Album Reviews - May 07

Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in May 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd


Abdominal - Escape From The Pigeon Hole
Antidote Records, 28th May 2007

The cover shows Mr (or rather MC) Abdominal, aka Andy Bernstein, in front of a wall showing painted pigeons flying above his head. What, didn’t trust real birds there? Well-known for his collaborations with DJ Fase and his appearances on DJ Format's releases, this is Abdominal's first solo record, although it does feature production credits from a number of his friends. "My goal is to show a more complete picture of who I am," he says.

‘I’m not breathing today,’ begins ‘Breathe Later’. It’s got quite a funky beat to it. This is cool Canadian rap which seems calmer and more stylish than the commercial hiphop/rap which is forever being churned out by their southern neighbours. ‘T-Ode’ is a tribute to Toronto and left me musing how rap is the modern poetry as he weaves detailed descriptions of the place he’s from. ‘Pedal Pusher’, the story of his previous job as a courier, is fun and makes you want to dance, with scratching and uplifting beats.

‘Open Relationship’ is another with smooth beats, retro funk twangs and echoing synths vibrating like puddles when a T Rex is stomping nearby. It’s also got an interesting story of a non-exclusive relationship, which makes it fascinating to listen to. I'm not generally one for lyrics, but the songs here are so detailed and interesting you can't help but pay attention.

‘Radio Friendly’ is fresh and chirpy, gambolling along. Incidentally the title is a slight piece of sarcasm, as approximately 70% of the words are ‘fuck.’ Try playing that on Radio 2 and see how far you get. It’s amusing, though I’m generally not a big fan of swearing for swearing’s sake.
‘Heaven’s Demon’ has a bassline which leaps all over the place like an over-excited salmon before zipping in all directions and finishing with an intoned ‘Demon’. ‘Big Track’ has a phat groove guiding it along gently as Abdominal lays into McDonald’s work and ingredients. We suggest he might be a secret Burger King employee.

‘Sex With Her’ is the x-rated ‘talking about sex with girls’ track, where he literally explains his exact technique in bed. No wonder it’s subtitled ‘Skip This One Mom’, I’d have skipped it as well if I wasn’t meant to be reviewing it. 3pm on Sunday is not really the time for porn for the ears. ‘Walk Left/Stand Right’ has a plaintive acoustic strum all the way through which reminds me slightly of Buena Vista Social Club's ‘Chan Chan’ and contains a rant against things which seem all too familiar, such as friends repeating your jokes and taking the credit. The brass in ‘Girl Shit’ is a nice smooth touch. ‘Countdown’ also has a downbeat, dusky echo to it, accompanied by strangulated feline sounds.

My one complaint is that albums these days are generally half an hour or so long. This one is 15 tracks and lasts some 55 minutes, which I found a bit hard going. Abdominal might look more like Zinedine Zidane than 50 Cent, but he definitely has a lot of class and style, and this crisp and neat debut is a proud start.

"And in the silence… a butterfly flutters its wings."

Abdominal on MySpace

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Beverley Knight - Music City Soul
Parlophone, 7th May 2007

'Music City Soul' is Beverley Knight's fifth studio album. Now with an MBE under her belt - or rather, in a box on her mantelpiece - this was recorded in the Music City of Nashville, hence the name.

Hear Beverley sing her heart and soul out. She's got a cracking voice. The production is all a bit too polished for my liking; a bit too perfect, such as the opening to ‘Every Time You See Me Smile’. ‘Aint That A Lot Of Love’ comes swaggering with intent, like she’s going to kick you out the way with her wedge heels and dance atop your mute body. There’s no denying she has a spectacular voice. ‘After You’ is a bit softer on the old ears, ‘Nothing is real, nothing is sure, nothing is forever’. She’s grown up.

‘No Man’s Land’ is honeyed, thoughtful, slightly wistful, and it brings across some of the warmth shown in the video. This song swells amazingly and has fantastic elements of blues to it while retaining a classic style. ‘The Queen Of Starting Over’ has a charming retro feel about it, and in fact reminds me slightly of Joss Stone (Sorry).

This album is soft, smooth, stylish and good. It wouldn’t be out of place on a film soundtrack. ‘Black Butta’ is an excitable and rockier tune.

‘Saviour’ is a gentle song with stylish backing vocals. ‘Time Is On My Side’ is a sweeping, soulful cover of the timeless Stones song, and it sounds fantastic. ‘Why Me, Why You, Why Now’ is another class tune. ‘Tell Me I’m Wrong’ is a beautiful simple tune. ‘Rock Steady’ has a bit of a funky jazz feel to it. The bonus tracks are ‘Uptight’ and ‘Back To You’. the first being uplifting and sunny rather than 'Uptight'. It's soul and gospel which you can imagine bopping along out of time to.

It’s the sort of album you get your girly mates round to gossip to, put it on in the background as you sip wine and wear slippers and brush each other’s hair or whatever. I’m a little concerned Beverley’s going to go down the route of many established singers – ie a fantastic special voice, but dullish backing tracks.

