Cast: Magic Hour (Polydor)
This is not a good time for 1960s-influenced Britrock - as shown by the failure of Kula Shaker to recapture our imaginations - so the return of John Power's crew is naturally greeted with some healthy skepticism. Cast's last album, Mother Nature Calls, got lost in its own hippie-dippy tree, but Magic Hour keeps its riffs right down to earth and its guitars close to the hip. Power's lyrics, however, still tend to fly off into the mist, and his fuzzy exhortations to "free your mind", "let your love shine through" and "let the feeling flow in" allow songs such as Compared To You, Dreamer and Chasing The Day to drift away without leaving much of a mark. Ignore the Noel-by-numbers lyrics, however, and you can really dig tracks such as Beat Mama, Company Man and Burn The Light, maaan.
By Kevin Courtney
The Hitchers: For The Want Of Some Better TV (Murgatroid)
Following the pithily-titled It's All Fun And Games Until Someone Loses An Eye, the Limerick band with the big papiermache heads prove that they haven't lost their passion for all things puerile. The offensive opener, Liver, is a violent tale which sounds like The Sawdoctors fronted by Hannibal Lecter, but once you get past the grisly details, it's plain that The Hitchers can be inventive and exciting when they want to be. The title track is a nicely-tuned new-wave anthem, while Popstars pulls the Persian carpet out from under the rock-star ego. Songs such as Sure and Even At Your Bravest hint at greater things if only they dared to grow up a bit. All The Hitchers have to do is lose the schoolboy humour, and then they can play with the big boys of rock.
By Kevin Courtney