POP/ROCK

Latest releases reviewed.

AMUSEMENT PARKS ON FIRE
Out of the Angeles V2
***

It is said by some people that, apart from Robin Hood celebrations, nothing much ever happens in Nottingham; one-time Nottingham native Michael Feerick certainly put his boredom to good use as he pottered about in his bedroom constructing songs that referenced his favourite bands - Sigur Rós, the Pixies and My Bloody Valentine. Feerick is still in his teens, and judging by the sheer bravado on display here, he will either reap the dividends via a lengthy life creating muscular ambient music, or suffer a nervous breakdown by the time he's 25. Psychedelic rock/pop of inordinately high quality - nothing we haven't heard before (courtesy of riffs founded notably by SR and MBV) but heady sonic material nonetheless. www.amusementparksonfire.com - Tony Clayton-Lea

ANI DIFRANCO
Reprieve Righteous Babe
****

"To split yourself in two/ Is just the most radical thing you can do." How often is the fine art of reproduction articulated so deftly and so sparingly? Here, 16 studio albums on, Ani DiFranco's bark is every bit as sharp as her bite. She has an uncanny knack of clamping her finger on the pulse, be it political incompetence, the whiplash of the digital age, the minutiae of human heartache or the demagoguery that blithely oversaw the destruction of her adopted home, New Orleans. Ironically, DiFranco's hard-edged topicality is cushioned by the subtlest arrangements, devoid of the syncopated rhythms of recent years. Instead she harnesses the sound of bicycle pumps, echo distortions and acoustic guitar, this hoary coalition shored up by her regular road-partner, bassist Todd Sickafoose. A snarling, superb snapshot in time. www.righteousbabe.com Siobhán Long

THE PANIC CHANNEL
One Capital
***

Like the Raconteurs, no matter how much the Panic Channel resist the label, they'll be dubbed a supergroup. Culled from the ashes of Jane's Addiction, Dave Navarro and co ditch the boho skirmishes of Perry Farrell's outfit for no-nonsense rock. As expected, there's plenty of groin-straining guitar solos, a sprinkling of lighter-in-the-air ballads and feverish riffing. Often it's compulsively kick-ass, as on Teahouse of the Spirits and Awake, but at times it's guilty of straying into contrived post-millennium stadium rock that risks sounding like Slayer on Valium. The biggest echo of Jane's Addiction is Said You'd Be, a Bush-bashing frenzy of guitars courtesy of Navarro's distinctive licks, but anyone looking for the band's resurrection will be disgruntled. There's enough meaty hooks to recommend this, but you can't help feeling that One is something good that could have been something special. www.thepanicchannel.com. Sinéad Gleeson

NEOSUPERVITAL
Neosupervital NSV
**

When he's not bashing the skins with earnest rockers Bell X1, Tim O'Donovan is a one-man Eighties revival, on a mission from God to rehabilitate that most reviled era and revive the synthetic pop sounds of Human League, Nik Kershaw and Heaven 17. Dressed like a blend of Blues Brothers and Back to the Future, and armed with a digital guitar that sounds like a Roland from 1984, O'Donovan takes the listener back to a time when syndrums and stiletto guitars were the ultimate in pop chic, but he keeps a thoroughly modern view in such songs as Artschool Girl, Rachel, PHB (Pathetic Human Being) and Now that I've Found It. Jazz Fascist, Drive and Alternative Day are amusing pop portraits of the kind of stereotypes we all know today, but O'Donovan is at his best doing catchy pop songs such as All Because of You and Step into the Sunshine (Baby Alright). This is a kitsch concept that doesn't quite stretch to an album; and boy, do those syndrums start pounding in your head after a while.  www.neosupervital.com  - Kevin Courtney

BOSS VOLENTI
Boss Volenti Roll it Records
***

Ex-Therapy? drummer Graham Hopkins liked Boss Volenti's sound so much he practically stalked them until they let him join. You can see why he wanted in on this one: the Dublin band rock straight from the hip, shuffling Kings of Leon and Queens of the Stone Age, and pulling the odd ace out of their sleeves. Despite their resolutely old-school approach (Ain't No Use ends with a traditional guitar solo, and the spirit of 1970s rock hovers over such tunes as Deeper and Deep, Shot and Roll it Into Shape), BV pull through on sheer spit and swagger, dispensing these 10 tunes with the efficiency of Dirty Harry. Singer/bassist Rob Daly and guitarists Laura Mackey and Dan O'Connor make sure their new drummer earns his keep on such high-impact rockers as Nine Point Eight, The Range and Can't Seem to Find a Way. www.bossvolenti.com - Kevin Courtney

DONAL O'CONNOR
Live At The Moving Stairs No label
***

The trouble with live recordings (this one was recorded as recently as July 27th) is that they have a tendency to ramble, the momentum dictated by the artist's rapport with the live audience, rather than by the needs of the repeat listener. Roscommon singer-songwriter Donal O'Connor has a genteel touch, both lyrically and musically, though he's not averse to well-placed interludes of waspishness, as he displays on Into Apathy Street, an excoriating commentary on our rush towards hedonistic consumerism. O'Connor's strengths lie in his delicate fingering of our inherent tribalism, and its ultimate realisation as racism (The Ballad of the Great Bee Lee), and his willingness to capture, on the fly, the quirks and foibles of Irish life, for better or worse. A limited vocal range hinders an otherwise engaging collection. donal.firebird.net Siobhán Long