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Rip It Up, Issue 242, 1 October 1997, Page 32

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sleazy exhibitionism, with a. campy, evil rock ‘n’ roll danger. In short, they were total kooks, who played some real exciting, primal sounds. These days, the music still sounds fine. The songs are close to vintage Cramps, and the current rhythm section holds its own when measured against the classic Kid Congo Powersera model. But unfortunately, Lux Interior and Poison Ivy may be suffering the curse of longevity, and it just doesn’t seem quite as wild anymore. In the same way that vampires aren’t as scary as many regular citizens who are out there now, the Cramps though they haven’t toned down or straightened out — just don’t have the same effect. ■'J TROY FERGUSON FOREST FOR THE TREES Forest For The Trees (Dreamworks) From the opening notes of this album, it’s pretty plain to see that Carl Stephenson (aka Forest For The Trees) isn’t your average songwriter. Beginning with the sounds of some wavering - bagpipes, the bagpipes quickly give way to a rampant sitar riff. The sitar is then joined by the Beck-like rapping of Stephenson and before you know it, you’re caught’ up in an altogether unlikely pop song combining odd instrumentation, .hiphop beats and clever samples. Completely against the odds, the various styles Stephenson uses all seem to fit in place with the result being an unusually fresh, effortless sound. Even more impressive when you learn that most of these songs were written five years ago. Stephenson penned most of these songs about the same time he was cowriting songs for a friend called Beck Hanson, including one particular ditty called ‘Loser’. This album has been delayed until . now because' of Stephenson suffering from anxiety attacks which saw him regularly hospitalised. You’d think in five years the songs would have dated, but nope,

Stephenson is -doing-stuff- which sounds very much at home in 1997 — if not years beyond this. DOMINIC WAGHORN ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN Evergreen (London) -The recent release . of the Bunnymen’s greatest hits has served as a reminder as to why they were one of the beacons of the 80s, and as such, probably hasn’t done the bands comeback any favours. Unless of course the reformed Bunnymen trio have managed to transcend their earlier classics, which they haven’t. Evergreen is a modestly successful, easily digestable album from a band working well within their limitations and their own past formulas. Much has been made of their hit ballad ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, and fair enough because McCulloch , has been around long enough to give it the timbre of experience. And elsewhere they trot out commendable Bunnymen riffs like ‘Don’t Let It Get You Down’, but without the intensity and vigour of their youthful days. The cover may recall the psychedelic mystery and electricity of their first album, Crocodiles, . but

Evergreen is only a likeable return for a band showing distinctly deciduous tinges. - GEORGE KAY TALKSHOW Talk Show (Atlantic) •They’re a new band you already know — Stone Temple Pilots minus guess who. One Dean Coutts has stepped into the shoes formerly filled by Scott Weiland, and with the future of STP looking uncertain, it’s nice to report that Talk Show are a worthy replacement in the void. They make big and breezy blasts of rock ‘n’ roll, with stone cold hearts crying tears that feel good on their way out. The whole band had a hand in a book of lyrics that mean something, and buck nothing but the everyday agonies. Coutts’ sweetly ravaged vocals. lead you confidently down the road of pain to a door of release, and the DeLeo brothers’ endlessly intricate bass and guitar lines make sure the trip is never boring. It would be a crime not to mention drummer Eric Kretz and additional musician Dave Zeller’s excellent contributions on various

keyboards in many of the right. on spots too. I’ve been making it my mission to spread these deliciously contradictory sounds as far from my stereo and into my neighbourhood as I can — ’cause it all sounds even better blasting out your windows on a sunny day. If.you help me we could have a summer hit on our hands. BRONWYN TRUDGEON SUICIDAL TENDENCIES Prime Cuts (Epic) Here’s the compilation that Mike Muir didn’t want released, but legal pressure from his (ex) record company gave him little choice. Luckily, it’s not all redundant, as it features newly recorded material from Suicidal (the calibre of which bodes well for the next album). The brand new ‘Bezerk!’, and ‘Feeding The Addiction’, fall somewhere between the muscled-up rhythms of Infectious Grooves and the slick slamming action of Suicidal For Life. There’s also newly arranged and funked-up versions of

