CRAVING
ACHES & BITTER LEMON HEARTS - Sinnerstar (Sinnerstar)CRAVING
ACHES & BITTER LEMON HEARTS - Sinnerstar (Sinnerstar)
The guy on the front cover looks a little like a young Mick Jones, at least
from this angle; the back cover shows him in dark glasses, modest gold chain,
obligatory
cigarette and pork pie hat (well, maybe not a pork pie, slightly larger than
that... what's the next size/style up?) looking fittingly cool, artistically
resolute and a little angst ridden. A bona fide modern hero - still tortured
and tormented, but he knows how to party when the opportunity arises.
This CD does indeed contain some suitably portentous vocals to go with the look; yeah, there's even a faint whiff of Nick Cave in some of them. "I call out to you, but you don't call back/The sun it shines, but inside I'm black"; heavy stuff baby, although that's not an actual lyric - it's from the poem in the tray insert.
Who was that guy who sounded like an escapee from a Psychedelic Furs tribute band and sang "A Girl Like You"? Edwyn Collins? This reminds me of him a bit in places as well.
If you're not put off by these comparisons, or by an occasional touch of Pearl Jam in one of their more theatrical/histrionic, wall of congealed noise moments, then you should find something to like on this CD without too much trouble. Highlights from the first few playings were "Chemicals Dominate", "Heal My Brain" and "Sweet Oblivion" (which almost seems to be an unhappy sequel of sorts to "Heal My Brain"). Predictably these are amongst the louder, faster songs on the album, but after a while some of the slower songs (dare I utter those ominous words "power ballad"?) began to make an impression, particularly "Velvet Eyes" and "My Life".
A special mention should go to "Porn Affliction", which bravely delves into an area not often explored in popular song, aside from the Buzzcocks' trail blazing "Orgasm Addict".
This record apparently started out as a solo album for front man Koozie Johns, with the aid of guitarist Kien Lim, gradually turning into a band album as the recording proceeded. Hence there's only a bass player on four of the tracks, while Johns doubles on bass for the rest of the album and there's a different drummer on a couple of the tracks.
Despite these personnel shifts, the album has a broadly consistent sound, but
with Johns not averse to throwing in a few strings on one or two occasions to
temper the soaring, relentless waves of guitar which both underpin and encase
the stronger songs. I'm not sure how many, if any, gigs they've played as a
band, but even if this is just a one-off studio effort it's still worth having
a listen to. Of course, I can afford to say that - I got this review copy for
free. - John McPharlin
