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After concentrating on other projects for most of last year including film soundtracks, remixes and sessions for other artists such as Tori Amos and Afro Celt Sound System, Wobble returns with a new solo album on his own label. Perhaps it's too solo.
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In print once again is the CD edition of "Sumac," a 71+ minute extended version of the same track which originally appeared on a one-sided transparent 12" single released in 1997 by Robot. For the duration of the track, a solid bass tone underscores while unidentifiable flying objects and whispery homemade wind instruments play and reverberate madly.
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It's not that Nocturama is badfrom start to finish, what really plagues it is its uneven quality.Cave fails in properly directing the Bad Seeds to create a mood to thealbum. While the opening tracks are very solid, they hold too close tothe path set by the last two albums and make little progress. Thestrikingly rocking (and horrible) "Dead Man in My Bed" provides anawkward pit stop in the middle of the album. This song sees Caveregress light years lyrically, and muscally it sounds as if he istrying to force himself to reclaim the explosive energy of earlyreleases. While it is a relief that he immediately retreats back to thecalm and collected sound he has clearly become more comfortable with,Cave's placement of this track right in the middle makes the album adifficult listen. This track would have worked better if placed towardsthe end of the album, as is done with the intense closer. "Babe I'm OnFire" is a great success and gives evidence that despite, "Dead Man,"Cave is still able to rant along perfectly when the Bad Seeds decide toplay their hardest. Every second of this 15-minute long tirade isabsolutely essential and both astonising and disappointing. For if Cavecould have found the proper bridge from "Wonderful Life" to "Babe I'mOn Fire," instead of a messy collection of occasionally uninspiredsongs, then this would have been a much better record.
Nick Cave has raised the bar so high that expectations demand a great album, not simply just a few great songs. Nocturamawas recorded in seven days and it shows. The Bad Seeds at their bestare not spontaneous but deliberate, lets hope the next one takes thatinto consideration.
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For those of us who do not have our very own lavish, sunlight-flooded house with a private lake in the backyard, the trio of Charles Atlas has captured the all-encompassing scenery, beauty, and fragrant air, and packaged it for our livingrooms and headsets. Once a pet project of Charles Wyatt (former guitarist for Dart and the one who clearly put the "magic" in early Piano Magic recordings), Charles Atlas soon became a fulltime duo with the fulltime involvement of former Rosemarys keyboardist Matt Greenberg. On this, the fourth album, they have expanded to a truly mesmerising ensemble with the addition of Sascha Galvagna.
In 1981, The Clean's "Tally Ho!" single was the second release of the then nascent Flying Nun record label of New Zealand. This fact is largely responsible for establishing The Clean as the archetypes of the New Zealand/Flying Nun sound which sprung up mostly in the 1980's (and has persisted to the present). The sound was poppy, drony, distorted, melodic, tremulous, and brilliant. But as The Clean Anthology proves, the band did not just embrace this school of sound more fully than anyone else: they helped build it.
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Though only 47 minutes long, Feast of Wirehas a sound so expansive, it's difficult to believe they packed so muchrichness into such a short span of time. The liner notes document theexhaustive list of instruments (and guest musicians!) present on thealbum. Calexico could no doubt persuade even the most jaded music snobthat originality and fresh ideas are still to be found within theoverwrought annals of indie rock.
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"An Endless Supply" keeps up the pace of the opening track, withHarris' voice sounding urgent while adhering to the catchy, sing-a-longmelody. "Capture with a Magnet" speaks of the power of a familiarattraction in a burst of adreneline.The final track, "Everything Thermals" violates the no-self-referencerule that the band declared just three songs earlier, while provingthat the rule existed for a good reason. Lyrics like "Everythingthermals / the come in four shades of purple / some are tight, somehave trousers" are just embarassing, and while it's not their strongestsong, it's probably good that it is here and not on an LP. The Thermalssound like a band that is having a good time, and their attitude isinfectious. 'No Culture Icons' is a snapshot of things to come, and itcan be expected that they are set to make music that's fun to jump upand down to.
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