two classics, ‘Join the New Army’, and ‘Go Skate! (Possessed To Skate 97)’, which are worthwhile revisitations. Otherwise, you’re left with a selection of songs’from How Will I Laugh Tomorrow, Lights Camera Revolution, Art Of Rebellion, and Suicidal For Life. The only older material appears in the form of the 1992 re-recordings of the crucial first album. Prime Cuts is a reasonable overview of the Suicidals, but it’s not the definitive Cyco collection. It’s more rump steak than prime cut, I’m afraid. TROY FERGUSON MORRISSEY Maladjusted (Mercury) The title song is great, and brings back all those teen angst memories of cold nights, warm beer, and living your, life through ‘How Soon is Now.’ I could just be that voice shining through the opening guitar lines, but it certainly does everything the Mozzer ever promised. Pity the rest of the album doesn’t stand the test. With a title like ‘Trouble Loves Me’, we could hope to expect a tear drenched, laugh-a-minute. But no. We

get a yawn fest. It seems, and it’s not just this track but most of the album, that Morrissey feels he can hide behind the whine and skip the substance.- There are no cutting references to modern England, or the state of a wilted, flower broken heart. Perhaps Tony Blair’s Britain is not quite oppressive enough. ’ . - JESSE GARON BURT BACHARACH Hitmaker! Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits (Universal) It’s no wonder Burt Bacharach wonders if the world knows something he doesn’t regarding his mortality status, judging by the profile he’s been afforded of late. Hitmaker! boasts bearing ‘the sound and talent of 1966... HERE TODAY’. It features liner notes from 1972 (and ‘comprehensive’ is not the word I’d use to describe them). You guessed it, it’s a repackaging. There’s a bonus track of ‘And So Goodbye My Love’, and you also get the previously unreleased

(and, frankly, rather geriatric) ‘Sail on Silv’ry Moon’. All the words are here too, which is strange, as the vocals are largely absent from most of the songs, with the singer credits absent altogether! Unless you’re up for a spot of karaoke, I suggest you skip this and head straight for the recent compilation of hit takes on Bacharach/Hal David, numbers, The Look of Love. Alternatively, check the composer credits on some of Mom and Pop’s old long players — and no jumping on that loose board by the gramophone, y’hear? BRONWYN TRUDGEON GODFLESH Love And Hate In Dub (Earache) Heavy band + remix technology = crossover success (and/or yawn). It does seem that everyone’s doing it to death — but as it was Godflesh who adjusted the direction of industrial music so the courtship of the metal and dance mainstreams got underway, opening the door for this sort of remix treatment, they should perhaps be

given more of a hearing than most. This remixed version of Songs Of Love and Hate is not, as the title suggests, a dub album. In fact, it’s not even that far removed from the source material, with the industrial beats being replaced by other industrial beats, leaning further towards the dancefloor, yet maintaining Justin Broderick’s heart of darkness and emotionally-detached brutality. There’s less vocal, which accentuates the songs innards of machinery, but evident is still a very human (mortal?) side of Godflesh, one consumed by the kind of hatred that propels this album from a sterile computer-generated environment, into one dripping with thick, black bodily fluids and splintered bone. Blood on the dancefloor, indeed. TROY FERGUSON THE NEW LOUNGEHEAD Came A Weird Way (Deepgrooves) Jazz is cool. It crosses languages and cultures, and although we can tell

eastern European jazz from Latin American jazz, it’s still all very universal. Being local, all the wankers are going to say, ‘Oh, the New Lounge Heads... they sound 50...

Antipodean.’ Which, of course, is bollocks as they sound fresh and contemporary, and on ‘Waiting For Candy Apple’, fantastic. It’s not until the vocal outing on ‘Faker’ that I do get a bit of culture cringe. But within the realms of instrumental only, Came A Weird Way is worth a listen. . JESSE GARON THE CAKE KITCHEN Everything’s Going To Work Out Just Fine (Freek) Living proof that some of our best music is produced overseas, Graeme Jefferies continues his own personal legacy with his sixth album under this moniker (excluding the 1988 solo Messages From The Cakekitchen). It's all still there, the wall of scorched guitar countered by acoustic moments, and moody vocal delivery via velvet baritone vocal chords. If you’re a fan of long or recent vintage you needn’t be too concerned over Mr

