Scroll down for reviews of the latest from Dipsomaniacs, Cheese, Utah Carol and a Finnish rock compilation. Click here for reviews of the latest from Melody Unit, The Fall and a review of the 6th Anniversary Not Lame compilation.

Neil Finn & Friends
7 Worlds Collide

(Parlophone Australia)

nilfun.net

Release Date: November 20, 2001

Part of the whole Neil Finn/Crowded House/Split Enz ethos is to avoid the ordinary. This live album is consistent with such a philosophy. Though a Finn disc chock full of live renditions of his considerable body of work would be entertaining on its own, this collection captures a special set of shows Finn performed from April 2 to April 6, 2001 in Auckland, New Zealand. While it is to be expected that older brother Tim would show, and son Liam, who is developing into a formidable talent, would tag along, Eddie Vedder's active participation is a surprise. The other major guests are former Smiths/Electronic guitarist Johnny Marr, singer-songwriter-violinist Lisa Germano and guitarist Ed O'Brien and drummer Phil Selway of Radiohead.
What brought them together are wonderful songs, songs with rich melodies, brilliant lyrics and a palpable heartbeat. Most are Neil's, but Tim, Vedder, Germano and Marr get their turns. One of the highlights is Neil's lead vocal on The Smiths' "There is a Light That Never Goes Out", as he brings a subtly different feel to the song.

Like him or not, Vedder is an undeniable presence. And on "Take a Walk", he's nearly an unlistenable presence - he treats the old Split Enz light pop number as if it were arena rock on par with Pearl Jam's "Jeremy", bellowing in spots. The tune barely survives. Eddie's over-the-top persona is absolutely perfect on the ripping "I See Red", where Vedder and Tim Finn share the lead vocal - the song still has that new wave crackle. The softer side of Vedder is the more appealing side, and he absolutely nails "Stuff and Nonsense", with Tim on piano and backing vocals. The Vedder composition "Parting Ways" is also softer and fits quite well with the other material.

Guitar history can be heard on "Loose Tongue" from Neil's debut solo disc. O'Brien and Marr synchronize some fiery lead guitar playing. This had to be great to see in person. Marr unleashes his heretofore unknown ukelele talents on Neil's "The Climber" and his heretofore unknown vocal talents on his own "Down on the Corner" - his smoky voice begs the question as to why he hasn't seen fit to record as a solo act until recently.

Neil and brother Tim are both in fine form, with great renditions of "Angel's Heap" (from the sole Finn Brothers disc) and the Crowded House classic "Weather With You". Neil closes with "Don't Dream It's Over", and you would too, if you could write such a beautiful song.

This album really shows that a musician's career is not only defined by the songs he writes and plays, but the friends he makes along the way. Neil Finn has come out a winner in both the song and friend departments. He lucked out big time in the brother department, too. This is a live album you'll spin more than a few times.

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Dipsomaniacs
Stethoscopic Notion

(Camera Obscura)

cameraobscura.com.au

You can call this record an exercise in retro. But you'd be missing the point. The psych-pop of this Norwegian band demonstrates how modern production techniques in the hands of talented songwriters can breathe new life into a classic style of the past. Dipsomaniacs are quite familiar with how bands like The Beatles 'bounced' tracks to make four tracks sound like four times as many. They also have learned how to use ProTools to their advantage. The result, as heard on this album, is a superb sounding recording that is dense and rich with sonic elements and wiggy textures. With each play, more flowers bloom - this may be the headphone album for 2001.

The wizardry is not smoke and mirrors - it is applied to a great set of songs. Reference points? There are scads of them, most of which hint at the feel of the songs, as the band has a distinctive sound. While The Beatles, Beach Boys and Byrds can be found in the gene pool, you can also find daubs of S.F. Sorrow-era Pretty Things, Love and loads of Nuggets-era sorcery. Contemporaries would include Rockfour, The Orgone Box and the more psych-side of XTC.

The band flies eight miles high on "Fair-Weather Friend", with the rhythm section playing forebodingly in the background, while the requisite jangle wafts to the forefront. The band makes some unique melodic choices that stamp the tune as their own, at times giving the tune a Revolver-era Harrison aspect. The song leaps further into brilliance with an instrumental middle with mariachi horns and a guitar solo that is both fuzzy and twangy - fwangy or twuzzy, I guess.

