cynical and dull music scene in 2003 is a much needed dose of solid craftsmanship and feelgood entertainment.
The Darkness – they’re alright actually!
SPECIAL DELIVERY
Every year there is one left-of-centre classic pop album that nobody buys and barely anybody has even heard of. In 2002, it was The Notwist’s Neon Golden; a record of fractured beauty and disarmingly gorgeous songs such as Pilot and Consequences. Step forward The Postal Service and their unheralded masterpiece Give Up for a claim to be 2003’s nominee.
Comprised of US alt.pop merchants Ben Gibbard (from Death Cab For Cutie) and Jimmy Tamborello (of Dntel and Figurine), The Postal Service make intelligent, melodious but slightly off-kilter pop with a nod towards the 1980s. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight is so gossamer in its loveliness that until the drum machines and bassline fully kick in towards the end you fear the song could fall apart, the other single Such Great Heights is giddy electro pop with a hint of Jimmy Eat World’s The Middle about it, and the remaining eight tracks are largely of the same high quality. 10 songs, 45 minutes, no filler; how it used to be, and how it should still be. This isn’t rocket science. It’s easy, really.
FUTURE SOUNDS
The best music on the horizon:
- THE STROKES – ROOM ON FIRE: The much anticipated follow-up to the New Yorkers’ debut Is This It arrives on October 20th, with its introductory single 12.51 out this week.
- HOWARD JONES – THE VERY BEST OF: A 2CD set (disc 1 has a selection of hits and one brand new recording “Revolution Of The Heart”, disc 2 features B-sides and Rarities) that sees him briefly reunited with former label WEA in the interests of commemorating Jones’ 20th Anniversary as a recording artist. Originally scheduled for September 29th, then October 6th, it’s now due at the end of the month.
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.