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Banco de Gaia Big Men Cry (Planet Dog/Attic) Banco's take on ambience is one I just can't get with: prettier than Future Sound of London, uglier than Global Communications and, it seems to me, stuck in some urban/organic/ethereal nowhereland. There are ethnic voices a-plenty, monkish chants and subtle layering, but the whole thing contains a breath rather sinister and ultimately difficult to place. So even if the production is flawless, its sum is really hard to listen to from top to bottom. 6.5/10 (Mireille Silcott) Cub Mauler (Au-Go-Go) Cub have called it quits after five years, leaving two valuable lessons for aspiring bands. One: play either girly pop or surly punk... don't walk the fence. Two: rank amateurism should be worn like a silly hat, not a badge of honour. Cub struck out on both counts. Here's a scrapbook of memories for anyone who cares. 5.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg) Whiskeytown Strangers Almanac (Outpost/Universal) Since not even Meryl Streep could make stars out of Blue Rodeo in the States, some band down there had to fill that punk-roots, trad-country, smart-pop niche sooner or later. And it's much later, but never too late to come in with the classicism of lightly fiddled ballads, horn-backed hurtin' songs and just the right amount of hard-rock mining--like Raleigh, North Carolina's Whiskeytown do. "Everything I Do (Miss You)" could be a radio hit--and they wouldn't even have to "Try." 8/10 (Chris Yurkiw) Coldcut Let Us Play (Ninja Tune)
Coldcut move away from sample gags and sift through some pretty heavy post-mod braininess. A list of prestigious collaborations yields a great glop of different stuff, from the caveman/R2D2 sound of "Baby Boomer" (feat. Mixmag's Daniel Pemberton) to the elastic beats of "Timber" and the positively inspirational "Space Journey," the most cutting spoken-word piece ever heard on the topic of cokey nightclubbing. Jello Biafra's overdone ranting about slaves making tennis shoes ("More Beats and Pieces") might be slightly misplaced, but that's just the way of the eclectic, innit? 8/10 (Mireille Silcott)
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