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Saturday, September 3, 2005 |
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Saturday, September 3, 2005 |
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IF you’ve heard The Mars Volta’s full-length debut De-Loused in the Comatorium, you won’t be surprised by Frances the Mute — which is to say you’ll expect an endless stream of surprises. In the space of 10 minutes, you could be listening to Latin-influenced rock, bizarre sounds of birds chirping, or a mix of funky jazz. At times, this translates into relatively straightforward songcraft, as on The Widow. The lyrics of Miranda That Ghost Just Isn’t Holy Anymore and Widow are mysterious and immediately identifiable. Martinez-Lopez pushes things into a futuristic world. Overall this remains an album for cult fans of progressive rock. Best track: The Widow Worst track: Tarantism Rating: *** Limp Bizkit — The
Unquestionable Truth Part 1
Best track: The Truth Worst track: The Surrender Rating: ** Garbage — Bleed Like Me
Best track: Bleed Like Me Worst track: Enemy Rating:
***
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The
big news is that guitarist Wes Borland is back from exile, and he’s
brought a whole lot of blistering guitar fuzz with him. The lyrical flow
seems much more deliberate, almost like a tirade, with smarter lyrics. The
Propaganda is first to declare that this is by far Limp Bizkit’s
heaviest effort to date, but it’s not entirely all that different
either. The raw sound mixed with Borland’s obvious presence stand out. The
Priest is a schizophrenic affair, with the same heavy theme from the
preceding tracks. The Story sounds like it could have been lifted
from Limp Bizkit’s debut, while the final track The Surrender has
Durst attempting to sing once again, but unlike Behind Blue Eyes
(From Results May Vary), this sounds like the band that has no idea
where it is going.
After
the poor commercial performance of 2001’s Beautiful Garbage, the three
producers suffered a number of personal problems that included serious
illness, break-ups and creative differences. The recovery process hasn’t
brought about any mellowing though, as evidenced by the kicking and
screaming in Bleed Like Me. The electro-pop tones of their last offering
have been replaced by brash, brawling guitars that propel the gnarled Metal
Heart and Run Baby Run. It’s choc-a-block with moments that
are almost great. It’s All Over But The Crying is the
traditional, three-quarter-mark ballad, but then comes Boys Wanna Fight,
stirring unwelcome thoughts of Republica. It’s the album’s
title track that really catches attention. What makes the album special is
Shirley Manson’s voice which is still in fine form after a cyst was
removed from her vocal chords. Sweet, angry, chilled-out, sarcastic:
Manson’s vocals are almost enough reason for buying the album.
KT
Tunstall is clearly a busy woman. She not only wrote and co-wrote
all the songs on this CD but also played a dozen instruments and
did the illustrations and some of the photography on the CD cover.
KT confirms her credentials with this album as a Scottish singer.
The opener, Other Side of the World, is one of the more
instrumentally complex and expansive numbers on the album. The
folksy Under the Weather and Suddenly I See’s is
appealing. The album concludes with three very different songs
again emphasising Tunstall’s capability with different styles. Stoppin’
the Love features distinctive cello bowing, Universe &
U demonstrates her song-writing capability and Through the
Dark’s her piano skills. Tunstall’s vocal beauty
has won us over. There may be no Angel From Montgomery
here, but if you like Streetlights, you’ll probably like Telescope.
