Album Review: Fischerspooner - Odyssey

Author: Dollyrocker

Before I start this review, I had better warn you that my views on Fischerspooner are probably quite different from most other peoples, especially reviewers and snotty nosed indie kids. But I have a copy of their new LP and know the truth. THIS, is the most exciting LP that will be released this year, and I'm gonna tell you why. First though, let's travel back into the dark depths of time, to say, ooh, 2002.

I could have some facts slightly wrong here regarding dates and figures, but Fischerspooner recorded their self titled debut LP in about 1999 or 2000. In 2001, they signed a deal with Ministry Of Sound and got a heap of cash that they promptly spent on stage costumes and wigs. Around the same kinda time, Electroclash was kicking off and DJ Hell, Erol and Larry Tee and all that lot would have been treating unsuspecting clubbers to their 'would-have-been-should-have-been' a smash; 'Emerge'. Which is roughly where I came in. I can't remember where I first heard 'Emerge' although I think it might have just been at home when I got one of the original release singles on Hell's 'Gigolo' label. At the time, the music press were falling over themselves over the band, calling 'Emerge' the next step from Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' and New Order's 'Blue Monday'. All that was lies though, Fischerspooner were MUCH better than that. But, like all the best things in life, they weren't built to last. I think the whole thing climaxed in June 2002 with a show at The Bridge, a pretty big space in one of the arches under London Bridge. Now THIS is where it got mindblowing. Fisherspooner never wanted to be normal stars, they wanted to be REMEMBERED stars. The show they put on that night was out of this world, with glitter cannons, a wind machine, fake starts on 'Emerge', cross dressing dancers, it genuinely makes the hair stand up on my arms thinking about it. Like other things that weren't built to last, Pink Floyd at The Roundhouse in '66, Menswe@r at Madame Jo-Jo's in '95 etc, everyone in the building was totally blown away, no matter what they try and tell you in retrospect. Fischerspooner didn't sell many records, it wasn't a great album and people were still getting over The White Stripes (spit on the floor) and apart from an appearance with Kylie on TOTP dueting on her single; 'Come Into My World', they were soon to dissapear (almost) without trace. Oh, and they suffered breakdowns, nervous exhaustion, a lack of direction, debt and then got dropped by their label. It didn't personally matter to me, I had danced my arse off at their show, thrashed the LP to death and was given more joy in those short few months than most bands could give me in ten years and that they had the passion, creativity and most importantly, humour to survive. File alongside KLF and see what happens.

Soooo. Fischerspooner back in 2005 anyone? It's been a funny couple of years since they vanished, electroclash as it was known is deaddeaddead, and instead we have The Others and The Rakes. LCD Soundsystem are the saviours of dance music and Soulwax had a couple of good tracks on their new LP. Daft Punk release their most middling work to date and we have new acts doing very well like The Killers, The Bravery and Arctic Monkeys. Jesus, we REALLY need Fischerspooner back, you just don't know it yet.

Their new LP is called Odyssey. I think it's out in a couple of weeks, you'll have to check their site. HMV won't be heavily promoting this album and Fisherspooner aren't planning to come to the UK this year at the moment. So, we're stuck with the LP at home and in the clubs, there are worse places to be. The first track is also the first single to be released off the LP and is called 'Just Let Go', a pulsating bass driven stomper that is sure to set many dancefloors alight across the world and REALLY should be a smash hit too. Course it won't be though, not in this country anyway, not beery enough, too exciting...

So let's have a flick through the LP then, 'Cloud' has Casey in dreamy mode alongside a hypnotic beat and lovely sawtooth synths. Think Soft Cell, think Human League, think STYLE dammit! 'Never Win' is quite a departure from their last LP, the whole affair is less dark, more poppy, it really suits them too. Although it isn't really dancefloor, my fave track on the LP at the moment is 'A Kick In The Teeth' which combines beautiful harmonies, optimistic lyrics and excellent melody. It's like a weird cousin (in spirit) to 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush. But with synths and beats. 'We Need A War' pops a few digs at his home country (USA), and bounces along nicely. 'Happy' would make a good single, although whether EMI will grant the band more than one chance at a smash hit remains to be seen. The LP's closer; 'Circle (Visions Creation New Sun) is awesome. Like, Edgar Froese playing the hits of King Crimson. Or not.

Whatever. This LP is mindglowing. Bring it into your world.

