This week's rock and pop releases reviewed
BEIRUT
March of the Zapotec/Holland Pompeii **
There comes a time in every music explorer's life when they take a turn that leads to a dead-end. In the case of Zach Condon, the kid from New Mexico who found that travel really does broaden the mind via his Gulag Orkestra and Flying Club Cup albums, the misstep comes when he swaps Balkan and French influences for a trip south of the US border. Leaving aside the fact that these two EPs really don't belong together, the real problems begin when Condon enlists a Mexican funeral band to add spice to his new songs. There's a glaring lack of communication and empathy between Condon and the players, which means any possible synergies are mired in the muddle. The second EP, Holland, fares a little better as Condon mines a synth-pop vein under the Realpeople name and comes up with a ghostly sliver such as Venice. But really, he can do much better - and he probably knows it. www.beirutband.com
JIM CARROLL
Download track: Venice
HOWLING BELLS
Radio Wars Independiente **
I have a theory about London- based Aussie band Howling Bells: they would be more than twice as good if Juanita Stein let brother Joel share vocal duties. It happened once on the band's 2006 debut album, and the song in question ( In the Woods) was the best thing there. The happy sibling blend occurs just once here as well, on Radio Wars Theme. This electro update of The Beatles's I Want You (She's So Heavy)clocks in at under two minutes but still makes every other track sound inessential. This polished but spiritless album is the work of a talented band whose desire to impress radio programmers has trumped any need to express themselves, and whose lead singer now sounds like she's doing her takes in front of a suburban focus group. www.howlingbells.net
DARAGH DOWNES
Download tracks: Radio Wars Theme, Treasure Hunt
THE LONG LOST
The Long Lost Ninja Tune ***
This really should have been released in the lead up to St Valentine’s Day, and packaged with a bunch of roses, a box of chocolates, a selection of pour homme fragrances and a three-pack of condoms – yes, it’s that romantic. Formed around the Santa Monica husband-and-
wife duo of Alfred and Laura Darlington (you might know Alfred via his Daedelus persona), this alt.confectionary item is deceptively simple yet firmly compelling. To all intents and purposes, it's Peters and Lee for the blip-bleep-flip-flop generation: broadly speaking, the tunes are pitch-perfect sweet little things, but bubbling under are all sorts of typical Ninja Tune deceptions: psychedelic strands lying here, classical ribbons strewn there, archive soundtrack snippets all over the shop. The result is a concise gem of a record – electro-acoustic, semi- string-driven and utterly of its kind. www.thelonglost.com
TONY CLAYTON-LEA
Download tracks: The Art of Kissing, Ballroom Dance Club, Finders Keepers
NIALL COLFER
Finds 1969 ***
Niall Colfer is faced with a somewhat arduous task before he even strums a single note: as the brother of celebrated children's author Eoin, the Wexford native is perhaps resigned to being perennially associated with his famous sibling. Still, that hasn't stopped the one-time frontman of little-known band Salthouse from striking out on his own. For an album that was mostly recorded in Colfer's home studio, Finds is an accomplished collection of agreeable guitar-led songs, with the more energetic pop-rock numbers ( After All That's Happened, Hiding) trouncing his assortment of finger- plucked folk tracks ( Barnacle Boy). There's a significant snag, however: Colfer's tendency to let the music overwhelm his ordinary voice results in an album that's pleasant enough, but considerably lacking an addictive allure. www.niallcolfer.com
LAUREN MURPHY
Download tracks: Hiding, Dawnin'
STARSAILOR
All the Plans Virgin ***
Starsailor are usually so divisive that they're synonymous with both refreshing emotional honesty and sentimentality of James Blunt proportions. That said, their fourth album is their most balanced, due primarily to the production of Steve Osborne (KT Tunstall, Doves), which augments the mournful qualities of James Walsh's soul-bearing vocals. Lead single Tell Me It's Not Overmarries Keane-style keyboards and Coldplay's radio appeal, anointing it to a chart shoe-in. In this sense, All the Plansreconciles the band's weaknesses and strengths. But Hurts Too Much, a slushy cousin to REM's Everybody Hurts, indulges in everything maddening about Starsailor – its teen soap-isms trade depth for expediency. Still, when not laying it on too thick, there's audible growth here, and a few singles to cheer Walsh up. www.starsailor.net
DEANNA ORTIZ
Download tracks: Tell Me It's Not Over, Listen Up
