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The Boo Radleys C'mon Kids (Mercury/Polygram) The Radleys have reached album five, and instead of tripping to "realness" via Indie America like Sir Albarn, they've sludged through their old records. Witness embarrassing takes on Simon and Garfunkle, Gallagher whining, Townsend guitars and Haight-Ashbury harmonies. They say they're getting away from the "eight-year-old" fanbase they culled with their fun-in-the-sun Britpop cracker Wake Up! But the Radleys might remember that eight-year-olds are better than no one. 6.5/10 (Mireille Silcott)
The stars of Beck and Barlow must have been aligned over Australia when this Brisbane trio formulated their ragged-ass folkpunkhop. Recorded in Bangkok for maximum lowlife grit, this disc is confrontational, blunt and, given singer Quan Yeoman's foulmouthed but insightful lyrics, utterly radio unfriendly. 7.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Indigo Girls Shaming of the Sun (Epic/Sony) Tracks like "Shed Your Skin" and "Don't Give That Girl a Gun" set a darker mood than past releases from the duo of Amy Ray and Emily Sailers. Also, the two take commendable liberties with the rules of country-flavoured folkrock. Still, pedestrian poetics and a general lack of passion make this disc a real shame. 5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Grime Self-titled Beverley Self-titled (Northern Assembly Records)
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Regurgitator Tu Plang... (EastWest/Warner)
Grime's form of sludgerock has finally found its rightful place on vinyl. This 7" combines the stoner rock of Mudhoney and the groove of Kyuss and leaves a sloppy stoned smile on your face. Beverley runs the gamut of the Montreal sound. "The Cannibals" is like a dynamic Nils track while b-side "Dusk in the Dawn" has Leonard Cohen-esque sounds. Both are great local releases without a weak b-side between them. Grime 7.5/10 Beverley 7/10 (Johnson Cummins)