Second-rate indie stomper

(Morning Star, Friday 12 January 2007)

ALBUM: The View - Hats Off to the Buskers
(1965 Records)

THE View are not the latest "best new band in Britain," as touted by many in the music press.

Their sneers and snotty attidude are a stone's throw from such rock luminaries as Lil' Chris off Rock School and their Britpop-by-numbers leaves them far short of many contemporaries.

From the depths of 1995, they've made the most of their limited talents on this second-rate indie stomper of a record - they've half-inched both sound and swagger from such working-class scamps as Arctic Monkeys, but they just don't have the charisma to make it stick.

Superstar Tradesmen, a cynical, biting attack on the working people of their rundown hometown Dundee, has garnered the band a reputation, but, the truth is, their "punk" posing is straight out of the NME, their ethos wrenched from the newly media-savvy world of record company execs trawling MySpace.com for the next big thing.

Elsewhere, on the raucous Street Lights and single Wasted Little DJs, there's not a bad effort at guitar rock karaoke and no-one could blame The View for trying to escape from the misery of Dryburgh through the medium of music.

In fact, with that in mind, The View deserve snaps for effort - remember that and drop them a few coppers when they proffer their Burberry caps in your direction in the City Square.

But the decision to mix the lyrical poetry of Dodgy with the adopted swagger of Rick Witter is really a poor one.

The View's debut is overhyped and undercooked, which is probably why they've taken their hats off to the buskers - they know that's where they'll be themselves within the year.

A new direction

(Morning Star, Friday 12 January 2007)

ALBUM: The Good, The Bad and The Queen - The Good, The Bad and The Queen
(Parlophone)

THERE'S a prevalent marine theme on the debut release from Damon Albarn's latest outfit.

From the "ship across the estuary" on opener History Song, Albarn, along with The Clash's legendary Paul Simonon, Tony Allen (Africa 70/Fela Kuti) and Simon Tong (The Verve), lead listeners through a tempestuous oceanic landscape.

It's a refreshing take on modern life, but the relentless reinforcement, from "seas in our minds" on A Soldier's Tale to Nature Springs, the gentle swell of metaphors slowly begins to drown the subtleties of what is a truly beautiful record.

High points are Herculean, which is understated but unfeasibly strong, and Green Fields. The latter is a slightly clumsy socio-political comment on the state - and wars - that we're in, referencing tidal waves and the "bad man's dream," but it is doubtless a tour de force from a man better known for monkeying around.

From a lifetime's work with Blur, a band keen to espouse the virtues of London, this release is really a compendium of the true tales of Albion, awash not only with literary imagery but chillingly perfect vocal harmonies and a melancholy which none but the most optimistic of fans could have believed Albarn capable of since the Gorillaz warfare of 2001.

New ravers

(Morning Star, Friday 19 January 2007)

ALBUM: The Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
(Polydor)

WHETHER or not the so-called nu-rave scene is an NME construct is, in actuality, a bit like the argument on whether or not there is racism in the s'leb Big Brother house - completely irrelevant now. What we are left to deal with is the international fallout. Or, in nu-rave's case, the Klaxons.

So, do the flag-wavers for 1992 stand proud without the crutch of a "scene" to hold them up? Truthfully, they really do.

The dreamy mid-80s pop of single Golden Skans sits surprisingly well beside the frankly terrifying Atlantis to Interzone, which is a bit like being beaten round the head by MDMA-abusing youths with glowsticks. But, you know, in a good way.

The high point, somewhat sadly, comes in the form of a cover. The version here of Planet Perfecto's It's Not Over Yet is, frankly, astonishing, imbued, as it is, with all the longing and loss of the original. With added rave beats.

Although the debate will continue to rage across the globe, let us put it to rest now - The Klaxons have made an astoundingly good debut.