Menswear "Nuisance"

Signori e signore....IL BRIT POP!!!....nonostante quello che dice Scaruffi!!! (1995 Laurel)


I Menswear furono l'ennesimo gruppo britannico degli anni '90 a balzare in prima pagina prima ancora di aver firmato un contratto discografico. Questa volta la novita` stava nel rispolverare (per la millesima volta) la civilta` mod, e nelle pose (ancor meno originali) del leader Johnny Dean.
I singoli I'll Manage Somehow (Laurel), un'indegna scopiazzatura di Backwater dei Meat Puppets, e Daydreamer, una versione per scolaretti dell'idea di Line Up degli Elastica che era a sua volta rubata ai Wire, si dimenticano dopo cinque minuti, tanto sono familiari i riff e i ritornelli su cui poggiano, e l'album Nuisance (Laurel, 1995) fa acqua da tutte le parti, sia che imiti i Monkees (Little Miss Pinpoint Eyes) sia che imiti gli Small Faces (Around You Again). Tracce dei Cream in 125 West 3rd Street, di David Bowie in Stardust e del soul "bianco" in Hollywood Girl non bastano a trasformare un pezzo inerte di materia in arte. (Piero Scaruffi - http://www.scaruffi.com/)

Perhaps Menswear was always destined to be a footnote in pop history, a product of the heady good times of London in 1994 and 1995. Reportedly signed after only three shows, the band was never given the chance to fully develop before they recorded their debut album, Nuisance. At the time of their first single, they appropriated the sound of Blur and the style of Pulp; by the time Nuisance was released, they also incorporated the sound of Elastica and Oasis, making the band a virtual Cliff Notes of Brit-pop. Naturally, Menswear doesn't quite have the skills or panache of any of their idols, but that doesn't mean they are lacking in charm. Like Oasis and Blur, Menswear appropriates sections of pop history, claiming them as their own. However, they aren't half the songwriters that Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn are, which means many of their ideas are never developed. Nevertheless, when they assimilate them fully -- like the intoxicating rush of "Around You Again" or the sweeping ballad "Being Brave," which lifts the intro to Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" -- the band is an undeniable guilty pleasure. When pressed, the 'swear can come up with irresistably infectious pop gems, from the frazzled Monkees pop of "Sleeping In" to the flat-out great single "Daydreamer," which sounds more like Wire than Elastica, only funnier, even if it may be unintentional. Even funnier are Johnny Dean's lyrics, from the groupie saga of "125 West 3rd Street" to "Stardust," a silly attack on Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie. In all, Nuisance is the perfect product from a band that is better known for being seen than being heard. (Stephen Thomas Erlewine - All Music Guide)

- 125 West 3rd Street
- I'll Manage Somehow
- Sleeping In
- Little Miss Pinpoint Eyes
- Daydreamer
- Hollywood Girl
- Being Brave
- Around You Again
- One
- Stardust
- Piece Of Me
- Stardust (reprise)



MENSWEAR

Sing Sing "The Joy of Sing-Sing"

Dopo la fine dei Lush, Emma ritorna con un nuovo progetto, sempre a base di melodie eteree, ma più virato verso incanti elettro pop. Un disco gentile, semplice, sognante con magari i St. Etienne e la loro eleganza come punto di riferimento. Se Tegan mena le danze in modo carico, il mondo di Sing Sing saprà donare anche colori più tenui e rilassati e la malinconia di Everything ne è uno splendido esempio. Niente per cui gridare al miracolo, ma un piacevole sottofondo prima di addormentarsi e fare degli splendidi sogni! (2001 Poptones)

The Poptones house-style looms large over Joy of Sing Sing, the first release from the retro pop world of Sing Sing featuring the talents of Emma Anderson (ex-Lush) and Lisa O'Neill, (sometime vocalist with the Mad Professor). The first few tracks are radio friendly, synth-infused and subtly melancholic. "Tegan" has that driving 80s production so successfully used by Garbage, with fuzzed-up bassline and slightly psychedelic harmonies. There's a xylophone on the straight-ahead pop of "Feels Like Summer" which takes the song's 60s spy feel further behind enemy lines. Then there's "Emigré" a duet for him and her with stand-up bass, drum flourishes and an electronic harp. The mid-paced rock of "I Can See You" finishes things off well, it's pretty epic and has the bemusing hookline "Went to Didcot / Back for more". Giving the game away, there's a hidden track at the end that sounds like another band altogether--again a duet, it's a hand in hand folksy stroll down a leafy lane. The shape of Joy Of Sing Sing is never tugged too far away from the St Etienne/Cardigans/Garbage triangle, and fans of well-packaged alt-pop should certainly find something to love about Sing Sing. (Mike Smoughton - http://www.amazon.co.uk/)

