COMES WITH A SMILE REVIEWS ART OF FIGHTING / BABY LEMONADE THE HIGH LLAMAS / JESSAMINE SAM PREKOP / RETSIN / SEBADOH MIKE BADGER / THE BEACH BOYS / BECK JOHN WESLEY HARDING / DAMIEN JURADO SLEATER-KINNEY / SMOG / JOHN P. STROHM BEN & JASON / THE BLACK HEART KARATE / PETE KREBS / THE LAPSE SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE PROCESSION / BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY LOOPER / THE MINDERS / NINIAN HAWICK THE SUNSHINE CLUB / TRAM / TOM WAITS BRIAN / BUILT TO SPILL / CAT POWER STINA NORDENSTAM / THE OLIVIA TREMOR THE WEBB BROTHERS / CHUCK E. WEISS COTTON MATHER / DAKOTA SUITE CONTROL / JIM O’ROURKE WILCO / KELLY WILLIS / THE WONDERMINTS DIESELHED / JASON FALKNER JOEL R.L. PHELPS: THE DOWNER TRIO XTC / ZITA SWOON / AND MORE GRAND DRIVE / GRANFALOON BUS LIZ PHAIR / THE PINS / PIZZICATO FIVE Art of Fighting – Mike Badger – Volume (Viper) A few standards in Big Stereo and two compiled album from a band once The Very Strange Year (Half a Cow) With the ragged, no bones tone of a concert promos that equal zilch still constantly redefining itself, jumping on Solemn, soothing and seductively good home demo, Volume marks Mike leaves twenty live and studio tracks no-one’s bandwagon. They were the slovenly, Ollie Brown, Peggy Frew and Badger’s first release since his days as circa 1966-1975 when they could do bandwagon. SR Cameron Grant’s sprawling six-tracker founding member of Liverpool’s proto- no wrong. A live 1966 surf’n’cars takes the unhurried path laid down by Oasis, The La’s. While his replacement medley is still full of youthful zest rather Beck - Mutations (Geffen) Red House Painters with a slacker’s in that band, Lee Mavers, went on to than the distorted metal madness Nowhere as roughly hewn as his low- attitude. Brown’s wavering vocal become either an eccentric, evolving elsewhere. Thereafter their live key 1995 release One Foot In The Grave, weaves its words around the rolling perfectionist visionary or an opiate- act, like their image, was – in the USA Mutations was nonetheless trumpeted rhythm section, resignation seeping assisted slacker (depending on which at least – deemed passé until a big as a companion piece to that album, through his pores – “I don’t update you choose to believe) Mike group of black South African members rather than a linear follow up to his last, understand you, but I want to” he sings Badger has waited until now to break from The Flame plus help from Chicago the million-selling Odelay. (Whatever. on the sweeping Wild Beast. With the his musical silence, finding interim boosted their hip cred and their live Seems like an irrelevant qualification to fragility of Mark Kozelek’s epic balladry success with his artwork. Volume is a sound, leaving the sunshine intact. The make really, the sound of a marketing and the lazy stroll of Joel R.L. Phelps’ homely, sweetly understated collection most interesting live track is Wonderbill, office without faith in the artist’s Downer Trio, AOF take their time to of songs that blanket a latent where The Flames’ heavy Don’t Worry output or the audience’s intelligence.) reach a song’s denouement, instead poppiness under the intimacy of Bill is spliced into the delicate-as-an- The man himself has never been shy the journey is the destination. It’s an Badger’s gruff strum and soft, deep- orchid Smile tune Wonderful. The about proclaiming his love of the raw hypnotic trip. set vocal. For the most part he goes it studio stuff must originate in Beach Boy sounds of folk and blues, and it’s as a alone, backed only by a pair of heaven. Soulful Old Man Sunshine is post-modern regurgitation of this Baby Lemonade – acoustics, underpinned occasionally by The Beach Boys performing big band tradition that attempts at pinning Beck Exploring Music (Big Deal) shades of accordion, piano or cello, or swing with joy, soul and guts (Carl down most often settle for. Without A refined follow-up to the patchy 68% with florid interludes like the brief nearly blows a fuse). Alan Jardine’s sounding derivative or laboured, Pure Imagination, this is archetypal chamber coda to When We’re Alone. Loop de Loop should have been Mutations delves into this rich well with nineties power-pop, on a par with the Opening track Where Love Is, with a featured in Those Magnificent Men In one hand, leaving the other free to likes of Velvet Crush and The falsetto vocal from Space’s Tommy Their Flying Machines but its earlier update the blend with snatches of Wondermints (whose Darian Sahanaja Scott, sets a slightly fey mood, dispelled incarnation Sail Plane Song is very cool. feedback, wheezing harmonica, and Nick Walusko guest and co- elsewhere by the Spanish suggestions Here the band (minus Mike ‘Calendar harpsichord, sitar