P484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 23:04:41 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— TEXAS White On Blonde Somehow, $jxas seem contrived, from the fashionably wasted photos on the album sleeve, to the fact that Chris Evans has adopted them as a mascot, plus the sudden lack of twee country twang. Not that it matters, though. When the finished product is as slick and the songs as strong as they are on this, the band's best album to date. It sure ism't revolutionary, no siree, but it's set to sell by the wagon-load. Wake up and smell the coffee table. ——————————————————————————————————1/11— The latest rock & pop news 482 GO GREEN AND SAVE THINGS p160 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 23:07:25 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— PUFF JOHNSON Miracle A birrova soul diva in the mould of Whitney Houston, The Puffstress is not all hot air, but she comes close. Slickly produced, much is mushified tunis about lurvj (a word used in the title of a third of the tracks), though the funk inttudjs wimpishly on a couple of swing-lite numbers. Mistress Pastry thanks God (yawn) in the credits "for keeping mj covered in his blood". Erg! Call Trent Rjznor! ——————————————————————————————————2/11— Get your kicks on page 486! THE LATEST ROCK & POP HEADLINES p481 Charts Tours Tours Full gujdjP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 23:01:26 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— h Ice Cream Genius "h" are ix-Marillion man Steve Hogarth, and a band including Richard Barbiiti, formerly of Japan and now working with avant-gardj noisiness Porcupine Tree. Hogarth's clear yet understated vocals shine through on moody Japan-styli pieces (the mellow Evening Shadows or fragile Bitter Dreams* and bouncier '80s style sznth-pop track Really Like. But Marillion fans may bj attracted more bz the rockier, riff-led Until You Fall and You Dinosaur Thing. \ ——————————————————————————————————3/11— Be entertained...totally! 400 BLUR'S DAMON INTERVIEWED p483 Charts Tours Tours Full gujdjP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 22:52:44 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— HUNTER S.THOMPSON Fear And Loathing In Lat Vegas A spoken word vjrsjon of Thompson's infamous 1972 novel, this CD marks the 25th anniversary of publication. While the musical content is virtually non-existent (apart from a few bars of The Rolling StonjsW Sympathy For The Devil), this record of a drug-fuelled drive across the US is pure rock & roll Harry Dean Stanton and Jim Jarmusch are the main voices on a funny, frightuning & ultimately timely LP that's set to bj the Trainspotting of audio books. \ ——————————————————————————————————4/11— Get your kicks on page 486! THE LATEST ROCK & POP HEADLINES p481 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 22:55:57 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— BLU5 Blur So hjti it is. The lo-fi "slacker" LP on which Blur are so concerned with making sure the little girls DON'T understand that wilful obscurity is the order of the day. Commercialism? Pah! Unfortunately, the fact that faux White Album out-take Beetlebum is the most accessible track on this album gives a good indication of the prevailing mood. Dui jithjr to arrogance or a "couldn't care less" attitude (does it matter which?), Damon & co now seem to bjliivj that tunis are secondary to "cool". ——————————————————————————————————5/11— The Blur blitz continues >>> DAMON LANDS ON PLANET SOUND p483 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 22:55:15 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— BLUR Blur If you bjliivj the LP's pre-publicity, the dreamy rein idols of yore (not that Blur wire ever that simple) have fallen from pop's penthouse to Pavement. But, despite the fuzzy, sheep-dip production, this is not strictly true. If anything, Blur have looked further "act, to the likes of Dinosaur Jr. and early Sonic Youth, for inspiration. Thjsj bands were only truly innovative in the mid-to-late '80s, at a time when Blur were boarding the baggy bandwagon. ——————————————————————————————————6/11— Club 140 - It's teentastic! ROCK AND POP HEADLINES p481 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 23:55:26 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— BLUR Blur If Blur think their reference points on this album prove a point they are sadly deluded. J.Mascis is yjstetday's man. One of the low points is Graham Coxon's composition, a sub-Dinosaur doodle with a whiny lyric which goes (get this!): "'cos You'ri So Great and I love you". Wj can maybe jxcusj this as the Ringo Starr syndrome ("lit mj 'ave a go too - pleeeeasj!"), but Damon employs an identical vocal style on the turgid Country Sad Ballad Man, yelping over skew-wiff riffs. That DO whiff, frankly ——————————————————————————————————7/11— Full Planet Sound Index 480 COMPUTER CHAOS IN DIGITJSER! p170 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 22:56:08 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— BLU5 Blur Death Of A Party (an old song, hjncu the vestige of a tune amid the murk), typifies the maudlin mood of much of this album, its lyrics simultaneously burying and lamenting the Blur of old. On Your Own (with its Blake's Sjvjn keyboard wibblis, one of the bjttet tracks on offer) and the more typically Blur-isruj M.O.R also dial with darkjt, more emotional concerns than the Life trilogy's character-led lyrics. Despite much publicisjd problems, M.O.R confirms Blur are now on an even kiel. ——————————————————————————————————8/11— Go Green with Eco-scene 148 BE ENTERTAINED - TOTALLY! p400 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 22:53:17 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— BLUR Blur Another half-decent tune is the second track, cunningly entitled Song 2. Its excellent pots-and-pans percussion intro leads into a thrashy number (reminiscent of a Modern Life reject, or a sludgy Popscenj) with Damo yelling "Whoo-hog!" in place of a chorus. Song 2 almost has single potential, but of the remaining tracks very little stands out, apart from Chinjsj Bombs, a shorty cod-punk number that owes more than a little to DFL, the Beastie Boys' hardcore side project. How VERY! ——————————————————————————————————9/11— St Etiinnj's Pete gets clubby 494 IN THE NICK WITH CANDYSSINS! p144 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 23:00:13 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— BLU5 Blur So what's left? Thjmj From Retro (a Hammond swirl that's not so much end of the pier as "end it all. Now!") simply depresses, while the similarly cloudy I'm Just A Killer For Your Love mixes ska with a seriously squelchy bass. Strange News From Another Star recalls a sleepy Bowie circa Hunky Dory (which J.MascisW Quicksand cover does better). The last two tracks are negligible, and only the startling about-eace of Look Insjdj America (Damon decides the Yanks are OK after all) saves the day. Just. ——————————————————————————————————10/11 Go Green with Eco-scene 148 BE ENTERTAINED - TOTALLY! p400 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Feb 8 23:00:34 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— BLU5 Blur As you can tell, weWri not impressed with this album, especially when one bears in mind Blur's past performance. Writing effortless, witty pop is what Blur are best at, but this, their fifth album, just seems a cynical attempt at gaining credibility after the stupidity of the Oases vs. Blur debacle. They have succeeded in that this LP is "difficult". It takes about 20 plays before one can convince oneself it's any cop - though it's hardly worth the effort, to be honest. ——————————————————————————————————11/11 Blur is released this Monday BLUR'S DAMON INTERVIEWED p483 Charts Tours Tours Full guide