No Ripcord - Issue 5
We've got another packed issue with more T in The Park reviews, Rico's long-awaited debut album reviewed, a review of the Joy Division live album and much more. No Ripcord has gone from strength to strength in the last few months and we'd like to keep on getting bigger. So please, direct your friends to the webpage or e-mail us with their e-mail addresses to subscribe them.
Contents:
A break from the norm this issue - what's happening in the future for No Ripcord? We'll tell you...
In the next issue, we've got albums by the brilliant Nojahoda, the not so brilliant Ween, hopefully Lowcraft, Elastica's comeback EP, and anything else that arrives. We've got more on Muse, hopefully a V99 review, A Feature on Online Music that could be of interest to any mp3.com users out there, and some more stuff that we don't know of just yet. They'll be plenty of singles arriving hopefully...
Further down the line, we're hoping to forge a partnership with a local magazine, Turned On, which might see No Ripcord come into print. So if anyone's interested in some more exclusives, that might be a good place to put em. We're going to try to venture to some more gigs too so expect more live stuff. Carry on reading, and tell anyone you know to subscribe now!
Singles:
Feeder - Yesterday Went Too Soon
Feeder have been doing the rounds since 1995, have released a handful of singles and not equalled the success of their Welsh counterparts, the Stereophonics. This must change. Not much to say apart from brilliant. Showing a passion sadly missed from a lot of songs this year, this gets my shout for single of the year so far. An excellent live band as well, so catch them if (and while) you can.
Breakbeat Era - Ultra-Obscene
Not very obscene... not very interesting...very repetitive...alright if you like that sort of thing!! Reminds me of Lamb at T in the Park, Wailing vocals from some errr woman, Drum and Bass.
Lowcraft - Transcendental Meltdown
The follow-up to the brilliant "Fun With Flashlights" is taken from debut album "Manticore". This offering heads in the direction "Fun with Flashlights" hinted at, and is a more commercial slice of post-glam rock. A cathcy chorus backed by heavy guitars might guarantee Lowcraft more airplay, but it's not a patch on it's predecessor. Melodic guitars are replaced by layered noise, and the formulaic verse/chorus/verse structure is preferred on this occasion. The album should be reviewed in the next issue...
Brassy - I Can't Wait
With a singer called Muffin Spencer (Jon's sister i think...), a band called Brassy and some wankers who insist on constant irritating scratching what could you expect? "I Can't Wait" combines an annoying female American voice half-singing/half rapping the words "I Can't Wait" followed by a phrase that rhymes. A bit. And needless to say, there's the scratching on top. The first b-side "I Gotta Beef" is as bad as it sounds, with the title repeated over a "punk" (my arse) guitar riff which is repeated to death.
Rico - Smokescreen
Smokescreen is an unusual choice for a single. A wailing siren that haunts the song for almost its entirety get annoying after a while, and tends to spoil the song a bit. From listening to his album (reviewed below), we know Rico can do better than this - Which is shame because people who hear this on the radio don't know that and won't buy his album...
Stereophonics - I Wouldn't Believe Your Radio
Britain's biggest band of 1999 release single no.4 from the hit album "Performance and Cocktails" (which has now clocked up over 600,000 sales). It's a radio friendly, acoustic based song that's impossible to dislike and should chart well. For the hardened fans, there's good value across the formats: CD1 features "The Bartender and the Thief (bar version)" which was recorded on the tour bus, and a version of Neil Young's "The Old laughing Lady". CD2 features a live version of "I Wouldn't Believe Your Radio" and two other tracks, all recorded at the bands huge Morfa Stadium Gig. It's been an amazing year for the band, and this will be probably be their final release for a very long time.
This issues singles section was reviewed by Dave, Chris and Peter
Albums:
Rico - Sanctuary Medicines (EMI/Chrysalis)
You might remember the preview of this album in issue 2 of No Ripcord. Having received a 6 track sampler we were pretty impressed and looking forward to the finished product. Well it’s here, and even better than we could have expected. Unlike most of the bands around at the moment Rico has something to say - and in 45 minutes, against desolate musical backdrops, we hear the Glasweigian voice his discontentment. The bulk of the songs on this album we’re crafted by Rico in his home-made studio, built in a garage in Paisley. The final recordings were made in a bleak studio in Doncaster, with producer Matt Ellis.
The theme of the album is one of "Sanctuary Medicines", in particular alcohol, helping Rico through his life. "I’m sorry mother but I’m stuck in this sick perverted groove" confesses Rico in ‘Black Limo’. It’s quite powerful and depressing stuff, with the entire album totally devoid of any optimism.
Rico performs most of the tracks entirely on his own, and co-produces the whole album. As the press release proudly states "Rico is not the next big thing. Rico is not the future of rock’n’roll." He probably could be if he wanted to. And as he says in opening track ‘Shave Your Head’, "If you’re still making records without your pain, then you’re still making records that sound the same". And what would be the point of that when you can make records this good? I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about Rico in the future - just remember, you heard it here first.