Album Review: Daft Punk - Human After All

Author: Peter Muscutt

Daft Punk are a curious bunch, never letting their faces be seen in public or in magazine articles (save for a black and white photo on their debut album in 1996). Instead, they have adopted the ploy of dressing up like a cross between sci-fi astronauts and robots. It's ironic then, that their third 'proper' album (i.e. not counting live albums and remix projects) in nine years - great hit rate there, is titled Human After All. The album feels like a cross breed of the previous two albums, the funky house of 1996's debut Homework, blessed with the more digital and futuristic sounding Discovery from 2000. Human vocals are a definite no-no on the album, as are conventional sounding instruments, although the album does have a definite bent towards using the guitar, as is proudly stated on the album sleeve - 'all guitars by Daft Punk' - well done! Although the album has received a very mixed reception, it's true to say this is far from Daft Punk's best work, but at the same time, it's far from their worst (that honour has to go, at least in part, to their involvement on some of the woeful remixes on the Daft Club remixes CD released in 2003). Opening track Human After All sounds like a potential single, opening the album with a crisp beat (reminiscent of the intro from Electric Light Orchestra's Don't Bring Me Down) and the synthesised guitar riffs that signal that this IS a Daft Punk recording - it just sounds like them, which is an enviable position for any band to be in, having carved out their own niche. Although the track is undeniably repetitive, with the repeated refrain of 'we are human after all', but it never jars or grates. The Prime Time Of Your Life, while opening with a moody, synthesised riff and vocodered vocal, descends into the mire of 'not really knowing how to end a track' and falls victim to the trick of speeding a song up until it ends. Depending on your opinion, this is either genius or not, but it doesn't stand well with the rest of the track, and feels like a bit of a cop out.

First single Robot Rock is a fairly standard chunk of what Daft Punk do best, an infectious disco-funk riff (that once you've heard, will stick in your head for days!) that again, doesn't get on the nerves even though it sounds like they've recorded the main riff once, left the keyboards playing, and occasionally battered the 'drum fill' button. Steam Machine marks the first real point where the album falters - a rather irritating and forgettable melody, with a whispered vocal implying the title of the track over and over. This shaky track however is redeemed somewhat by the laidback groove of Make Love (not a cover the Oliver Cheatham track...) a relaxed affair with elegantly twanging guitars and a subtle rhythm. If ever a song was crying out for a vocal track, however, it's this one - some lyrics would have improved this cut no end (it's perhaps worth mentioning that for those agreeing with this statement, there is a bootleg mix floating around on the internet featuring long-forgotten bad boy Mark Morrison's Return Of The Mack shoehorned over it). Sadly, Make Love is the filling of a rather bland sandwich, as the dire The Brainwasher assaults the ears. With perhaps the most annoying vocal ever committed to tape by the group (think a mad uncle trying to be scary and a Dalek and you're not far off) twinned with a rolling, predictable techno backing, and it doesn't really enthral. A brief television-themed interlude follows with On/Off, with the duo flicking through the channels, before returning to work with Television Rules The Nation - a rather dark sounding diatribe against the power of television. Although it's a long way from stone cold classics like Around The World and One More Time, it's a more rock-infused track featuring that guitar 'By Daft Punk!' (don't forget to congratulate them on that, will you).

The first bars of next track Technologic do not offer much in the way of faith, an almost child-like voice ranting on in a similar way to the chorus of Harder Better Faster Stronger, before an almost electro-esque beat comes in, and the track kicks off, although it does sound similar in style to Television Rules The Nation, which we have just heard. The album closes (after a rather short 45-minutes) with the gentle sounding Emotion - maybe an elegy to how human the band have become, layers of filtered vocals building up until a slower-paced beat envelopes them. It's a nice enough close to an album, nothing grand or epic, although again, it does tend to sound rather repetitive. For lovers of previous Daft Punk efforts, this album will be essential listening, although to the more casual listener of dance music, it may well baffle and beg the question 'what's new?'. In fairness, not a lot, although the duo did record the ten tracks on offer here in a single six-week period in late 2004.

Due to this, it has the feel of a stop-gap project rather than a fully completed album, but fans will hope this isn't the last we hear of the band for another four year stretch. This is an album that grows on you, and after repeated listens, is one that fares well in the review stakes - although not deep or offering much on repeated listens, it's an easily accessible dance album that doesn't hide what it is. Daft Punk want us to believe that, after all this time in the music business, they are human after all. They may well be, but with the mechanical rhythms, trademark disco style and overuse of the voice synthesiser, the music most definitely is not..

Website Review: www.franzferdinand.org

Author: Aurliea Wilson

As a devout fan of Franz Ferdinand I search them often on the web. A delightful website by the name www.franzferdinand.org is the greatest fan community ever! Franzferdinand.org is loved for many reasons such as the close link between site and the band and the fantastic person running all of it: Mr. Graham Searle combined with the most enthusiastic fans. FF.org has everything from articles to pictures to news to a fan forum, making it one of the most informative, user friendly and well established fansites on the net. On having the opportunity to interview the site maintainer, I asked Graham the following questions;

Auriliea: How much do you think people benefit from ff.org?

