Latest releases reviewed
SOMETHING HAPPENS
The Best of Something Happens BMG
****
They captured our hearts with their paisley shirts, jangly guitars and silly album titles (Been There, Seen That, Done That, Stuck Together With God's Glue, Planet Fabulous). We bounced up and down to such songs as Beach, Burn Clear, Parachute and, of course, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello (Petrol). We couldn't believe that Something Happens wouldn't happen on a global scale, but, apart from a tour of duty as Warren Zevon's pick-up band, they never lived up to their name. Sure, they wrote and delivered catchy pop-rock tunes with a smile and a splash of colour, but they never really made the leap from fun student faves to world-class rock gods. That was left to their heroes, U2 and REM. Listening to these tunes from innocent times and removing our rose-tinted shades for a second, we can sort of see why the Happens' appeal remained resolutely local. Still, thanks for the music, lads. (Cue theme from Skippy.)
Kevin Courtney
THE INNOCENCE MISSION
Now the Day Is Over Badman/Agenda
***
Just in case you're fearful of being overtaken by Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and Tony Bennett - not forgetting Cliff Richard's annual contribution to the Christmas song - here comes American cult act The Innocence Mission with their own take on how to make it through the next six weeks without going insane. There aren't any songs here that could be validly termed Xmas fare; rather, lead singer Karen Peris brings us gently into the season with standards and traditional songs that she has sung as lullabies to her children. Incredibly, the likes of Over the Rainbow, What a Wonderful World, Moon River and - gulp! - Edelweiss sound fab, with Peris coming over like a twee-free mixture of Rosie Thomas and Björk. Acoustic guitar treatments of Chopin's Prelude in A and Beethoven's Sonata No 8 filter in and out of original material (My Love Goes With You) and covers (Michel LeGrand's Once Upon a Summertime). A Christmas cracker with as muffled a bang as you can possibly imagine. www.theinnocencemission.com
Tony Clayton-Lea
ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI 2
The Doldrums Paw Tracks
***
One thing we can say about the weirdly named Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 2 and his weirdly titled début album are that they are really, really weird. The Doldrums was recorded over four years on an eight-track, then transplanted to CD-R, and the sweet texture of this Californian's '70s pop is haphazardly captured, left to warp under the sun's rays, caked in dust and rolled in dirt. Pink may distrust his bright melodies and whimsical lyrics, leaving them half-effaced, glimpsed through smog, but in places, such as Envelopes Another Day, his low dragging vocals and blithe falsetto ring out like Robert Smith duetting with Mickey Mouse. Very early Beck may be a good La-La Land comparison, and though Pink is still far from Odelay, for music from the outer reaches look no further. www.paw-tracks.com
Peter Crawley
