BLOWPIPE
Epilogue
Sultry jazz from the Blick family: legendary session brass and reeds player Robin Blick; his son Andrew [trumpet, erstwhile Grooverider collaborator] and daughter Katharine [usually known as Katharine Blake, Mediaeval Babes and Miranda Sex Garden]. The result is a more contemporary take on the summery sound previously offered by early Nineties popsters James Taylor Quartet and their myriad offspring.
KILLING MIRANDA
Teenage Vampire
Delightful, trashy rock from the glammiest gothsters in town. More Mission than the Sisters of Mercy, London's Killing Miranda aren't about to sit about moping. They'd rather pile on the eyeliner and paint the town a proverbial shade of [blood] red. The production is frighteningly good - really rich, powerful drumbeats and fantastically clear vocals - and not a tinny hi-hat in sight. The song itself, with its infectious "I was a teenage vampire" line is horrendously enjoyable, appealing to a broad range of listeners. This is pure, foot-on-the-monitor rocket fuel - adrenaline squeezed into three minutes of pure joy. This puts the Rocky Horror Show soundtrack to shame, and the Offspring are cowering under the bedclothes before it gets to the roll-on-the-floor-laughing finale of "pretty fly/for a dead guy". Quite possibly the funniest, most outlandishly enjoyable song since Eminem first swaggered onto the playlist. Stop it - you're KILLING me!
Heaven's Earth
Startling remix of one of the highlight's of last year's double reissue of
'Karma'. The Matt Darey remix is a powerful trance reworking of the track,
which thankfully keeps intact Kristy Thirsk's haunting vocals. Fantastically
manipulating the beats to play off that old Fatboy Slim trick of
anticipation/build-up/climax, this is a dancefloor smash waiting to happen.
The previous single - a remix of 'Silence' - hit number two in Ireland and
number six in Australia. Unfortunately, the UK audiences have been slower to
latch on, despite championing from the likes of Pete Tong and Sacha/Digweed.
Possibly the only act to be playlisted at both Ministry of Sound and
Slimelight in the same week, Delerium prove yet again that great music has
no boundaries. Awesome.
WHILD
I'll Be John, You'll Be Yoko
Arrrggghhh!!!! Horrendous sub-Oasis shite indie of the worst variety. The Bluetones and Cast can only dream of plumbing these depths. This is the most unimaginative pile of cack it has ever been my misfortune to hear. It's your dad's saggy pants.
WITNESS
Audition
Drawing from the same inspired pool as "Scars", Witness return with another slice of atmospheric pop. Again, the beats are slow and hard, and the guitars languid and airy. The psychedelic mass that was previously explored by fellow Northern trip-merchants The Verve is kept out of the realms of the ordinary by the arrangements - subtle, interesting and hypnotic. This is a band worthy of attention.
I.O.N.
House of the Mad
Little is known about this eclectic bunch. Suffice to say that they deal in a superior brand of industrial techno, fusing beats and guitars with a feriocity and depth that sets them apart from their peers. They have been setting gigs alight lately, with bands such as Ultraviolence, Inertia and Killing Miranda. It shouldn't be too long before this lot are headlining, if this song is anything to go by.
DEADBOLT
Happyface
These tracks are lifted from a demo of the hugely acclaimed Essex four-piece. Terrorizer and Metal Hammer have been shouting their praises for ages, and it's not hard to see why. They draw their energetic sound from a range of metallic influences, both old and new. Rage Against the Deftones (sic) meet old-skool metal in a blend that Metal Hammer describe as "Phil Anselmoesque". They are heavy, loud and focussed, with a Pantera-fights-with-Rollins edge. Old habits die harder, I suppose.
FUNGUS
Over My Head/I'd Rather Be A Doll
Gathering from all the attention Fungus have been attracting of late, I had anticipated a little more than this. Although the critics have attested to a Placebo influence in there, it reveals itself in the style, rather than the atmosphere of the songs on offer here. Placebo after all, are not doing anything particularly new. They just had some interesting pop songs and a string of energetic live performances to get the punters queuing. I haven’t seen Fungus live, but nothing from the tracks on offer would particularly convince me to see them. They lack imagination, as well as memorable songs and ideas. The lo-fi reference points are neatly in place, but they seem to miss the fundamental point that those they copy from had great songs in spite of the production, not because of it. It’s as though they can spell the words without understanding the language. And unlike Placebo, they are not the real thing.
MAXDYMYZ
Dragon Machine
MaxDmyz are a six-piece from London whose own studio has featured everyone from Senser to Paul Young. Pretty eclectic mix for a stylist industrial band like this. Their live shows may be based around a fetish/erotic theme, but MaxDmyz are every bit about the music. Hard, frenetic beats and memorable keyboard lines recommend this band, who feature a Latvian doctor, several people who ran away from the circus and assorted guitars/bass/drums. The press release describes them as "If Edgar Allen Poe rewrote Star Wars, MaxDmyz would be the Cantina band." Damn right!
CUBE
Have Another Drink
I have heard this single and much like it. In both senses. It reminds me of dozens of great songs that people have sent me - all masterpieces condemned by their brilliance. This is another such - powerful, memorable and quirky - the gutsiness of Radiohead’s "Creep" mixed with the off-kilter appeal of dEUS. It’s fabulous. They are doomed to failure. Everyone will buy records by Fungus. And I will weep.
THE JUNKET
Punk Monkey/The Engine Boy
Off all the tips for 1999, this lot are so hot that my fingers burnt on the sleeve. For once, it is well-deserved too. The A-side may not be as immediate as anticipated, but the AA-side "The Engine Man" is deserving of several listens. This band really are deserving of the much-sought accolade of New Placebo, but only in the sense of capturing lo-fi melancholia and spiking it with precision pop. The Junket have the jagged obstinacy of a male-fronted Cay, and the memorable choruses of the terminally underrated Senseless Things. Pay attention to the future calling. Do believe the hype.