R.S. Murthi Reviews Notable Recent Rock Albums

Last Update: Jan 15, 2004

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KULA SHAKER - Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts (Columbia/54:20): The pseudo-psychedelic London quartet, whose trademark melding of Hindu mysticism and acid-rock has its roots in the Beatles's work of the late '60s, is in delightful form on this second album. The trick to enjoying the music lies in taking it for what it is: a trippy mix of screaming guitars, chatty drums and chant-lie vocals. The band may have taken it' name from a ninth century Indian King and hired Indian classical flute master Hariprasad Chaurasia (in soaring form on the CD's hidden instrumental towards the end) to complement the ensemble of traditional musicians featured here, but it's not out to spread some kind of austere-life message. Indeed, tracks like Mystical Machine Gun, S.O.S and 108 Battles (of the Mind) make it clear that the band's out to have some fun, though the lyrics are laced with irony. The only time there seems some kind of attempt at spiritual communion is on traditional-style Indian bajaans like Radhe Radhe and Namami Nanda-Nandana. It's all quite charming despite some intrusive liftings from '60s rock, and the fact that the group delivers it with a terrific punch testifies to the genuineness of its inspirations.

DIXIE CHICKS - Wide Open Spaces (Monument/43:52): Those who bemoan the blandness of country-pop would be sure to appreciate the breath of fresh air this Dallas-based trio brings to the hybrid style. Natalie Maines (lead vocals), Emily Erwin (vocals, Dobro, banjo, acoustic guitar) and Martie Seidel (vocals, fiddle and mandolin) may not be adept at writing their own material, but they know how to pick just the songs to suit their interpretive capabilities. The tracks are simple and swinging with the girls effortlessly supplying crisp harmonies, especially on such gorgeous tunes as Wide Open Spaces, Loving Arms and Tonight the Heartache's on Me. And with some spirited solos, Erwin and Sidel show that the traditional instruments in their arsenal don't have just a decorative role. Certainly one of the more interesting mainstream country albums to come out in recent times.

SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER - Sixpence None the Richer (Squint/Elektra/50:54): The name may be a mouthful and the music may not be as fresh as an initial listening to the album might lead you to think, but this quintet out of Austin, Texas still makes a strong impression with this debut. Lead singer Leigh Nash and guitarist/cellist Matt Slocum first got together as teenagers in 1993 and weathered the storm of uncertainty that early success sometimes brings before this major-label debut. They are responsible for most of the songs here which, despite having a soft-rock flavor, are enhanced by strikingly elaborate arrangements. Mellow strings and folky textures (through the use of instruments like pedal steel and accordion) flesh out passages on pieces like Anything, The Waiting Room and Easy to Ignore. And Nash's precious vocals, which are reminiscent of Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser, invest the tunes with a melancholy grace that suits the themes of romantic longing and lost innocence that many of the songs deal with. At times, there's an almost poetic elegance to the proceedings, most evident on Puerdo Escribir, a musical interpretation of a poem by Pablo Neruda. Of course, it also can sound a tad pretentious, but there's enough craft in the band's high-art explorations to make them intriguing at the very least. Still, it's the simple and evocative bittersweet charm of the hit Kiss Me that proves the most original, appealing and enduring here.

SUEDE - Head Music (Nude/57:54): One of the most left-field of the bands to emerge as part of the early '90s Britpop movement, Suede's quirky musical tendencies were at first dismissed as too weird to be marketable. But something about the band's "slum-glam" image and trippy blend of rock and attitude started attracting a huge youth market, and it wasn't long before the music rags were proclaiming the group as the next great wonder. The band justified that tag in some way with three intriguing albums that reflected the mood of the times among British youth. But their success was never on the scale of their Britpop cousins, Oasis and Blur, mainly because they were harder to pin down. This latest offering, the band's fourth, is a heady mix of psychedelic percolations, '60s pop flavors and some influences that are not easy to define. That's what makes the album so arresting yet vaguely familiar. The opener, Electricity, immediately takes you to a time when living rooms were thick with smoke, and that mood is sustained by the tracks that follow, even if a few seem strangely sweet. Singer Brett Anderson even sounds a bit like those high-voiced vocalists of British pop bands from the '60s on such reflective pieces as Down and Indian Strings. Like most recent recordings that try to maximize the compact disc's storage capacity, this has a few tracks that could have been offloaded. But at least they're almost as tuneful as the best cuts here.

