CDs of the week: Cheryl Cole's album is a flop

23.10.09

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POP
Cheryl Cole
3 Words
(Polydor)
*
She may be one- fifth of Britain's best girl group, and one quarter of the X Factor judging panel, but Cheryl Cole is no solo artist. The Geordie girl's debut sounds more like a hurried exercise in cashing-in on her growing celebrity than a sustained bid at going it alone. Aside from the hypnotic title track, which features Black Eyed Pea Will.i.am, and the sassy electro-pop of Rain on Me, this is stodgy R'n'B fare, sung in a thin vocal more suited to the occasional background croon than a lead melody. Heaven, a gushy Cole co-write, sounds like a Britney Spears B-side, while Make Me Cry features such revelations as: “Are you trying to make me cry? Well, stop trying 'cos I'm dying.” Three words: steer well clear.
RICK PEARSON

Devendra Banhart
What Will Be Will Be
(Warner Bros)
**
Gosh, what a peculiar record this is. Devendra, in case you don't know, is an exotic hybrid with roots in Venezuela, California and Indian mysticism. If that sounds like a gentle and caring car crash, then so be it. What Will Be begins as a primer for the early efforts of Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Incredible String Band, with Dev adopting a Marc Bolan warble and wandering down those whimsical paths first explored by Mike Heron and Robin Williamson. Nostalgia or nausea — take your pick. The opening Can't Help is Marc, Angelika is Mike and Robin, until it frisks into a Spanish coda. What follows encompasses some truly weedy faux-reggae and even worse lounge jazz. I considered doing some serious damage to my hi-fi, but others may be entranced. Relief finally appears in the shape of 16th & Valencia and Rats — the former an electric cha-cha, the latter almost raising the energy to be a rock song, albeit one put together in a remote cottage. Sadly, Maria Leonza, which follows, puts you straight back in the hammock. I am sure that Devendra Banhart is a lovely person, who wishes only the best for humanity and understands that yoghurt is a culture that should not be taken for granted. On the other hand, slightly barking mad hippy folk mysticism is not everyone's hand-fired bowl of exceptionally flatulent health food.
PETE CLARK

John Fogerty
The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again
(Verve Forecast/UMTV)
****
In 1972, John Fogerty disbanded the phenomenally successful Creedence Clearwater Revival and embarked upon a solo career a year later with a covers collection called The Blue Ridge Rangers. Just seven albums later, The Blue Ridge Rangers do indeed ride again, covering songs deep in the heart of the American songbook. Just to show how revered Fogerty is, the Eagles' Don Henley and Timothy B Schmit guest on a mesmerising version of Rick Nelson's barbed Garden Party and Bruce Springsteen pops up on a rip-roaring stomp through The Everly Brothers' When Will I Be Loved. As diversions go, it's most diverting.
JOHN AIZLEWOOD

Tegan and Sara
Sainthood
(Warner Bros)
***
Discovered by Neil Young as teenagers, Canadian twins Tegan and Sara Quin are now on their sixth album and their second for a major label. Though a real breakthrough hit has yet to surface, their cult is slowly expanding — they play Shepherd's Bush Empire on 13 November. Producer Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie gives a crispness to their spiky guitar pop, though it wouldn't have taken much effort in the studio to make their sibling harmonies interweave perfectly on tracks such as Someday. Elsewhere they veer from a punk pace on Hell to subtlety of Red Belt, which combines synths and acoustic guitars. Despite an obvious ear for melody, things never get too cosy. An awkward gem.
DAVID SMYTH

JAZZ
Abram Wilson
Life Paintings
(Dune)
****
The versatile Abram Wilson turned many heads when he performed as singer, actor, dancer, rapper, composer and all-round showman in his storming mini-musical, Ride! Now this dynamic New Orleans-born musician returns to his first love: jazz trumpet. Fronting a London quartet with Peter Edwards, Karl Rasheed-Abel and Graham Godfrey on piano, bass and drums, he unveils 10 classy originals with a lifestyle theme. Even Though You're Bad for Me and Kiss and Make Up are self-explanatory, as is Obama, a line which progresses through blues and military drumbeats to an appropriately bright, optimistic swing. Beautiful, fluent playing of all-new material.
JACK MASSARIK

WORLD
Rupa & the April Fishes
Este Mundo
(Cumbancha)
****
Rupa Mayra hails from San Francisco and this follow up to Rupa & the April Fishes' debut album, eXtraOrdinary Rendition, reflects that melting-pot city. If their debut reflected the Bush regime, Este Mundo seems to reflect the optimism of a new era. In a carnival of styles, French chanson meets Mexican brass and Jewish klezmer collides with Gypsy swing. It's all held together with Rupa's seductive vocals in French, Spanish and English — she was born of Punjabi parents and grew up in France. It's bound together with life-affirming verve, wry humour and stylish trumpet from her six-piece band. They play Cargo on 24 November.
SIMON BROUGHTON

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