Graham: I'd love to say that people benefit a lot from the site, but to be humble about it, all a fansite does is collate a lot of information from a wealth of different sources and present it to the fan-base. I'm proud of what we've created, and to think that people use it as their first point of call for information on the band is amazing. I'd never have dreamt that would ever be the case when I first put pen to paper and jotted down the first few ideas for the site. I've benefited a huge amount from the site myself... It's certainly opened doors that otherwise would have been closed. I've written an article for NME about the band, I'm in daily communication with the band and their management, I've made so many new friends and important contacts. The only downside, if I could ever call it one, is that now I'm writing so much for so many people and I've got projects on the go everywhere that I'm just insanely busy 24/7. I'll never complain though, I'm having too much fun. Failing my degree, mind...

Auriliea: Any partner sites? Which brings me to my next question…

Graham: Not as such. I experimented with a joint news service with another FF fansite, but our writing styles differed so much that it just looked messy on the eye, and hard on the brain. I'm looking to work closely with a new website which is hosting a huge amount of FF images, photos and scans. Kris who runs that designed some of our new artwork, so we'll be looking to give both sites a common template so it's visually connected.

Auriliea: Any other sites you maintain other than ff.org?

Graham: None whatsoever. I was approached by the band to redesign the official website, and I was working with another band on the revamp of their site too. But neither really came to anything. I've often been tempted to branch out a little, but I couldn't dedicate the time to it if it was to rival FF.org for content and updates.

Auriliea: Why do you start a fan site? (ok maybe I know the answer to this one...)

Graham: The band just blew me away when I first saw them. I was waffling on about them to anyone who'd listen for ages, but noone paid any attention. Then FF released 'Darts Of Pleasure' and went on a wee tour. I got to see the band live a couple more times, and it cemented it in my mind that they were going to be huge, they had to be huge! I had a poke around the net to find websites for the band, the official one was terrible. I eventually found another fansite, but by then I'd already started working on a design of my own. I thought FF deserved a fansite that could provide everything I wanted to know about the band. Noone was doing it, so I set about doing it myself.

Auriliea: How did you start it and how long has it been up?

Graham:I started working on the site in December 2003, trying out designs and gathering images and audio and biographical content to flesh it out. I had some spare webspace on a site I'd managed for an Irish Record label so I "borrowed" some of that, and published what I'd designed to the internet in early January 2004. By the time it took us to buy "franzferdinand.org" as a name and purchase our own webspace, we went live on 12 January 2004, the same day 'Take Me Out' was released.

Auriliea: Who helps you?

Graham: I've had help along the way from people who've contributed news articles or who translated our content into French, Dutch and German - something I abandoned last Autumn - but on a general day-to-day basis, it's just me who runs it. From top to bottom I'm responsible for all new content and updates. There are special people who've been major helping hands along the way, my former housemate James for one, who did a lot of technical work behind the scenes early on. And of course everyone who's ever donated to our server fund to help us stay online, launch a new design or expand the site. I just hope I'm providing what people want to see. It's amazing to get e-mails from people in Chile, Taiwan, Africa, and so on, who have heard about the band and have turned to my site for information, and they crave more! My daily e-mail turnover is huge, and for all the times something goes awry or I stare at a list of jobs that need doing, the thought that someone, somewhere is looking at my website cheers me right up and motivates me to always make the site better, bigger, faster, and more entertaining. Some of the feedback and comments on the forum are great to read, if a little embarrassing at times. It's great to know you're admired!

There's a long list of why the orgsters love Graham and some love the site even more. I asked a few people about the site and this is what they had to say:

"This site encompasses everything from Franz Ferdinand information, to the new indie music scene, to fangirling, to art and writing, to general amusement. It is fasinating to see such a diverse group of people coming together cohesively through the music of Franz Ferdinand." -Erin

"I like the fact that it has a very well updated news section, I love the stylish layout, and just the feeling of being part of such a diverse and interesting community." -Elen

"Loads of people united by the love of Franz" -Sarah

There are many reasons as to why FF.org has such a cult following. The news is very regularly, The music is excellent and the people are fantastic, the variety never ceases to please. The site has had many acclaimes including 3fm's Website of the Month, and a nomination for the Digital Music Awards being among them. The site has attracted attention from all over the world, and rightly so, it is a encylopaedia of Franzy goodness, and makes the girls want to dance almost as much as the music does.


