23rd September, 1996

A quiet week on the single release front. Great to have new material from Longpigs though.

Single of the Week

"Lost Myself" by Longpigs

This group have been one of the surprise delights of 96 so far, releasing a brace of magnificent and triumphant confident epics. A grower, "Lost Myself" is equally deserving of attention. It starts off as a slowie, in the same manner as "On And On", but the chorus is a huge, impassioned thing, Hunt's strained and impressive vocals hitting new heights over guitars capable of levelling skyscrapers. Radiohead had better watch their backs.

"Floss" is a gentle semi-acoustic song, tracing its roots back to REM and early U2 and is an effective comedown after the dramatics of the main track. "The Wonder Drug" sees Hunt doing his best Mark E Smith impression over choppy discordant guitar, an original demonstration of the band's versatility. The EP closes with "When You're Alone", a fast unashamed pop song in Buzzcocks vein.

Longpigs therefore show their prowess again with this well-rounded and good value release. The sound of a band, justifiedly proud of their talent and destined for greatness.

Rating: 10/10

The Rest

"Trigger Hippie" by Morcheeba

A re-release for this fine track from Morcheeba. Another band to have been influenced by the divine Portishead, they have produced a mellow and spaced-out slab of trip-hop here. A low, langourous bass-line over a funky drummer beat, with caramel-coated vocals and a sitar break make this an Eastern-tinged, psychedelic number: one to put on late at night with the joss sticks burning.

The obligatory remixes of the title track are adequate - the best being the instrumental rhythm-heavy Diabolical Beats mix. Wonderful mood music, or a perfect soundtrack to some forgotten 60s black & white art-flick. Extra track, the live "Post Houmous" is another mighty instrumental mantra-like dub. As mellow as coffee and cream.

Rating: 8/10

"El Scorcho" by Weezer

Nothing to do with Spanish TV weather forecasters, "El Scorcho" sees the return of the "Buddy Holly" boys with this Wacky US grunge dweeb anthem. Beavis and Butthead bands and songs like this are ten a penny/cent, (step forward PUSA, Offspring, Green Day, etc), and this is a typical example. Whilst I have a lot of time for this kind of music, this song just doesn't seem to cut it. "El Scorcho" has at least two songs in it trying to get out and vying for attention; this does not have the same singalong qualities of a "Basket Case" or a "Lump" - and it suffers accordingly. Not bad. But, let's face it, not "Buddy Holly".

B-side "You Gave Your Love To Me Softly" is "Buddy Holly" with different words and the amps cranked up, but is still better than the a-side. The other track on the CD is the grunged-up Beach Boys of "Devotion", a slow, harmony-laden torch song which is effective in a grinding, churning kind of way.

Rating: 6/10

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