summer CD's?



Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam

This was a total impulse buy after (well actually during, thanks to Amazon and a speedy internet connection) a bit of a late one round a mates house. Specifically after listening to a fantastically spaced out song called Frittering - a big slice of psychedelic fuzzed up indie rock - a great song, however it's quality does not run through the whole album, which can be a bit patchy mainly due to some silly vocals. Anyway a good introduction to this sort of music - a bit of a pity I've picked it up 15 years too late, I was far too busy listening to Grindcore and beginning my journey down the Industrial pop music trail towards the dark gloomy lands inhabited by Mr Manson and Mr Reznor... Anyway not a bad CD.



Sage Francis - Personal Journals

...and by jove they are very very personal. Sage is another member of Anticon, an underground hip hop crew who as far as I understand are spread across most of North America. I'm not entirely sure they are underground anymore, I have a feeling Boom Bip has something to do with them, and his music is used in adverts. Anyway, if you've heard of El-P & the Def Jux peeps, Warps new hip-hop off shoot - Lex Records, Cex, Mike Ladd you'll be comfortable with this CD. I'm not sure that I've decided how much I like it, I know it's good but I haven't decided if it's as good as the excellent album by Themselves. It can be a very daunting album to listen to in one go, he's got a very bombastic vocal style and due to the personal nature of the lyrics sometimes it can be a bit much - the beats are faultless though. OK, a good CD which could potentially excellent once I get used to it.



Gemma Hayes - Night on My Side

I like this, and I did say I would buy her CD after Glastonbury. It feels like a summer CD to me, but it's not one of those sickeningly cheerful "the sun is shining and everyone is having fun" CD's, nope - there are some harsh bleak moments here just to remind us that Winter isn't that far away. In fact I think there is one song here called 'Tear in my Side' which isn't that far from a Godflesh song, OK there isn't as much screaming and the guitars aren't as loud, but the two chord riff thoughout the whole song and the mantra like lyrics are classic 'flesh', not Ireland's answer to Kylie Minogue as the fool on the BBC website describes her.