Site: www.franzferdinand.org

Forum: www.franzferdinand.org/forum

Webmaster: Graham
Staff: Josie, Erin, Lisette, Ryan

Album Review: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Author: Richard Cosgrove

Hot on the heels of The Killers and The Bravery comes Yorkshire's own Kaiser Chiefs, of which much has already been written about their plundering of the Britpop back catalogue, but who are still very worthy of the attention being granted them in the media.

Last year's infectious single I Predict A Riot placed the Kaiser's firmly on the musical map, thanks in no small part to Zane Lowe's endorsement, on whose show I first heard them several months ago, and the follow up Oh My God has seen them grace Top Of The Pops (though not the honour it was years ago, still an important promotional platform) and kick their way into the living rooms of the nation.

Their debut album Employment has now hit the racks, and it's put up or shut up time for the band as to whether they truly can claim to be in the same league as the aforementioned Las Vegas and New York natives.

Opening with Everyday I Love You Less And Less, the Kaiser's sound exactly how you'd imagine Dirt Wears White Sox era Adam & The Ants would have sounded if Vince Clark had joined them instead of forming Depeche Mode. Vocalist Ricky Wilson is at times very reminiscent of a young Stuart Goddard, and with the rest of the band joining in with harmonies straight from the Kings Of The Wild Frontier songbook it's like the early 80s never went away.

A strong hook in the chorus bodes well for the album as it gives way into I Predict A Riot, with its' vaguely Specials overtones and surely the only song in recent memory to use the word 'thee' in the lyrics. By now we're getting the picture that the Kaiser Chiefs are the successors to the witty British lyric throne that Blur have long since abdicated, after themselves succeeding Madness.

Modern Way follows, with Wilson giving his best monotone Gary Numan-esque delivery over a steady bass heartbeat before coming across all Damon Albarn in the chorus to great effect. In fact, this could have been a Blur track once upon a time, but Nick 'Peanut' Baines's electro-bleepy keyboards lift it above anything that Blur produced in their prime.

Joining the ranks of The Police, Bad Manners and Trio in the league of nonsensical song titles, Na Na Na Naa is an up-tempo romp that currently does the honours as their live set opener, and is the tune that Noel Gallagher should have written for Definitely Maybe instead of Digsy's Dinner, though Liam could never have conjured up the sense of fun that Wilson brings to the song.

You Can Have It All is what Madness would have sounded like performing one of their more introspective numbers with Terry Hall on vocals. It's one of a couple of fillers on the album, but does have its' merits.

Current single Oh My God wouldn't have sounded out of place on one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' earlier albums, stomping its' way out of the speakers and all over your front room carpet, while Born To Be A Dancer's chorus is one of those that will lodge itself in your brain and declare squatter's rights, simultaneously coming across all pomp and melodrama while being reminiscent of Weezer's Buddy Holly in places.

Saturday Night sounds exactly like a song called Saturday Night should sound, big and brash and full of attitude - "we're going to hell anyway, let's travel first class". What Did I Ever Give To You is a return to Terry Hall territory, more Colourfield than Specials but none the worse for it.

The Adam & The Ants influence comes back with a vengeance in Time Honoured Tradition which conjures up images of young men in pirate outfits swigging ale from large tankards to the strains of Marco Pirroni's distinctive guitar sound.

The album runs out of steam slightly on the last two tracks, Caroline Yes and Team Mate, going out with a whimper rather than a bang. Both are decent tracks, but it would have been nice to go out in the blaze of glory of glory suggested by the rest of the album. Rather than riding off into the sunset, we're carted off in the back of a police van to Leeds gaol.

Overall, though, the Kaiser Chiefs have produced a debut album that they can be proud of, and while with this Employment they may not be in line for a big promotion just yet, they're a long way from their P45s.

Live Review: Electric Six at London Astoria - 10th March 2005

Author: Becky Parkes

Hands up who remembers 'Gay Bar'? Despite a perfectly good pair of albums, it still remains the most famous (infamous?) song that Electric Six have churned out to date. Rather fitting, then, that the last night of their UK tour should be at the Astoria, home of G-A-Y bar.

Unfortunately I missed the support bands, so I can't tell you anything about them... but Electric Six were certainly on form. Opening well with some of their new material, the crowd were quite happily danced and pogo-ed along. Things started to liven up a little more once they got into some of their older stuff; 'Danger! High Voltage!' in particular, was well received, but the highlight had to be, predictably, 'Gay Bar'. As the band launched into what has become something of a signature tune, it's fair to say that everyone went a bit...mental. In a good way - the sort of mental that leaves you out of breath and with sore calves from leaping too high, rather than trampled and bruised. The energetic burst over with, the band slowed things down a little, before springing off again into 'Improper Dancing' with an extended interlude in the middle where the crowd had the somewhat dubious pleasure of being serenaded by Dick Valentine wearing nothing but his boxers.

