Weezer - Pinkerton

In which the preppy geeks of Buddy Holly grew a pair of big heavy balls.  The album came out in 1996 and the wallop of guitars and drums that propelled opener Tired of Sex will have startled many, not to mention front man Rivers Cuomo's strangled yelps.  The catchy tunes are still here, you just have to work harder with them.  Second track in, Getchoo is a wonderfully malevolent pounder.  It swaggers in on a heavy drum beat and grungy riffs.

Another arresting howl opens the heavy pop of No Other One. Why Bother? and Across the Sea are hard riffing pop songs, a bit like Nirvana playing nursery rhymes. El Scorcho might be the catchiest thing here it's kind of reminiscent of The Sweater Song off their first album.  Unfortunately it ends with a fairly pointless acoustic strum, Butterfly which is completely out of place.  But leaving that aside, this is a good poppy, yet heavy album.

The Hedge Schools - Never Leave Anywhere

The Hedge Schools debut album was released in 2008.  It opens with Day One, all plaintively picked guitars and piano touches, allowing Pat Barrett's voice to soar over it.  The track brings you into a world, along the lines of The Blue Nile, as the music soars around you.  This is considered, sensitive music, tracks like Breathe It In and Butterfly are beautifully moody, the latter a perfect evocation of sitting, staring out the window watching the world go by.

Sunday Song represents a change in gear, preventing the album becoming too samey, with prominent drums and a wash of keyboards.  However the default setting of pensive returns with Don't Call It A Heart.  A gorgeous guitar and piano provides the backdrop for Barrett to implore the listener to "put your day in rewind", and later, on In The Morning he sings romantically about "if we spend the day just drifting... cos this is what I like." 

But if that suggests the album is over-serious and a bit of a trudge that would be wide of the mark, Kansas even allows a bit of whimsy in.  There are no weak tracks on this album, and the pacing works really well, it's an album to just sink into and wallow in.  An immersive, and impressive debut album.

Lloyd Cole at Vicar St, Dublin

Review for www.meg.ie

http://www.meg.ie/lloyd-cole-at-vicar-st-dublin-2013/

Album Review: Lloyd Cole – Don’t Get Weird On Me Babe

Lloyd Cole’s second solo album, released in 1991, represented a departure for him. Or at least half a departure. For the album is one of two halves. The first six songs were recorded with an orchestra, and were quite unlike any of Lloyd’s previous work. As an experiment it could have been doomed to failure. However it works beautifully, taking his songs to unimagined new heights.

Butterfly is a strong opener, ushering in the sweeping strings on a brooding, descending melody but next track There For Her has a wonderfully soothing atmosphere, redolent of Nilsson’s Everybody’s Talking, conjuring up sunny day driving. Margo’s Waltz is a darker, meditative waltz, though it’s lightened by cooing backing vocals, before Half of Everything picks up the pace a little. This one is a little over-cooked, with piano, strings and an over the top guitar solo.

Even going bossa-nova in Man Enough doesn’t spoil the atmosphere, before the tranquil What He Doesn’t Know ends a terrificly atmospheric run of songs. It’s almost a shame when the more straightforward ‘rock’-orientated second half kicks off. There are some strong songs here nonetheless, the jangly Tell Your Sister has pleasing shades of Lou Reed about it, along with Robert Quine’s guitar as Lloyd croons about “Ruemorgue avenue”.

Weeping Wine is very Byrds (minus the harmonies) while later The One You Never Had is worth sticking around for with a lovely guitar lick. The album concludes with fine driving rock song She’s A Girl and I’m A Man, complete with disparaging chorus “she’s gotta be the stupidest girl I’ve ever seen”. Though it’s a less cohesive listen than its self-titled predecessor, it’s a hugely enjoyable listen, and worth it for the first six tracks alone.