DidzHammond has written the following articles:
Bad. The least appropriately named album ever.»
Ultrasound were never gong to come back and make good on their 15 year old promise of saving guitar music, however timely it may seem. Too much drama and bitterness. Too many festering wounds remain too raw. Too much damage too close to the surface. They still have 'it' in flashes, but for the intended scale of their music, the budgets and the moment have certainly passed.»
There's no dramatic left turn on ...Come Of Age, but for the most part its a definite development.»
Re-writing the same song (‘Shotgun’) with the same chord changes, same vocal jumps, same rhythms, same synths, same surf guitar, same open and obvious references to other people’s songs, same everything again and again and again.»
Although a few records came close from '93 to '97, Blur's Parklife this remains Britpop's touchstone and dangerously high watermark.»
Most of this record isn't the kind of total genius that can be found elsewhere in Guided By Voices' canon but it's a fine album that shows what can be done if bands just relaxed a bit, stopped worrying about peripheral shit like whether they have the full 16 eyelets in their boots done up or plump for the more casual 14, wrote songs, rocked out and enjoyed the whole shindig.»
You want that urgent, primal soul yell that made Dexys so compelling and brilliant and exciting. And they just haven’t got it here.»
It’s RAM’s turn to be re-released, perhaps reappraised and definitely repurchased. »
If you admire the Flaming Lips, but wish they came without the goofy ideas and execution, then this is for you.»
Eschewing Germanic fairgrounds, North American swimming pools, and the grip of Warner Bros Records, Ryan Jarman from The Cribs explains how he and his brothers found themselves reconnected… In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull [cue 20th Century Fox title sequence. “Dlllllllllllaaaa-duh-dah. Dun-dun…”]»
This is The Cribs' best yet and possibly the best of the year.»
A nice homespun, organic and lovingly prepared supplement to Gloss Drop. It's the Hugh's River Cottage of art-rock-post-mix records.»
For Sweet Heart Sweet Light Jason Piece has gone with a compliment of almost-plasticized, female soul backing vocals as the gimmick. Like a subtlely effected version of the Sweet Inspirations. »
Some of you may know Didz Hammond as the former bassist and unofficial spokesman for The Cooper Temple Clause, and many of you may be aware that when he departed the band, he joined Carl from The Libertines' band, Dirty Pretty Things. So, we thought, who better to send along to review a new documentary about The Libertines than the man himself...»
When Benjamin Schoos succeeds in his thinly veiled kidnappings of musical alumni it inspires the songwriting to get up of its arse and deliver.»
Most of the songs here are truly lovely but it’s a bit of a case of them being a nice, pained, sun-kissed treat-of-luck, when any of them come on shuffle. In the pack, they can begin to feel a little anonymous but when dealt out individually they can really brighten an 11-minute wait for the bus.»
For now, atmosphere is almost all and Crowns should be allowed to blissfully revel in going to the pub and playing music and falling over and whatever the next few moments happen to bring.»
