Utah Saints Utah Saints

Utah Saints Utah Saints

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Utah Saints' self-titled full-length is full of joyous, electronic rave-ups. The album works most successfully when the band is using inspired samples toward their pop electronica goals. "Something Good" and "What Can You Do for Me" have to be the most popular moments extracted from the album. They are also, by far, the album's best songs. Sampling alternative diva Kate Bush's airy vocals, from her song "Cloudbursting," "Something Good" becomes a fast, fun ride. Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt warp and twist Bush's vocals of "I just know that something good is gonna happen" every which way they can, creating a mesmerizing rave-busting anthem to joy. The song is stunning in its power to get a dancefloor moving. Who would have thought a Kate Bush chorus could be turned into a first-rate dance song? "What Can You Do for Me" does the same thing for Annie Lennox that "Something Good" did for Kate Bush. The song sees Utah Saints sampling all sorts of vocal segments and musical elements from the Eurythmics' "There Must Be an Angel Playing With My Heart." The song doesn't take off with the energy of "Something Good," but it's still an aural treat, mixing moody, flanged vocals, a promoter's screams, and a worthwhile beat. "New Gold Dream" attempts another reworking, this time of a Simple Minds' song, to lesser, but enjoyable effect. Another area where the band mines success is when they take to making near-classical compositions in the style of dance music. This area of the band's sound is best represented by "My Mind Must Be Free" and "Trance Atlantic Glide." "My Mind Must Be Free" sounds like it was recorded at a gospel dance party. "Trance Atlantic Glide" works like a dance version of a minimal, Michael Nyman score to a Peter Greenaway film; one can picture Greenaway's strange imagery, perhaps displaced to some bizarre rave event. In between the sampled euphoria and the symphonic dabbling, there's perhaps a bit too much filler. Utah Saints sound either spread a bit too thin or like an imitation of 808 State on a number of the weaker tracks, particularly on "Too Much to Swallow"; the song is a major misstep which sees a goofy, high-pitched, and synthesized trumpet sound playing around with a pathetic drum machine sound. "I Want You" is also a weak track, sounding like a halfhearted mix of industrial dirge and a cut-and-paste rap. While the album isn't entirely worthwhile all the way through, there are enough innovation and pure energy to make it essential. With less filler, and perhaps a shorter running time, there would have been more cohesion. Still, there's so much to love, between the ear-tickling electronics and the divinely inspired samples, that one can't help but get lost in the mostly heady mix of Utah Saints.

The Beloved Happiness

The Beloved Happiness

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The Beloved co-founder and vocalist Jon Marsh has always seemed to have his finger on the pulse of cutting edge underground dance music. Admittedly: The Beloved’s first album ‘Where It Is’ released in 1987 consisted of the conventional guitar, bass and drum line-up, with Marsh on vocals and keyboards, but the 12” extended remix of ‘Forever Dancing’ taken from their debut album, sounds like something that could have been played between Shannon and New Order 12” remixes by Arthur Baker at some hip NYC club like The Fun House – in other words a dance floor slaying slab of vinyl. Last year New State Music reissued The Beloved’s previously hard to find ‘Where It Is’ album. For ‘Happiness’ The Beloved line up had changed further to just Jon Marsh and guitarist Steve Waddington, whose visits to Danny Rampling’s Shoom club that started in the basement of a fitness centre in Southwark during the late 1980’s steered where The Beloved were going to go next with their sound. In addition to Shoom, Marsh and Waddington soaked up the sounds of Chicago House and Balearic Beats heard in underground club nights like the Boy’s Own warehouse parties. Released in 1990, ’Happiness’ is the perfect recipe of pop and club beats with a theme of optimistic unity running through the songs. Various singles were released from the album. ‘ The Sun Rising’ was THE tune to soundtrack the arrival of daylight after dancing all night on whatever available substance whilst listening to a gigantic sound system in a cow shed off the M25 in 1989. ‘Hello’ is a logical progression in style from ‘Forever Dancing’ which was followed by the electro-heavy dance floor anthem ’Your Love Takes Me Higher’ and the slower and beautiful ‘Time After Time.’ ‘Happiness’ was produced by Martyn Philips who later worked with Erasure. The Beloved could be seen on the covers of music and fashion magazines like The Face in 1990, whilst their videos were nominated for awards and ‘Happiness’ went Gold in the UK. The remix album of ‘Happiness’ tracks ’Blissed Out’ sold equally well too. ‘Happiness’ sounds timeless today. A collection of songs that celebrate positivity and we all could do with some of that right now.

