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I do n' t know if you've heard:
The Cure are playing two shows
in Germany with a prom ised set
list of the dark trilogy
(Pornography, Disintegration &
Blood Flowers) in its entirety.
Rearrange your lives accordingly.
Pulp's We Love Life and Gene's
Libertine have finally been
released in the US with bonus
tracks. I highl y recommend them
to anyone wh o has enjoyed the
recent Coldplay, Doves or Badly
Drawn Boy releases.
Cober
The Breaker
www.cober.com
They've been compared to the
Cure (you can hear it in the guitar
s and vocal delivery) and
Siou xsie (simply becau se they
are female fronted) and yo u
might even call them a gritt y
rock-heavy goth band. Basically,
By Ryan Michael Painter
they are refreshingly solid and
avoid del ving into too many
cliches. My only compla in t
would be the hint of Courtney
Love that seems to linger somewhere
in the mix. But hell, girls
with guitars w ho pla y heav y
music and actually come across
as musicians rather than a spectacle
is more than welcome.
Here's to the hop e that Sheila V.
Bommakanti keeps recording;
the whole darkwave scene can
only benefit from her presence.
Marianne Faithfull
Kissin Time
Virgin
You might not believe me, but
this album is fantastic. I'v e often
been intrigued by Marianne the
char acter, bu t not as impressed
by her smoke-ras pe d vo ice.
Peering down at the accompanying
press release, I envi sioned a
schizophrenic album consid ering
the guest list included Beck,
Billy Cor gan (Sma shing
Pumpkins), Etienne Daho , Dave
Stewart (Eur ythmics), Jarvis
Cocker (Pulp) and Blur as either
co-writers, performers or producers;
this was far from the
case. Much like the 6th's
Hyacinths & Thistles (where there
was a different vocalist for each
track, the antithesis of this
release) there is a stylistic elementthat
ties the songs together.
In this case it is Marianne's life,
both real and imagined by rum or
and assumption (best d emonstrated
by the approp riately vulgar
"Sliding Through Life On
Charm"). "Son g For Nico" in
anyo ne else's hands might come
acro ss as an insincere stab at
pop-nostalgia, but in Marianne's
hands it is full of a compassion
that is und erstat ed and flawless.
"Sex With Stran gers" is Beck
submerged in an analog daydream
funk , and her cover of his
"Nobody's Fault " is more fragile
and easily as good as the or iginal
from Mid/light Vultures.
TIpsy
Remix Party
Asphodel
I don't believe a genre exists for
the little jingles stolen from
Saturday morning cartoons
mixed with an international flavor
w ith that retro-sleaze exotica
ba chel or bit th rown togeth er
with a general abando nment of
all the rules of making "po p
music." I'm not certain what the
songs sounded like originally
before the guests (I only recognize
the High Llamas) go t their
hands on the tracks, but consider
ing th e general tone and
atmosphere I believ e that pinatas
and cocktails w ere involved
from the get go. Yes, it might
require a certain mood, but
when that mood strikes, Remix
Parh) is a ph enomena l exercise in
freeform insanity. Burt
Bacharach is for pansies.
Various Arti sts
Burque LIIV Vol. 4
Fear Studios
Pulling all styles of electronic
m u s i c( t ec h no l el e ct r o I
trance I idm l ind ustr ial, etc.)
Burque LlIv 4 is a tour of New
Mexico's scene. The production
quality is fanta stic, with a
smooth mastering (which I suppose
should be expected since
the majorit y of the tracks w ere
most likely record ed d igitally).
As far as the mu sic goes I'm
drawn to the rather unconventional
structuring of Leiahd oru s"
synth pop fueled "Stars." Sadl y,
nothing stands out as new Or
inventive, but is evidence that
ther e is a wealth of talent and
great things on the hor izon in
New Mexico.
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