JULY 2007: CD REVIEWS

baby pink star : poseur single

It’s snotty, glamourous punk rock and roll, with lots and lots of pink! These guys have got a lot of national acclaim behind them. Recently the band competing against Bonnie Tyler for a single of “Total Eclipse Of The Heart.” Sassy! The single “Poseur” is a sexy slice of electro disco rock, similar to Yorkshire favourites Deltawave the band blend hard rock and disco beats with snarling punk vocals and a confidence that has carried them far since this single first came out many months ago.
BPS are a band to see live, a furious and “balls-out” approach that is all their own will await you. Here though on record, the sound is far more raw, and if you check them out you will see how the band have grown since this was released. Each member lends themselves one hundred percent to this effort, and we are allowed into their sleazy world for a peak at debauchery, and then we are shoved back out again. This crew from Sheffield are a celebrity soundtrack, and they are waiting to have some real glitz and glamour showered upon them. Yes they truly deserve it! www.myspace.com/babypinkstar. For fans of: The Towers Of London, Deltawave, Billy Idol. dom smith

Glamour Of The Kill : Through The Dark They March

Another salvo in the ever-itensifying bombardment that is the metallic colossus Glamour Of The Kill, known in a former life as Red Room Theory. Suitably bombastic, swirling intro (“A New Dawn Awaits”)? Check. Jackhammer drumming with those damn thrashy double beats? Present and very much in place. Scalpel-precise guitars? Ouch, they’re sharp. Gutbucket vocals that sound like the Churchill Insurance dog hawking up phlegm? Ooaaaarghhh yes. Ace non-more-metal titles like “Rise From Your Grave” and “Until Death”? Do you have to ask? But GOTK are a bit more distinctive than your usual strangulated thrash merchants. The vocals career suddenly and violently between the aforementioned sludgebarf vox and a much cleaner, technically powerful voice, while the tunes barrel along at a brisk clip with enough chugging twists and turns to suck the listener in (“This Day Won’t Last Forever” is particularly effective here). The overall effect is a successful melding of the classic Iron Maiden / Diamond Head style with the crunch attack of more recent snarlers like Bullet For My Valentine. Plus there’s so much metal OTT-ness here, especially in the titles and lyrics – “rise from the grave, and take my hand” – that they might not take themselves too seriously, which is a good thing. RSJ, Beyond All Reason, Glamour Of The Kill, York has an impressive pack of metallions – bang that head… www.myspace.com/glamourofthekill tim procter

THE PROJECTS : SKETCHES OF PAIN

I think it’s fair to say that The Projects wear their influences on their sleeves. A York-based collective (there’s no fewer than eight folk credited on this 6-tracker), they describe their sound as “progressive trip-hop” and their website is www.myspace.com/thebristolsound, so you know what to expect. And overall they don’t disappoint. First off, this is incredibly well-produced, crisp and clear with room for every instrument, sound and electronic squelch and squiggle to breathe. The first two tracks, “Flatline” and “Paradolia”, shuffle on classic trip-hop beats, flecked with a slightly gritty melancholia, borne along by Jen Low’s powerful, jazz-inflected vocals and on the latter track, Jools Slater’s yearning flute and a slick slot from a (surprisingly) uncredited MC. Things occasionally stray when they up the tempo –“Good To Go” is a pleasingly atmospheric canter with just enough eerie guitar to keep it on the dark side, but “Union St. Blues” funk’s too close to coffee-table jazz with its fussy drumming and overworked organ, and “52,000 Ft. High” lacks the grimy edge of the other tracks and here the rap seems out of place. However, fellow hip-hoppers Grinny Grandad bend it into a much more dubby, oddball shape with their closing remix, which boasts some crazy, faintly disturbing sampled trumpet. Much to enjoy, and yes, finally, York is producing a few more beat merchants. Personally I hope they keep their sound shadowy and noir-ish, but whatever they do, they’re clearly a talented bunch well capable of producing cracking-sounding discs in a genre they obviously love. tim procter

GINA DOOTSON : 3AM GENERATION

Everyone buying this album will be playing it on constant repeat, when they wake up in the morning in need of something refreshing, hard hitting and honest. The emotive and powerfully well written material proves Gina Dootson to be an honest and true to herself singer song writer. She is a highly competent musician that makes you angry she isn’t signed up to a major label (like so many musicians around Yorkshire). It’s hard to resist the temptation of comparing her to Alanis Morrisette but songs like ‘3am Generation’ and ‘Sleepless Tonight’ show she is deserving of all the credit she can get, without any comparisons.
Her lyrics are as fitting for the hard lives and times of women as well as men, and the guitar works embrace every word into contagious melodies. Gina Dootson doesn’t seem to be dedicated to a gender or genre; she is most likely dedicated to bringing out whatever is going through her mind at a particular time, and it so happens that you the man, or you the woman feel the same. After all, we are all under the same roof.
Gina performed her songs at the York Amnesty International event in April, inspiring the audience to be so engaged, the end of every song was received with an applause that went through the roof. At times she strummed the guitar so powerfully we could imagine her in a rock band, but then the gentle strokes re-established her in the more acoustic genre. Both in the studio and live, she proves to be an out of ordinary singer and acoustic guitarist, full of energy, producing emotive and powerful chords. Overall a very gripping album, a very gripping singer song writer. s. gar¡Ño

JO WALLIS : TAKE IT SLOW EP

Packed full of sparkling pop gems, “Take It Slow” is the excellent debut from Jo Wallis. The cracking upbeat opening track “Like you do” has a polished feel and should be a solid single selection. “Slow” is a sensual electro-rock ballad that would fit neatly on any Zero 7 album, “Saccharin Smile” immerses the listener into a sublime little psychedelic trip and Stephen Fretwell’s “Lost Without You” is refreshed by her delicate feminine touch. Jo’s ability to write timeless songs is impressive, her harmonies are infused with sumptuous subtlety and her choice of experienced backing musicians is impeccable. Paul Teasdale (guitar, bass, synth and piano) and Ian Moore (drums) create the perfect backdrops for her vocal vignettes. Teasdale’s production remains as experimental as ever, proving his chameleon-like qualities by shifting through the different styles with ease, adding the edge to her accomplished arrangements. Ultimately it is the clarity, control and soft emotive tones of her voice that make “Take It Slow” a very professional outing from a superbly talented songstress. Check it out now. evil twin