The presence of ex-Lush guitarist-vocalist Emma Anderson on Sing-Sing's debut guarantees a certain polish. The ghosts of the Cocteau Twins can also be heard around the edges, mixed with slightly retro '80s electro. Unfortunately, the songwriting here shares another trait of Anderson's former project: inconsistency. For every well-executed melody or hooky chorus, there's a clunky transition or an idea left to dangle and die. "You Don't Know" rips right along, offering a melting guitar line and a catchy (if rather unoriginal) hook, while "I'll Be" wanders over familiar, forgettable terrain before redeeming itself with an oddly touching wisp of birdsong. The limited vocal range and long, swooping phrases of singer Lisa O'Neill, while creating an interesting cabaret quality, ensures a rigid texture and tempo from track to track that derails variety and momentum. Despite it all, the record sounds great; producer and instrumentalist Mark Van Hoen keeps tracks like "Panda Eyes" humming with great swaths of windy synths. (Matthew Cooke - http://www.amazon.com/)

There's something about a lot of music with high female vocals, particularly this brand of sugary electro-pop, that doesn't sit well with me -- call it internalized misogyny, call it projection, but give me scrawny off-key boys or tougher-sounding belting chicks any day. All the same, as I listen to The Joy of Sing-Sing, the few moments where I find myself instinctively wincing at Lisa O'Neill's sweetly girlish vocals are much outweighed by the sheer weight and backbone she and Emma Anderson somehow give to what seems at first to be yet another British electronic-flavored stylish pop record. These are no wispy singer-songwriters here; they have style, grace and charm to spare, but in the sort of way that brooks no argument from any self-important rockers -- or anyone else, for that matter.
Don't get me wrong, this is a very pretty record, and often very much so. There are hooks popping out everywhere here, accented, not cloaked, by the songs' sheen of electronic beats and sighs and analog keyboards. Underneath all those shiny, shiny flourishes and moddish overtones, though, is some seriously smart, witty music, for the most part. "Feels Like Summer" is a faintly Motown-flavored, downright gleeful "I told you so" of a kiss-off song, and "Panda Eyes" is probably the most danceable song ever written about having a hangover. With its brief flashes of horns and strings (however synthesized), "Far Away From Love" sounds like a particularly odd but still damned catchy collaboration between Beulah and St. Etienne. It's a record, that, for its occasionally trip-hop leanings, is really about the songs, rather than about sound textures and breathy singers.
Together with their many collaborators, O'Neill and Anderson, by sheer force of personality, have outstripped their musical pasts -- the former chiefly working as vocalist on others' electronic-based projects, and the latter in all-about-the-ethereal Lush -- and created a glamorous, evocative sound with a solid pop base, rather than mood pieces with pop trappings. It ends up being even moodier for all the genuine heart and wit behind it. Now there's style for you! (Mandy Shekleton - http://www.splendidezine.com/)

Two years following the tragic demise of Lush, guitarist Emma Anderson formed the dream pop outfit Sing-Sing with vocalist Lisa O'Neill (Locust, Kid Loco) in 1998. The pairing couldn't have been more magical, for Sing-Sing presented a glowing dynamic. By fall 2002, American indie fans finally got their hands on the duo's debut album, The Joy of Sing-Sing; it had been previously released in Europe a year earlier, but the stateside release was worth the wait. The Joy of Sing-Sing showcases Anderson's signature vocal shimmer. O'Neill is a matchless partner for Anderson, as their melodies vocally intertwine to create sheer bliss. Sing-Sing engages in classic dreamlike aesthetics, but with a combination of '60s pop and electronic bits. There's a healthy ambience to this album, particularly on the airy dance blend of "Tegan." "Feels Like Summer" and "Me and My Friend" are pure, luxurious pop, while also warm for a daydream trip. Vibrant synth beats carry "Panda Eyes," while "You Don't Know" spirals around heavy keyboards like early-'80s new wave. Sing-Sing discovers its own musical universe on The Joy of Sing-Sing. Anderson has slightly stuck to the pop formula that made her an indie darling in the 1990s; however, she's designed it to be her very own. She and O'Neill are a sharp pair. The Joy of Sing-Sing is a divine first album -- fans will undoubtedly be delighted. (http://www.allmusic.com/)