The encore wasn't the best ever; however the performance of 'Devil Nights' went down well, as did the rendition of Queen's 'Radio Ga Ga' - cue hands in the air and clapping, with 'Dance Commander' to finish. All in all, a pretty good night out. Although the atmosphere wasn't as (ahem) electric as it can be at some more hyped gigs, there was a buzz and the crowd definitely left pleased and (probably) bounced-out.

Album Review: The Bravery - The Bravery

Author: Richard Cosgrove

Musically, it's all been done before. There's nothing new that can be done with the seven notes we have to play with so inevitably the old maxim of what goes around comes around rings true every so often, usually every other generation in terms of music fans.

In the last twelve months or so, it's been the turn of the eighties again, with bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Killers taking the earlier half of that decade as their inspiration and producing a pair of the better albums to grace the airwaves. Even The Strokes got in on the eighties act briefly with the synth-drenched Reptilla, but their New York City brethren The Bravery have succeeded in finally nailing everything that was great about the synthpop revolution of twenty years ago and have brought it kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century.

Formed just a couple of years ago, the brainchild of singer, songwriter and producer Sam Endicott, The Bravery are completed by keyboard player John Conway (with whom Endicott first got together to 'electronicise' his songs), guitarist Michael Zakarin, drummer Anthony Burulcich and bassist Mike H. At their HQ on the corner of Mott and
Broome near Chinatown, the band have plotted their imminent global domination, handling everything themselves, from recording their upcoming debut album to designing all of their own artwork, and producing their own videos (check out the inventive clip for new single Honest Mistake).

Having topped the BBC News website's Sound of 2005 poll, and named as one of MTV's Artists To Watch the band are about to play a short UK tour before heading out on a co-headlining US tour with Ash to promote the 'Bravery' album (released on Island records in mid-March).

So, what's it like? Well take three parts Duran Duran, two parts Cure, a dash of U2, a hint of The Smiths and a splash of Depeche Mode, mix thoroughly and decant into a shot glass and you're there.

Honest Mistake opens with a synth line reminiscent of Blue Monday before taking off like a jet-powered bonus track from the first Duran album. Endicott's vocals sit somewhere between Robert Smith and Ian McCullough without sounding too much like either one of them, and have that certain charismatic something that great front men possess. Swollen Summer continues the Duran theme, sounding like a twice-removed cousin of Friends Of Mine and features a killer synth solo that gives way to a blistering guitar workout.

No Brakes begins like early U2 done to perfection, down to the driving New Years Days bass line and Edge-esque guitar work, before delivering an infectious chorus that the Cure would kill for. Robert Smith's influence is all over Hot Pursuit as well, the song being another example of the kind of killer tune the former Banshee used to produce when he had his pop hat on.

Tyrant is, on the surface, a by-numbers mid-tempo tune that manages to sound simultaneously like a dozen of songs that spring to the tip on your tongue and yet like manages to take these familiar elements and craft something with real depth that is quite brilliant in its' apparent simplicity.

No Ring On These Fingers is a slice of vintage Bunnymen, Endicott's delivery so reminiscent of Mac in places that you can almost see him standing on stage wearing an ankle length black coat and sporting a gravity defying hairdo, hands clasped firmly around the microphone stand.

Out Of Line's arpreggiated synth line drives this swaggering bastard son of The Damned's Grimly Fiendish, and has one of those choruses that will barricade itself inside your head and refuse to come out. This is one squatter that you won't mind hanging around for a while, though.

Hot Sunshiney Day and Public Service Announcement are pure summer songs. The former will surely be gracing a car ad before long, it's bouncy bass line extolling the virtues of the latest hatchback, while the latter ricochets around the inside of your skull, all busy bass and laid back vocals (complete with background "ooh ooh"s that will be with you for months) until you can't help but move your feet. I can feel the sun from here.

Debut single Unconditional is a melodious cacophony of driving bass and distorted guitars that conjures up the spirit of the late Billy McKenzie, both in vocal delivery and sentiment as Endicott sings "I've spent my whole life surrounded / And I've spent my whole life alone". Similarly paced Fearless is a hybrid of early Duran and Duchess-era Stranglers that kicks it's way out of the speakers, not caring who gets in the way.

Open Heart Surgery breaks out the acoustic guitars and echo chamber, delivering a hypnotic ballad in the vein of Death In Vegas's Scorpio Rising that is at once calming and haunting, and proves that there is real depth to the band.

