15th February 1999


Single of the Week

"Action And Drama" by bis

Me giving single of the week to bis (twice, no less - last year's Eurodisco was equally ace) is a u-turn of astronomical proportions, given that I regularly used to subject them to the kind of vitriolic bile I usually save for politicians and Chris Evans. Their new and more polished direction has definitely won me over, and the spacehop-to-pop sheen of "Action And Drama" is another joyous blast of savvy sass and electro new wave candyfloss. Although the lyrics may be trying a bit too hard, with the "give me Club Tropicana"'s and "I'll be getting fresh at the weekend"'s, the annoyingly brilliant tune and attitude is up there with the best of them. A Monkees for the late 90s, or at the very least 3 kids with a bit more style and sense of humour than most (now with a welcome lack of screechiness).

"Not Even Close", with its cynical "I used to think everyone was nice" sentiment, demonstrates Manda's new vocal ability (where once there was none) well, with a powerful and piledriving Blondie-style number (Blondie - remember them? Ace new wave band from the late 70s. God knows who that scary looking bunch of wrinklies at the top of the charts now is...). "Seventeen Hours" is a little less successful, lacking a tune to force you to take notice, but over on CD2, things are amply redeemed by two remixes of "Eurodisco". Les Rythmes Digitales dissect it first, stitching it back together into a big beat house monster, like Air, Kraftwerk, New Order and Blur all meeting up in a Parisian nightclub, whilst bis sit and nod approvingly in the background, drinking pink lemonade. DJ Scissorkicks takes over for the second remix, creating a funkier and sexier beast altogether, that slinks past you cockily whilst strobe lights pulse inside your head. I like.

Hell, now I even find Manda strangely alluring. Someone stop me.

Rating: 10/10

The Rest

"What It's Like" by Everlast

Ex-purveyor of dumb rabble rousing hooligan-rap (the shamrock shenanigans of House Of Pain), Everlast now treads a mellower path. Skip straight past the radio edit (the kind of gutless record company forced nonsense that beeps out words like "balls" and "whore"), and instead accompany the man on a harrowingly beautiful acoustic guitar and rhythmic journey through the wrong part of town. Unlike Phil Collins "another day in paradise" patronising, you fully believe Everlast knows what he's talking about when he sings "God forbid you ever have to wake up to hear the news, cos then you really might know what it's like to have the blues". And all this in a voice that's remarkably easy to listen to, kind of a cross between Black Francis and Billy Corgan - all a pretty far cry from "Jump Around", that's for sure.

"7 Years" on the b-side proves the a-side is no fluke, a 50s-ish piano-led blues number that shuffles along in a satisfyingly hazily-drunk-in-the-afternoon manner. It almost conjures up the greatness of De La Soul when he starts rapping in the middle, then reverts back into speakeasy barfly mode.

The kind of music Nicolas Cage would make if he was a musician instead of an actor.

Rating: 9/10

"As Good As It Gets" by Gene

No-one does intellectual romantic bluster quite as good as Rozzer and the boys (no, not even you Hannon - sit down and be quiet), and "As Good As It Gets" is classic Gene, all furrowed brows, heady idealism and guitar crescendos. Kind of like the Manics used to be, in fact. Not quite as good as it gets (Martin's voice is a little bit too tremulous in parts), but a long way from being as crap as a barrel of monkeys. Especially when it soars rocktastically into the stratosphere like the Silver Surfer with a quiff.

"Toasting The Union" is the best Jam song Paul Weller never wrote, with its guitars capable of punching holes in steel; a blatant reminder that Gene would secretly love to outrock Black Sabbath. "Man On Earth" is much gentler, an ethereal yet sorrowful ballad that supports you in its arms as it sings you off to oblivion.

"All Night" is b-side of the week, both due to its lyrics ("a human flick-knife") and Sonic Youth (yes, honestly - I know it's Gene, but they do sound like Sonic Youth) style guitar tracks. Unusually for a b, I hit "repeat" as soon as it was finished. "To All Who Sail On Her" closes proceedings, another slowie, but more cynically humourous than "Man On Earth" - great to hear Rossiter is as bitter and twisted as ever...

Although I'd forgotten they existed in their absence, Gene's return proves how damn essential they are.

Rating: 9/10

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