The latest releases reviewed
EOIN GRIMES Dancing With Angels RMG Chart
Whether bravely or foolishly setting out his stall on his solo debut, pianist Eoin Grimes navigates an interminably safe path, dabbling mostly in soundtrack terrain, where he pivots between the phlegmatic Oscar's Nocturne, the bareboned Crossing Over and the magpie-stealth of
the execrably titled (and, to the eardrums, marginally less execrable) Incaboogie. Grimes's claim to have found his musical voice is undermined by the unremitting MOR route he chooses. While at times he peddles in sub-Celine Dion accompaniment, there are occasional hints of an identity furtively unfurling into the cool light of day, particularly on the title track, albeit with apologies to Christopher Cross during his Arthur soundtrack days. Pitch perfect fodder for a host of medieval tales of woe on the large or small screen. www.eoingrimes.com SIOBHÁN LONG
KEREN ANN Keren Ann EMI
Something of a niche listening choice on this side of the Atlantic, Israeli-born, Paris-raised Keren Ann Zeidel moved from Europe to the US following the release of her 2004 album, Nolita. It seems she was seduced by the resonances of Velvet Underground - her new album is so in woozy thrall to the NYC sound of the mid-to-late 1960s that it might as well as have a banana on the front cover and Lou Reed playing guitar. Not that Keren Ann really needs such signposts; this is a bang-on album that mixes mellow nu-folk and mainstream touches with morbid alt.rock and controlled feedback. The songs are all hewn from the same solid substance: a little bit exotic, a little bit erotic and very stylish. www.kerenann.com TONY CLAYTON-LEA
Download tracks: Lay Your Head Down, It Ain't No Crime
FRANK BLACK Frank Black 93-03 Cooking Vinyl
The artist formerly known as Black Francis has notched up nine solo albums since breaking free from The Pixies. Although none of them equalled the murky majesty of Doolittle or Surfer Rosa, they are still bursting with oddball rock'n'roll brilliance as they veer between punk, latino, country and powerpop. And, somewhere among the hotch- potch of ideas lies a grungy gem or two, such as Headache, Robert Onion and I Want to Live on an Abstract Plain. But even the not-so-immediate tunes have plenty going for them, not least Black's feral snarl and his knack for slipping in snakebite guitar lines between the beats. 93-03 can't hope to please every Black fan, but it does give a varied overview of his post-Pixies decade. As he leads his old band on another nostalgia trip, at least Black knows that he's carved out his own cactus-strewn path. www.blackfrancis.net KEVIN COURTNEY
Download Tracks: Headache, Robert Onion
WHITE RABBITS Fort Nightly Say Hey
Originally hailing from Missouri and currently billeted in Brooklyn, the six-strong White Rabbits play the rattling, shambolic, jangly indie game with considerable verve. What sets them apart is the knowledge that some woozy ska-ful brass from the Beirut players or an off-kilter approach to grooves is no bad thing to have in the mix. Such eclecticism would be mere salad dressing, however, were it not for the songs. You'll click many a long mile in music blogland before you'll find a tune with as much energetic bounce and panache as Kid on My Shoulders, while The Plot and While We Go Dancing have similar pouts to draw you in. When the Rabbits do show off their influences, they're always unexpected ones, like a strong wisp of The Specials on the sinewy, spooked March of the Camels or the calypso-pop gumbo that appears on I Used to Complain, Now I Don't. One of the brighter finds of the year. www.whiterabbitsmusic.com JIM CARROLL
Download tracks: Kid on My Shoulders, March of the Camels
SIOBHAN DONAGHY Ghosts Parlophone
Siobhan Donaghy's follow-up to her 2005 solo debut, Revolution in Me, is a superb "difficult second album".
It features some gorgeous songs that boldly mix warm electronic and mellow trip-hop with fat beats, lush textures and bright breathy vocals, from the title track and single Don't Give It Up to There's a Place, Medevac and Halcyon Days. But Ghosts also shows the former Sugababette unwilling to completely exorcise the shades of her pop past with the bland break-up/moving-on ballads So You Say, Sometimes, Make It Right, Goldfish and Coming Up for Air, which are dull and formulaic compared with the playful experimentalism of the other songs (notably the fun folktronic 12 Bar Acid Blues). Brimming with ideas and possibilities, Ghosts promises more in the future from the pop princess turned singer-songwriter. www.siobhandonaghy.co.uk JOCELYN CLARKE
Download tracks: Ghosts, Don't Give It Up
SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO Attack Decay Sustain Release Wichita
Regardless how dubious the rise of new rave, every summer needs an album of 4/4 floor-fillers, especially when up against the recent jaded efforts of Groove Armada. Step forward Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford and James Shaw, who manage to shoehorn umpteen classic dance influences onto a party album of crests and troughs. Whether it's body-popping Daft Punk mimicry on I Got This Down and Wooden (which could be an early Orbital cast-off) there's a familiarity to things that mostly delights - why does It's the Beat (featuring The Go! Team's Ninja) remind us of Technotronic? - but occasionally dips a little. Sleep Deprivation is classic techno cut from the same cloth as New Order, and such in-your-face electro overtures as Hotdog combine build-ups and breakdowns to satisfy the most ardent clubber. It may be new rave with old influences, but it'll still make you dance. www.simianmobiledisco. co.uk SINÉAD GLEESON
Download Tracks: It's the Beat, Hustler, Wooden
VIVA VOCE Viva Voce Loves You Full Time Hobby
You'd have to feel a pang of sympathy for Viva Voce, a husband- and-wife team (Kevin and Anita Robinson) who have released three fine albums in their native US but seen no action on this side of the Atlantic. Viva Voce Loves You is a strategic move, then, an eight-track compilation culled from their US output. It's designed specifically to target the kind of audience that goes quietly bananas over music that fuses the foggy refrains of Luna with the cute bits from My Bloody Valentine. Running through it is a weariness of life that, thankfully, fails to drag down the listener; rather, the Robinsons' tales of dissociative woe generate a dreamy state of awareness of life's good vibes. Life through a muddied lens, if you will, but one with a clear perspective. www.vivavoce.com TONY CLAYTON-LEA
Download tracks: Alive with Pleasure, Faster Than a Dead Horse
