Jade's Music Blog

Reviews 26th October

Happy - Mondays Dysfunktional - Sequel

Whatever you think of the comic antics of the Happy Mondays, and the whole Madchester lark, you just can’t get away from the fact that time after time, they make great music, and Dysfunktional Uncle is no exception. There’s a slapping funky bass beat and slicing guitars, kept in line by the kicking percussion, and over and above, Shaun Ryder, angel or devil, cheeky monkey extraordinaire, curling his crazy vocals through the shimmering melee. And is that the sound of Bez’s slinky moves, somewhere off to the right? Or is it your own feet dancing, all by themselves?

Reviewed by Rikki Wright 4/5

Peter Von Poehl - Going Down Where The Trees Are - Bella Union

Peter Von Poel’s voice has a beautiful fragile sound, in the Nick Drake sort of area, the album, Going Down Where The Trees Are, combines his wistful voice with some sweetly melodious and lyrical songs with some really interesting instrumentation, in a way that arrests the attention, stops you in your tracks, and calls Liverpool’s marvellous Little Name to mind.

Reviewed by Grace Tiede 3/5

R.E.M - R.E.M. Live - Warner Brothers

R.E.M. are one of those bands who sort of make more sense when you see the uber charismatic Michael Stipe in action. He is so very odd, intense and watchable - you just can’t take your eyes off him. Like a cross between Zorro at the office and a shamanically dancing skinny Uncle Fester, he just looks great, somehow!
Many of the classic songs are featured the on the DVD, and highlights are probably the most anthemic ones, Everybody Hurts Sometime, Man On The Moon, The One I Love and Losing My Religion, sung in unison by every upturned mouth, delighted by the guest presence of Daniel Ryan from The Thrills, and loving every minute of it.
There used to be a tradeoff between sound quality and the unique transformative experience of being there at a live performance, but those days are gone, for the big bands, at any rate. The onstage sound is crisp and rich, and the cinematography is breathtaking, taking you up close and personal, in mesmerising extreme close-ups, and sweeping long shots from the viewpoint of the Dublin audience, in ways that never happen when you’re at the gig, yet give you a similar rush to being there.

Reviewed by Rikki Wright 4/5