- Everything
- Tegan
- I'll Be
- Me and My Friend
- Far Away from Love
- Panda Eyes
- Command
- Feels Like Summer
- Émigré
- You Don't Know
- Underage
- I Can See You


SING SING

Interzone "Stay a While"

La domanda è....perchè Claudio ha a casa il singolo degli Interzone? Perchè è un dio rispondo io. Ecco la filosofia del...bisogna averlo! E io e Claudio ne siamo ottimi esponenti. Gli Interzone avevano per noi un particolare interesse perchè in loro militava Owen Morris, decisamente più famoso come produttore che come musicista, ma tant'è....avanti con il suond simpaticamente fresco e furbetto degli Interzone. E noi a farci prendere all'amo!! (2000 Double Dragon)

- Stay A While
- Over The Moon
- Complete Strangers
- Where You Belong



INTERZONE

Swervedrive "99th Dream"

C'è chi dice di sentire tanto Oasis in questo ultimo lavoro degli Swervedriver, mah. Io più di tanto non ci sento questa influenza. Di sicuro ruvidità e psichedelia visionaria al confine con lo shoegazer sembrano aver perso la carica dei dischi precedenti, ma si è guadagnato in attenzione alle melodie, che a mio avviso non vuole dire piegarsi alla commercialità. (1998 Zero Hour)


Swervedriver are sounding a little zoned out, like after a few years of making their distinctive psychedelic soundscapes, the band has finally succeeded in hypnotizing themselves. The slow, druggy pace and fascination with their own weird noises works against them on this disc to the point that the songs themselves go missing in a fog of production gimmicks and barely-pre-passing-out vocal delivery.
Occasionally, something does bubble up from under the surface and get your attention, but then the song goes on forever and ever until it gets annoying. I was really looking forward to this release, but found my fingers wandering in the direction of the SKIP button with alarming frequency.
The album starts out with some promise: "99th Dream" is a pleasant enough, though hard to remember, tune; and the dip into the Beatles collection on "These Times" is okay, but not great. It's with the slightly Radiohead-like "Electric 77" that everything takes a big nosedive, as far as momentum is concerned, and it never recovers.
In the end, 99th Dream wanders around like it just woke up and there's no coffee. (Michael O'Donahue - http://dropd.com/issue/)

Con un anno di ritardo esce 99th Dream (Zero Hour, 1998), album che si ispira esplicitamente ai Love e che continua la parabola verso un ordinato sound da classifica. Le cantilene di 99th Dream, These Times e Wrong Treats hanno piu` che altro perfezionato il loro "jingle jangle" psichedelico, in maniera tale che non urti i timpani dei fans degli Stone Roses. Le melodia si sviluppa innocua su un maelstrom sempre piu` tenue di riff e ritmi. E lo strumentale Stellar Caprice lambisce la musica leggera orchestrale.
I tour de force del disco sono semmai Electric 77, che rifiuta di esplodere e rimane in un limbo trascendente, e il lungo pezzo di chiusura, Behind The Scenes Of The Sounds & The Times, una sorta di versione ruspante e chiassosa della I Am The Resurrection degli Stone Roses. Qualche ballad triviale di troppo retrocede pero` il disco ai ranghi delle opere di transizione, delle opere che uno fa soltanto come referenze, per prepararsi il terreno. (Piero Scaruffi - http://www.scaruffi.com/)

- 99th Dream
- Up from the Sea
- She Weaves a Tender Trap
- These Times
- Electric 77
- Stellar Caprice
- Wrong Treats
- You've Sealed My Fate
- In My Time
- Expressway
- Behind the Scenes of the Sounds & the Times




SWERVEDRIVER

The Sundays "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic"

La magia, la malinconia, la luce soffusa dei Sundays...il tutto in un magnifico esordio. Il loro guitar pop si muove su coordinate semplici, eppure così incantevoli, lontano da volumi alti, ritmiche incalzanti ed eccessi, e vicino invece a stati di pace, riflessione, sogno. Emozioni rare. (1990 Geffen)