Reviewed by David Coleman
As I probably made clear in my write-up of Closer in the last issue, I am a big fan of Joy Division. As the sleeve notes of this live album state, this is "just a gig by one of the greatest bands that ever lived and wrote and played" and there's not much I can add to that.
I should point out that is not the ideal record for someone to introduce themselves to the band. The quality is for want of a better word, shite. The band's equipment decides to talk a short holiday somewhere near Blackpool in the middle of Heart and Soul which leads singer Ian Curtis to bemoan that "I think it's all falling apart!".
After a (fully recorded) awkward two minutes of the band cursing their equipment, they get it back together and manage to pull off blinding perfomances of Transmission and She's Lost Control.
By the end, you're left cursing the fact that you weren't there to witness it for yourself. The perfect momento of the perfect band.
Reviewed by Peter Mattinson
This is the debut album by Australian four-piece Antenna. The bizarre mix of musicians who've come together to form Antenna following various other projects seem to have gelled together well. Simple pop songs such as first single "Come On Spring", are given a workover by the half of Antenna with a dance music background and the result is a rather eclectic sound.
But that doesn't necessarily make it good. Antenna seem to have a distinct lack of direction, bringing in totally different guest vocalists left, right and centre. They also seem to have difficulty settling for the one style. Although that is admirable, it makes the album very difficult to get into. It's more of a weird collection of songs than an album and they don't gel together very well at all.
With a bit more experience and working together, Antenna could turn into something that Australia is proud to export over here - until then, you might just hear them in the background in the Diner on "Home and Away". We'll have to wait and see...
Reviewed by David Coleman
As we couldn't pack any more reviews into issue 4, we've decided to stick em in here instead:
With only half an hour to play and a virtually empty tent in front of him things weren't looking too good. Surely people weren't actually watching 3 Colours Red on the main stage? It wasn't Rico's fault though - Witness had cleaned out the tent with their boring set of sub-Verve antics. So much for being "the next big thing"...
Rico kicked off with the rather juvenile "This And That" to a mixed response. "Aeroplane" was next, followed by a polite applause. Then the first highlight - "Shave Your Head", arguably the best song on his debut "Sanctuary Medicines" (review above), seemed to drag intrigued passers-by into the tent, and went down a treat. "Thank you very much" said Rico looking rather bemused at his turn in fortune, before kicking into "Sanctuary Medicines" and then new single "Smokescreen". What better way to end than with "Attack Me" (a previous No Ripcord Single of the Week), which finally succeeded in getting the crowd going. And just when everyone was getting into it, off they went looking quite pleased with themselves. Half an hour? Even Chicks got 50 minutes...
Reviewed by David Coleman
The rest of T in The Park is pretty hazy as it seems a long time a go now. We saw loads of other good bands and we'll tell you about them here in brief. Faithless were a real surprise for me. I didn't think they'd work too well as a live band anyways, and before I'd seen them my opinion of them wasn't too high. They played a great set which the whole crowd really enjoyed, and evidently, the band aswell. All the hits were there, and the picks were "God Is A DJ" and "Insomnia". Frontman Maxi Jazz was milking the crowd for all it was worth and why not? The one downside was most of the crowd didn't know the album tracks and found themselves waiting for a more familiar tune. I'm no convert or anything but they were pretty good. Another band we seen were Fun Lovin' Criminals, who really impressed. The hits went down well, especially "Scooby Snacks" which included excessive audience participation. Hopefully they should be coming out with some new material soon. The first band of the weekend we seen were Witness and they were terrible. They'd been brought in at the last minute to replace someone or other and they didn't seem to care. And they had this guy, who i presume was a session guitarist brought in for the gig, who thought he was the man but in fact was a total tosser. They seemed to suffer from trying to sound like a unimaginative and unoriginal hybrid of REM and the Verve - which isn't good. Next, Chicks who I have to admit, I was out to dislike from the start (probably something to do with jealousy) but weren't actually that bad. They looked a bit miserable mind you and their squeeky vocals went right through me but harmless enough. Travis were next on. They were on the second stage for some reason, but a huge crowd of people came and tried to squeeze into the tent. Unsuccessfully. The doors were shut, and we were told we couldn't go in. I can't remember who were the alternatives but we didn't want to watch them, so over the barrier, past security, who were dragging away a guy who tried to get in, and under the tent we went, into the packed tent. Travis didn't come on for another 40 minutes, and in this time we were practically dehydrating. And when they came on, they were rather disappointing actually. "Writing To Reach You" was brilliant as were the other singles, "Driftwood" and "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" but we left early. It's a bit a a blur but sometime or other we saw James who amassed the hugest crowd of the weekend. They played a rather predictable set comprising the greatest hits and a few new songs. Up at the front things were surprisingly violent and we were knackered so we went and sat down (not to "Sit Down" mind you cos that would just be student-y) and watched. And they were fairly good in a "past it but have some good songs" sort of way. And that was about all we saw I think. So that's your lot...
Music as we know it is nearly 50 years old. In 1951, Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats (yes, I know it's a dodgy name) released Rocket 88. Generally regarded as the first rock and roll release. Since then, each passing decade has seen music move forward, new acts introducing new aspects for others to follow.
