Latest releases reviewed
WOLF PARADE Apologies to the Queen Mary Sub Pop *****
PGiven the many connections between Wolf Parade and fellow Montreal residents Arcade Fire, comparisons are inevitable. Yet one listen to the soaring, dramatic, attractively ramshackle I'll Believe in Anything, and you can understand why Apologies to the Queen Mary is every jot the equal of Arcade Fire's Funeral. There are few pauses for breath on this energetic, loose-limbed, often gloriously unfocused outing, as both frontmen Dan Boeckner (the one who yelps a little like Kurt Cobain) and Spencer King (the one who doesn't) throw themselves into songs that shake, rattle and resonate with the kind of emotional noise which is often easy to create but difficult to sustain. Yet this splendid, spirited buzz is here at every turn, dominating the driving Shine a Light, spotlighting the breathtaking scope of Dear Sons & Daughters of Hungry Ghosts, and pushing the astonishing I'll Believe in Anything towards the finishing line. Get ready for some more big music. www.subpop.com
Jim Carroll
BURT BACHARACH At This Time SonyBMG **
PTurn the lights down, pour yourself a dry martini and call the cops: the king of sexy schmaltz is back, he's mad as hell, and he's brought his homey Dr Dre to help him pop a cap in Dubya's ass. You can relax, though: the 77-year-old composer hasn't gone all Eminem; he's just worried about his kids' future, and some of the lyrics (written by BB himself) reflect his growing unease at the way the world is headed. Where Did It Go? sees Bacharach breathlessly lamenting the state of the US, while Who Are These People?, featuring Elvis Costello, softly questions the powers-that-be. Dr Dre's loops add meat to the vaseline-slick arrangements, late-nite saxophones and honeyed piano runs of Is Love Enough? and Danger, while Rufus Wainwright adds glam and gravitas to Go Ask Shakespeare. Alas, no big hits a la San Jose, Look of Love and I Say a Little Prayer, but plenty of melodic reminders of the man's former greatness.
Kevin Courtney
DARA Dog-Eared Memories Damage Control ***
PFive years since his major label debut (and swift departure from their books), Dublin singer-songwriter Dara has every right to sound wounded. But when his belated follow-up begins with the shuffle and squall of a song called I'm Bleeding Something, he doesn't seem especially clear on what gripes to hold. Continuing with such displaced sentiments, Dara and band demonstrate a far more expansive sound than the serried ranks of the singer-songwriter brigade, but can also stray into kitchen-sink embellishments, unjustifiable song lengths and a whimsical overkill to rival Gilbert O'Sullivan. The album's scrapbook coherency doesn't exclude such uninspired moments as the song about songwriting, the power-ballad by numbers and, most egregiously, the New York song. His better moments, however, such as the pumping Heroine, manage to sound both acrid and sunny, leaving more hope for Dara's future as these memories fade. www.dara.ie
Peter Crawley
SOMADRONE Fuzzing Away to a Whisper Trust Me I'm A Thief Records ***
PThe endearingly oddball alter-ego of Redneck Manifesto's Neil O'Connor, Somadrone has been tinkering away at the "experimental" end of electro-pop for nigh on a decade now, so it comes as a surprise to find that his long-awaited opus is a rather conservative assortment of soporific mood-pieces. Much of Fuzzing is merely reflective of the influences of its formative years rather than a cohesive leap of imagination, like a restricted, claustrophobic suggestion of ambient Aphex Twin or the atmospheric soundscapes of Múm. Nevertheless, the results are often beautiful. Fluttering beats and industrial samples are enhanced by viola and cello, lending the piece a form of serenity that gently binds the album's elements together. Enjoyable, yes; relaxing, certainly; yet not quite the boundary-bothering, pigeonhole-defying artefact that it might have been. www.trustmeimathief.com
Johnnie Craig
EMBRACE Dry Kids (B-Sides 1997-2005) Virgin ***
PIn the pop rock trajectory, Embrace began as Britpop offspring before becoming the doormen who let Keane and Coldplay in. Banishing the Oasis overtones took a while, but when they sounded like them, they did it better. Some bands use the B-side as the musical equivalent of landfill, a dumping ground for self-indulgent covers or album surfeit. Danny McNamara & Co are masters of the big ballad, but even their flipsides are only slightly cropped. Pulled together in one collection, it sounds a bit like anthemic overdose, but I've Been Running, a confessional ditty that slaloms into a mountain of music, gets them off the hook. There's the odd digression from their oeuvre - a sub-spiritualized Feels Like Glue, the Oakenfold dance trip of One Big Family - but mostly they triumph at sprawling piano/guitar combos. www.embrace.co.uk
Sinéad Gleeson
MARY BLACK Full TideDara Records ****
PFull Tide marks the 11th CD release for Mary Black, and this time round she assumes some of the co-writing and producing responsibilities. This is a snapshot of a musician in her prime, the full swell of her years on the road propelling her to a place where she needs no trickery to take full possession of songs borrowed from the likes of Bob Dylan, Noel Brazil and Sandy Denny. It's on her songwriting debuts that Black mines the real depths. The writing team of Black and her 20-year-old son, Danny O'Reilly, shows promise of more to come. Sandy Denny's Full Moon is an expansive flourish, bolstered by the West Ocean String Quartet. Second winds don't come more forceful than this. Mary Black's back, and she's brought a shiny new repertoire with her. www.mary-black.net
Siobhán Long