Nearly 20 years ago, with Madchester at the height of its popular appeal, a band about as far removed from The Happy Mondays as it was possible to be briefly rivalled Bez, Shaun and friends as the new darlings of the independent music scene. With the release of their debut album Reading, Writing And Arithmetic, The Sundays received a flurry of euphoric reviews comparing the London quartet to The Smiths, and it's fair to say that David Gavurin builds his songs around the same peculiarly British melancholy yet achingly pretty guitar jangle immortalised by Johnny Marr.
But the most distinctive ingredient about the Sundays was always Harriet Wheeler's voice, which positions the group as a kind of missing link between the ethereal soundscapes of the Cocteau Twins and the more chart-friendly indie-pop of The Cranberries. Like Liz Fraser and Dolores O'Riordan, Wheeler's vocals transfer effortlessly from a fragile whisper to a passionate shriek, taking often simple melodies and leading them on a merry dance across her whole impressive range.
The two best known tracks on Reading, Writing And Arithmetic are the singles Can't Be Sure and Here's Where The Story Ends, and two decades later these remain the best examples of The Sundays' appeal with their instant, breezy hooks and delicate, shuffling rhythms. The rest of the album is a little less immediate, but gradually tracks like Hideous Towns and I Kicked A Boy work their way insidiously inside your head, with Wheeler's angelic, almost hypnotic voice leading the charm offensive.
The Sundays never again recaptured the heights of their debut record, fading slowly into obscurity as the world they inhabited gave way to the brash, confident swagger of Britpop. While Reading, Writing And Arithmetic is perhaps a little too fey and lightweight to warrant true classic status, it is nevertheless a sweet, beguiling piece of work that is utterly of its time, yet still fresh and enjoyable today. (Chris White - http://www.bbc.co.uk/)

Imitated many times but rarely equalled, The Sundays' debut album is rightly hailed as one of the key indie guitar albums. Released in 1990, just as Manchester seemed to be the dominant force, The Sundays made music that was the antithesis of the moodiness of the time; the innocence and joy of youth versus the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays 'E'-loving slackers if you will. Even the beginnings of the group were fairytale-like. Guitarist David Gavurin and singer Hariet Wheeler met at University, became lovers and then the music came after. It was hardly an afterthought, however, with the flowery 'Can't Be Sure' topping John Peel's end of year poll in 1989. Tin Tin Out's otherwise pointless late 90's dance reworking of 'Here's Where The Story Ends' served the purpose of reminding listeners just what a great song it was. Yet behind the apparent prettiness lurk downbeat tracks a-plenty, 'I Won' and 'A Certain Someone' even revealed a a modicum of anger. 'Skin & Bones' and 'You're Not The Only One I Know' were and still remain excellent album tracks; far from making up the numbers their subtlety and melodic glories are perennialy charming. (http://www.leonardslair.co.uk/)


- Skin & Bones
- Here's Where The Story Ends
- Can't Be Sure
- I Won
- Hideous Towns
- You're Not The Only One I Know
- A Certain Someone
- I Kicked A Boy
- My Finest Hour
- Joy


THE SUNDAYS

Silver Sun "Silver Sun"

Un compendio di pop. Mi ricordo quando il buon Claudio mi parlò di loro. E avevano pure Manda Rin dei Bis tra i loro fans! Che dire di questo disco? Melodie irresistibili, praticamente i Beach Boys che si svegliano alla mattina e decidono di gonfiarsi di power pop! Uno dei miei dischi preferiti di sempre in ambito pop! (1997 Polydor)

If their debut album is anything to go by, Silver Sun are four casually misogynistic serial masturbators with a profound debt to the Beach Boys and a fine line in sun-flecked power-pop. That's to do a disservice to them, however, because ignore the frequent references to "dumb bitches" and frontman James Broad's admission on "Bad Haircut" that he's "sitting on the toilet waiting to come", and Silver Sun is a whole lot of fun. In fact, geek rock seldom comes with the flagrant hyperbole of "Lava", which rather thankfully shelters its musings on the smell of young girl's bedrooms (true, unfortunately) under two-and-a-half minutes of excitable scissor-kicking and about 12 choruses piled gloriously on top of one other. Evidence that if Silver Sun could learn to, y'know, talk to 50 per cent of the world's population, then perhaps the geeks could inherit the earth. (Louis Pattison - http://www.amazon.co.uk/)

- Test
- Golden Skin
- Dumb
- Julia
- Far Out
- Last Day
- Service
- Yellow Light
- Lava
- 2 Digits
- This 'n' That
- Wonderful
- Bad Haircut
- Nobody
- Animals Feet



