The latest releases reviewed
ROBERT GORDON AND CHRIS SPEDDING It's Now or Never Rykodisc ***
In the run-up to the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, we have been inundated with reissues, documentaries, airplay and the like. It would be a shame, then, amid all the relentless hype (doesn't everyone have all the Elvis they need by this stage?), if this simple, effective, efficient and non-ironic tribute to Presley went unnoticed. For starters, Gordon
and Spedding are masters of the rockabilly art, and they treat Presley favourites (Don't be Cruel, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, It's Now or Never, A Mess of Blues) and lesser-known tunes (I Beg of You, Trying to Get to You, Young and Beautiful) with equal degrees of respect and care. There's nothing here that hasn't been done before, you understand, but rarely with such skill and authority. As a bonus for Presley fans, the sound is fortified with backing vocals by The Jordanaires. TONY CLAYTON-LEA
Download tracks: Peace in the Valley, Lawdy Miss Clawdy
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS Hey Venus! Rough Trade ****
Super Furry Animals are a group whose name should by rights be synonymous with contagious toe-tapping and funky times. Following various side projects and the inimitable Lovekraft, Hey Venus! (a concept album about a girl called Venus) is the Welsh lads' eighth album - their first with Broken Social Scene's producer, David Newfeld. The result emerges from your speakers a fully fledged pixie, giggling mischievously and saturated in sunshine - despite the rain. It delivers a concentrated 35 minutes packed with psychedelia (Baby Ate My Eightball) and thumping retro pop (Neo Consumer); you'd be dizzy if it was longer. Imagine Sgt Pepper jamming with the Beach Boys at a party where no one's driving home and look out, there's another album in progress already. www.superfurry.com DEANNA ORTIZ
Download tracks: Neo Consumer, Runaway, Carbon Dating
BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS Lifeline Virgin ***
Always an underestimated talent, Californian Ben Harper has been working quietly in the margins for the past few years, perfecting a folky blues sound that is as unassuming as it is enthralling. For this, his ninth studio album,
he and his band, the Innocent Criminals, went into a studio in Paris straight after a nine-month European tour. Lifeline was recorded in just one week - and sometimes it shows, as Harper's lyrics seem a bit rushed and cliched. The music, though, is a different story. With the foot very much off the rock pedal, there's more room here for some delightful soul and gospel flourishes. Younger Than Yesterday and In the Colors are standouts. One can only imagine how much better this would have been if they'd given it another a week or so. BRIAN BOYD
Download tracks: Younger Than Yesterday, In the Colors
STEPHEN HERO 57 Stars of the Air Almanac Ragoora Records ***
Having moved to the solitude of Connemara some years ago, former Kitchens of Distinction frontman Patrick Fitzgerald has found a new home in Manchester, but he's holding on to his Joycean nom de plume. 57 Stars, his fourth and sonically richest album under the Stephen Hero moniker, finds our lonely hero marrying plangent piano lines with big, epic indie beats. You can join the dots back to the dark cabaret of Kurt Weill and the elegiac early work of The Blue Nile, but also to the apocalyptic alt.pop of Editors. Open Blue Skies, Early Astronomy and 58th Star look to the heavens while A Death in June, Oh Frank and Other Men's Flowers search the gutter. There's a theatricality to the tunes, a consequence of Hero's recent dabbling in soundtracking films and plays, which adds a Scott Walker-esque flourish to these songs of doomed hearts and dark imaginings. www.stephenhero.co.uk KEVIN COURTNEY
Download Tracks: Open Blue Skies, Early Astronomy, 58th Star
RICHARD HAWLEY Lady's Bridge Mute ****
After being "robbed" of his rightful Mercury Music Prize, according to Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner (the actual winner), Sheffield songsmith Hawley has cracked on and produced another accomplished album of sweet songs for swinging lovers. Like Coles Corner, this one is named after a local landmark, and the lyrics are still very much in love with the Steel City of Hawley's birth. It's another genre album, as Hawley evokes the ghosts of everyone from Matt Munro to Jim Reeves to Sinatra, lovingly recreating a post-war style of pop but also adding extra passion and sincerity. And again, Hawley transcends genre constraints on such evocative songs as Valentine, Roll River Roll, Lady Solitude and The Streets Are Ours. Forlorn piano motifs melt with grainy Gretch guitar lines and rolling string arrangements, while his careworn croon shuffles through it like shadows flitting along the terraces. www.richardhawley.co.uk KEVIN COURTNEY
Download tracks: The Street Are Ours, Lady's Bridge, The Sun Refused to Shine
ROBYN Robyn Konichiwa/Universal ****
This album from the Swedish pop lass who had a few late-1990s rave-pop hits was first prepped for the market in 2005 (and even gathered rave reviews), but that release was nixed due to label issues. Two years on and Robyn (the album) still knocks your socks off. While she does demonstrate some arty touches, Robyn's pop foundations always come through with beauties (Konichiwa Bitches, Cobrastyle). She can be stroppy (hear her vicious put-downs to a would-be suitor on Handle Me) and she can be sonically sophisticated (her collaboration with The Knife on Who's That Girl works on several different levels), but Robyn knows a pop hook is worth a couple of dozen fashionista- friendly embellishments. Like fellow Nordic smartie Annie, Robyn makes pop music designed to last. www.robyn.com JIM CARROLL
Download tracks: Cobrastyle, Handle Me, Who's That Girl
