Latest CD releases reviewed
THE RAKES
Capture/Release V2 ****
The Rakes have been making their name of late as the new favourite playthings of the fashionistas - tunes from early EPs have been soundtracking shows on the Paris catwalks. But don't let that turn you off the London four-piece, for their debut long-player is cut from some fine cloth indeed. They mine the art-school archness of Bloc Party but mix it with an ear for a scorching tune - the key element that so many of the rising post-punk wannabes miss. Strasbourg is a full-on pelt through a joyed-up Joy Division while The Guilt shows a wry, dirty humour dealing with the bad feelings that come after a night with an ugly girl. The Rakes, evidently, do not share many of their contemporaries' middle-class sniffiness about booze, girls and earthy desires. As autumn approaches and lesser bands start to litter the ground, The Rakes will be as essential as a good scarf. www.therakes.co.uk Paul McNamee
ALFIE
Crying at Teatime Regal/Capitol ***
Some bands make an almighty splash with their debut and then forever regret such an opening salvo to their careers. Others, such as Manchester's Alfie, release albums on a regular if almost surreptitious basis (this is their fourth in as many years), creating a ripple effect that is equal parts insidious and compelling. It's the quiet ones you have to look out for, and yet, for all their subtlety and simplicity, Alfie virtually leap out of the traps with the first three songs: Your Own Religion, Look At You Now, and the title track. These and the remaining seven fuse invincible pop/folk with the kind of dainty psychedelic trimmings that takes years to perfect (think early Pink Floyd and late Flaming Lips). Alfie, it seems, have finally made the big splash most of us knew they were capable of. Waterproof clothes at the ready, then. www.alfie.net Tony Clayton-Lea
DAVID HOPKINS
Amber and Green Reekus Records ****
Like amber in the traffic light sequence, David Hopkins may urge caution where fools rush in, yet musically the one-time Lir keyboardist sounds anything but restrained. While these songs move with a trickling fatalism, watching perfectly unsurprised as relationships slide inexorably towards heartbreak (Somebody's Gonna Leave Somebody is a typical title), Hopkins's impressive sound is similarly wary of exclusive commitment. Through various styles, from country licks to jazzy turns and electronic textures, even his voice won't be tied down: a clenched sigh over the folk rock of You're Some Kind of Christian, a drifting Damien Rice on the unhurried title track, an accusatory Dylan in You've Got to Suffer. Often playing every instrument, Hopkins keeps the shape of his songs unpredictable yet his twists never become distracting, making Amber and Green both reassuringly familiar and consistently surprising. www.davidhopkinsmusic.com Peter Crawley
RICKIE LEE JONES
Duchess of Coolsville - An Anthology Rhino Records ***
In 1979, when Rickie Lee Jones unveiled songs such as Chuck E in Love and The Last Chance Texaco, she was the epitome of LA cool with her long tousled hair topped off with an unlikely beret, a bunch of memorable songs that told of a bohemian world, and a voice of lazy, sensual, jazzy intensity. She was like somebody from another planet. In a way she was, and is. Rickie Lee Jones has always been her own woman - defiantly independent, courageous, innovative. It hasn't all been plain sailing, however. Despite the lavish praise heaped on her by fellow musicians in the notes to this interesting three-CD retrospective, Ms Jones tends to over-elaborate in her search for that special moment. That said, there is much to admire here: the way she makes a tune her own; how she actually lives the song in that moment; how her work shows a keen and consistent approach over the past 25 years. Compiled by Jones and Karen Ahmed, these three CDs tell a very individual story. www.rickieleejones.com Joe Breen
THE DECEMBERISTS
Picaresque Rough Trade ***
Rogues, rapscallions and revenge-seekers populate the tunes of this Portland, Oregon outfit, and an air of antiquity pervades the music, with accordions and hurdy-gurdys jostling for airtime with a 1980s-style guitar jangle. They've previously released a mini-rock opera version of The Táin (no relation to the Horslips version) and see themselves as musical vagabonds, wandering the world with their carnival of sorts. Singer Colin Meloy is a confessed Robyn Hitchcock fan, and his voice replicates that of the former Soft Boys singer, barking out the lyrics like a spaced-out town crier. Tales of broken barrow boys, failed football heroes, gay gangsters and murderous mariners abound, all told with Meloy's sharply-observed way with words. There are some fine tunes here, but also a rather over long sea-shanty, and Meloy is a bit too self-consciously retro to be fully convincing. www.decemberists.com Kevin Courtney
STOAT
Future Come and Get Me (No label) ***
This Leinster three-piece have been ferreting away unnoticed by the world for the best part of 18 years, writing songs that burrow deep beneath the radar of mainstream pop. Cormac Parle, John Hearne and Stephen Whelan explore the dark, surreal side of the Irish psyche in much the same way as Myles na gGopaleen and early Microdisney did before them. These dozen daft and deranged tracks have been cherry-picked from their sort-of career to date: 59 Dame St sounds like a crackhead culchie ranting over a Neil Young-style riff; The Saltee Tango threatens to bring psychedelic sea-shanties back into vogue, and Acunamanacana is a whacked-out nonsense tune that echoes Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll. Recorded in the relatively plush Westland Studios, these songs will make you jump up and down thoughtfully like the village idiot savant. www.stoatmusic.com Kevin Courtney