On the strength of these twelve tracks, ten of which will make it into the final running order of the album and will hopefully retain the raw, live feel that these recordings have, The Bravery show great potential and will certainly give Franz Ferdinand and The Killers a run for their money.

Album Review: The Killers - Hot Fuss

Author: Richard Cosgrove

Hailing from Las Vegas, the Nevada city of sin previously responsible for such exports as Andre Agassi and Toni Basil (thanks for that one), The Killers burst onto the music scene last year with single Mr Brightside, a twisted study of jealousy that made me sit up and take notice. Along with Franz Ferdinand it seemed that guitar pop (for want of a better term) was becoming exciting again and here was a band that I needed to find out more about and more importantly hear more of.

Following their performance of "Somebody Told Me" on Jonathan Ross's show I was sold, and picked up the album.

To the sound of helicopters and radio noise, the opening riff to "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" is quickly followed by a gently galloping bassline that conjours up images of early Duran, an image further reinforced by the eighties sounding synth that provides the underpinning melodic backbone to the song. Singer and keyboard player Brandon Flowers' vocals are eerily reminiscent of the late Billy McKenzie, but shot through with a healthy dose of the Robert Smiths.

This hybrid vocal style is most effectively used on "Mr Brightside", which kicks off with a pseudo-Blink 182 riff but soon becomes a driving anthem to jealousy which was instrumental in the band picking up airplay and bringing them to the attention of the great British public.

"Smile Like You Mean It" takes the classic Cure pop blueprint and combines it with lyrics that would do Morrissey proud, and indeed the solo brings to mind Stephen Street's classic fretwork on Suedehead. All this is shot through with more eighties synth work and some of the crispest drum sounds that I've heard for a good while.

Candidate for most infectious chorus of the year, "Somebody Told Me" is next, its' rumbling bass line driving the song forward with the force of a juggernaught before "All These Things That I've Done" changes the pace, beginning with a lonely piano and sparse vocal, and building to a repeated refrain of "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier" in the middle of the song.

"Andy You're A Star" opens with a jarring, almost discordant riff that is quickly joined by a simple throbbing bass line and Flowers' melodically monotone vocals, all of which work together very effectively. In direct contrast, "On Top" gives us an early-Duran versus early-U2 concoction which sways along with an easy lilt and gives guitarist David Keuning a chance to be The Edge for four minutes, an opportunity he makes the most of in spectacular fashion.

"Change Your Mind" could be the product of a union between The Smiths and Depeche Mode, with its' delightfully twee keyboard riff sitting prettily atop an indie-by-numbers backing, but doesn't suffer at all for it. "Believe Me Natalie" is perhaps the track that most wears it's Smiths influences on its' sleeve, but manages to turn itself into a five minute epic rather than echoing the standard three minute Morrissey/Marr compositions of old.

"Midnight Show" again plunders the early U2 back catalogue, but again manages to infuse enough originality to
allow itself to wear the 'homage' badge rather than the 'thieving bastards' badge and delivers a sordid tale of murder, which along with "Jenny..." and the as yet unreleased "Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf" forms a trilogy of interconnected songs concerning the same real-life murder of a Vegas girl by her jealous boyfriend.

Album closer "Everything Will Be Alright" gives Flowers chance to distort his voice and really channel the spirit of Billy McKenzie for almost six minutes of hypnotic drums and synths, rounded out by a superbly restrained solo that leads into the song's fade out.

In short, "Hot Fuss" takes all of the finest ingredients from eighties pop music and combines them into a very palatable blend of nostalgia that seems right at home now, some twenty five years after that decade drew its' last breath..

Live Review: British Sea Power at Tunbridge Wells High Rocks - 11th February 2005

Author: Matti Gregory

There are many ways a band can make a show difficult to review. It can be bland without distinguishing features to comment on. It can be impossible to pin down in a way people who weren't present can understand. But this is the first time I've struggled to review a gig because I'm lost for words. Because by the end of their set in a beautiful (and rather small) hall in the middle of nowhere, British Sea Power will make words irrelevant, along with such petty matters as life, possessions, and everything that isn't related to British Sea Power. Before the end they will convert a hundred cynical Libertines fans and contravene just about every health and safety law in existence, as well as put on one of the most memorable performances anyone watching can remember.

