CDs of the week

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Too late? The Subways' All or Nothing

Not so brave: Dirty Pretty Things's Romance At Short Notice

Swims rather than sinks: Seth Lakeman's Poor Man's Heaven

Brilliant: Victor Wooten's Palmystery

All the stars: Desert Blues

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POP
THE SUBWAYS
All or Nothing (Warner)
***
In these fastmoving times for the music business even indie rock acts have to follow the boyband model for remaining in the public consciousness by releasing albums little more than a year apart. So Welwyn Garden City trio The Subways may have left it too late to improve on their midtable status following decent 2005 debut Young For Eternity. All Or Nothing is an appropriate sentiment. They've thrown everything at this one, drafting in Butch Vig (who produced Nirvana's Nevermind) for a crunching, roaring sound that has most in common with American hard rock on tracks such as Turnaround and Kalifornia. It sounds polished, and covocalists Billy Lunn and Charlotte Cooper harmonise well, but nothing stands out as the song to take them to the next level.
DAVID SMYTH

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS
Romance At Short Notice (Vertigo)
***
Still bestknown as Pete Doherty's sidekick in The Libertines, Carl Barat has avoided the tabloids and supermodels in favour of quietly building the Dirty Pretty Things' career. Two albums in, he's still recreating the messy, cheaply produced, poor-man's Clash sound The Libertines were so enamoured of. But beneath the often grubby sound and the sub-Doherty ramblings of Come Closer and Plastic Hearts, there's genuine talent afoot. Tired of England is a gloriously heady alternative national anthem, Buzzards and Crows exudes genuine menace and the closing Blood On My Shoes shows laudable ambition. A bigger budget and a braver producer and they'll be fine.
JOHN AIZLEWOOD

POOR MAN'S HEAVEN
Seth Lakeman (Relentless)
***
This West Country performer has been dubbed the poster boy of folk, which some might regard as a singular accolade but he feels to be a terrible burden. What is undeniable is his sprightly take on the form, the songs driven along by his own spirited fiddle playing and the snappy drums of Andy Tween. The lyrics follow the traditional pattern: all boats are doomed, the weather is always dramatic, people are the playthings of an unfeeling fate. Fortunately, the music tends towards the uplifting, from the rollicking The Hurlers and Race to Be King to the folk-pop of Cherry Red Girl and I'll Haunt You. Lakeman also possesses a fine, clear voice with a hint of vibrato that ensures that the record swims rather than sinks.
PETE CLARK

JAZZ
VICTOR WOOTEN
Palmystery (Heads Up)
*****
Bass guitarists are a strange breed with gods of their own. In the beginning there was Jaco Pastorius, then Marcus Miller. Right now Victor Wooten, ultrafunky sideman with banjo marvel Bela Fleck, tops their totem pole. This stunning solo album indicates why fellow thumb-punchers kneel before him and should expand his congregation considerably. Surrounded by guest-stars including Keb Mo, Mike Stern, Chuck Rainey and Take Six's Alvin Chea, plus brothers Regi and Joseph, Victor rampages through 12 brilliant originals. His technique is dazzling, his swing monumental. Sample it at the Jazz Cafe on 5 July.
JACK MASSARIK

WORLD
Various Artists
Desert Blues 3 (Network)
****
If your ears have been caught by the mellifluous sounds of West African music, then here's a deluxe 2-CD introduction. Most of the music comes from countries around the Sahara and, in the case of Tinariwen, from deep within the Sahara itself. It was probably the great Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré who first drew attention to the bluesy sounds of the Sahel and he closes the first disc in a duet with kora player Toumani Diabaté. Also from Mali, Bassekou Kouyaté is the latest contemporary star. And for the purpose of this collection the desert blues reaches as far as Ethiopia and the sax of Getatchew Mekurya and voice of Gigi. All the stars of the desert without the carbon footprint.
SIMON BROUGHTON

 

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