SILVER SUN

Shed Seven "B-Sides"

Premettiamo che gli Shed Seven sono 1 gruppo tutt'ora in attività e quindi non vi saranno certo molti post dedicati a loro,ma,questa graditissima raccolta di B-sides la si poteva trovare sulla versione limited di Maximum High, secondo lavoro del gruppo e quindi la posto volentieri. Ovviamente per i completisti che avevano già tutti i singoli poteva risultare superflua, ma per gli altri era davvero 1 ghiotta occasione per avere altri 16 pezzi con versioni nuove di brani editi o per sentire pezzi criminalmente rilegati a b-side che potevano tranquillamente stare su un disco vero e proprio. (1996 Polydor)


- Long Time Dead (New Version)
- Around Your House
- Swing My Wave
- Out By My Side (Piano Version)
- Immobilise
- Killing Time
- This Is My House
- Sensitive
- Barracuda
- Mobile
- Stepping On Hearts
- Never Again
- Song Seven
- Making Waves
- Sleep Easy
- Only Deaming


SHED SEVEN

The Delgados "Domestiques"

Decisamente diversi i Delgados di questo esordio rispetto a quelli che produrranno dischi magnificamente eleganti nelcorso della loro carriera, qui siamo invece su un pop lo fi che si muove su coordinate Pavement/Pixies, con un gusto scozzese che non guasta mai. Impegnato anche sul fronte della propria casa discografica (che pubblica anche questo lavoro, ovviamente), che vantava tra le proprie fila anche paladini come i Bis, il gruppo divenne uno dei favoriti del grande John Peel, che li volle spesso nel proprio programma! Giustamente direi! (1996 Chemikal Underground)


"Tempered; Not Tamed" off The Delgados' 1997 debut album, Domestiques, begins with a French-language shoutout to Chemikal Underground Records. The band wasn't just promoting the label that their core songwriting duo, Emma Pollock and Alun Woodward, started in the early 90s; they were also giving props to the then-nascent Scottish scene, which included Chemikal signees Arab Strap, Bis, and Mogwai, and which peaked during the latter part of that decade. Of the acts on Chemikal Underground, The Delgados weren't always the most popular or critically acclaimed-- in fact, it wasn't until the turn of the current decade that they rose from the ranks with their Dave Fridmann-produced albums, The Great Eastern and Hate-- but The Delgados were always able to compete with any of the bands they signed and promoted.
It seems odd to compare these early songs to the band's more recent work, as they could belong to another band entirely. Despite the presence of Pollack and Woodward's familiar vocals, the approach and the sound are completely different: Instead of the well-polished cacophony of their last two albums, Domestiques has a much rawer, looser sound, almost punk in the songs' straightforward structures and simple energy. But the album contains the seeds of its successors. Woodward's acoustic meditations on "One More Question" and "Smaller Mammals" prefigure Peloton, while tracks like "Strathcona Slung" and "Akumulator" showcase the same kind of singalong, hoist-your-pint choruses the band has since perfected.
Like fellow Brits like Mojave 3, The Delgados alternate male and female vocals, occasionally playing them off each other. But it wasn't always this way: Domestiques is undeniably Pollock's album. The songs that prominently feature her vocals, such as "Big Business in Europe" and "Sucrose", are by far the record's best and most dynamic. Woodward, on the other hand, shows an inclination for meandering structures and half-developed ideas, and the concentration of his songs toward the end of Domestiques makes for a disappointing anticlimax.
Domestiques makes a fine point of origin for the three albums and handful of singles that followed it, but it's more than just a curio for fans: At its best, the album exposes the roots of a scene that produced one generation of bands and influenced another, and showcases a young band trying to claim its own territory in both music and business. Still, its flaws reveal they had a long road ahead of them before they'd finally arrive. (Stephen M. Deusner - http://pitchfork.com/)