To a backdrop of stuffed magpies and ivy purloined from the surrounding environment, the five members of BSP (Yan, Hamilton, Noble, Eamon and Wood) summon up a noise that effortlessly switches from wistful to brutal, from melancholic melody to blitzkrieg post-punk. During the opening "Apologies To Insect Life" Yan will yelp about Russian literature and make sure everyone in the front row gets a good view of his gums while Noble threatens to bring the building down with a slicing guitar riff. New single "It Ended On An Oily Stage" is a better piece of '80s indie than most stuff actually from the '80s, and "The Scottish Wildlife Experience" threatens to instigate a small-scale Hillsborough Incident. But as good as they are throughout the set (and believe me, they are brilliant), a show can only be as good as it's ending. And what an ending it is tonight.

"Rock In A" is stretched out into a twenty minute epic that might become tiresome if ever recorded properly, but here the song is played with jaw-dropping intensity. But even the song is merely a background to the Sea Power boys' antics - Eamon strides through the crowd with a huge bass drum getting hugs from strangers and letting everybody bang out a rhythm with their hands, while Noble clambers onto the wooden roof beams and crawls like a sloth before dropping into the crowd, Hamilton breaks not only two bass strings but nearly his neck as he swings from a chandelier several feet above the floor and threatens to bring the whole thing down, Yan surfs through the crowd pretending variously to be Superman and Biggles and previously ordinary people are suddenly possessed to cover themselves in foliage and scream themselves horse.

As a certain famous individual almost once said: Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some are British Sea Power.

Live Review: Rammsttein at Brixton Academy - 3rd February 2005

Author: Richard Cosgrove

If there's one band that can't be accused of doing things by halves, it's Rammstein. Taking the best bits from theatrical rock shows of the last few decades and putting their unique stamp on them, they've gained a formidable reputation as one of the most outrageous and entertaining live acts on the planet.

Tonight they've rolled into London town for the first of three sold out nights at Brixton Academy, a surprising choice of venue given that the rest of their UK tour is taking in the country's arenas and cattle-sheds, which are seemingly much better suited for the large scale spectacles that Rammstein are renowned for. It also raises the question of just how much of their full stage show they'll be allowed to use in the Academy, particularly as they had to cancel their gig at the Astoria a couple of years ago due to Camden Borough Council's concerns over the amount of pyrotechnics
that they wanted to use. As it turned out, our fears were unfounded, and this was to be quite a night.

After five minutes of doom-laden atmospheric music, the lights go down and five burly men in white shirts and black ties walk onto the stage, carrying baseball bats with lights attached to the ends. They begin goading the audience for a few moments until a blue light illuminates the curtain, silhouetting the stage set as the intro to"Reise Reise" begins. The five monkey-boys turn to look at the curtain and what lies beyond it with a sense of pantomime awe, for this is what a Rammstein show is all about, the spectacle, and over the next hundred minutes or so we're going to get just that.

The curtain falls, quickly bundled away by the suits, and Rammstein are here, tearing into the song with a ferocity and volume that can actually be felt through the floor. The set resembles a set from Alex Proyas's Dark City, and the band stand (or sit in the case of drummer Christoph Schneider stand) atop this structure, some twenty feet above stage level, clad in black leather.

Suddenly a door opens in the front of the set, and vocalist Till Lindemann walks slowly onto the stage, dressed head to toe in, what else, black. Half way through the song, guitarists Richard Kruspe-Bernstein and Paul Landers step onto lifts that owe a debt to KISS's classic 1970s stage shows and descend to stage level. They stand rigid at their mikes, as is the Rammstein way, delivering their solos and backing vocals (Lander's mike stand complete with a neat kickstand mechanism that allows it to lay flat on the floor until needed) before returning to the top of the set as the song finishes.

Without pause, Schneider begins the unmistakable drumming of "Links-2-3-4" as the five front-line members file out of the set door, marching into place. At this point my fears that playing a venue as small as the Academy might hinder the use of the band's pyrotechnics are laid to rest as a huge explosion heralds the song's buzzsaw guitar riff, and appears to take out the first five rows of the audience, spewing enough smoke into the air to render the band invisible for several seconds. The fervour and enthusiasm of the audience in shouting along with the song's militaristic refrain conjured up images of Nuremberg, with Lindemann rallying his troops, an image bolstered by keyboard player Christian "Flake" Lorenz being dressed like the long-lost seventh member of the Village People, complete with stormtrooper helmet, short lederhosen and knee-high socks.

"Keine Lust" follows, leading nicely into "Feuer Frei" during which we get our first taste of Rammstein's pyro. During the quiet middle section, facemasks are strapped onto Lindemann and his two guitarists and we are treated to the sight of them spewing thirty foot columns of flames over each other and the audience. As this is happening, from where we are standing the crowd is a sea of mobile phone screens, the audience recording this moment for posterity. We could feel the heat from our vantage point some fifty feet away so the audience at the front must have momentarily questioned the wisdom of being so close to three manic Germans with enough firepower to barbecue the first ten rows.

