My review on....

[Mechi]

Here's my review on The Cure's latest studio album.. I think I was litle bit harsh on this one.

The Cure- The Cure
For years, we've been hearing rumours of The Cure finally ending its legacy. But after the Next Wave explotion, it seems that Robert and co. are ready to surf the wave again.
The Cure's previous album, Bloodflowers (2000), followed the line of albums such as Pornography and Faith... gloomy but simple.
The Cure couldn't be further from simple, the band sounds heavier than ever. Probably, this is the result of Ross Robinson's production (who has worked with bands such as korn). This heavier sound sometimes benefits the album (examples of this are the songs Laberynth and Alt.end) and sometimes also makes it boring (Us Or Them). But the "metal" formula doesn't suit The Cure and it's easy to see this in the songs that are closer to the band's style which are delightful: Before Three and The End Of The World.
In terms of instrumentation, the album is all about guitars and drums... this doesn't allow Roger O' Donnell's keyboards or simon Gallup's bass to show their majesty.
Lyricswise, The Cure is a little bit repetitive. On one hand, there are lyrics full of anger such as "Us Or Them" and "Promise". On the other, there are the classical "Just like heaven" type of ballads.
In conclusion, The Cure is a good album but it's far from being as good as The Head On The Door or Disintegration. The first lines of the first song, "Lost", are a good metaphore for this album: "I can't find myself".

Favourite tracks: Before Three and Alt.end
Hit of the album: The end of the world


Mercedes

[Coen]

Nice to read, Mercedes. Is this album from 2005 ? Amazing that he's still going. I never been a real fan of them, but I saw one or two songs live on German TV and I taped it and I have to say...played a few songs over and over. Never thought I would get thát close to The Cure ever (again). Good to know that people like that are still inspired to make music. And...'why not' is as good aquestion as 'why' I suppose. I'm gonna give it a listen sson !

Anybody knows if Siouxsie is making musis (again) ? Stopped at the Dreamhouse there for some reason. Read some worthwhile reviews somewhere on her/their albums. I actually bought The Creatures a few months ago and can't seem to get into that one.

[Coen]

MIX UP - CABARET VOLTAIRE

THE most inspirational soundtrack.
Cabaret Voltaire's Mix Up, was one of the most inspirational music I found at the time. Once I heard this, it opened up the love for 'the other side of music'. The choreography of sounds and rhythms creating a view of its own. Yes, like a soundtrack. The distorted sounds in the music gives it a rough edge, but beauty is certainly there aswell. To me it was the most inspiring music to start Super 8 filming at the time. Once I put on this Mix Up and Voice of America, the images bubbled up, and has been put on film (later used together with other experimental/industrial bands and was a start off for me working with modern dance choreographers). This music is so strong, that you will be in a Cabaret Voltaire mood for a while...at least for the day. Since music from the 80's is still a hobby and a life-style to me, Cabaret Voltaire is still looking after me. They made such great records in the early 80's that I can recommend the newbies to start just here, and...please get the groove and the images of Cabaret Voltaire! It is also a perfect soundtrack for any mute tv-series or film on tv. Just put the record on and the sound from tv low or off...and you automatically start to wonder what the actors are actually on about. It all starts to look so cynically hilarious from the soundtrack point of view, that you never stop wondering about it. I shared this and 'entertained' a few friends of mine this way, it becoming great steamy evenings. Have it your way though ! But it IS a five star record, it 100% is !! Make it worthwhile.

[Coen]

23 SKIDOO - 23 SKIDOO

23 Skidoo is right back (get that jazz-hiker out though)
Without having read the other reviews I write you my review on one of the well-known underground experimentals, who just in time skipped towards the hypnotizing rhythms of primitive music. Especially 'Kundalini' from the 'Seven Songs' record, already 20 and more years ago, is a tribute to primitivism and wildness amongst trance as in a hypnotised state of music of all times !
Ofcourse 23 skidoo made more music which appealed to more listeners, even trying to seduce them with funkadelic hiphop in the mid 80's !! They partly succeeded before...they stopped alltogether !

I was SO happy to find out them making music in the new century, and even more happy to hear their funk based slap-beat as in the like of the best PIL years, accompanied by a more real rhythm-section. However I was shocked to hear their big compromise towards the somewhat overdosed jazz-instruments. This album is overwhelmed by solistic trumpet/saxaphonic playing, putting down hard the no-more-centralistic-core of their hypnotizing rhytm/atmospherical music. To much of a shock ! That does hurt. One of those time related sacrifices one has to make ? How can you chose, once the opposites of wanted and unwanted are so close ?

23 Skidoo is growing with their time, a little to much though. And I would wish for them to more and more (dis)appear in their own concept, which is SO great. It alltogether is NOT leaving my cd-player. And again they will be underestimated. Needed for them to do their thing. So many music-styles have enriched and left this planet, but the groove of 23 Skidoo should be able to keep on appearing as one of the great sins in life. You wouldn't want to be without 23 Skidoo, although they did pick up them strange hitch-jazzy-hikers along the way. Let go of the solistic freaking, and enjoy the secrets in the music itself, I would like to shout in my solistic way towards the musicians of 23 Skidoo. Get this soundtrack into your system, and don't let yourself get overruled. Till the next best thing...of theirs ofcourse. But don't hold your breath !



(I wrote this some time ago, and I even can cope withe the jazz musicians by now. Cause the music stands so solid and comes so natural)

[Coen]

A SOUTH BRONX STORY - ESG

All waves.
This ESG is something fantastic. It supposed to be on a hot revival journey by now in terms of ALL WAVES. This is music I've heard in the beginning of the 80's as a friend of mine was working in a record shop and having his own pirate radio station in Arnhem, Holland. I knew it had to do with Liquid Liquid kind of approach. Well, I went to Paris in 1994 and I picked up the 12" version of this record with: you're no good, Moody, UFO, Earn it, ESG and HEY ! It was a thrill to find it there and Paris can be good for finding records. But it now appears, that the internet is even better. I think you find yourself sublimely unique by discovering the ideal pop, dub, funk, punk approach, where John Lydon and Pil should have gone but shamelessly failed to after the so promising beginning of his band. When I visited a cousin in New York 2 years ago, I heard this record in a lounge-café at the back of Time Square. Can you believe how thrilled I was ? Actually: I was the stranger in New York uptill then. But dancing make you feel like home just about anywhere at all. May be even in the South Bronx !

[Mechi]

The Cure by The Cure was released in 2004. [:)]
Siouxsie And The Banshees have not made any new albums since 1995 (when they released The Rapture, I really like that one).



Mercedes