Goosefair
Goosefair, China Drum's debut album, sees the then trio charging their way through a collaction of self-penned delights, despite getting bogged down in the occasional patch of sludge. Can't Stop These Things is as good an introduction to China Drum as you'll get. Guitars pummel, the drums thud and pound, and the melody soars above them, creating an incredibly uplifting aural experience. Honest. Cloud 9 is almost as good, and spanks you where you need to be spanked. Think Bad Religion, only better. Simple is another highlight of the album. A constant restrained anger hums throughout, sparking into the explosion of the chorus. Pictures and God Bets are nothing special, but in contrast, Find The Time is much poppier and far catchier. A lighter, breezier-sounding track, yet it still has the rough edge it needs to prevent the lyrics from being lost on a wave of niceness. Last chance is a piece of something lovely (a lock of Lionel Blair's hair, perhaps?), and sounds commercial enough to have been released as a single (erm... it was). Meaning is another musically lighter moment, and pleasant enough. Had A Good Idea on Monday does little for me, and I can't say it's up there with the others. But so what? Hidden at the far end of the CD is a quite brilliant cover of Wuthering Heights. Just slightly rockier than the Kate Bush version, methinks. Go buy.
Self Made Maniac
China Drum have continued their 'spiky bloke' covers with this album - the poor man's got loads of pieces of glass stuck in his scalp. One Thing opens The Drum's new album. Goosefair, for all it's brilliance, had a couple of tracks that let it down. Self Made Maniac is not pefect either. But... One Thing isn't a song you'll love instantly. It'll take a couple of listens for it to make it's mark. When it's done that, you'll probably like it, if not love it. Stay listening for Guilty Deafness, though, 'cos this is the band back on form. This track showcases the new 'darker side' that is supposed to have manifested itself in recent months. It's the type of song you'll never get sick of... there's always something new in there to latch onto. Somehere else follows, with all its poppy brilliance and shiny-happy-people-making tunefulness. And then it's Fiction of Life, from which were plucked the three words of the album title. Does anyone else think that the barely-audible shouty bits in the chorus are ace? (Almost as good as Foil's Are You Enemy?...). A gentle introduction begins what will soon become All I Wanna Be, a slightly flat track track, although it's redeemed by its backing vocals, which are lovely. The 'normal' version of Down By The River appears here. It's similar to Biscuit Barrel (from 1996's Goosefair) in that I think it actually works better as an acoustic. Oh well, you pays your money... I really like Another Toy - it stands out alongside Guilty Deafness as the most involving track. 60 Seconds, despite sounding generally quite nice, fails to excite me in any real way, yet the line "You've made your bed, now f**king die in it" is erm... again nice. In contrast, Foxhole is much stronger. There's more to get a grip on, and lots of different little bits of the melody will crop up in your head after you've been listening to it. Adams vocals are quite fluid throughout, and work well with a scratchy guitar backing. Control is um... a bit boring, but Stop It All Adding Up makes you forget that instantly, as you become immersed in its sea of greatness. The Drum say goodbye with Bothered, a classy way to finish. But I'm not happy... there's no hidden Kate Bush cover! How can I go on?! Damn you, China Drum! Damn you all to hell and back! No, actually, it's a great album, and like Goosefair, it has its ups and downs. Luckily, most of them are ups.
