WARM - MAKE YOU WORRY
I had always believed that Canada had better musical exports to offer than Celine Dion, but until now I'd never had proof. Make You Worry by Warm is that proof. The official release date is set for November 13, 1998 although it is apparently still tentative. Make You Worry is the brainchild of producer Brent Bodrug, who has worked with the likes of Alanis Morissette, Paul Manchin and Aquanaut. Promotional material describes the album as a "psychological thriller" and when I spoke to Brent via e-mail he said that it "demands your attention". Now that's a lot of hype for an album to have to live up to, but Make You Worry manages to do a remarkable job trying. "Station" is a beat-laden yet thoughtful musing on nothing less than creation vs. evolution and planetary travel. "Disappearing Lines" starts off on a trippy vibe with Tim Hawkes' words swirling across the stereo image before the guitars come in and transform it into a rock song. And while the R&B overtones on a couple of songs - "What's it For" and "Tell Me" - were a bit off-putting at first, and it sometimes seemed like Hawkes shouted more often than he sang, the sheer creativity of the music more than made up for it. Sadly, this is the kind of stuff that radio programmers turn their backs on by the thousands. Innovative song structures, lyrics that actually mean something: This the real alternative. One of the more interesting aspects of the album are the last three tracks, all of them remixes. The Roni Size-like Nigel Thom remix slows down the drums and adds Kylie Martin on backup vocals to "Station", while Siobhan turns "Did I Make You Worry" into a bizarre jungle/jazz hybrid. If you have been hungering for more than the American "alternapop" scene has been giving you, don't hesitate to follow the link below.