Johnny Cash Is Back From The Dead in Singled Out!!!

Alabama 3 were about to enter the smoke filled passageway of kitsch that is Stars In Their Eyes, before (lets hark back to S.I.T.E’s glory days…) Matthew Kelly man handled (though the ensuing ABH case never proved such savagery!) Rob Spragg, “hello Rob, who are you gonna be for us tonight?”, “Hello…I’m Johnny Cash”. Alabama 3 then forayed onto the camp celestial body of a stage, and proceeded to play a joyous country number full of zest, glorious lyrical zeal, double-bass bounciness, and a pedal steel guitar that propelled the audience into a good ol’ hoedown…so why was Matthew holding his head in sheer befuddlement!? Well, Alabama 3 didn’t actually cover ‘Ring of Fire’, or even ‘A Boy Named Sue’, no, ‘Hello…I’m Johnny Cash’, was actually a tribute to the man in black, Johnny Cash! The stupefaction of the homage overcame Matthew’s befuddlement, so much so was Matthew endeared that he was heard to direct those legendary words to Alabama 3…”come ‘ere you!”

Good grief, a band from the “New York underground club scene” who aren’t afraid to perform with a bit of merriment and gaiety, Gigwise welcomes Fever into our abode! The curiously titled ‘Ladyfingers’ espouses a zany edge from the other side of the Atlantic that hasn’t been heard since the big haired dance inducing shenanigans of future touring buddies Hot Hot Heat. With the uprising of Clor to add to the Fever, Hot Hot Heat smorgasbord there may well be a need for another superfluous genre, let it be known as ‘the gallimaufry wave’, a jumble of art rock, new wave and electro!

Fresh from the commercial success from that “a-woo-hoo” song returns the girl who’s made initials cool again, KT Tunstall. And boy, is the release of ‘Other Side Of The World’, a cynical, cynical ploy on behalf of her record company. Outta the window goes the organic talent KT (those initials just make her the envy of urbanites nationwide don’t they!?) originally showcased in ‘Black Horse and The Cherry Tree’, in favour for that Top Ten moneymaker…the ballad. All KT street-cred is now disembowelled for the Crowded House fan base of middle-aged viability.

Taking up the KT Tunstall vibe, before the commercial makeover of the ballad, come The Vitamins. ‘Fire’ cockily comes a swaggerin’ through ya speakers with bluesy balls recounting a tale of a no good liar, before limply leaving ya speakers with it’s tail between it’s legs through lack of innovation despite the emotive vocal rescue attempt of Kilburn Rebecca. ‘I Saw U With Her’, the single’s other A-Side, similarly runs out of energy, if only the tempo was turned up a notch it could have been a glam-rock stomper.

Are you blasé, do you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, do you have an opinion, are you a walking comatose? If you nearly answered “yes”, before realising that such an answer would involve moving an orifice, then you’ve most likely heard the new Coldplay single. Don’t listen to that schmaltz, listen to System Of A Down and ‘BYOB’, an opinion will be formed (even if it’s just upon noticing that they ripped off The Stranglers ‘Heroes’ for their intro!). The screech of “why do they always send the poor” signals that SOAD haven’t abandoned their political edge. ‘BYOB’ adds to the anti-Bush sentiments that many groups have reiterated on countless occasions so much so that the meaning has become redundant, but not with SOAD. ‘BYOB’ is brutal, and played with such ferocious fervour it shouldn’t be humanly possible, if you ears aren’t bleeding from the first listen you might even start tapping your foot to it. Try it, you might like it.

You may remember Million Dead from those backpacks and baseball cap toting days of the 2003 emo/post-hardcore infestation, but new download only single ‘After The Rush Hour’ shows a sidestep away from thee chain-clad scenesters towards a more college rock inventory. The rockier elements of Million Dead are still in evidence, but gone are the “woooooooaaaaaaahhhhhs”, and in are the fragile summery melodies of Dinosaur Jr juxtaposed with the cutting thrust of Sonic Youth to ample affect.

If Joy Division were brought up in Chicago and not in Manchester and its surrounding areas then they may well have ended up sounding like Bikini Atoll, a band that has seemingly nurtured the morose ethic of Joy Division without the pretension that they are living in the winter of discontent (unlike the majority of new-new wavers). Add Talking Heads and the idiosyncratic guitar playing of Pavement and you’ve got the wholesome broth of Bikini Atoll’s ‘Eve’s Rib’. Full marks for the lyric, “’holy moley!’, cried the gathering, who lost control of all their faculties”. Batman phrases are so underused in contemporary music.

Mylo has obviously never heard of overkill, the amount by which destruction or the capacity for destruction exceeds what is necessary for victory or annihilation, if he had then he wouldn’t have released the largely sampled Boy Meets Girl ‘Waiting On A Star To Fall’ tune ‘In My Arms’. Like previous 'hit', ‘Destroy Rock & Roll’, ‘In My Arms’ strolls along without intimidation, this time venturing to the unknown destination of being outdone by Sunset Strippers - ouch!

Some bands are destined for greatness or even to a sample a taster of it, take The Coral for example, they’ve had a few hit singles, gained some notoriety in America, and now have respectfully chosen not to go down the commercial route. The Zutons are another example, hit singles, gathering momentum worldwide, with anticipation for their second album growing. Both these bands emerged from the Liverpool club night, Bandwagon, which found fame in 2002. Another band to come from this club night are The Stands… “who!?” Well the Gallaghers are fans, but does this mean Jack Shit!? Noel Gallagher is the man who signed Proud Mary for goodness sake! ‘Do It Like You Like’ is predictable dad-rock, on this basis they are not destined for any greatness, ‘nuff said.

Have you ever wondered what ‘Football Focus’ would be like without music? Doves have, they’d be unemployed. My, the royalties the BBC are pinching from our purses to give Jimi Goodwin and his not so merry band of men must be excruciating for BBC Chairman Michael Grade. The atmospheric beauty of ‘Snowden’ complete with end of football season montages will ensure that the money keeps on flowing to the pockets of Doves. Look out for them sardonically delaying a third single from 'Some Cities' till the start of the season in August!

679 Recordings, do you plead guilty or not guilty to charges of re-jigging the already fantastic, yet already released ‘Decent Days and Nights’ by The Futureheads in a contemptible attempt of a quick buck on the back of ‘Hounds Of Love’? Guilty as sin! Although Razorlight have cynically now re-released their debut album with ‘Somewhere Else’ included on it, at least they gave their fans some fresh material, unlike The Futureheads. ‘Decent Day and Nights’ would have been a single of the week last year, but not with a shameless re-release.

Turkey Of The Week: Exist…why this band do I don’t know! It’s like they’ve just managed to find their way out of the Hacienda when the baggy sound was somehow apt, ‘Spiders & Saints’ is not. The measly spawn of The Music and Kasabian that dawdles along to a passive state of mediocrity. You would have thought that the producer, Youth, would have no problem in creating a worthwhile number with these fellas considering the miracle he performed when getting Danny McNamara’s voice to number one! Lets not even mention the b-track- eurgh, piffle.