Jesus Jones Perverse

Jesus Jones Perverse

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Doubt remains to be the highlight of Jesus Jones’s career, but its immediate followup – 1993’s Perverse – would have fared as well if not for the seemingly inescapable change of musical landscape as the decade progressed. But because it is celebrating its silver anniversary, Perverse deserves a keen reassessment and an affectionate reconsideration—something that eluded it back in the days. Released on Monday, January 25, 1993, through Food/SBK Records, Perverse opened with the laser-lit Rave energy of “Zeroes and Ones.” The ensuing “Devil You May Know” was a different kind of beast – while it exuded faint echoes of the preceding album’s “International Bright Young Thing,” it certainly stood out with its Indian-inspired Psychedelic Pop, predating similar sonic trips made by the likes of Cornershop (“My Dancing Days Are Done”), Kula Shaker (“Govinda”), and Elephant Stone (“Between the Lines”). The techno-jangly “Get a Good Thing” then took the listener back to the smoky and musky dancefloor of the discothèque. And then there was the sinister sound and undulating melodies of “From Love to War.” Jesus Jones then dove into Trip-Hop territories with the lava lamp–conjuring minimalist globules of “Yellow Brown,” after which they launched into something softly metallic in the form of “Magazine.” With the following “The Right Decision,” the band delved into something melodic and progressive, almost Art Rock and New Wave. “Your Crusade” explored again Jesus Jones’s Industrial tendencies, owing to the dreamy synth melodies and buzzsaw-sharp guitar lines. Albeit still in the same dancey and spacey rhythm, the mood then slowed down with “Don’t Believe It.” A sudden shift of style occurred as “Tongue Tied” played next – percussive with a hint of R&B, only to burst into shards of razor-sharp guitar strums and bouncy synth embellishments. The same dizzying and hypnotic effect flowed into the penultimate track – the ominous and cacophonic, aptly titled “Spiral.” Finally, Jesus Jones concluded their aural perversion with the initially filmic vibes of “Idiot Stare,” which eventually transformed into an Alternative Dance stomper in the veins of New Order (“Thieves like Us”), during the legendary band’s Haçienda days. Perverse may have not been as decidedly Pop like its successful predecessor, but it proved as cohesive, more diverse, and nonetheless compelling. It simply got swiftly sidetracked by the slew of new scene darlings that gradually arrived in the mid-’90s. So, by the time Perverse started to surf the mainstream, the ever-restless commercial spotlight had already shifted its focus onto this new batch of bands that came to represent the new faces of what became Britpop.

The Wonder Stuff The Eight Legged Groove Machine

The Wonder Stuff The Eight Legged Groove Machine 

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Like the Buzzcocks with the irony meter turned to 11, or a much less sweet-natured version of the so-called "blonde pop" bands of the time (Primitives, Darling Buds, etc.), the Wonder Stuff's debut album is a crisply recorded batch of buzzy little two-minute guitar pop songs. What made the Wonder Stuff different was the arrogant brashness -- bordering on megalomania -- of singer/songwriter Miles Hunt. Hunt's lyrics, typified by song titles like "No for the 13th Time," "Give Give Give Me More More More," and especially "Astley in the Noose" (a scathing condemnation of Stock-Aitken-Waterman-brand dance pop focusing on the insipid but basically harmless Rick Astley) are cutting and sarcastic; what saves the group is the fact that they never actually tip over into mean-spiritedness. The fact that the album's title is entirely descriptive helps considerably as well. Not a one of these songs is less than catchy and memorable, and the best, like "Rue the Day" and "Some Sad Someone," are outstanding. The Eight Legged Groove Machine is to be taken with a rather large pinch of salt, but it's a most enjoyable listen.  

           

Doves The Best Of Doves (The Places Between)

Doves The Best Of Doves (The Places Between)

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For a brief period, Doves ruled the roost when it came to 21st century Brit-pop. Their music connected the dots between OK Computer-era Radiohead, Coldplay, and U2, a welcome combination for those unwilling to forgive U2's Pop or follow Radiohead down their Kid A rabbit hole. As a result, Lost Souls and The Last Broadcast both went platinum in the U.K., spawning no less than six Top 40 singles in the process. Those two albums dominate The Places Between, a greatest-hits compilation that focuses on the band’s glory days. To their credit, Doves have yet to release a dud of a record -- even the band’s lowest-selling album, Kingdom of Rust, went gold -- and they’ve collected their strongest material here, meaning the records that didn’t sell as well are still represented by strong, melodic tracks. “Andalucia,” the compilation’s only new track, holds its own against 14 established hits, a sign that Doves aren’t quite done with their reign of the U.K. charts