J’s extended OE, as he stays true to his long term musical formulae. All except one (the jack hammered ‘Hot Sex Overdrive’) of the eight tracks tips the four minute mark, four pass five, and the height scaling ‘You Never Run Out Of Luck’ builds to a frenzy, and doesn’t out stay its welcome before 12 minutes pass. Nary a dog in sight, EGTWOJF\ust begs the question, when will the inspiration stop? Obviously never for the (other) musical genius of Stratford, Taranaki! MAC HODGE SARAH MCLACHLAN Surfacing (Arista) Founder of the recent success story the women-only Lilith Tour of America, McLachlan’s follow-up to Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is a reflective and introspective outing. Produced by Pierre Marchand, it has a lovely sheen to it — and a wonderful piano sound! McLachlan overcame a lengthy writing block to complete the album. Highlights are the first single, the snarky ‘Building a Mystery’, a lovely ‘Sweet Surrender’ (no,'not the Tim Buckley number), and the instrumental closer,‘Last Dance’.

If at times Surfacing suffers from a musical and lyrical richness that threatens at moments to lapse into an overkill, McLachlan’s humility saves the day. A truly personal album, Surfacing won’t suit all tastes — but to those sensitive souls who empathise with McLachlan’s surfacings, this is rewardingly melodic stuff. ' \ GREG FLEMING MOTORSHEEP The Passionless Are Fearless (Pivot) Motorsheep are a true DIY punk band with all the trimmings. As such, the Palmerston North quartet have released their debut album after existing for almost seven years. Their raw noise, honed down to a fine fat mess of melody, has been recorded in its full primal state — in other words, it’s pretty rough. But, there’s a lot of merit here; plenty of short, urgent anthems to wasted time and the pleasures derived from it. Then again, Motorsheep seem to represent more

than justifying an empty existence, with bassist Jarrod Love publishing' the Undercurrent zine. This kind of involvement in the ‘scene’ is mirrored in the energy Motorsheep have, especially on tracks like ‘Alzheimers’ and ‘Splash.’ If that horrible teenage band that practice next door were half as good as this, you wouldn’t have to burn their flat down. GAVIN BERTRAM LUNATIC CALM Metropol (Universal) ARKANA Fresh Meat (WEA) There’s a new wave of dance bands with guitars out of England. Lunatic Calm — it’s got to be said — are a perfect mix of Nine Inch Nails and Prodigy. Not that the music’s perfect, they just perfectly fit into that easy general definition. The ' distorted vocals, the industrial use of guitars, the creepy horror filled slower tracks and the pacey big beats that are just dripping with Howlett. They’ve been; playing the Social and hanging out with Fatboy Slim, and doing all the right things. Maybe they’ll grow on me. ' ■ ■' And as for Arkana — well they’re like the English Wallflowers, in the sense that they’re a second generation pop group (Lalo Creme’s dad used to be a pop star once, come on you must remember). A poppy bunch of sods, they proved they could come up with the tunes with ‘House On Fire’, and on Fresh Meat, they open out to reveal more similar stuff. I really don’t want to mention Jesus Jones, because they’re a lot better than that, but there’s the scary smell of too much marketing lingering around. Three over-privileged young geezers mucking about with drum machines and guitars, who might have a future. But as one of their singles goes, the future’s overrated. . JOHN TAITE THE TERMINALS Terminals Live (Medication) Sibling label to Port Chalmers’ Metonymic— Medication follow-the-more structured side of. music as art, and are to be loudly applauded for this. The Terminals, owing some perse. and stylings to the Victor .Dimisch Band, have gone and left a neatly piled legacy for all to enjoy, and Medication has had the good taste to wrap up some of their better live performances. There’s 15 tracks in all, dating from 1990 to 1996, and covering most of their vinyl output, including Psycho Lives, Do the Void, Cul-de Sac, and Mekong Delta Blues. The recording quality is good to fair and mostly taken from cassettes, but don’t let that scare you away from a disc that’s deserving of your attention and patronage. MAC HODGE TIM WERRY Evil Star (Shine) Our beer, here, may be Lion Red, but for roots rockers the themes are universal. At home in any honky tonk would be Tim Werry’s spirited tales of heartaches and hangovers. Evil Star is his first solo album, but Werry is a country-rock stalwart in Auckland. In bands such as Rank And File, and the Waltons, Werry’s quest for authenticity has provided the soundtrack in many of the town’s grittier bar-rooms.