The 60's initially saw a lot of white kids trying to copy their (predominately black) American heroes with little success-the Beatles copied Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones Muddy Waters - and it wasn't until they started having ideas of their own that things began to get interesting.
Which is the problem today. No ideas. The mighty dollar rules. Chance a record won't sell? Better play safe and stick with tried and tested formulas. As I said, each decade brings a new advance in music. The 60's saw the Beatles use loops and samples on tracks such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "I Am The Walrus". The former song providing the melody for the Chemical Brother's #1 hit "Setting Sun". The 1970's are best remembered for punk, but as early as 1972, Roxy Music were one of the first bands to use synths on a commercial release while Joy Division were attempting to create a whole new type of music, bringing the bass and drums to the front of the mix rather then their traditional background location.
While the 1980's were responsible for a lot of awful music, it also saw the introduction of dance music into the mainstream, New Order bringing American influences to Britain. Acid house music was a chart fixture in the late 80's and for a short time, dance and rock music came together into one sound.
Then there's the 90's...
What can I say? What has our decade brought us? Britpop, the rise of the boy/girl band and grunge. It's a depressing state of affairs.
Traditionally, UK acts take influences they have heard from the US and introduce aspects of their own to create exciting new music, but the main US-UK crossover act of the 1990's has been Nirvana, whose music was a throwback to the late 70's, containing little or no imagination. And so, the likes of Noel Gallagher, seeing the success of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and others, decided to do the same.
Bringing us to the present day. Thinking back over the past couple of years, I can think of only a handful of acts who have made an album sounding fresh and interesting. First, Radiohead. Now, there are parts of OK Computer I cannot stand, but I admire their courage in making music which is original and points to the future. It could have worked against them, but it hit #1 and provided three top 10 hits.
And as we put the 20th Century to bed, it's hard to see where our influences are going to come from. Steps? Another decade of sub-Beatles Oasis-lite? You tell me.
Reviewed by Peter Mattinson
Just a brief section this issue. We've decided to concentrate on the newer bands for this section. The music scene is fairly stagnant at the moment but there are some great bands just starting to breakthrough, and one of those, is Muse. One plus point is that in reviews Radiohead comparisons crop up, but not in a derogatory sense. So they can't be half bad...
A young three-piece from England (Not Wales thank God...) Muse seem to be building a steady fanbase. Last single "Uno", although slightly flawed hit the top 75, and with the rapidly growing experience shown in new single "Cave" - Review next issue - they will do far better this time around. John Leckie (respected for his work on the Stone Roses' debut and Radiohead's "The Bends") produces and seems to get the sound Muse are looking for. Vocalist Matthew Bellamy aso plays guitar and performs both roles admirably. His vocal style is distinct and emotional and he's guitar playing backs this up beautifully. I missed this band at T in The Park unfortunately, so i can't comment on the live side of things. Hopefully they haven't rushed into the debut album which I think is a major flaw in bands today. It's called "Showbiz" and it's out October 4th. In the meantime, catch them at Reading/Leeds Festival and judge for yourself.
In the recent documentary about Alan McGee and Creation records, two bands were criminally overlooked: My Bloody Valentine and the House of Love.
The House Of Love you will recall, are one of the "great lost bands" I talked about. Unlike the La's though, the House of Love are not held up (at least in public) as a major influence by anyone. Hardly anyone talks about them. Unfair and unjust. Close examination of the House of Love's body of work shows that at least several of today's bands have listened to a House of Love album a fair few times.
Back in 1988/9, the House of Love were seen as the great hope for guitar music in a scene best summed up by Bros- slick, well-produced crap. Guy Chadwick (HoL singer/songwriter) knew a good tune when he heard one and had a backing band who knew how to take Chadwick's basic structures and make a excellent tune. Stuff like "Christine", "Sulphur" and "Happy" are nothing more then well thought-out songs, though Terry Bicker's ability to get any number of sounds out of his guitar is a major plus point of the album.
However, just as the House of Love signed to a major label, some scallys from Manchester came and captured the public imagination. Cue four years of drifting in the backwaters of the top 50 (with the exception of a 1990 top 20 hit in "Shine On") before calling it a day in 1994, having never actually released a bad album (four in total).
Mores the shame, for if the House Of Love had broken through in 1993 instead of 1989, it could easily have been them (instead of Oasis) who became the world's biggest rock and roll band. Still, do yourself a favour, buy this album, sit back and enjoy.
The classic albums section is written by Peter Mattinson. Feel free to contact him with any opinions or comments.
This is a new section which replaces "General Failures". The failures section may return soon but we fancied a bit of a change.
One thing which I think deserves to come to your attention is something I read in NME today. Bis' John Disco (the one with the stupid sideboards) severed his scrotum (yes that's right - he ripped his bollocks open) whilst driving a Go-Kart. Talk about freak accidents. And apparently, he didn't know about his injury until a good while after. 30 stitches and some slight discomfort later, he's back in business apparently. So it's alright to laugh at him now...
