Latest releases reviewed
WILCO Kicking Television Nonesuch ****
In the rock'n'roll game, live albums are a soft touch. Essentially the bulk are Best Of collections, sharpened and sheened in the studio, the perfect answer to the contractual need to produce another album. Unless that band is Wilco. Jeff Tweedy's sharp ensemble has played support to his great songs, but this double CD collection proves that there is a touch of alt.country greatness to them as well. This is a stunning set, recorded over four days last May in Chicago, that manages to reinvent a host of classics as the band stretches itself. Tweedy's dark, intelligent and introspective songs are not likely candidates for singalong audiences, but the band persist, and their reward is a performance of edgy wonder. www.wilcoworld.net
Joe Breen
THE CRIMEA Tragedy Rocks Warner Brothers ***
The presence of Lottery Winners on Acid would be plenty reason in itself to cheer the re-release of Tragedy Rocks, but it's not the only weapon which The Crimea possess. Fronted by Dublin-born Davy MacManus (a member of late 1990s indie also-rans The Crocketts), The Crimea glory in the sort of dramatic, emotional melancholy which doesn't usually come packaged with this kind of killer choruses and hooks. While a goodly part of this drama can be put down to MacManus and his punchbag lyrics, The Crimea's musical pitch is also spot on. Between the shanty-like waltz of Lottery Winners... and the way in which Sunshine and Clouds could pass as a toast to Wayne Coyne, what should well seem off-kilter becomes the norm. Originally a low-key release last October, it's now getting the whole promotional nine yards. Proper order, because this is one album that doesn't deserve to fall between the cracks. www.thecrimea.net
Jim Carroll
TRIP HAZARD Stay Good Trip Records ***
Newish Irish band Trip Hazard released their debut late last year, but it would be a shame to let it drift away into obscurity without giving it something of a thumbs up. One of those hardworking, aspirational types of bands that aren't averse to experimenting, Trip Hazard fall flat on their arses now and again, but they have the spirit to dust themselves off and start all over again, careful not to repeat the same mistake. The debut is full of this sort of bravery: interesting songs imbued with a sense of adventure; rooted within known parameters, certainly, but grasping nonetheless for something different. Songs such as Round and Round, Golden Age and Experience offer astute aural thrills, with most of the remainder eminently serviceable slices of pop/rock. www.triphazardmusic.com
Tony Clayton-Lea
CHILDREN OF BODOM Are You Dead Yet? Spinefarm Records **
Somewhere near the town of Espoo in Finland lies Lake Bodom, scene of the gruesome murder of three teenagers in 1960. Three decades later, five young Finns with a fascination for death, torture and loud guitars named themselves Children of Bodom and went on a melodic black metal rampage which has brought them to the brink of international stardom. COB are unlikely to be sharing the bill with Coldplay or opening for U2: their ferocious sound, consisting of breakneck-speed guitars, demonic vocals, screaming keyboards and photon torpedo beats, will appeal to a particular audience - mostly male, mostly teenage, and mostly with a high tolerance for punishing sonic pummelling. With tracks such as Living Dead Beat, Punch Me I Bleed, Bastards of Bodom, Trashed, Lost and Strung Out, COB have a rather limited lyrical palette, consisting of the primary colours of metal, but even the toughest metalhead has a soft spot, and their's is the kitsch version of Billy Idol's Rebel Yell that closes the album. Wusses. www.cobhc.com
Kevin Courtney
JIM BRYSON The North Side Benches Orange/Universal Canada ***
It's something of a busman's holiday, but at least it's taking the scenic route; Jim Bryson is a sometime member of Canadian singer Kathleen Edwards's band - he's the one standing proud as punch behind Little Miss Pottymouth as she lays waste to her Tom Petty fixations. When he's not touring the world playing guitar or writing songs for inclusion on Edwards's albums (Somewhere Else, also to be found here), Bryson jots his thoughts down and records sweet, subtle music of the kind that falls smoothly within the genres of pop and Americana (think Peter Bruntnell and The Pernice Brothers). The songs on Bryson's debut might not be the most original you'll hear, but there's a warmth and character to them (notably Sleeping in Toronto and Accidental Country Leaning) that bodes well for future solo live dates. www.jimbryson.org
Tony Clayton-Lea