"Feet of Clay" is an acoustic number with an immediate hook. Though the tune is a languid acoustic number, with Robert Skjaervik's lovely bass playing, what sounds like a pedal steel, but might be a processed sitar or even the theremin, and loads of keyboard embellishments. Oyvind Holm sings "been a while since I was nine/still I'm just like a child at times/when jealousy comes creeping in/like poison" in a manner that the defeat is palpable, but you will still find yourself singing along.

One of the most powerful tunes is "Of Reaching Out", which also sets up an ominous mood. The intro sounds like one of Jeff Lynne's compositions for The Move, the band slowly ascending up the melody line. This pattern repeats until the lead guitar manages to release that bit of tension, though the guitar line is equally tense (and sharply played), before stopping and leaping into a more melodic chorus that still has a constricted feel as horns swirl around the vocals - and after tuning you in and turning you on, the song drops out. Silence for a moment and back on to the spooky carousel. The song is a nightmare aurally constructed. Dipsomaniacs find beauty in the imploding horror.
These songs are examples of how the band constructs detailed tapestries. Everything is precisely thought out, but the album never sounds fussy or lifeless. Moreover, the lyrics are acute and provide evidence that this is more than an exercise in style, but rather a use of style to help convey emotions and ideas. I think this is a splendid record, and in saying that, I may be underrating it. One of the best albums of 2001.

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Cheese
Let It Brie (1994-1997)

(Pink Hedgehog)

pinkhedgehog.com

There seems to be a tradition of beloved, cult-following pop bands who make great songs about hit records that, befitting their stature, go nowhere on the charts. Add Cheese to this list, as the sprightly "Popular Music" is barely a notch below classic songs like The Chills' "Heavenly Pop Hit" and The Undertones' "More Songs About Chocolate and Girls". You weren't aware that Cheese had a cult following? Well, perhaps they don't right now, but a couple spins of this platter, and any fan of that peculiar species of Britpop that manages to be thoroughly accessible yet still a bit daft and eccentric will happily become a Cheesehead.

Not as widescreen as Dodgy, not as Beatlesque as XTC, not as insular as Martin Newell, not as fucked up as Julian Cope and too rocking to be Squeeze, Cheese has its own distinct flavor. However, one of my favorite tracks has some definite Fab-like melodies. "He's Hardly Officer Material/All Change" literally takes a long and winding road, with it's Abbey Road-era chorus, some psychedelic instrumental interludes and then a big breakdown midway through the song's eight-and-a-half minute span. If only Paul McCartney could attach his charm to a track that chugs and has a bit of ambition.

Two songs stick out as tunes that sound like you've heard them hundreds of times before after only one play, which won't stop you from playing them hundreds more times. One is the bouncy "It's Alright, You'll be Dead Soon", which despite it's title is an uplifting, 'go ahead and go for it' number, with some fine lead guitar work. It feels like a chestnut from the brief era when you could actually hear Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and Graham Parker on your local album rock station. "Everybody's Gone" has a trademark of some of the finer Britpop of the '80s, melding a slightly (but only slightly) dissonant verse with a soaring hypercatchy chorus, the transition from the prickly to smooth coming off seamlessly. The bass playing here pretty much makes the tune, as it carries the juxtaposition off and the rest of the instruments just follow the lead.

Speaking of juxtapositions, "Wyke Five-O" is a breezy instrumental that fits well within the band's parameters, though the guitar soloing seems to indicate that someone was listening to some Rush or fusion records during his formative years. From The Beatles to 10CC to Madness to Blur, any British pop group worth its salt has put together a number with the jaunty music hall style of "Forever Dumb", and Cheese followed suit, with its typical snarky aplomb.

The band's quieter side gets its due, too. "All the Time in the World" uses just the right brokenhearted chords, the Rickenbackers making a bed for the protagonist to lay down on and lament. This is an example of how a downcast mid-tempo number can be as creatively composed and arranged as the grandest rocker. Too often these type of songs drive one decent idea into the ground and have been known to kill many a promising band's set. Alert to enterprising pop bands - cover this tune!

Or for that matter choose one of the other ones. A very worthy reissue.

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Utah Carol
Comfort For The Traveler

(Stomping Ground)

utahcarol.com

A delicate charmer of a record. The duo of Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis craft a tunescape that takes basic Americana folk rock songs, and through some deliberate and intelligent production choices, swaddles them in atmospherics. This is a fresh take on traditional styles, dressing up the simple tunes quite well. In some ways, this is akin to the approach of Badly Drawn Boy, but the effect achieved here is more warm and intimate. Songs seem to feather down from the ether, transmissions from a rustic UFO.

