WEAPONS
Weapons
Wicked Old Lady
Exciting, unstable, frenetic, angular and angry, Weapons is a six-strong maelstrom
of rap, rock, punk and pop. The two key members, JG and Georgia G, are siblings
and two thirds of Penarth’s foremost musical family. Trip-hop-popper
Jem is the other, making a guest appearance here on the beautiful Thieves.
Not a track here lacks a killer hook; the album opens with the wank-referencing
ordered chaos of current single Love Is Thunder. The Last Place She Went To
Was The Ocean has a chorus that will live in your brain for weeks. Then there’s
the Senser-like Black Nine Ninja; all pogo-friendly guitar and route-one rapping.
A great album, a ridiculously loyal fanbase and no small degree of MySpace-squatting
are pricking up ears and attracting attention everywhere.
DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL
Dusk And Summer
Vagrant Records
Chris Carraba, the heart and soul of emo-friendly MOR group Dashboard Confessional
is a pretty boy. That’s probably some of the secret behind his 2.5 million
sales so far, mostly to skinny-jeaned teens with floppy fringes. The other
part is an easy-access musical oeuvre. He sings songs with heartfelt choruses
and just enough of a tinge of guitar to qualify for a ‘rock’ filing
in the local HMV. Slow Decay is the best track here; a brooding number with
a light, sing-along chorus. Dashboard Confessional: for heavy rock fans with
hangovers.
BASEMENT JAXX
Crazy Itch Radio
XL Recordings
Based around the concept of a radio station, this album from London’s
disco-house duo breaks no moulds in its quest for the perfect uplifting dance
record. The lavishly-packaged set recalls their most crowd-friendly tunes when
dipping into the late-Seventies (first single Hush Boy for instance) but only
really gets interesting a couple of times (the dark melancholic come-down of
When The Lights Go Down). Crazy Itch Radio is at best only mildly diverting,
at worst just plain boring. A disappointment.
Catch all the latest CD and gig reviews in the current issue of RedHanded.
James McLaren cocks an ear to
the latest music