I Delgados sono scozzesi e appartengono alla stessa generazione di popstar folk di Glasgow quali Arab Strap e Belle And Sebastian. Piuttosto che limitarsi a seguire la banale scuola pop britannica, che si estende senza grossi cambiamenti dai Beatles agli Smiths, i Delgados ebbero il coraggio di tentare la via della sperimentazione. Il primo singolo Monica Webster (febbraio 1995), l'EP Lazarwalker (Radar, 1995) e il secondo singolo Cincentre (1996) ricordano una versione lo-fi dell'obliquo hard-rock dei Pixies. La somiglianza con i Pixies continua nelle migliori tracce di Domestiques (Chemikal Underground, 1997): Under Canvas Under Wraps e Big Business In Europe, mentre le piu' orecchiabili Sucrose, Tempered Not Tamed e Akumulator rivelano un potenziale commerciale.
Pavement e Velocity Girl sono fonte di ispirazione per il lo-fi dissonante che prende il controllo dei brani maggiormente creativi: Leaning On A Cane, un duetto tra i due cantanti sospinto da linee di violoncello, e One More Questions, immerso in tintinnii di xilofono. (Piero Scaruffi - http://www.scaruffi.com)

- Under Canvas Under Wraps
- Leaning on a Cane
- Strathcona Slung
- Tempered, Not Tamed
- One More Question
- Big Business in Europe
- Falling and Landing
- Akumulator
- Sucrose
- Pinky
- Friendly Conventions
- Smaller Mammals
- 4th Channel
- D'Estus Morte

DELGADOS

Catherine Wheel "Chrome"

Questo è uno splendido disco di rock. Non uso il termine shoegazer, perchè rispetto all'esordio, complice anche il produttore a mio avviso, le cose cambiano, spostandosi più verso l'hard rock, ma rimane intatta la capacità di scivere comunque pezzi potenti, maturi, intensi e vibranti. Chitarre rumorose che non inglobano la melodia, ma si lasciano guidare dalla stessa, mentre la voce di Rob si dimostra versatile come non mai. Un disco che a mio avviso è proprio poesia! (1993 Mercury)

Chrome is the kind of album that can end a band’s career. It’s so good, so very good, and yet it never attracted the attention or the sales that one would expect for an album this accomplished. The band had to Chromeknow how good it was and must have released it with great expectations. Having those expectations dashed by a lukewarm reception can break a band’s spirit and their heart. Catherine Wheel kept going releasing three more albums after Chrome but they never received the recognition they should have based on Chrome alone. It’s a brilliant record.
Catherine Wheel are Rob Dickenson (guitars, vocals), Brian Futter (guitar), Dave Hawes (bass) and Neil Sims (drums). Both Chrome and their debut album Ferment are squarely in the shoegazer genre and this may have been part of the problem. “Shoegazer” was something of a pejoritive term coined by the UK music press for a group of bands that began to surface in the late 1980s that featured massive walls of guitar effects and feedback with vocals often unintelligible and buried deep in the mix. Part of the ethos surrounding the music was a pronounced lack of interest in or respect for the established music press and the critics of publications like NME and Melody Maker reacted by deriding the music. American audiences who weren’t reading the UK music press listened with more open ears and Catherine Wheel initially found more success in the US than the UK. The UK press then castigated the band for abandoning their home audience for America. There’s just no satisfying these guys.
Chrome features towering walls of guitar effects that make Phil Spectre’s trumpeted “wall of sound” sound like a puny thing in comparison. Dickenson and Futter sound like an army of roaring, chiming, ringing guitar players. One of the factors that set Catherine Wheel apart from many of their shoegaze contemporaries was that their music never abandoned harmony, melody and hooks in favor of raw guitar squall. Their guitars are immense but they always work in service to the song. They also have a way with discord that I don’t know if I’ve ever heard before. The band will occasionally add a discordant guitar line to the mix but they have an uncanny way of embeding the line in a wall of guitar sound that modulates in tone in such a way that it provides a bridge between the discordant line and the melody line. It’s as if they are providing a guided tour of how discord can arise from and be related to harmony. It’s a very neat trick and it can serve the perpose of easing listeners who are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with discordant music into an appreciation of how dissonance can be made to work musically.
Chrome was originally released in 1993 and if the 20 year nostalgia cycle holds, shoegaze will be “rediscovered” sometime in the next 5 years. Actually, shoegaze may have jumped the gun as we are already seeing bands labeled as nu-gaze that feature big walls of guitar sound. Whenever it happens, perhaps Catherine Wheel will finally get the recognition they deserve for Chrome. It’s one of that small handful of albums that I’ll return to perodically through the years. If you like good songwriting and powerful guitars, check it out. (http://tunedintomusic.wordpress.com/)

