CD of the week
Shaun de Waal
One doesn’t quite get the band name. In any case, New Radicals (no “the”) appears to be less a band than composer/producer/singer Gregg Alexander doing his thing with a little enthusiastic help from his friends.
And the title of his/their debut CD, Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too (MCA), doesn’t quite add up either, though Alexander has stated his agenda: “I hope we don’t forget the reason everybody embraced rock’n’roll in the first place. Where else can you fuck your brains out and simultaneously fight oppression of the human spirit?”
If that harks back to the Sixties (free your ass and your mind will follow?), so does something in Alexander’s utterly compelling and deeply enjoyable music. But if it absorbs the Sixties of the Stones and psychedelia, it doesn’t stop there. Seventies funk and Philly soul are thrown into a stew spiced with later, more British flavours, ranging from the pop tune- smithery of World Party to the roller- coaster jive of Black Grape.
None of Alexander’s apparent influences would matter, however, if he hadn’t managed to pull off the whole bubbling mishmash with flamboyant mastery, making an entirely individual totality out of it all, one filled with wild abandon yet somehow perfectly poised. Is he the new Prince? Could this be retro-post-modern pop album of the year?
Soundbites
The Cranberries: Bury the Hatchet (Island Records) Dolores O’Riordan and the boys are back in town. Bury the Hatchet is mostly new songs, rather than new concepts. Still, in its quiet and unassuming way, it makes a good impression. Ranging from the folky sounds of Loud and Clear, You and Me and others, the upbeat hit single Promises and the sweet melody but oh-so-bitter lyrics of Shattered, the Cranberries puts their obvious experience to good use. But even the best armour has a weak spot – slow love songs do not seem to be their strong point. Sometimes O’Riordan’s lovely accented voice saves the song, but on a track like What’s on My Mind things really get a bit tedious. Still, it is a recommendable, if average, album. Oh, and it’s got a really nice cover design. – Riaan Wolmarans
Ultra: Ultra (eastwest) This crew of male models actually play instruments and possess a healthy cynicism about the boy- band system, but they sound every millimetre as battery-farmed as their rivals. As a guitar/bass/drums outfit they’re less reliant on off-the-peg dance beats, but still manage to make each ditty uniquely flavourless – especially in the vocals, where their breathy harmonies are a composite of every other boy group’s. Oh, for the manly resonance of Take That. – Caroline Sullivan
Crash Test Dummies: Give Yourself a Hand (BMG) After two commercially successful albums, it is as if the Dummies have decided to prove that there is more to them than gimmicky songs with a deep voice. Defiantly uncommercial, quirky and yet still catchy, Give Yourself a Hand reveals a deeper, darker side to the Dummies. – Dave Chislett