Birkenbeuel and Davis often sing in tandem, with equally relaxed approaches. This is the perfect vocal style for the county-waltz "When We're Apart", which nearly feels like a lullabye, with Steve Dorocke's pedal steel fills and Pete Labella's violin solo also contributing appropriately. The band excels in a light electric guitar motif on "Silver Space Rocket", with the guitar part reminding one of Lindsay Buckingham, and a melody akin to Dolly Varden. The song halts into a middle eight with Davis's multi-tracked voice taking the song into a new direction, Davis adding some unexpected synth-noises. A very good track.
Another change-of-pace track, the instrumental "Mr. Rogers", has a looped rhythm and an organ part that sounds like it came from the Melancholy Roller Rink. "Soda Fountain" comes from somewhat similar turf, this time the organ floats in the background, while Birkenbeuel locks in an almost funky guitar strum, with a wobbling bass part laying on top of the metronomic drumming and Davis's disembodied vocals cutting through more than midway into the tune.

These odd bits give the album a nice texture, and a compelling contrast to the more straightforward numbers. That is, relatively straightforward numbers. Davis is again showcased on "Nellie", which sports slightly atonal verses, suggesting The Roches, with a Spanish jazz feel elsewhere, and even some muted guitar twang. "Misfits" is just a heartland grin of a song, Gerald Dowd's gentle drumming providing just enough support for the wisp of a melody. This sounds like a dust bowl Belle and Sebastian.

Utah Carol's charm and restraint earn it the right to show off a few pretensions, which are immersed in their able songcraft. The fact that they are hard to pigeonhole is due to their distinctive approach.

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Various Artists
Meet The Scene

(Rhythm Barrel)

geocities.com/rhythmbarrel

Outstanding compilation of talented artists from Finland. The Reindeer Rock scene started to come to the fore in the '90s, with the San Diego label NKVD issuing releases from four-on-the-floor rockers Jalla Jalla and punkmeisters Hitmen 3. Finnish pop penetrated radar screens with Poverty Stinks, and in the last couple years, Ben's Diapers have impressed folks (including Michael Carpenter, who has worked with the band) in live performance and on record. While there is plenty of power pop and pop on this collection, the disc successfully shows some other sides of Finnish rock.

There's the simple country twang on Bridget's "Needless", sporting an endearingly off-kilter lead vocal. In contrast, Spokane's atmospheric sounds are spot on. "Fucked up in Glasgow" is a slow tempoed number that reminds me somewhat of Low meeting La Bradford - a deliberate instrumental that adds thin layers and gains power without having to gain volume. And my favorite track on the disc, Flannelmouth's "Last Exit" starts with a pulsing dance rhythm that supports a tune that sounds like a hidden gem from Britpoppers Gene. Tuomo Kuusi's vocals are mighty impressive.

For those who want to love it loud, Hundred Million Martians demand a cranked stereo. "Excitement of Possibility" has thick melodic riffage on par with Teenage Fanclub. Hundred Million Martians can't be wrong, I guess. Homespun's "Partycrash" is grounded in early-90's American indie rock, like Dinosaur, Jr., Lemonheads and Buffalo Tom. The guitars manage to simultaneously bang and whimper in a fine fashion. Puny fits somewhere between You Am I, Swervedriver and Material Issue on the aggressive and automatically memorable "New Day".

There is some mellower stuff too. Ben's Diapers dial it down on "Josephine Geraldine", turning in a fluffy '60s pop styled tune. Sugarrush sound like a mix of The Go-Betweens and Eggstone, mixing happy bounce with an adult wistfulness on "Nina Loves Andreas". Ultrasport represent Finland at its most twee, spinning a tune in a Sarah Records/Belle & Sebastian fashion ("You Are Evil").
For pure powerpop, Kevin comes through on "Motorways", with a delectable chord change in the chorus. Cartoon Tree jangles in a Beagley manner on "Please Let Me Be the One", while Elliot Scale seems to find the intersection between Elliot Smith and Doug Powell on "Innerspace" - mixing downcast emotions with some big pop tricks.
This is just a brief overview of what appears to be a thriving scene. Well worth meeting.

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