The original title, Crank, would have been apt. Producer Gil Norton (Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen) was brought in to toughen this band's sound and set them apart from the wave of U.K. upstarts who were pounding U.S. shores. That he did. But it's not necessarily progress; Talk Talk's master experimentalist, Tim Friese-Greene, gave Catherine Wheel's brilliant debut, Ferment, a dripping beauty, opulent textures illuminating barely hidden firepower. On even the most angry, aggressive tracks, such as "Texture" and "Shallow," this shimmering, shuddering mist was still ever-present. Many of those glistening touches have indeed been subtracted by Norton, and they're missed. That Chrome is still a terrific LP proves Catherine Wheel capable of eclipsing the overload. Like another sharp LP that "cranked" for an hour without much sonic letup, Chrome reminds one of Sugar's Copper Blue. Not because Catherine Wheel covered Hüsker Dü on the 30 Century Man EP; it's because that was the last LP that combined this kind of songwriting prowess, raging playing, dynamics, pop tunes gone kablooey, and huge, bonfire sound. And unlike that toasty Sugar LP, this twin-guitar quartet knows how to bring it down: both the spindly single "Crank" and the resplendent "The Nude" seem almost tearful, they're so pretty through the thickness, and the knockout "Strange Fruit" is as fulsome as it is fierce. Rob Dickinson sings as if to choke on his words, yet never loses a gritty determination backed soundly by his and Brian Futter's guitars. Add in heavier versions of previous B-sides-that-deserved-better "Half Life" and "Ursa Major Space Station," and you've got a double play from a band too resolute to fall victim to sophomore slump wimp out, too talented to write half-baked tunes in two minutes, and too strong to glaze out in a shoegaze haze some pigeonholed them in after Ferment. (Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover - All Music Guide)


- Kill Rhythm
- I Confess
- Crank
- Broken Head
- Pain
- Strange Fruit
- Chrome
- The Nude
- Ursa Major Space Station
- Fripp
- Half Life
- Show me Mary


CATHERINE WHEEL

Catatonia "Way Beyond Blue"

In alto i cuori e in alto le mani per la splendida Cerys. Meravigliosa. E se non ci credete guardate i video qui sopra. Adoro le bionde e cado ai piedi della signorina Matthews! La sua voce poi mi fa impazzire: bambina impertinente, così dolce e ingenua, ma così pronta anche a graffiare. Il loro ottimo guitar pop è ricco di melodia e di momenti pop di altissimo valore. Impossibile non cedere di fronte a tanta sapienza armonica. Davvero 1 esordio che ha del miracoloso! (1996 Blanco Y Negro)

I Catatonia sono un quintetto Gallese che fa capo al songwriter Mark Roberts, ma più famoso per la sua frontwoman, la bionda punkette Cerys Matthews. Il suo ruvido ed essenziale stile vocale è una via di mezzo tra Debbie Harry (Blondie) e Bonnie Tyler. L'accoppiata formata da Matthews e dalle canzoni orecchiabili e melodrammatiche di Robert ci appare come una versione meno patinata degli Echobelly o degli Suede. I primi EPs sono stati raccolti su The Crai Eps (MIL). La migliore di quelle canzoni, For Tinkerbelle, è anche il brano che spicca su Way Beyond Blue (Blanco Y Negro, 1996), insieme alla facile Lost Cat. (Piero Scauffi - http://www.scaruffi.com/)

Way Beyond Blue is Catatonia's criminally overlooked debut album, full to bursting with sparkling pop tunes, made all the more magical by Cerys Matthews distinctive voice (which is one part angelic croon, one part rough smokers growl). "You've Got A Lot To Answer For" is the top 5 hit that never was, combining the trauma of a pregnancy test with a tune that leaves you beaming, while "Sweet Catatonia" is a joyful statement of intent. During the quieter moments, on the likes of the gorgeous "Whale" and "Dream On", the music shimmers like a mirage that might disappear any second. When this first came out, Catatonia were dismissed as your average indie band; it's amazing how wrong people can be. The band may deal with the everyday subjects that effect us all, but most of us could never come up with anything as simultaneously delicate and aggressive as this. (Emma Johnston - http://www.amazon.co.uk/)

- Lost Cat
- Sweet Catatonia
- Some Half Baked Idea Called Wonderful
- You've Got a Lot to Answer For
- Infantile
- Dream On
- Bleed
- This Boy Can't Swim
- Painful
- Whale
- For Tinkerbell
- Way Beyond Blue


CATATONIA