MISHKA - Mishka (Sony Music/48:09): This Bermuda-born 24-year-old windsurfing champion was signed on basically because record company execs think he sounds like "a young Sam Cook(e), mixed with shades of Bob Marley..." While that description may appear like hype, the Rasta beach boy does sound a bit like Marley in his early days on this demo-like debut. And the spare arrangements, most of which feature Mishka's acoustic guitar, have a nicely evocative downhome feel to them. Of course, it's a purely imitative venture, and pop more than reggae is the motivating force here. But there's something about the simple charm of the songs, especially things like Give You All My Love, Lonely and One True, that's hard to resist in this age of processed pop. And Mishka actually sings everything like he feels it. It'd be interesting to find out where he goes from here.

COLLECTIVE SOUL - Dosage (Atlantic/50:22): The Georgia-based quintet's fourth Atlantic album may not have the immediate attractions that made their previous recordings so easy to get into. But while they lack melodic freshness, the songs here are still catchy and crunchy enough to please even jaded rock fans. Ed Roland's distinctive vocals, which find the ideal frames in such mid-tempo humdingers as No More, No Less, Needs and Slow, are still a big part of the sound, as are Dean Roland and Ross Childress' swirling guitar riffs. And while the Childress-composed Dandy Life (he sings on the track as well) has it moments, it's Ed who also defines the mood of thought and reflection here, especially in the pieces that deal with existential dread. The ballads, the best of which have some nicely evocative string arrangements, are the strongest tracks here. But the band also rocks out with infectious ebullience on such things as Tremble for My Beloved and Generate. The album also includes Run, the theme song from the MTV-produced film Varsity Blues. And you can access a bonus track from the Collective Soul web site by running the "hyperCD" in your PC's CD-ROM drive.

SCOTT WEILAND - 12 Bar Blues (Atlantic/59:19): The former Stone Temple Pilots vocalist's debut solo album is totally unlike the three albums he recorded with the ill-fated band. For one thing, it has more of a retro sensibility to it and little of the grunge feel that defined (and was disparaged by critics) the STP sound. What Weiland has really fashioned here is a journey into self that's sometimes quirky, sometimes moody but often inspired and intriguing. There're well-considered borrowings from David Bowie to the Beatles in such things as Desperation, About Nothing, The Date and Mockingbird Girl, and with help from Daniel Lanois, Weiland actually keeps it all focused and pretension-free. It's not hard to tell that the songs come from the soul of a troubled individual trying to channel the rigors of life through the limited form of rock. And the experimental nature of the proceedings, especially in the way sounds are thrown together and mixed up, suggest an artist searching to define his confused visions. Not exactly a work you'll take to on first hearing. But the more you listen to it, the greater it affects you.

DEL AMITRI - Hatful of Rain: The Best of Del Amitri (A&M/Mercury/49:38): The music business has become so mercilessly mercenary in the last decade or so that artists who don't bring in the big bucks for a company after the first two albums are often left to languish as a liability and dropped as a consequence of that. This Glasgow quintet has been luckier than most bands signed to big labels in that, despite being only moderately successful, it has been able to continue recording without compromising its artistic integrity for more than 10 years. Maybe it has something to do with the music's high melodic appeal, but whatever the reason for its survival, you have to appreciate the fact that such a fine unit can still gain sustained support in an industry that increasingly uses the bottom line as a barometer for success. This "best of" package offers a brilliant sampling of the band's work -- songs of life and love that are richly tuneful, ironic and witty. And the ability of main man, singer-songwriter Justin Currie, to get right into the heart of the matter makes things even more arresting. Much of the attraction in humdingers like Roll to Me, Kiss this Thing Goodbye and Always the Last to Know lies in the way melodies and rhythms match the verbal and vocal cadences. And while there's a breezy pop feel about the music, there are also touches of folk and a firm rock underbelly keeping it all from sinking into easy-listening blandness. Currie is first and foremost a romantic balladeer, and it's in this role that he shines here, especially on acoustic pieces like Nothing Ever Happens and Tell Her This. He conveys love's euphoric yet tortured bliss in such a compelling half-mocking, half-emotional spirit that you can't help but be enthralled. Weary of all the pop rubbish flooding the airwaves? Then you really need a Hatful of Rain.

