In today's review section we have the latest releases from Pet Shop Boys, Last Gambados and Elliot Minor...
Elliot Minor - Still Figuring Out
York based jangly spangly Green Day/McFlyish cheery power popsters kick off the New Year with a bit of bounce and bright enthusiasm.Not deep, not profound, but as it rattles along at a fair old lick, you might find your toes a-tapping, you never know. 2/5
The Pet Shop Boys – Disco Four
Interesting project from the masters of the well crafted disco track. Tracks by well known artists, such as Madonna Yoko Ono, The Killers and David Bowie are given The Pet Shop Boys treatment.
There is a glamourous grandeur and a majestic sparkle infusing every track, familiar yet radically changed by that distinctive The Pet Shop Boys sound. This music is at the far frontier of disco, subtle, sophisticated, and in its own way, quite sublime. 3/5
The Last Gambados – Neverman
The Last Gambados have a superior pub rock vibe running through this ep.
Piano led title track Neverman features the plaintive vocals of Phil Mason and John O’Hare. It reminds, somehow of Jools Holland’s old band, Squeeze, and Van Morrison. Other tracks, such as The Way We See, had something of the Ian Dury’s and Elvis Costello’s about it. It’s not very original, but it’s alright. Probably seeingthem live would be a good night out, but the recorded studio experience doesn’t quite sustain the interest. 2/5