The Webb Brothers: (WEA)
Christian and Justin Webb are the sons of legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, but Maroon proves that the Webb boys are well able to stand outside their dad's looming shadow. The Liar's Club, I Can't Believe You're Gone and In A Fashion prove that the Webbs can pen a superb tune, but they're not content with just writing words and music - they want to sound great too. Maroon is a sonic delight, blending Beach Boy-ish harmonies with Byrds-like jangle and Big Star-shaped riffs, then wrapping everything up in crunchy psychedelia and swirling showtune arrangements. Summer People is pure pop heaven, while Marooned would have slotted in nicely on side two of Abbey Road had it not been written 30 years too late. Maroon plays like a West Coast rock opera about the downside of hedonism, and Powder Pale provides a gorgeous climax which would have made Brian Wilson smile from ear to ear.
- Kevin Courtney
Goldfrapp: Felt Mountain (Mute)
Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory share a common passion for classical music, cinema soundtracks, 1960s French pop and Weimar Republic cabaret, and they pool these influences to create the shimmering vistas of Felt Mountain. Goldfrapp not only has a breathy, jazzy, seductive voice, but she can also whistle like a lonesome shepherdess and yodel like Julie Andrews lost in space. The album was recorded in an old bungalow near Bath, but sounds like it could have been written in the hills below the Swiss Alps, or in a playboy villa in Monte Carlo. Lovely Head, Human and Pilots are dislocated themes for lost French spy movies, while Deer Stop is a disembodied torch tune haunted by the ghost of Billie Holiday. The presence of Portishead's Adrian Utley on guitar may draw comparisons with the Bristol trip-hoppers, but Goldfrapp are exploring a different terrain altogether, but which may still bear traces of High Llamas, Shirley Bassey and Jane Birkin.
- Kevin Courtney
