Recent releases reviewed

SNOW PATROL
Live at Somerset House Polydor/Friction
***

They've been busy boys, Snow Patrol, over the past year or so. This time 18 months ago, virtually no one outside several cliques of well informed critics and fanbase diehards between Ireland and Scotland knew of the band's existence. Fast forward a matter of months and, crikey, Gary Lightbody and friends are on Top of the Pops - go figure that one out! The band's newfound friends will no doubt lap up this live DVD, which captures the lads performing at London's rather posh Somerset House. Most of the set, inevitably, is culled from Final Straw, the album that turned around the fortunes and future of these one-time also-rans. The music is, by and large, excellent indie rock with an inbuilt commercial twist. Extras include four video singles, a Japanese tour diary (very amusing, we must say) and a film of their US tour. Didn't they do well? www.snowpatrol.net

Tony Clayton-Lea

PAUL WELLER
Modern Classics on Film Universal/Island
***

The solo years of the Wellerman are always a tad problematic. At least The Style Council have been chucked away, but would the snap, crackle and pop of The Jam days be reinstalled? The albums have been erratic, but what's commendable about the man is the way he ploughs his own furrow with a healthy disdain for nostalgic critical commentary. Never one to camouflage his influences, Weller's guitar-driven, classic English 1960s rock sound always come complete with barbed lyrical couplets and the same sort of intensity from the man who years before informed us that "this is the modern world" and we'd better get used to it. Now favouring a more subtle approach to his compositions, he can still whip-up an r 'n' b fury, pull off a Motown sounding ballad and give it socks in a Stax-Volt dance tune manner. It's just that his finger isn't always on the quality control switch, and the odd muso indulgence does creep in. This is a fairly comprehensive package - videos, interviews, previously unseen US promo material and live performances from the Wild Wood, Stanley Road and Heavy Soul albums. Tracks here such as Has My Fire Really Gone Out, You Do Something to Me and Changing Man are ample proof that he's not, as some cynics suggest, turning into Eric Clapton. Yet. www.paulweller.com

Brian Boyd