14th September, 1998


All this and the new Manics LP too...

Single of the Week

"A Perfect Day Elise" by P J Harvey

Polly Jean Harvey, on her jouney back into the limelight, has managed to capture and tame the world's largest, dirtiest and most muscular bassline, and force it to pull the rest of "A Perfect Day Elise" along, snarling and glaring behind dark feline eyes. Superb. And that's just the bass.

A low-down deep south sweat-soaked tale of murder and madness, "A Perfect Day Elise" is a triumphant return for PJ, with its eerily malevolent lyrics ("He opened the door to room 509, said a prayer, pulled the trigger and cried"), haunting and memorably banshee-like vocals and pounding rhythm section that drags you barefoot over smouldering coals.

"The Bay" on the b-side is sparser, scarier but not quite as disturbingly exciting as the a-side, with Harvey coming over like some Nick Cave-ish spider sitting menacingly at the centre of her blues-tinged web. The blues is a vibe continued on in "Instrumental #3", but not the kind of blues you slap your leg to in the centre of some downtown Chicago speakeasy. Instead, this is the kind of blues that plays when you sell your soul to the devil at the crossroads at midnight.

Imagine Aqua, then imagine something as different as you can get.

Rating: 10/10

The Rest

"I Want You Back" by Melanie B

Let's keep running with the scary female theme now, with the first solo Spice project courtesy of newly-married Mel and sassy collaborator Missy Elliot. And this is a million miles away from the sugary productions of Spiceworld (e.g. - "you got me drinking liquor in the morning"), with its sub-zero icicle shards of jarring string samples and sinisterly seductive girl on a power trip rap. First listen might not overwhelm, but after a couple of spins the chorus of this thing will be lodged in your brain, clamped on tighter than a venus flytrap with lockjaw.

A virtually identical mix (the "Soundtrack Version") follows, with a slightly anachronistic verbal bit tacked on at the end, then the "Maw Remix" brings up the rear, swapping the scary bits for a big pounding house beat, mellowing things up nicely. This is one Spice that's not going to lose her flavour ("Careful, sonny" - the Bad Pun Police) when the inevitable split comes.

Rating: 9/10

"Generation Sex" by The Divine Comedy

Now that Jarvis has turned into your sleazy drunken uncle at Christmas (more than quite effectively, I might add), all eyes turn to Neil Hanlon for healthy doses of foppish wit and style. Which he delivers in spades here with "Generation Sex" and its intelligent and clever attack on modern-day Loaded-era Britain (including a brilliant lyric on the Diana accident - "a mourning nation weeps and wails, but keeps the sales of evil tabloids healthy - the poor protect the wealthy"). Which would amost be enough on its own, but to cap it all, The Divine Comedy wrap it all up in a fantastically upbeat and Barryesque arrangement, letting it strut its impressive stuff through your consciousness with the hidden agenda of making you think.

"London Irish" is next, a Smiths-ish slowie that explores the dual nature of humanity and the price of fame with a folky feel and more lyrical gems ("The London streets are paved with gold...you gain the world and you lose your soul"). Understated and subtle, it is the b-side of the week. Next is "Time Lapse", a cover of a Michael Nyman composition that is suitably grand and baroque, with lush string stabs and thunderous orchestral drums.

The Divine Comedy may just prove to be one of the bands of the year...

Rating: 9/10

"C'Mon Cincinatti" by Delakota

For some it will always be 1989: which is fine, so long as you mine that era's rich baggy seam for nuggets such as this. A big shuffling groovey fucker of a track that trips along through Stone Roses and Happy Mondays territory with more than a nod to "Loaded"-era Primal Scream, "C'Mon Cincannati" is as laid back as Huggy Bear under hypnosis and almost as cool. Play loud and incessantly so as to annoy the neighbours whilst dancing around the room like a monkey, and you will be doing the song justice.

A more drawn-out and more narcotic buzz of a remix ("M Organs Village Mix") follows, which takes you up through a dope-shrouded atmosphere and puts you into a big loopy orbit with a big grin on its face. "The Spectre" is last, a more blues-tinged number with addled lyrics and a slow loping beat that threatens to fall over itself. Not a patch on "C'Mon Cincinatti", it is still a bit of a diversion for a few minutes (longer if you've been on the herbal tea).

Rating: 8/10

"I'll See You Around" by Silver Sun

The Beach Boys. Harmonies. Power pop. Every Silver Sun single ever. You know the score by now. Or do you? "I'll See You Around" is a welcome progression for the boys, with a much rockier feet-on-monitors outlook whilst still not sacrificing the sun-drenched harmonies and mile-high power chords that we love em for. In fact, with a bit of imagination, this doesn't sound a million miles away from the Manics fronted by Brian Wilson. The Beach Boyos, if you like ("You're nicked" - the Bad Pun Police). As such, it is the best Silver Sun song since "Lava" and deserves a listen.

"Missed" is next, and is similarly rocky, like Rocket From The Crypt, but not quite as intimidating (or quite so much fun). "Jessica" could almost be Black Sabbath it rawks so much, with guitars crunchier than a big tub of fried cockroaches. Together with "I'll See You Around", both extra tracks bode pretty darned well for the forthcoming LP.

Rating: 8/10

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