Nonsense in the Dark
Joey Eyebank finds that he was so much younger then than now...

As I was illiterate and pre-historic when I used to write for Repeat, I give you delightful internet-creeps some reviews of the latest tunes, without cluttering my sentences with hyperboles and exclamation marks.


Chris Cornell- Scream

Chuff Media have done a very good job of trying publicise this album as if there is this great depth, imagination and creativity to it.

They have described it as being a collaboration between “two legends” with “some of the most innovative and revolutionary arrangements evercrafted.” “a modern day; ‘Pink Floyds’ The Wall‘” and, gulp,- “a glimpse into the future of music”.

These are not only gross exaggerations, but I think, whatever your perceptions of this album are (when you don’t listen to it), it's safe to say- in fact it's necessary to say-- and very obvious that ’Scream’ is not a revolutionary record. Not a glimpse into the ‘George Orwell version of the future’ which Chuff Media have created in a sentence. Nor the collaboration between two people who can be established as ’Legends’-- Chris Cornell could be given a ‘hero‘ status with his involvement with Soundgarden and Audioslave, but after this record I feel that status may have withered away and he is now what you call a sell-out, these various versions of ‘status’ means fuck all anyway. -- but another soulless, overproduced pop record, with ’Timbalands’ glossy title and over involvement with the music and sound; embossed and varnished all over every inch of the album.

Also, Chris Cornell and Timbalands robotic attempt at music is not genre-defying. Chris Cornell has simply turned to churning out a mutated form of “chart R’n’B”. It's insulting to suggest that ‘Scream’ is the modern day “The Wall”.

Its one of the worst albums of 2009.

(I say one of)

0/10

www.chriscornell.com


Filthy Dukes- Nonsense In the Dark

This album, generally speaking, is an infectious, modern day electro record, which will - depending on your mood, or taste - give you the urge to biro your face different shades of glitter tainted silver and go crazy. But the album is also a very mixed selection. By mixed I mean, that songs like Elevator, You Better Stop, Nonsense In The Dark, Cul-De-Sac and most of the songs towards the end of the album are electrifying, magnificent dance tracks, but the rest of the album, particularly the grotesquely kitsch ’What Happens Next’, lack life and the atmosphere of the other tracks. Which is what happens when you get a variety of guest singers who are all significantly different in style. ’Nonsense In the Dark’ therefore ends up sounding like a compilation.

It’s Alrite…………

5/10

www.filthydukes.comwww.myspace.com/filthydukes


The Drone Rebels

What can I say ……… Like a frail, primitive version of ‘The Ruts‘? The first song has a guitar riff which is a very bad incarnation of the Ramones’ three chords, with a lifeless-middle of the road beat, and a lifeless-middle of the road chorus, lifeless- middle of the road music, lifeless- middle of the road vocals; and a lifeless review to accompany it.

‘The Drone Rebels’ vacuum pack punches into an airbag. Sucking the life out of rock with a pentatonic overtone and nothing to distinguish the sound in anyway.

Essentially they are oxygen thieves.


--I don’t understand why Drone Rebels have a copyright symbol on their cd, are they protecting the guitar riffs and simple lyrics they’ve already stolen from many other bands to prevent them being stolen once again?

www.thedronerebels.co.uk

Mr Bones and the Dreamers- Are These Actual Miles?

Mr Bones and the Dreamers hail from Birmingham, which once again proves that Birmingham is frequently the home place for some of the best music in Britain.

Mr Bones and the Dreamers have a folksy but urban sound with a singer that sounds like a shaky brumie version of ‘Bright Eyes’. Their music in general isn’t life changing but it’s their new single ‘Are These Actual Miles?’ that really stands out among this e.p.

‘Are These Actual Miles? has a warm, uplifting feeling; and reminds me of the ending of the film ‘Billy Elliot’ (not right at the end where he’s on the stage and much older, but abit before then), I’m not sure why, but it’s the emotional feeling of the song which reminds me of that moment. And that’s what is great about music like this, when it has the ability to capture us in someway and bring us back to a moment or feeling. Which is why ’Are These Actual Miles’ is a great track, it has soul and depth, without the need to present some flirty artwork, manufactured image and pretentious photo shoot to back up what may be a musical insult to the ears of many people- but justified by style and ‘vogue‘.

I don’t reckon you’ll definitely love them but Mr Bones and the Dreamers have a sound which is individual and captivating, so I recommend that you listen to this band, today.

