P.J. Smith: Fear Of Flying (Purple Shoes Music)
You won't recognise P.J. from the cover of this album - he used to be the mullet-haired singer with Dublin rock hopefuls No Sweat. These days, P.J. sports a sensible haircut, and lives between the two musical meccas of Dublin and Los Angeles. His musical style has changed from poodle-metal to acoustic-based rock, and he unveiled his new songs to an Irish audience at a recent solo showcase in the Sugar Club. Songs such as Sugar Candy, Loose Kid, 6:45 am and Tinseltown are solid chunks of indie rock, not a million miles removed from Oasis, Crowded House or Ocean Colour Scene, and wearing their obvious Beatles influences with panache. While this is a well-rounded, well-sung and well-performed collection of catchy tunes, there's still an overriding feeling that this has all been done before - by Paul Weller, probably.
By Kevin Courtney
Various Artists: New Woman Summer 2000 (Virgin)
This collection of "39 modern love songs" has been released in conjunction with New Woman magazine, and is presumably meant to reflect the complexities and concerns of the 21st-century girl. So, Toni Braxton's He Wasn't Man Enough seems as good a start as any. Other supposed anthems of empowerment include Madison Avenue's Don't Call Me Baby, Geri Halliwell's Look At Me, The Corrs' What Can I Do and Britney Spears' Born To Make You Happy. Needless to say, Hole's Doll Parts and P.J. Harvey's Sheela-Na-Gig are not included. Robbie Williams, Tom Jones, Backstreet Boys and Westlife, however, are here for the delight and delectation of the ladies, but really, you'd get a better and more cleverly-chosen selection from just tuning your radio to any commercial station. New Woman? Old hat.
By Kevin Courtney