MSP, SFA, Psychid

As sun-worshipping season is well underway the album releases became as rare shade in Mojave, we dig five albums you may consider taking to a beach. Although the whole hype is The Darkness, their debut ‘Permission To Land’ is as genuine as the Bad News were, probably their main inspiration rather than Queen. For the uninitiated, Bad News was the worst comedy undertaking by the otherwise deadly funny Young Ones team although they managed to issue an album and even appear at a Donington Metal Festi!? Still, The Darkness’ Mercury Music Awards’ nomination yesterday confirms that the estimable jury have a sense of humour. (Or, are off their collective rocker!)

The truly brill albums now out are by The Mars Volta, Jane’s Addiction and Dizzee Rascal (for more information see Reviews). Here are another three contenders presented in no particular order but the postmarks.
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Manic Street Preachers
‘Lipstick Traces’
(Epic)

Although we’ve never been great fans of compilations and when you consider this being ‘B-sides’ collection, we’d run fast and far but, being the Manics, it is a goodnik because they are probably the only band that truly takes care of other songs on their singles. With a couple of new songs (previously unreleased ‘Judge Yr’self’, the final song recorded with guitarist Richey Edwards before he went AWOL) and covers (Bacharach’s ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’, Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’), it’s a swell round-up with some (suspect) ideology although they do make valid points sometime, re: ‘Democracy Coma’.

This is a full stop on a period, subtitled ‘A Secret History To The MSP’. What will the next chapter be?

7/10
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Super Furry Animals
‘Phantom Power’
(Sony)

The best Welsh band, Manics are only second in our book, Super Furry Animals have made an album that is less idiosyncratic than ‘Rings Around The World’ and manages to bring something new while sounding like The Beatles, Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach and The Byrds.

‘The Piccolo Snare’, ‘Sex, War & Robots’, ‘Venus And Serena’, ‘Out Of Control’ are raw, fuzzy, eclectic, psychedelic, dizzying, mesmerising… It’s the band’s sixth album and it should shame many a younger act with still so much quality!

8/10
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Psychid
‘Psychid’
(db records)

If Psychid were to play a live show I’d bet it would be like their fellow Oxfordians… no, not Radiohead but an earlier fave from the City of learning, Ride. Yep, Psychid sound like a band who’d ‘shoegaze’.

‘Digging For Victory’ can’t decide whether it wants to be Roxy Music or Duranduran (or however the original line-up is spelling their stoopid name right now) and that’s one of the better songs; ‘Split Lip Sucker’ comes from the Radiohead’s school of pathos – singer Tom Havelock sounds like he’s spend too much time hanging about Buffy’s fave-place, i.e. cemetery. Or, he’s listened to the Thom ‘Seinfeld’ Yorke intently…

Now, I’m puzzled a bit more than usual: this album appeared in the shops without much fuss, no hype, no special promo, nought much. If a record company releases something one would expect them to want to sell it. ‘Psychid’ is a pleasant/decent album without any ambition to be groundbreaking, a mixture of electro-rocking with a bit of guitar-experimentalism. But, it is a good enough disc not to be thrown onto the market and expected to stick just like any old sh*t.

6/10