Music Reviews

Reviews

Etron Fou Leloublan - Batelages

I heard Batelages by Etron Fou Leloublan by a stroke of luck. I love coming across a great LP or film that nobody has recommended and I hadn't the slightest idea existed. Maybe its the closest you can come to properly discovering something great for yourself, stripped of any preconceptions. Some of my favourite LP's and Films I was lucky enough to chance upon, and I can't deny that they remain favourites partly because of the chance, the surprise element.

The Fall - Dragnet

"Paranoid stories of being stalked and creating new regimes"

For a long time now I have asked myself: why are the vast majority of Fall records so good? What are the elements that make them stand out from the output of almost every other band that existed since rock 'n' roll started? Of course there are many reasons; Mark E Smith's inventive, rhythmic and utterly commanding use of language; the compelling repetition of drums and bass; the spiky and at times weirdly detuned guitar riffs; and the overall uncompromising expression of who they are and where they come from. Their second LP Dragnet, released in 1978, of course has all of these elements, but for me also has something more, which I'm going to attempt to understand more through writing this article.

Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band

Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band record came out at the same time as John Lennon's one, 1970. The covers are so similar that it would have been easy for an unsuspecting Beatles fan to pick up Ono's by mistake. I'm sure that was the couple's intention and I'm also sure that the majority of people who bought it by mistake binned it pretty soon after. While Lennon's was massive success Ono's got to 187 on the American chart and didn't even get in the British one. This is no real surprise though as the LP is very much influenced by the extremely eclectic New York avant guarde scene. Ono had been deeply embroiled in that scene years before she met Lennon, mixing and working with heavyweights such as John Cage and La Monte Young.

Sly and The Family Stone - There's A Riot Going On

Before There's a Riot Going On, Sly Stone had produced so many classic slabs of funk that he was likely to be forgiven anything by his adoring public. He decided to test this faith to its limit.

It might seem odd to be suggesting a mega selling album from a multi-mega selling band is an under-appreciated album. However, even though this weird, messy, low-fi, downbeat funk classic had an immense effect on so many artists it's possible that if any other band had produced it at any other time it may have wriggled into a corner of cultdom that even cults shied away from.

The Slits - Cut

When you hear Cut by The Slits for the first time you may be duped into believing that you are listening to some early attempt at a punk/reggae crossover. Listen again and you'll notice that this is not even close to being a hybrid. The Slits were unique. Formed at the age of 14 when girl bands were becoming even less frequent, two of the members had been chucked out of their first band by Sid Vicious because they couldn't play. And they barely could play but the compensation was a stop start scratchy punk style that they used to emphasise and enhance lyrics that were so harsh, witty and provocative that they are scratched into your memory for a long time after.