31st May 1999


Mellower of mood this week, you'll be glad to hear. Unless you happen to be Baz Luhrmann or a member of 21st Century Girls, that is. Or Feeder, for that matter.

Single of the Week

"Hey Boy Hey Girl" by The Chemical Brothers

Big beat superstars return to the scene, chasing off ex-Housemartins with a withering glance from behind colossal Wagnerian decks spewing forth the awesome pneumatic noise therapy that is "Hey Boy Hey Girl". Which also bears more than a passing resemblance to a technofied version of the theme tune to Knight Rider, which has to be a bonus. I've met David Hasslehoff, you know. He was very shiny.

"Flashback" makes "Hey Boy Hey Girl" sound like it belongs on Songs of Praise in comparison, and is one of those big old mad acieeed things, bringing back mental images of people phasing in and out of strobe-lit vision, wearing dustmasks filled with Vicks vapo-rub (you had to be there...). Altern 8 - that's who it reminds me of. "Scale" is Japanese video game soundtrack territory, electro scales drifting through virtual reality soundscapes filled with dolphins, fractal graphics and small blue hedgehogs.

Massively welcome and pretty much faultless material from the pharamceutical siblings - more power to their knob twiddling elbows.

Rating: 10/10

The Rest

"Scar Tissue" by Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Peppers are one of those quasi-mythical bands who - like Faith No More - take the US rawk thing, and mould it into something truly unique; which in the case of RHCP, is funked-up and scuzzed-out California (hell) raisin' (ho ho) rock n roll. "Scar Tissue" is one of their slower numbers, that - whilst not being a classic like "Under The Bridge" - is about as effortlessly cool as it is possible to get whilst being American and not being The Pixies.

"Gong Li" babbles along with pleasant quirkiness, like a glockenspiel floating down the Mississippi, then "Instrumental #1" pops up from the wrong side of the tracks, its down and dirty blues hollering for the likes of Jon Spencer to come out for a rumble.

A classic example of how to be rock and not be crap. Which brings us neatly on to someone demonstrating the rather unpleasant opposite side of that coin...

Rating: 8/10

"Insomnia" by Feeder

Step forward Feeder. Or rather, step back a few years with this uninspiring bit of formulaic grunge that even Stone Temple Pilots would have rejected on the grounds that it sounded too unoriginal. It is fast, has quiet verses, loud choruses and exactly the same guitar effects pedals that Nirvana used. There - saved you the bother of actually having to listen to it for yourself.

"Space Age Hero" is practically the same song as "Insomnia", except slowed down and put through a different bank of effects. "Living In Polaroid" sounds like the Psychedelic Furs in a bad mood, which - paradoxically - is a progression from the other two lame slices of stale grunge pie.

Rating: 3/10

"21st Century Girls" by 21st Century Girls

21st Century Girls are half-way to being crap, and I fear that's as far as they'll get. Yet another attempt to come up with Girl Power Mk II, that ends up sounding about as revolutionary and exciting as Thora Hord reciting her favourite recipe for apple crumble over an utterly unoriginal and dull glam/punk racket. Give me Shampoo any time - at least they were funny. This crew are just an embarrassment. Girls - please run along (and take Hepburn with you).

Rating: 2/10

"Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" by Baz Luhrmann

Instead of buying this record, I suggest you get one of those new age self help books and read it aloud to yourself whilst listening to The Orb. And even only then if you're the type of person that's impressed by some twat of an American droning on a succession of cringe-inducing platitudes that have about as much relevance to how to live your life as the contents of my sock drawer.

For the rest of you, I suggest putting "Hey Boy Hey Girl" back in the stereo and living in the real world.

Rating: 1/10

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