CSS - Donkey
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music.guardian.co.uk Rating: 0
Smithson has spent the past couple of years immersed in what he calls the 'cosmic music of 1970s Germany' - the early electronica produced by the likes of Tangerine Dream, Manuel Göttsching, Roedelius and Kraftwerk. He has also ditched the skinny tie look and restyled himself as electronica's answer to Nick Drake to present this concept album and accompanying 10-minute film, which stars Smithson himself. All of which sounds a bit disastrous on paper. Good job, then, the music is so great. It's a trip down memory autobahn, from the building keys of 'Ertrinken' to the nagging bassline of 'Feuerprobe', via the sitar-flecked 'Bardolator' and the dreamy, closing 'Quecksilber'. It might not age as well as Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, but it's almost as timeless as the pioneering music it apes, and much more than mere fashionable, disposable beats du jour. Luke Bainbridge 12 CSS, Donkey (Warners) 4 starsHave the British media had a strange effect on the São Paulo disco-punk crew? Their English might have improved since the appearance of their eponymous debut but, oddly, their immersion in pop culture has reduced their fascination with it. So out go the Paris Hilton references; in comes domestic violence commentary. Still, their joyous hooks ensure Donkey is as fun as its predecessor. Jaimie Hodgson13 UNKLE, End Titles... Stories For Film (Surrender) 2 starsJames Lavelle famously compared Unkle's debut a decade ago to Apocalypse Now; now, with End Titles, he releases an entire album dedicated to movie tracks. Somewhere between Ennio Morricone, Talk Talk and late-period Massive Attack, it is atmospheric, if relentlessly bleak, with the exception of cult director Abel Ferrara's imitation of Bob Dylan on 'Open Up Your Eyes'. Steve Yates 14 Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong (Vertigo) 2 starsWhether Chekhov-spouting thesp or prime pop gobshite, the nominal head of this London-based outfit certainly has the gift of the gab, earning him applause in industry circles. Unfortunately Lean and co's debut is also a hack job of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull proportions, all flat-pack indie production and mediocre songwriting. Dreary. Alex Denney15 Stereo MC's, Double Bubble (Graffiti) 3 starsThey're not quite back to those heady 'Connected' days, but the Stereos still have a mesmeric knack of making music bounce like a rubber ball. There's P-funk, rave, hip hop and even bhangra in a mixed batch, but also pace and consistency. Check out the stylish 'City Lights' and a stomping 'The Here & Now'. Good job, Rob. Peter Kimpton 16 Micah P Hanson, ... And the Red Empire Orchestra (Full Time Hobby) 3 starsThe Texan jailbird-turned-troubadour calls in assistance from the Polyphonic Spree for his third lugubrious album. The different arrangements - baroque violins here, Spectorish percussion there - hold the attention, but Hinson's world-weary baritone is unvaried. Without a killer song to lift it, the whole tends towards the oppressive. Campbell Stevenson17 Jakob Dylan, Seeing Things (Columbia) 3 starsHe has long dodged his father's shadow with the AOR of the Wallflowers, but on this spare solo debut Dylan Jr has no place to hide. He and producer Rick Rubin deliver a well-judged acoustic set whose songs mix war weariness with hope and loss. Standouts such as 'Valley of the Low Sun' winningly combine Pa's turn of phrase with what must be ma's voice. Neil Spencer18 Sharleen Spiteri, Melody (Mercury) 4 starsThe ex-Texas singer gives us her Nancy Sinatra album. 'It Was You' is a great slab of infectious pop; the new single, 'All the Times I Cried', sweet and tremulous. It could all be very anoraky (with homages to everyone from Serge Gainsbourg to John Barry), but the lyrics are raw. 'I recently found myself in a situation where the 10-year relationship with the father of my child had ended, so I was alone with my daughter,' she explains. While Sharleen was always a great tomboy, there was something cold about her. But, as 'Stop, I Don't Love You Anymore' shows, now she is endearingly real.Liz Hoggard19 Jim Moray, Low Culture (NIAG) 4 starsHis daring first two albums polarised opinion but, largely dispensing with electronics, Moray now comes up with a perfect balance of trad values and bold adventure to surely delight both hard-core folkies and uber-cool groovers. Rapper Bubbz joins the 'Lucy Wan' incest murder ballad party, but a genius cover of XTC's 'All You Pretty Girls' is the showstopper. Colin Irwin20 Natty, Man Like I (Atlantic) 2 starsNatty's biracial roots and background in studio engineering for indie-rock bands make him a potential poster boy for the London melting pot. With its easily digestible acoustic reggae, Man Like I's fleeting moments of quality possess the feathery delights of summer pop. But Natty's urge to pen big statements outstrips his ability to cast them in a memorable setting. SY21 Sir Victor Uwaifo, Guitar-Boy Superstar 1970-76 (Soundway) 4 starsAnother excellent dollop of Nigerian guitar from the ever-reliable Soundway label. Uwaifo's traditional rhythms soak up ska, funk and bright pop hooks for a summer soundtrack that is a constant and inventive delight. And his controlled, eloquent guitar playing justifies the title. CS22 Seu Jorge, American Brasil (Discos Comp No) 4 starsBrazil's most celebrated favela escapee returns with a magnificent surprise. The idea that Brazil is American too is expressed by mating hillbilly violin and blues harmonica with squeaky cuica drums, and cavaquinho...
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