On the record - Have Super Furry Animals lost their bite?

Apr 14 2009 By Andy Welch

What's hot and what's not in this week's new releases.

Elsewhere, we've got promising work from newcomers Video Nasties, and a collection of dub-reggae covers of Beatles songs.

Super Furry Animals - Dark Days/Light Years

After 13 years in the public eye and eight consistently challenging studio albums, Welsh five-piece SFA are dangerously close to becoming national treasures. Despite never being outright 'cool' they have outlived, outlasted and outgunned many a trend. But for all the goodwill towards Gruff Rhys and co, this ninth LP is among their most disappointing. Where 2007's Hey Venus was sharply focused return to simple pop writing values, here the band are unable to keep up with their own ambitious template. Crazy Naked Girls is a laboured one-liner, Mt a musty letdown and Cardiff In The Sun a less than elegant stab at electro-prog. It's an interesting ride, not short on humour, but it is some way from their best work.

Rating: 6/10

(Review by Rory Dollard)

Easy Star All-Stars - Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band

The Easy Star All-Stars are dab (or should that be dub?) hands at this by now. Following the hugely acclaimed Dub Side of the Moon (2003) and OK Computer-rebooting Radiodread (2006), producer Michael Goldwasser's collective have turned their reggae-fying machine on the mother lode of the concept album. Expectations are understandably high - both previous releases succeeded in transforming one classic into another. While it's too early to make such claims here, the All-Stars have at the very least created a strong contender for party record of the summer. The roster of contributors is impressive as ever, with Ranking Roger's delivery of Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! particularly joy-inspiring. Reverent but revelatory.

Rating: 8/10

(Review by Kieran Haynes)

Black Sabbath - Paranoid (Deluxe Edition)

Mention the name Ozzy Osbourne now, and the image of a booze-addled idiot, shuffling around a sterile LA house comes immediately to mind. As this reissue proves, a deluxe edition of his band Black Sabbath's finest achievement, he was an incredible singer, at once aggressive and vulnerable, with an unparalleled wail. Ozzy's voice together with Tony Iommi's masculine riffs were a match made in heaven. Opener War Pigs and title track Paranoid are obvious standouts, but as Planet Caravan shows, they could do gentle as well. The second disc features alterative takes of the main attraction, which, 40 years after its release, remains a classic.

Rating: 9/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

Howard Eliott Payne - Bright Light Ballads

Since the break-up of Liverpudlian rockers The Stands in 2005, Howard Eliott Payne has clearly been gazing out across the Atlantic. Bright Light Ballads, his solo debut, finds him mining a seam of folky Americana. As fans of his former band will know, Payne can certainly write songs. Here the sparse, poetic Until Morning is an obvious highlight, distilling the spirit of Leonard Cohen over Paul Simon-esque acoustic trills. But the shadow of Dylan hangs so heavy over many tracks you sometimes feel the urge to add your own harmonica part. While Payne's produced an undeniably accomplished record, it's disappointing to find he's not really breaking much new ground.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Kieran Haynes)

Dusty Springfield - Just Dusty

What a singer Dusty was, and this best of collection is packed with so many classics it's hard to know what song to listen to first. The album opens with I Only Want To Be With You and by track nine the album has already included I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, In The Middle Of Nowhere, If You Go Away and You Don't Have To Say You Love Me. This album is a reminder of what an important and influential singer Dusty was - today's crop of singers are lucky to have such an icon.

Rating: 8/10

(Review by Polly Weeks)

Video Nasties - On All Fours

The song titles on Video Nasties' debut album (Old Flowers, Conversation Dies, Dead Again) suggest an earnest attempt to be gloomy, sort of a cartoon Joy Division. These are kids raised in the post-Green Day era, however, so everything here is infused with a punk energy and pop aesthetic that saves what might otherwise be a dully generic Editors-style new wave revival record. It's all there on lead single Jellybean: the trebly post punk guitars, the Interpol chord progression and cymbal washes, layered over a drum kit getting a healthy trashing. The rest of the album more or less sticks to this formula. Not life-changing, but hard to fault.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Steve Kerr)

Eddi Reader - Love Is The Way

Eddi Reader has been ever-present in the music industry since her days in Fairground Attraction. Now, having established a solo career, she releases this new folk-filled album with a slight nod to Nashville. There's lots of acoustic guitar and harmonica merged together with her strong but gentle vocal skills. It could be straight out of the 70s. Silent Bells is a good sing-a-long song and Sweet Mountain Of Love shows her skills. However, the album is a little repetitive in places, it's like something Duffy would release if she was doing a country album - it's contemporary enough but a bit twee in places.

Rating: 6/10

(Review by Polly Weeks)

In This Moment - The Dream

A rare female voice in the world of metalcore, Maria Brink frontwoman of LA-based quintet In This Moment, stands out a mile from her contemporaries. Relying more on clean singing than screaming, her voice has a melodious quality not often heard in the genre. If it weren't for the relentless guitars and thumping drums, you could even assume In This Moment to be, whisper it, pop metal. The bright sheen that washes over the album is partly down to producer Kevin Churko, who has worked with Britney Spears, Shania Twain and Ringo Starr, among others. Evanescence have been on a break since 2007, and whether they get back together or not is anyone's guess. The Dream gives us something to listen to while they make up their mind.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

Twisted Wheel - Twisted Wheel

With ringing endorsements from the likes of Paul Weller, Liam Gallagher and Zane Lowe to their name and the services of Oasis producer Dave Sardy at their disposal, this Oldham trio have already made all the right friends. Whether they can turn that buzz into over-the-counter sales rests largely on the public's appetite for bolshy post-punk. Their self-titled debut defiantly pays homage to the likes of The Jam and The Clash and, on Strife, tips its hat towards rather unsubtly towards The Libertines. The results, though, are surprisingly pleasing, with frontman Johnny Brown holding things together with his amusingly sneering lyrics and raw delivery.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Rory Dollard)

The Veils - Sun Gangs

Sun Gangs is the third album from The Veils. They're fronted by Finn, the son of XTC's Barry Andrews. Despite several line-up changes over the years, and a slight failure to break through on their initial promise, Sun Gangs could well put them on the right track. Opener Sit Down By The Fire recalls Echo And The Bunnymen and to a lesser extent Arcade Fire, whereas the piano-heavy title track brings a more melancholic feel to proceedings. It's short-lived, though, as The Letter and Killed By The Boom are more upbeat, frantic even. Not the easiest of listens, there's plenty going on to hold the attention. But is that enough?

Rating: 6/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

Singles by Andy Welch

Lady GaGa - Poker Face

Like an electro-pop Christina Aguilera, Lady GaGa has certainly made an impression. It's not hard to see why, with Poker Face's infectious beats and powerful vocal. But is she any good at playing cards?

Beyonce - Halo

Her reinvention as Sasha Fierce may not have gone as well as she wanted, but when it comes to epic R&B-laced ballads, there are few better than Beyonce, no matter what she happens to be calling herself.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

For many a year, Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O was more influential as a style icon than anything else. With Zero, the band's most immediate single from their best album, that could all change.

On The Road

Upcoming Tours

Spiritualized have announced a handful of live dates, during which they'll play 1997 masterpiece Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space in its entirety. They play two nights at London's Festival Hall on October 13 and 14, Manchester Apollo on December 13, and then back to London's Barbican on December 14. For more details, go to www.spiritualized.co.uk.

Not even a Blur reunion can stop Graham Coxon announcing a solo tour. He kicks off in Norwich on Sunday May 3, and ends up in Newcastle on Monday May 18. For more details go to www.ticketweb.co.uk.