"Morgenstern" comes next, giving the audience chance to catch their breaths after the fiery face masks - it's one thing marvelling over them in the video, but to actually see, and feel, it live is quite another matter. The band
disappear off stage after the song, as Lindemann appears in the doorway dressed as a chef, carrying a knife the
size of which would do Michael Myers proud, and pushing a giant cauldron. In the absence of "Buch Dich" on this tour
and it's ejaculatory hi-jinks, it seems Rammstein have found a new way to torment Flake, who has a keyboard
strapped to the side of the cauldron and pops up and down throughout "Mein Teil" to play his parts. Being a
cauldron, and this being Rammstein, it's somewhat inevitable that fire will be involved at some point, and right
on cue Lindemann is handed a flamethrower and proceeds to engulf the cauldron, with Flake inside it, in wave after
wave of flames. As he hands the weapon back to a stagehand, Flake climbs out of the cauldron, his arms and legs
now on fire thanks to some strategically strapped fireworks and runs around the stage before exiting stage right.

Ballad "Stein um Stern" is served up as the dessert course to "Mein Teil"s main event, after which a small drum kit is placed at the front of the stage and Schneider descends via one of the lifts to take up his position alongside a new feature for this tour, acoustic guitars. "Los", with it's harmonica solo and Bavarian slap dancing courtesy of Flake is the sort of thing that only a band like Rammstein could get away with, and get away with it they do, with some style. I never thought I'd see the day that Rammstein would play acoustically but it just goes to show hat this is no one-trick band. Schneider remains at stage level for "Moskau" before returning to his lofty perch for "Du Reichts So Gut".

At the beginning of the song, Lindemann appears with his legendary fiery bow, whirling it around his head with wild abandon, and managing to actually set one of the monitors on fire, which judging from the horrified expression on the roadie who ran over to it with a fire blanket wasn't part of the show's plan. For the song's solo, guitarists Kruspe-Bernstein and Landers stand together with yet more fireworks strapped to their upper arms.

Rammstein's best known song "Du Hast" comes next, and spectacle wise would have been might impressive purely for the huge jets of fire at the front and rear of the stage that reached almost to the Academy's ceiling. That clearly wasn't impressive enough for Rammstein, however, so Lindemann is handed another bow and takes aim at a target high in the lighting rig. He shoots, and scores as four balls of fire go flying out along wires over the audience's heads. On a roll now, and into the final straight of the main set, "Sehnsucht" follows, accompanied by several huge explosions over Schneider's head in perfect synchronicity with his drumming.

Set closer "Amerika" sees Flake wheeling himself around the stage on a Segway vehicle, the two wheel scooter-type things previously best associated with Peter Gabriel, and managing to both steer and play keyboards without falling off the stage or mowing down his fellow band members. The song reached its climax and the Academy erupted
into a maelstrom of red, white and blue ticker tape blown out over the audience.

After a short interval, the band walked back onstage, and began the slow and powerful "Rammstein". Having since forsaken his fiery coat, Lindemann appeared through the door with what can only be described as two flamethrower
gauntlets which he fired up frequently throughout the song, almost setting the stage on fire towards the end when
he accidentally pulled the trigger whilst his arms were pointing downwards!

"Sonne" follows, complete with the return of the flame columns before the first encore wraps up with "Ich Will". Flake and Lindemann then took the stage alone for a run through "Ohne Dich, the singer resting his head on the keyboard players shoulder while he sang.

The fitting show finale was their superb cover of Depeche Mode's "Stripped", which turned a synth-pop classic into a huge riff-heavy, jarring industrial masterpiece. It was at this point that bassist Oliver Reidel finally got to have some fun. Up to now every other band member had had their moment of excess, whether it be with flamethrowers, fiery face masks, scooters or exploding drumsticks, but not Reidel. Now, though, he got to partake in Rammstein's unique form of crowd surfing, by climbing aboard a rubber dinghy and setting sail over the heads of the crowd. He navigated his boat almost to the back of the Academy, falling out twice but being helped instantly back into this boat, and providing one of the most amazing live spectacles that this writer has ever seen, bringing whole new meaning to audience participation.

Safely back on the stage, the band wrapped up "Stripped" and after thanking the audience in English, disappeared one by one through the stage door, leaving Flake alone to play his portable keyboard as he was hoisted up on a lift to the top of the set before disappearing down the back stairs as the house lights came up.

Ladies and gentlemen, the bar for theatrical rock performances has well and truly been raised.