MAC HODGE

On Evil Star, Werry’s own songs sit comfortably alongside astute choices by -his heroes, outlaws such as Billy' Joe Shaver and Dwight Yoakam, and perennials like Leadbelly and the Louvin Brothers. The locally-flavoured: originals have a laconic, Paul Kelly yarnspinning quality, delivered in an earnest, charming voice. The relaxed band romps along, led by Glenn Campbell (dobro, steel) and Stuart Pearce (piano) — though their lyrical, informed playing struggles to be heard in a mix which sounds strangely compressed. But any engineering problems are compensated for by Evil Star's consistent material, its melodies and overall humour. CHRIS BOURKE PARADISE LOST One Second (Music For Nations) Paradise Lost have slipped further away from the doom metal they once. made, and now the English band create a more classic rock sound, yet one that still finds its inspiration in melancholy. The full, textured production of One Second lends itself to the scope and structure of the songs. Nick Holmes' vocals have always had a dark side, and although in a more commercial setting, they still sound anguished. Without a particularly optimistic outlook, Paradise Lost can sound like another lot of limey whiners, but there’s more going on here. Their more accessible sound is a distillation of decades of British hard rock, from the gloom of early Sabbath, the pioneering rifforama of NWOBHM types Diamond Head, through to the bleakness of My Dying Bride and Cathedral. GAVIN BERTRAM DEBRIS Super 8 Mayhem (Dirge) Debris emerge from the rubble that is Christchurch rock, post the exodus of LUC, Future Stupid, Chicane, etc, and pick up their outcasts and attempt to combine it for recycled consumption. Opening track ‘Rocket Liner’, flips' between serious ‘Grader Spader’ homage and anglo shoe gazing — some thing Christchurch feasted on in a cannibalistic frenzy a few years back. ‘Lyda’ is naive moody guitar rock ala Eye TV earnest, but none too convincing; "Happy Day’ possesses more of a pulse; ‘Dirge Inc.’ samples Polyester before launching a Salem 66 guitar attack, that finds me nodding in increasing favour especially as there are no vocals just samples. Other tracks to get some kind of a positive response were ‘Ultra Wired’ and ‘Guilty Conscience’. Not the worst thing I’ve listened to lately, not the best, Super 8 Mayhem left me feeling pretty indifferent, now if I could see

them live I’d be more definitive, oh We MAC HODGE VARIOUS ARTISTS Bum One Up (Roadrunner) VARIOUS ARTISTS Godmoney Soundtrack (V2) Like, uh, wow. As the common threads holding this Dutch-compiled . album together are pot, 70s hard rock sounds, and, urn, pot, it’s difficult to tell if the bands on Burn One Up represent some sort of movement, or if it’s just like kismet, man, Subtitled ‘Music For Stoners’ (why be subtle?), the international super sounds of the 70s here include; American offerings from ex-Kyuss man Josh Homme’s Queens Of The Stone Age (also known as Gamma Ray)’. Fu Manchu; Karma To Burn; British day trippers Acrimony; former doom rockers Cathedral (who have undergone metamorphosis and emerged as Black Oak Arkansas); and a bunch of smokin’ Euro unknowns — some quite good too. Sludge rock central, dude. On the not-so-slack front, Godmoney collects some across the board punk rock, with, a new Descendents track and an unreleased Voodoo Glow Skulls cut reason enough to invite further inspection. Of note, you’ll find Stavesacre (don’t the bv’s sound like Arcwelder?), Stanford Prison Experiment, and Farside. And with the line-up stretching to include the Rollins Band and Dance Hall Crashers, it’s a soundtrack with a more inspired tracklisting than most. TROY FERGUSON SHELTER Beyond Planet Earth (Roadrunner) Shelter grew out of the New York hardcore scene that viewed CBGBs as the centre of the universe in the 1980 s. Vocalist Ray Cappo cut his teeth with Youth Of Today, before making a pilgrimage to India to learn about. Krishna. Back to spread the positive message in the best possible way, he finds himself singing for the best melodic punk-style band around. Shelter are more catchy than a thousand miles of barbed wire, mixing in a bit of ska, a touch of hip hop, and a lot of good vibes to spice up the power chords. Porcell (another NYHC veteran) lays down riffs with all the conviction of his beliefs, especially potent on ‘Rejuvenate’, ‘Revealed in Reflection’, and ‘Helpless.’ The latter, along with two other tracks, feature White Zombie’s J Yuenger on guitar, while ‘Alone On My Birthday’ has the brass section of an orchestra. Shelter don’t try. to shove their beliefs down your throat, they simply put a positive message in their lyrics, with some of the most upbeat white music you’ll find. Hare hare (just kidding). GAVIN BERTRAM

