Latest CD releases reviewed
SEAN MILLAR
Tarzan's Ambition: The Best of Sean Millar Treasure Island
****
Blessed with the voice of a male Marianne Faithfull and an ability to write simple, sardonic and sometimes poignant tunes, the man once known as Dr Millar is also cursed with eternal misfit status. Too abrasive, honest and down-to-earth for the cross-legged brigade, and too rough 'n' ready with a searing couplet for the vacuous pop-rock pack, the good Doctor has carried on regardless, sticking cigarette butts into the sleek skin of the Celtic Tiger, and exposing the hypocrisies and hidden ghosts which lurk behind the shiny green curtain. The coruscating lyrics of St Stephen, Happy Can Be, National Velvet Underground, Finally OK, Alcohol Problem and Donna Quixote provide an alternative history of modern Ireland that many flash Paddies would prefer to ignore. www.doctormillar.com Kevin Courtney
SOULWAX
Any Minute Now Pias
**
As 2manydjs, Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele moonlight as remix boffins, bringing a previously samizdat mash-up culture in from the cold. As the core members of Soulwax, though, the pair have operated since 1996 as a post-grunge band, furtively adding electronica squiggles and production gloss to relatively straight-ahead rock tunes. It's clear from the scuzzy, pounding bass and uncharitable sentiments of opener, E-Talking, that their third album struggles to fit both personas. More alarming than the digital throb of the title track are the saccharine chord progressions and croon of Compute or the aptly titled A Ballad to Forget, both sounding like songs Robbie Williams passed over. Compromised by 2manyweakgags, the electro-pop may wear thin, but there are enough moments to make it worthwhile. Just don't give up the night job. www.soulwax.com Peter Crawley
GUIDED BY VOICES
Half Smiles of the Decomposed Matador
****
After 20-odd years guiding Dayton, Ohio's finest alt. rockers through numerous incarnations, Robert Pollard is finally stopping the voices. This is the final GBV album, but it won't be the last we hear from the prolific Pollard; he's already got another solo album ready to roll, and will - presumably - continue writing songs to the usual GBV high standard. That standard is certainly evident on the squally Everybody Thinks I'm A Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking), the shady Sleepover Jack, the wistful Girls Of Wild Strawberries, the Who-influenced Windows of my World, and the Stipe-speckled Sing For Your Meat. And with the surrealistic wordplay to sift through on The Closets of Henry, Tour Guide at the Winston Churchill Memorial, Asia Minor and Sons of Apollo, GBV are indeed bowing out with a half smile. www.gbv.com Kevin Courtney
LARGE MOUND
Go Forth And Amplify Scientific Laboratories
****
Large Mound claim to be rockers of the Bill and Ted school. Yet in trumpeting a debt to AC/DC, Iron Maiden, et al, the Dublin four-piece sell themselves short. Chugging riffs and screaming vocals do not a no-brainer metal band make. Comparisons to indie long hairs such as Jesus Lizard, Mudhoney and - but of course - Nirvana ring more true. What angst the group's sophomore album does offer tends towards the contemplative and grown-up. Key to the record's impact is the clarity of frontman Anthony Mackey's songwriting. His impeccable grasp of pop hooks ensures that, even when the sludge of proto-metal is swilling beneath the listener's chin, Go Forth is seldom bereft of direction. It is, in fact, a rather charming proposition, coyly lovelorn and brimming with melodies. As sweet and beguiling as a school-yard crush - shaggy perm and vintage denims notwithstanding. www.largemound.net Ed Power
PHIL MANZANERA
6pm Hannibal
***
Think of Roxy Music and one automatically thinks of Bryan Ferry or, if you're a peculiar sort that actually listened to them before Dance Away, Brian Eno. Eno, of course, is a distant memory to the vast majority of latter day fans, but the band's original guitarist, Phil Manzanera, is still around and still creating music outside Roxy Music's Ferry-centric confines. 6pm sees Manzanera re-emerge from the shadows with various luminaries (Roxy Music stalwarts Andy McKay and Paul Thompson, Eno, Robert Wyatt, Chrissie Hynde and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour); the result is worth a listen for those names alone. It's quite decent music, too; nothing that will give Scissor Sisters a run for their money, but if you fancy a fusion of early Roxy Music, focused and layered psychedelia (Soft Machine, Pink Floyd) and some fine expressive guitar work from Manzanera and Gilmour then you'll find it here. www.manzanera.com Tony Clayton-Lea
