Dodgy - Free Peace Sweet
| Ocean Colour Scene - Moseley Shoals | XTC - Fossil Fuel (The XTC singles 1977-92)
Polydor
| With this their third album Dodgy, for the most
part, have continued from where they left off with their
previous effort Homegrown. Those who are
familiar with Dodgy albums will know that the band write
some of the sweetest 60's sounding pop songs that you are
likely to hear and are reknowned for the spreading of
good vibes wherever they play - and after listening to
this album it is easy to see why. Right from the initial
chords of the first single 'In A Room' the sweet
harmonies which characterize the Dodgy sound are here
clearer than ever. The harmonies continue in the songs
'Good Enough', 'Find You' and 'Jack The Lad'. Dodgy also
continue to develop the atmospheric side of their sound
that initially appeared on Homegrown
(particularly in the song 'Grassman'). The songs 'If
You're Thinking Of Me', 'One of Those Rivers' and 'Long
Life' show that the band are just as much at home writing
these slower more emotional songs as they are writing
summery anthems. The development of this area of the
Dodgy sound ensures that the album never gets boring,
especially when they diversify with the funkier 'Ain't No
Longer Asking' and the dub-dance of 'U.K.R.I.P.' Unlike
the previous album where a few tracks really stood out
from the rest, all the songs on this release are quite
strong. It will be interesting to see whether Dodgy can
continue to improve. If they can their next album will be
exceptional.
Rating (out of 5 trainers) |
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Ocean Colour Scene - Moseley ShoalsMCA
|
Virgin
| Fossil Fuel is a fitting testament, not an epitaph,
for one of Britan's most influential and acclaimed acts.
Spread across two CDs is all 31 of XTC's singles from
1977 until 1992 from the skewed songwriting pen of Andy
Partridge and Colin Moulding. The first disc begins the
proceedings with the ska-bop of 'Science Friction', and
new wave 'Stature of Liberty". Things get quirky
with 'Making Plans for Nigel', reggae flavoured with
'Wait till your boat goes down' and best of the bunch the
classic dark verse, catchy chorus of 'Senses working over
Time'. Disc two hits a slow spot for the first five,
unremarkable, songs until things pick up with 'Wake Up'
and 'Grass', which obviously gave Blur an idea or two,
while the spiralling agonistic anthem 'Dear God' stands
out not only in content but also in production and
execution. Not to say 'The Major of Simpleton' and 'The
Loving' off Oranges and Lemons are shabby, but
just more typical XTC. The set closes with the polished
pop of Nonsuch's 'The Disappointed', 'The Ballad
of Peter Pumpkinhead' and 'Wrapped in Grey' which due to
Virgin pulling the single from the shelves lead to XTC
boycotting the label until now. As such this is to be
their final offering for Virgin, with Partridge shopping
around for a new contract. As critical and influential as XTC were to UK music and current Britpop they were never the most consistant of bands, and as such this compliation could have been whitled down to a single, trimmer, disc. Another complaint - while the lyrics and single sleeves are printed there are no dates or linear notes - strange for an officially sanctioned release. That aside, it's well worth a place in any record collection and can be no better summed up than in the track 'This is Pop' - "someone leans in, in my direction / quizzing on my station selection / what do you call that noise, that you put on? / this is pop! yeah yeah". Indeed it is Mr. Partridge, indeed it is. Rating (out of 5 trainers) |
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