PJ HARVEY - Is this Desire? (Island/40:43): Rock has become such a homogenous and hype-hungry art-form that it's now difficult to distinguish between pretenders and real pluggers. And the ideals of personal freedom and youthful rebellion the music embodied in its purest state have now largely been replaced by a collective expression of angst that seems more calculated to attract the widest attention and appeal to the lowest common denominator than to fire the imagination. Hence you have to be thankful for the existence of bona fide rebel souls like PJ Harvey who, despite a narrow listener base, bravely keep coming up with raw-edged sounds that are a more exciting alternative to the mainstream stuff that's now passed off as alternative rock. She may not be the enraged siren of romantic torture she was when she first emerged some years ago, but, like most intelligent artists, Harvey has reached a maturity that can enthrall, without having to scream her heart out. She's also grown into a more thoughtful and focused songwriter, tackling solemn themes with the verbal precision and economy of a first-rate poet. "My first name Angelene/Prettiest mess you've ever seen/Love for money is my sin/Any man calls I'll let him in..." (Angelene) is how she mesmerizingly starts the proceedings here. And once she has you hooked, she lays more sad and intriguing stories of degraded women on you: "Joy was her name/A life un-wed/Thirty years old/Never danced a step..." (Joy). "In came the girl with the sad eyes and/asked him over again/'Was I too weak? Was I a child?' and/'Can't we leave here and start again?'..." (No Girl So Sweet). Then, before you know it, she's mockingly waving the Bible at you ("Joseph walked on and on/The sunset went down and down/Coldness cooled their desire/And Dawn said, 'Let's build a fire'..." (Is this Desire?) It may seem Polly Jean is making a few concessions to mainstream demands by softening the music a bit, but there's a subtle contrast at work: she sounds sunny on the bleakest songs, and grim on the brighter pieces! At its best, the music is reminiscent of early Velvet Underground, and the co-production input by Flood definitely boosts the recording's soulful energy. (Distributed by PolyGram Records)

JOHN MELLENCAMP - John Mellencamp (Columbia/46:07/HDCD): Like Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp is the closest thing there is to that rare species on the contemporary music landscape - the American heartland rocker. His songs of struggle and hardship, guilt and redemption, love and enmity are among the most revealing of the common man's plight in America, and they often bristle with the downhome flavors of rural life. This self-titled 15th album, which marks something of a new beginning -- it's his first with Columbia, which fittingly makes him Springsteen's label co-mate -- is arguably his strongest effort since 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee. Not only does it echo that fine album's rustic splendor, it also has him returning to the serious themes that elevated him from the status of a goodtime rock 'n roll star to that of a thoughtful, reflection-inducing singer-songwriter. The are some really intriguing moments here, from the Biblical references in the opener Fruit Trader and the updating of the Jack And Diane romance in Eden Is Burning to the purity-glorifying images in such tales of simple life as Your Life is Now and Miss Missy. Mellencamp has a crack band behind him here enriching the flavor of the pieces, which have everything from the taut snap of rock and the evocative beauty of bluegrass to the supple lilt of reggae, with some heartfelt solos. The arrangements are enchantingly bare-boned at times, with Mellencamp's voice sounding like a wind howling through the desert. And it's this image of a lone voice of reason conveying the truth of ages that gives you a reassuring feeling that the mask of deception and falsehood that threatens mankind everywhere will have to fall sooner or later. (Distributed by Sony Music Malaysia)

( These reviews were first published in the New Straits Times )

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