Snowpony: "The Slow-Motion World Of Snowpony" (Radioactive)
With ex-members of Stereolab and My Bloody Valentine in the line-up, Snowpony could be a shoe-gazing super-group, and this debut album displays all the trademarks of the genre: effects-laden swirls of guitar, meandering, thoughtful tunes, and breathy, low-key female vocals. But there's more to The Slow-Motion World Of Snowpony than mere noisy navel-examination. Songs such as Easy Way Down and Bad Sister boast a sonic sense of adventure, using samples and shuddering beats to weave a sound which boldly marches way beyond the narrow bounds of shoe-y. Snowpony have been likened to Garbage on a budget; a closer comparison would be This Mortal Coil on a road trip.
Kevin Courtney
Babylon Zoo: "King Kong Groover" (EMI)
Look out Major Tom - Jas Mann is back in orbit, and this time he's left his silver jeans floating in space. The last we heard from the Babylon Zoo-keeper, he had shot into the Number One slot with Spaceman, on the back of a successful Levi's ad campaign. Alas, Mann's dreams of Prince-like super-stardom crashed to earth, and he seemed destined for the one-hit wonder phantom zone. The second album from Babylon Zoo is a glam-rock opera, brimming with musical and lyrical references to Bowie and Bolan, and even featuring a cover of Mott The Hoople's Honaloochie Boogie. It's a huge leap forward from the first, fatally-flawed album, but though songs such as Manhattan Martian, Honeymoon In Space and Chrome Invader aspire to Ziggy Stardust-era elevation, Babylon Zoo are still tied down by too many threadbare ideas.
Kevin Courtney
"The Irish Tenors" (Point)
Three strapping voices, a programme of foot-stomping favourites, an obviously ecstatic audience: if you thought the Irish tenor was a vanished breed, the efforts of these gentlemen might just make you think again. Recorded last September at the RDS and shown as a TV special over Christmas, this selection offers no surprises on the material front, but The Minstrel Boy, Boolavogue, Maggie, When Irish Eyes Are Smiling et al benefit from confident arrangements by Frank McNamara, and the contrasting styles of the three tenors - John McDermott's poppy baritone, Ronan Tynan's familiar bright top, and some marvellously stylish singing from Anthony Kearns, notably an elegant rendition of She Moved Through The Fair - are cleverly woven into the mix.
Arminta Wallace
