Ah...intelligent, swooning, epic indie pop is back. The NME would no doubt pigeonhole this as New Grave or some other
such invented genre, but "Never Never" is much harder to categorise than that. XTC crossed with Bowie and Radiohead
with a teensy little bit of Sparks thrown in for good measure. Guitar led and driven, with crystal-sharp male vocals and an
ever-swelling chorus to kill for, Warm Jets sound extremely promising to say the least. Sparingly-used female backing vocals
complete the offering like a sprinkling of sugar on top. Blissful.
"Signs 2" heads the b-sides and is a mantra-like echoing buzz of a track, echoing My Bloody Valentine or Ride. The vocals
haunt the mix, taking a back seat to the pulsing guitars and rhythms. The warm acoustic-based "In Another Picture" is more Pavement
than Blur ever have been, but is still distinctive enough to stand up on its own. Closing this excellent EP is "The Model", an acoustic
cover of the Kraftwerk classic, that sounds like a drunken East European folk band. Moody, to say the least.
Bands like Warm Jets, Placebo and Mansun represent a very encouraging trend in the current music scene, away from the
retro of Britpop (which admittedly produced some classy stuff). But now it's time to move on, and these bands are perfect crusaders
for the cause.
Rating: 10/10
The Rest
Sunderland's finest rush up with this fast and furious pop punk offering. Featuring the finest opening second of any song in recent memory,
"Nightlife" then proceeds to whip up a huge storm, especially the pneumatic chorus, underlining a joyous and proud romp of a song. Kenickie are the best female-fronted band around
at the moment - even better than the Spice Girls, and that's saying something (no trace of irony - honest).
"Kenix" on the b-side is the band's theme tune and is a sinister punk anthem - Pistols jamming with Bow Wow Wow on acid. "Skateboard Song"
is next and is the kind of song that We've Got A Fuzzbox (And We're Going To Use It) used to do before they went crap. It also contains a
very amusing spoken word interlude which captures one of the essential appealing things about Kenickie: they are damn funny. And how many
Britpop bands could you say that about? Sleeper, maybe, but that wasn't intentional. The two extra trax on the 2nd CD are equally fine.
"J.P." is an acerbic, bitter track that Courtney Love would be proud of. "Eat The Angel" is great, with its Spectoresque harmonies and
Bow Wow Wow drumming.
Rating: 9/10
This crew have nodded at their Beach Boys influences in the past with stuff like "Lava" and "Last Day", but with "Golden Skin" they
wear their hearts on their sleeves and produce a pure Californian sun surf epic - albeit one with cranked-up guitars and punk
attitude. Lyrically not about sun-bronzed beach babes, but instead dealing with fake-tanned chat show hosts, Silver Sun and Kenickie again
represent a welcoming facet of today's scene - that of brash poppy melodic punk. Surf's up.
4 Bs. "17 Times" comes up at you in disguise as a gentle ballad before exploding in a big sequinned glitter ball of power chords and
harmonies. "In Nature" is a typical energetic Sun song, lyrics dealing with kinky sex ("nature's laws are for breaking") and sounds
like Rocket From The Crypt emerging blinking into the sunlight. Next up is "High Times", another Beach Boys tribute full of ringing
guitars and close-knit harmony, but featuring lyrics like "we're having a fag and getting changed". Final extra track is "It
Couldn't Be You", a more traditional indie pop tune.
Silver Sun may only have one speed and one sound but hell, they're good ones.
Rating: 8/10
First there was the Manics with "You Love Us", then Menswear with "We Love You", now Subcircus with "You Love You". Someone
better write "We Love Us" before it's too late. Anyway, "You Love You" is a big bombastic track with a very weird vocal that sounds like a scared
Brett Anderson on helium. After a couple of listens, the histrionics and vocal gymnastics begin to make more sense when coupled with
the glam guitars and the song grows. Original, interesting and not a little bit disturbing.
On the b-side is "Central Heating Boiler", which is a mesmeric waltz again featuring the band's distinctive vocal style and melodramatic
backing. "She Ain't Heavy" is the final extra song, another slowie, credited on the sleeve as being "one of the songs that helped us to
get a record deal". You can see why, as it is an original piece of romantic balladry, equal parts Suede, Radiohead and the Velvets.
Rating: 8/10
Pop meets punk meets techno with Republica and this fine offering off their recent eponymous LP. Featuring the strained Cockney
drawl of Saffron (bless her) and the thunderous musical backing of assorted Flowered Ups, Bow Wow Wows and N-Joi's, "Drop
Dead Gorgeous" is an immediate, refreshing and monumental track, but one that is forgotten as soon as the laser stops hovering
over the plastic (which doesn't sound as good as the needle leaving the groove, but who cares).
A Chemical Brothers remix of "Out Of This World" is the first extra track, and is a spacey, ambient groove featuring some trademark CB
bizarre samples and sounds (their new LP is monu-ahem-MENTAL, by the way). Next is "Mutha", featuring Saffron doing her best
Toyah impressions. Damn fine, however, especially when the guitar kicks in. Last but not least is a seven-minute version of "Holly", one
of the band's best songs, and a kicking mix.
Rating: 7/10
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