Music reviews - Oasis, Sugababes, Elbow, Travis, Iglu and Hartley

Oct 6 2008 by Andrew Hirst, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

OASIS: The Shock Of The Lightning. Biff bash bosh of a first single from the forthcoming seventh studio album Dig Out Your Soul. In yer face kinda stuff – or as Noel Gallagher says “it was written dead fast and recorded dead fast.’’ Perhaps last orders was looming large down their local.

SUGABABES: Girls. The reason it sounds so familiar is that this sample from Ernie Doe’s soul funk anthem Here Come The Girls is now on a TV ad. Should be an easy enough number one.

THE RASCALS: I’ll Give You Sympathy. But before we get to the sympathy bit there’s a dramatic bout of slightly creepy psychedelic rock to rough your emotions up first.

ELBOW: The Bones Of You. Intense, edgy and disorientating – a song that plays with your head as it swirls to the verge of nausea.

THE COURTEENERS: That Kiss. With their UK tour a virtual sell-out, the Mancunians must be doing something right. And this is very right, starting quietly before a big Ronettes rhythm kicks in to develop it into a big production ballad.

ALEX CORNISH: Until The Traffic Stops. This true pop whirlpool was written, played, sung and produced in his Edinburgh bedroom by the self-confessed control freak. Now he faces a dilemma – does he invite the world into his bedroom to listen to him live or take it out on the road?

IDINA MENZEL: Brave. It sounds like an emotion-wracked stage ballad – and should, as she’s a star from Broadway and the West End.

TRAVIS: Ode To J Smith. It takes a while for this to get going – actually most of the album. There’s a stop start feel to it with parts of tracks running out of steam before they can get going. There’s jagged rock, strolling troubadouring down a rocky road and the odd eerie dreamy moment and even bluesy country funk before free-wheeling strumming humming takes over. Surprising, as always.

A POETIC YESTERDAY: A Little South Of Zero. The Midlands heavy rockers do a not-so-nice line in screaming their guts out and ruining their larynxes which is highly amusing. Shame really as the heavy rock and sensible singing is thunderous stuff.

IGLU AND HARTLY: And Then Boom. The Los Angeles electro rap merchants’ best moment here is their current single In This City with the rest of the tracks struggling to keep up.