8/10

www.myspace.com/mrbonesandthedreamers


The Momeraths- Crayon Colours

After the Ting Tings got discovered by a reviewer for sending in their e.p with a gaffer taped logo on their cd (this apparently attracted his attention), the fickle media promoted their ’D.I.Y/fashion chic image’ up to number one and made them what we would call ’pop music’, or what Warhol would call ‘soup cans‘, as both mechanisms worked in similar ways - if you get my drift. They then eventually took over the charts. Except the level headed percentage of the population weren’t listening and didn’t care.

This brief insight into the Ting Tings’ career is so I can relate it to this band, The Momeraths.

The Momeraths have clearly tried to attract attention by wrapping their e.p in a baby-blue woollen string with drawings of irritating little bugs in bright felt tip colouring pens on the e.p. The only thing it does however is make me generate pre-conceived opinions about how shit, fluffy and coy this bands music will sound.

The Momeraths, it seems, can be summed up by their naïve effort at the artwork. Their sound is both as fluffy and naïve as the cover suggests- I’m not sure how a sound can be naïve but their voices make me think that their probably stuck in a polka dot 70’s- trapped with a false perception of their surroundings and era through popping cutely named pills that some ‘Alice in Wonderland’ cop-out drop-out gave them. The vocals are a harmonious, cute sounding boy/girl duo, like ‘The Beautiful South’ sang by corrupted Furbies.


You might here about this lot soon, you might even listen to a hype which might emerge.

I don’t really care to be honest - and you shouldn’t either.

3/10

www.myspace.com/wherethemomerathsgo


Ten Percenter- The Whisperers

The vocals sound forced, the guitar sounds like a million other guitarists and well, there’s not much to distinguish these lads from anything else because they sound like a tame more serious version of that pop-punk genre that filled the charts in the late-nineties. Imagine trying to force out ‘All-American Rejects’ songs like throat constipation, with an American tone and there you have the correct musical terms on the way that these bland boys from Devon use their voices.

Please Ten Percenter, take your talent and use it to produce something wild, or something thoughtful, or something with an edge. Not this petty pretend-pop.

2/10

www.myspace.com/tenpercenter06


Moby- Shot in the Back of the Head

There’s something funny about Moby. He’s this insecure bald guy that mocks himself a lot in interviews in a chilled-out manner like a charming but modest Bill Hicks, but when it comes to creating music, it's as if this surreal alter-ego of Moby erupts into an other-worldly being of chilled out artificial oceans of noise.

This free-mp3 track off his new album, which you can get from his myspace, opens with a rigid, pulsating wave of melody, as if a wave of sound is moving in a jagged way due to being stop and started, like the sounds are trying to be contained but erupting in short bursts. Then the song erupts into this surreal dream with howling harmonies and waves of vocal synths dancing around on top.

Moby has created the ultimate chilled-out music. And this song is a good glimpse at what to expect from his new album, it is both typical “Moby-minimalism meets electronica” but with a calmer feel to it than say the songs on ‘18’ or ‘play’.

What’s more is that ’David Lynch’ (director of Mullholland Drive, Dune, Eraserhead and many other surreal greats) has done a creepy bit of animation for the video of the song, which fit’s the mood perfectly.

8/10

www.moby.comwww.myspace.com/moby


People In Planes- Last Man Standing

Wow. With a stupid name like ‘People In Planes’ I wasn’t expecting much; just another hardcore sub-genre tag along with floppy hair.

People In Planes are terrific. Like a psychedelic concoction of Electric Wizard, QOTSA, Radiohead and Muse. The songs are delivered with style and power, fusing a dirty stoner sound with creative guitar licks and choruses that boast as much edge as some of the songs from Muses’ ’Origin Of Symmetry’.

The one slightly annoying thing is the American sound of the vocals, as People In Planes are a ‘few boys from Cardiff’, yet the voice sounds like a crooning Josh Homme - this however is masked by the power of the songs and after killing my ears with many shades of grey sounds, People In Planes make it all worth while (along with Moby and Mr.Bones).

Sometimes there are powerful organ blasts, such as in the chorus of the title track, but then at other times People In Planes explode into sleaze-rock riffage heaven. People In Planes, it seems, are capable of creating any sort of sound and incorporating into their music with style.

They should make an album of the year - if they do so, would be so kind to send it to R*E*P*E*A*T Towers please?

9/10

www.peopleinplanes.com www.myspace.com/peopleinplanes


Joe Eyebank