Primal Scream Screamadelica

Primal Scream Screamadelica

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There's no overestimating the importance of Screamadelica, the record that brought acid house, techno, and rave culture crashing into the British mainstream -- an impact that rivaled that of Nirvana's Nevermind, the other 1991 release that changed rock. Prior to Screamadelica, Primal Scream were Stonesy classic rock revivalists with a penchant for Detroit rock. They retained those fascinations on Screamadelica -- one listen to the Jimmy Miller-produced, Stephen Stills-rip "Movin' on Up" proves that -- but they burst everything wide open here, turning rock inside out by marrying it to a gleeful rainbow of modern dance textures. This is such a brilliant, gutsy innovative record, so unlike anything the Scream did before, that it's little wonder that there's been much debate behind who is actually responsible for its grooves, especially since Andrew Weatherall is credited with production with eight of the tracks, and it's clearly in line with his work. Even if Primal Scream took credit for Weatherall's endeavors, that doesn't erase the fact that they shepherded this album, providing the ideas and impetus for this dubtastic, elastic, psychedelic exercise in deep house and neo-psychedelic. Like any dance music, this is tied to its era to a certain extent, but it transcends it due to its fierce imagination and how it doubles back on rock history, making the past present and vice versa. It was such a monumental step forward that Primal Scream stumbled before regaining their footing, but by that point, the innovations of Screamadelica had been absorbed by everyone from the underground to mainstream. There's little chance that this record will be as revolutionary to first-time listeners, but after its initial spin, the genius in its construction will become apparent -- and it's that attention to detail that makes Screamadelica an album that transcends its time and influence.

Black Grape It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah!

Black Grape It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah!

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When Happy Mondays fell apart in 1992, most observers assumed that Shaun Ryder would never recover from his numerous drug addictions. No one could have ever predicted that he would return to the top of the charts three years later, relatively fit and healthy, with a new band that fulfilled all of the promises of his old group. Black Grape is what Happy Mondays always were, only better. Leaving behind the stiff musicianship that plagued even the best Mondays records, Black Grape's debut, It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah, is a surreal, funky, profane, and perversely joyous album, overflowing with casual eclecticism and giddy humor. Working with a band that is looser and grittier than the Mondays, Ryder sounds reinvigorated, creating bizarre rhymes that tie together junk culture, drug lingo, literary references, and utter nonsense. Ryder's lyrics have always been freewheelingly impenetrable, but now he's working with Kermit, a rapper that is the equal of his skills. Even better, the music has deep grooves and catchy pop hooks that come straight out of left field. From the blaring harmonica of the triumphant "Reverend Black Grape" and the trippy sitars of "In the Name of the Father" to the seedy, rolling "Shake Your Money" and the stinging guitars of "Tramazi Parti," It's Great is filled with music that goes in unconventional directions without ever sounding forced. Not only is It's Great When You're Straight a triumphant return for Ryder and his sidekick Bez, it's the first album they have ever recorded that justifies all of the hype. [In 2016, a two-CD/one-DVD Deluxe Edition of It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah was released, including a bonus CD featuring remixes, live tracks recorded at the Brixton Academy in 1996, and the unofficial Euro '96 football song "England's Irie" with guest vocals by Joe Strummer.

The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness

The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness

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The Smashing Pumpkins didn't shy away from making the follow-up to the grand, intricate Siamese Dream. With Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the band turns in one of the most ambitious and indulgent albums in rock history. Lasting over two hours and featuring 28 songs, the album is certainly a challenging listen. To Billy Corgan's credit, it's a rewarding and compelling one as well. Although the artistic scope of the album is immense, the Smashing Pumpkins flourish in such an overblown setting. Corgan's songwriting has never been limited by conventional notions of what a rock band can do, even if it is clear that he draws inspiration from scores of '70s heavy metal and art rock bands. Instead of copying the sounds of his favorite records, he expands on their ideas, making the gentle piano of the title track and the sighing "1979" sit comfortably against the volcanic rush of "Jellybelly" and "Zero." In between those two extremes lies an array of musical styles, drawing from rock, pop, folk, and classical. Some of the songs don't work as well as others, but Mellon Collie never seems to drag. Occasionally they fall flat on their face, but over the entire album, the Smashing Pumpkins prove that they are one of the more creative and consistent bands of the '90s.