Album Results
Album Reviews
The musical touchstone for the British trio Muse is obviously Radiohead and that fact is crystal clear from the smoldering opening cut, "Sunburn." Their John Leckie-produced debut, Showbiz, is strong on angst-filled vocals, esoteric lyrics, and dramatic shifts in sonic dynamics. Hailing from rural England, singer/guitarist Matthew Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme, and drummer Dominic Howard average 20 years of age, so there's plenty of potential for them to grow into a sound that is more of their own. In the meantime, Bellamy does an impressive job of aping the quirky, nervous vocal tic of Thom Yorke on songs like the mid-tempo, Mellotron-driven "Muscle Museum," and he cuts loose vocally on the soaring "Cave" and on the lovely, mournful ballad "Unintended." Showbiz hints at the potential in this young band, and it should be of interest to many Radiohead fans. ~ Tom Demalon, All Music Guide
Track Listing
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Girls Sugababes |
| By roping in credible producers such as Richard X and peppering their songs with up to the minute electro touches, Sugababes have managed to create songs that appealed as much to the cynical music press as it did to teenage girls. Throw in a revolving door line up and a media fascination with the bands perceived moodiness and you have a recipe for the most successful girl band of the new millennium. However on "Girls", a cover of Ernie K-Does early R&B classic "Here Comes The Girls", The "Babes" lack any of the inventiveness that made singles such as "Freak Like Me" and "Push The Button" so enjoyable. As countless artists have proved over the years, there's nothing wrong with uncovering a hidden gem and putting your own spin on things; Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" springs to mind as a good example. However, you can't help thinking that The Sugababes' producers have hardly been "diggin' in the crates" to uncover "Here Come The Girls" since it has been used extensively by Boots over the last couple of years to sell beauty products. Throw in a few predictable Mark Ronson style horn riffs and you have a sub Atomic Kitten mess that tarnishes a lot of the bands efforts to be taken seriously. | |
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