With "The Bright Light", Tanya Donelly gives us a sonic equivalent of an X-Files episode. With its spooky high-pitched
tremelo sounds and "the bright light begins and I get sucked into it again" abduction lyrics, this is the sound that goes on
inside Mulder's head (we know what goes on inside Gillian Anderson's - that terrible In Extremis nonsense). Wrapped up in the kind
of sweet bubblegum tune that Ms Donelly used to write when she was in Throwing Muses, "The Bright Light" is a shining Unidentified
Pop Object, an alien invasion in dayglo and neon.
"Bury My Heart" is the first b-side, a stacatto spike of guitars and drums with Donelly's sweet-yet-sinister vocals laced throughout
it like poison. "How Can You Sleep" is last, and is the sound of a ghost train travelling through the mid-west at midnight, with the ethereal
Tanya riding in an open boxcar, listening to the sounds the night makes as she seranades it. Unsettlingly beautiful.
Rating: 9/10
The Rest
Indie Kylie's back again with this dancier effort than the Manics-penned "Some Kind Of Bliss". A shuffling beat and a strumalong
guitar underpins "Did It Again", as the Kylester sings in the lowest-pitched voice I've heard her come out with (which, for Kylie, means
that dogs can't hear it for a change). As a disposable piece of dance-around pop with both its head and heart in the right place, it
is highly commendable. And it reminded me of Dannielle Dax in bits, and I like things that remind me of Dannielle Dax.
"Tears" is the first b-side up for inspection, and is a technofied disco stomp that never quite gets into full swing. A remix of "Did It Again"
follows, which accentuates the dance parts of the song, pumping it up into something resembling the Chemical Brothers overdosed
on strawberry milkshakes.
Rating: 7/10
I have yet to be convinced about The Verve, and "Lucky Man" is not the song that's going to do the job. At the moment, they
seem to be trying to corner the sensitive ballad market with this and "The Drugs Don't Work". Sadly, the likes of Radiohead, Suede
- even Boyzone - make a better job of that than this, sub-Oasis, so-dripping-with-strings-it's-soaking, antiseptic effort. Maybe when they
do something as spine-tingling as "No Surprises" I'll pay attention, but for now I shall quickly brush them under the carpet and hope they
shut up.
"MSG" is the first b-side and veers into ambient dub Primal Scream territory - but at their most plotless. At 7 minutes, this is anlagous to getting
your wisdom teeth out. Next is "The Longest Day" (which is what I feel like I'm having), another 7-minute monster the like of which - with
its free-form guitar widdlings and other hippy-based nonsense - hasn't been heard since the early 70s. Last up is a remix of "Lucky Man"
which neither worsens or improves the original to any great extent.
Rating: 4/10
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