'Music City Soul' is feelgood and feel-nice with warm, summery and peaceful tones. A good solid album, and although it doesn't seem to have that special spark, it’s still entertaining and top quality.

To visit Beverley Knight's website click here

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Fountains Of Wayne - Traffic And Weather
Virgin Records, 7th May 2007

Fountains Of Wayne? Now where have we heard of them before? That's right, 'Stacy's Mom' is on SingStar and so we've heard it repeatedly every drunken Saturday night for some time. She's got it going on...

For those of you who are still unaware of the band, or who have not been subject to my karaoke at 2am, you need to know this band does not take itself too seriously. The band name comes from a lawn ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey. They're fun, they're colourful, they're powerpop. That pretty much describes the Fountains.

'Traffic And Weather' is overflowing with fun pop hooks. Single ‘Someone To Love’ is the chirpy opener - you can view the video to this at the bottom of the page to give you a flavour of what FoW are about. ’92 Subaru' is full of bouncy energy, while ‘Yolanda Hayes’ is more laidback, though the guitar still has some urgency to it. ‘Oooh we belong together / like traffic and weather’. Though some Carry On… fans instantly think ‘Like strawberries and cream. Or ham and eggs’.

So thuds along ‘Traffic And Weather’. I think this is a bit too happy and flippant for older fans, but those who like your Busted/McFly types will lap this up. ‘Fire In The Canyon’ is a bit ‘Littlest Hobo’ with bluesy and country licks. The album is all very nice and cheery, with tales of waiting for luggage – ‘they may never get home again’ (‘Michael And Heather At The Baggage Claim’) while 'This Better Be Good’ is almost a modern power ballad and sounds very Queen-ish. ‘Strapped For Cash’ is seductive and jazzy, while ‘I-95’ is soft and round in a gentle way. Powerpop at its finest.

‘The Hotel Majestic’ is full of acid vibes and cheer and country tones come in again at the end for ‘Seatbacks and Traytables’, making for a mix of styles I hadn't expected from this group.

Amusing lyrics and sunny sounds make this intelligent pop mixed with throwaway rock. I have to admit that to me, nothing seems to stand out as truly different or super-fantastisch, but 'Traffic And Weather' is quality powerpop/rock which leaves you smiling.

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Groove Armada - Soundboy Rock
Columbia, 7th May 2007

We have nothing but praise for whoever is responsible for the cartoon world lovingly recreated in miniature on Groove Armada's 'Soundboy Rock' album sleeve. Parties, nudity, policemen, red phone boxes, croquet – we were looking for Wally, but have yet to spot him. It’s a smashing little animation which you can’t help being caught up in, like a child lost in the tiny details for hours.

'Soundboy Rock' starts well with gloriously uplifting house, fresh and funky beats. It opens with the delicious ‘Hasta Luego Mr. Fab’ before kicking straight into possible dance classic ‘Get Down’. It’s energetic, lively and full of attitude. No disrespect to the rest of the album, but 'Get Down' is far and way the best track.

‘The Things That We Could Share’ doesn’t have such a pounding beat but still has elements of acid jazz funk and hand claps. ‘Save My Soul’ has a much calmer vibe passing through like a golden thread on the jittery beads of synth, every so often interrupted by dramatic echoing pulses.‘What’s Your Version?’ comes tiptoeing through and launches into a languid sway accompanied by smooth rum vocals. ‘Paris’ is a percussion and piano based song which shimmers high in the air. ‘I gave you my love and you took it…’ It’s downbeat and sophisticated.

‘Love Sweet Sound’ takes us back to electro, with a definite 80s feel. It’s quite angular and plasticky, with a winding-down charm. ‘The Girls Say’ is full of urban bass. ‘Lightsonic’ takes us back to the dreamy synths which are such a key feature of this album before cracking open the vocoders and passing them round. There's enough for everyone.

The title track is a tune of swaggering reggae, an unexpected sound but most welcome. The design team certainly enjoyed grooving along to this one - that's right, I saw you guys. ‘Drop That Thing’ is disjointed with frenetic electronic darkness. ‘Song 4 Mutya’ is a proper 80s fuzz throwback with attitude and sexy vocals from the ex-Sugababe. This a catchy song and one of the high points.

‘From The Rooftops’ gently floats along, while ‘See What You Get’ provides a bit of a wake up, although I personally think it plods along too repetitively but not really going anywhere. ‘What’s Your Version (Reprise)’ finishes off, again quite a gentle song. Sadly the album doesn’t keep up the crazy energy throughout, but it's still pretty good nevertheless.

I wouldn’t say ‘Soundboy Rock’ was the best album name – rock what now? It's a bit of a tease as much of the album is along chilled lines. For people who still don’t believe Groove Armada can top lazy swimmer ‘At The River’, well with 'Get Down' they sure can. Who wants to chill when you can have a fantastic party?

Groove Armada