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26/7/05
7:55 pm
Page 103
Drum: BEATS 103
Various Artists
London Soul
Symbolyc One & Illmind
The Art Of Onemind
UNISEX
BBE/SPILT MILK
A collection of high calibre home grown talent.
De Ja Vu abound, but still enjoyable beats,
rhymes & life.
Starting out with one of the finest Brit-soul songs
of recent years (Set The Tone by newcomer Nate
James) and including favourites by established artists
like Omar, Lewis Taylor and 4hero, London Soul carries
on the fine tradition of the Unisex compilation series.
Whilst it would have been nice to have a few more
uptempo cuts (The Bugz are here as a brief nod to
West London’s broken beat scene), the tracks selected
here are of the highest quality throughout. Plus, I
have nothing but love for any album that features
Don–E.
A roster of quick-witted lyricists and satisfying beats
adorn S1 & Illmind’s venture. Highlights include the
shadowy menace of Milk ‘em featuring Ghostface, Trife
and Myone, Little Brother’s Big Pooh getting his croon
on during the sensual Nights Like This and Chip Fu’s
vocal contortions on Onemind. On the downside,
no new ground is broken (jazzy thirty second
interludes and dialogue between tracks – Pete Rock
mastered those skits years ago). If you can live with
these gripes then there’s still plenty to enjoy.
Highlights: Set The Tone, Help Me, Bus Stop
Highlights: Milk ‘em, Nights Like This, One Mind
Watch Out For...
The Noisettes
Three Moods Of The Noisettes EP
SIDE SALAD/UNIVERSAL
PJ Harvey, Erykah Badu,and Beth Gibbons may seem unlikely
bedfellows, but whilst listening to Shingai Shoniwa, front
woman of London three-piece The Noisettes (Side Salad
/Universal), these schizophrenic points of reference darted in
and out of my mind. However, far from being a composite group
with no identity of their own, their Three Moods of the Noisettes
EP (a favourite of mine for months) shows why they have
generated so much excitement within London’s fecund rock
music scene. Don’t Give Up is an apt introduction – as
uncontained as a hyperactive child bursting with E numbers.
Monte Christo takes us into a place where gentle guitar chords,
hushed drums and delicate vocals blend into a transcendent
piece of music. A teasing off-time duet in the bridge leads into an ending which is all the better for its slight
restraint, in turn making this an early contender for song of the year. Elsewhere, Burn sounds like a nefarious
Portishead dragging Jeff Buckley’s Murder Suicide Meteor Slave into a dark alleyway. Shoniwa offsets fragile
wails alongside guttural roars, creating a twisted, wretched beauty. Add to this the energy which they bring to
their already-famed live shows and they seem destined to rule rock’s roost.