BLUE STINGRAYS Surf-N-Burn (Epitone) Surf-N-Burn begins with the sound of a needle hitting vinyl, complete with “ authentic scratches, then lays down 15 surf instrumental tracks of a similar ilk to the Tornadoes. The Blue Stingrays — according to. the CD slick — America’s premier surf combo, and are also surf’s answer to the Mummies, blindfolding the engineers to protect their anonymity. They are so dedicated to protecting their artistic integrity that after releasing three albums in the 60s, they retreated to a small island south of Tahiti in order to perfect the ultimate surf sound, returning only to record and release this epitaph to their career and disappear forever. Sounds like bullshit to me, but anyways, with only one cover (‘Goldfinger’) and the balance all originals, the surf tunes aren’t BS even if the PR is, and there’s even vinyl crackle after the last chord fades. Rockin’!. . .. . MAC HODGE VARIOUS ARTISTS Give ’em the Boot (Hellcat) Like a fantail that signals the arrival of tiny feet in the Maori culture, the arrival of this ska/punk compilation heralds the arrival of a beautiful summer. As far as this style of compilation goes, quality wise it’s in the upper quarter, but I can’t see it being the social document that This Are Two Tone has become. Rancid start things off with a pumping Clash type anthem, ‘The Brothels’, followed by the Hepcats’. soulful ‘Can’t Wait.’ These tunes give you an idea of the two poles on the album; one very up and hard, and the other very up and slick. Give ’em The Boot will live on your stereo because the shit tracks are overshadowed by the sublime ones, and although your life won’t end by not owning this album, its quality will improve. HANS HOEFLICH NADIR Rust (Independent) Nelson’s Nadir have followed in the steps of that town’s Daemon by independently releasing their metallic outpourings. Nadir, however, have more in common with the likes of Metallica than Morbid Angel, producing a tight, melodic variety of groove metal. The _ twin guitars of. Nathan Neumann and Rob Lambert chunk tightly together in the Hetfield/Hammett tradition, while the rhythm section is impressive, especially Corey Barnett, whose drumming is easily of an international standard.. Lambert’s vocals are of the warm, mid-range variety, moving between an emotive Vedder wail, and the occasional Hetfield growl. Although at times it’s all too easy to spot the influences, Nadir play with a

passion and honesty that transcends their music beyond mere imitation. Rust is another damn fine metal release out of Nelson. .GAVIN BERTRAM TOTAL Kaspar Hauser (Metonymic) FLIES INSIDE THE SUN Metonymic 002 7 (Metonymic) A new Port Chalmers label to challenge the previous legacy of that small southern outpost, and all things free and noise usually associated with Siltbreeze and other like minded Ameri-non-rocka’s. The formula is simple; hit the guitar/feedback maker, put it too tape and release it in small quantities for global collection, and if you can think up some obscure title for the pieces, all the better too,

’cause then we can call it real pain, real art. Personally, I’m no real connoisseur of such recorded ramblings. Live I've been known to sit through the odd ‘performance’, but will also be the first to admit that it’s never transported me anywhere except into a stupor or out the door. The former I think, is the desired result, and it’s more spiritual if this can be achieved without drugs, but nonetheless, still valid if stimulants are required to endure (whoops enjoy!) the experience. Total are the English exponents of the art form, Flies the local, and to my ears, the superior variety, featuring some fine pedigree and some actual ‘songs.’ By now, you’re either sneering, or nodding in silent agreement, so let's just leave it at that shall we.

ALCHEMIST Spiritech (Thrust) Alchemist, on first impressions, look like just another bunch of dozy metallers with a fetish for the mystical (but you know what they say about first impressions). Spiritech is the follow up to Lunasphere, and both are great albums of changing atmospheres; twisted trips, and psychedelic adventures. Opener ‘Chinese Whispers’ begins with a huge riff, charges through the screeching Cradle of Filth-like chorus, then into a lengthy keyboard-driven interlude, ending up somewhere around 9 minutes long. Next is ‘Road To Übar’, which ups the magical psilocybin factor, taking conceptual metal to new places. Production-wise and musically, Spiritech is fine mushroom metal for your next trip.

GAVIN BERTRAM