Latest releases reviewed
FUNK
AMP FIDDLER
Afro Strut
Genuine/PIAS
***
Joseph "Amp" Fiddler's spell onboard George Clinton's mothership provided the Detroit native with a great grounding in the funk. The multi-instrumentalist's 2004 album, Waltz of a Ghetto Fly, was a collection that grew in significance and appeal with every listen, gathering a really strong word-of-mouth rep. There's a similar shine to Fiddler's follow-up, as he again taps the retro roots to see what they can provide. Fiddler is at his best when he's squeezing funky juice from well-weathered ingredients. The dastardly horns on If I Don't, for instance, sound fresh and exciting, while You Could Be Mine and Seven Mile pulsate with sharp grooves that wouldn't have sounded out of place in the hands of the original funkateers. If there's a nagging doubt, it is that Fiddler may encounter future difficulties finding new ways out of the soul-funk ghetto. For now, though, enjoy the trip. www.genuinerecords.net
- Jim Carroll
ELECTRONICA
DANI SICILIANO
Slappers
!K7
****
Dani Siciliano is best known for lending her voice to several of husband Matthew Herbert's out-there excursions, and her jazz singer roots really come to light on her own solo struttings. On debut album Likes (2004), she expertly strode a fine line between jazz and electronica. Here, Siciliano seems happiest when she's moving rapidly from one stylistic set-piece to the next, as if she fears getting tarred by a brush if she hangs around too long. The jumps from the robotic r'n'b of the title track (where the beats were sourced by some robust arse-slapping) to the glitterball disco-house of Didn't Anybody Tell You work splendidly, but then there are tracks, such as Why Can't You Make Me High?, where all the ideas come to nowt. It seems that her eagerness to try her hand at everything leaves Siciliano a mite unfocused and harassed. www.myspace.com/ danisiciliano - Jim Carroll
SOUNDTRACK
MICHAEL BROOK
An Inconvenient Truth
Varese Sarabande
****
Brook's lyrical score to the environmentalist global warning documentary is a real treat. Brook, Canadian producer, multi-instrumentalist and inventor of the "infinite guitar" and its crystalline infinite sustain, combines treated electric guitar, minimal electronica and spare melodies - with deft country and blues stylings - to create a lean, pulsing soundscape that manages to be both dynamic and evocative. Like Brook's scores for Albino Alligator and Affliction, An Inconvenient Truth is strong on atmosphere and detail, from the delicate piano of Main Title and the strummed guitar of Farm Pt 1 to the brooding bass of 1000 Slide Shows (recalling Brook's superb second solo album, Cobalt Blue), and coolly proves that sometimes less really is more: Earth Alone transforms the Main Title theme achingly and beautifully. www.climatecrisis.net - Jocelyn Clarke