and a laid back produce) whilst the harder, rockier of Turn To Her, or the ring of vintage Girl’ Love) play everything themselves attitude. Close in spirit to Odelay’s tracks and lead breaks bring a touch of Simon & Garfunkel on Reach For The and, for once, seem to inhabit the same Jackass, with it’s reclined strum, Redd Kross to the party. Cue lots of Stars. Of the instrumentals which break state/State as the Airplane, Dead and Mutations churns up country, summery, shimmering guitars and things up, Piano Sativa is a slowly the Prunes. Mike rocks gently on the psychedelia, and folk balladeering, all layered harmonies topped with a glossy unfolding, sorrowful whirl with a veranda on his tuneful Brian’s Back, a in a muted version of the stylistic soup sheen, with Rusty Squeezebox’s soulful likeness to Gymnopedie, while Twilight respectful recognition of the mighty that made Beck the hippest kid in the vocals shining brightly throughout, in D closes the album with a measured, oak, which is quite lovely. For some of playground. Lazy Flies is a Beatles-esque making the most of some pretty banal fading chime of guitar and strung-out us though, the other significant Beach avalanche of words, while Tropicalia is lyrics (‘Every summer, sky is ocean blue. rumble of cello. Volume doesn’t rewrite Boy is Dennis. By 1972 a powerful, an easy-going bossa nova. Free of any Every summer makes me think of you’); any rules, but its low-key charm leaves passionate songwriter had emerged. disingenuous lo-fi production or not that power-pop is known for its you hoping Mike Badger won’t leave it His All Alone (‘If I could live my life sulking introspection, Mutations is literary aspirations. Despite an so long next time. MW again…’ but it wouldn’t be you Dennis, more relaxed than Odelay, if slightly less abundance of talent and occasional would it) and Barbara are slow, engaging. It seems like Beck isn’t trying moments of sonic bliss, it’s a little The Beach Boys – romantic tour de forces from the so darn hard, and Mutations is all the undemanding and in need of some Endless Harmony (Capitol) biggest heart on the planet. Why most better for it. MW Posies-esque schizophrenia to break the The Beach Boys’ embarrassing, self- of this stuff has been boxed away is monotony. Exploring Music could have parodying releases since 1980 are crazy but we are talking about the Ben & Jason – Hello (Go Beat) dug a little deeper. shamed again by more archive delights. Hawthorne Hotshots. In all a very nicely Reviewing blindly, the sparsest of REVIEWS sleeves and a press release long since one could wish for. This is no Red somewhere near his sleeve. With their and Scott Plouff seem to draw from a parted from its subject, this mini-album House Painters miserablist experience, loose, measured crescendos of organ hitherto undiscovered second volume is a mysterious mixed blessing. First you see. Musically this has more in and guitar, Oldham’s songs manage to of classic progressions to create a listen reveals a sterling recording - common with Tom Waits or maybe a be both downbeat and uplifting. record brimming with vitality tempered always a bonus - and a Radiohead less hammy Nick Cave. The ‘Death to everyone is gonna come,’ he with knowing wit (‘I don’t like this air meets Belle & Sebastian elegance extraordinary arrangements, with piano sings, making it sound like a cause for but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop topped by a vocal style reminiscent of flourishes to the fore and sparse celebration. MW breathing it’) and fresh, intelligent pop that guy from Puressence minus the keyboard drones, singing saws and the hooks. Keep it. amphetamines. Unequivocally English whistling of the wind underneath it all, Brian - Bring Trouble (Setanta) in tone, despite some Jeff Buckley see that The Black Heart Procession A special treat of tartly sweet Cat Power – Moon Pix (Matador) inflections, it’s a dreamily acoustic manages to spotlight the aching melancholic delights. The new full Moon Pix is the hydrographic fourth ramble of a record with an evasive wonder of sadness, the fact that pain length from Brian (AKA Ken Sweeny) is opus from Chan Marshall and is centre - it’s either breezy Beautiful is sometimes such a sweet emotion. exactly that. With lovely lilting poptastic markedly different from her earlier South emptiness or 21st Century folk And to tip the scales back in favour of vocals Brian have delivered the perfect work. It has an intimate, home-made music, I can’t decide. Occasionally inner strength there are several almost summer soundtrack. I feel a spring in quality about it due to the minimal rather vapid and contrived (This Is Our jaunty, upbeat tracks. Dispensing with my step and a flower behind one ear.