In the first part of our A2A roundup, our review team looked at 3 of the CDs we were handed by bands at the event in Amsterdam, 2001. Over the next few weeks, we will also be taking an in depth look at a few of our favourite bands from the artists we were lucky enough to catch live at A2A.
For this second roundup, we have been listening to more of the CDs from A2A and have picked out three more which we would like to share with you:
Antje, "Simply being Cleopatra": KlubKat was lucky enough to attend the Big Fish-Little Fish showcase at A2A, where we were treated to a selection of emerging music from women in Chicago - much of which impressed us as you will have gathered from our recent review of Joy Eden Harrison. On the night, Antje was standing in as one of the backing singings, and so for this CD review we have the added bonus of having listened to her live.
We were highly impressed with the way Antje brought herself across on the stage, even without being the main act, and were glad to have an opportunity to listen to "Simply being Cleopatra" and to gauge her versatility as a solo artist. There are 12 tracks here, all original pieces with very prominent traditional guitar playing and with their own unique style. The music is certainly very American in style, and would be right at home in a small town music club where the artist sets up in the corner with guitar and amplifier - just how the Beatles began, in fact!
The cover track has definite overtones of Kate Bush, which I'm sure will have people either rushing out to buy the album or running for cover - the best way to describe the album is as pleasant background music, certainly a worthwhile addition to any decently sized CD collection. We like it. "Simply being Cleopatra" makes a pleasant change from the generally heavy sounds of today's charts - probably a wider audience for this sort of thing exists in America than the UK, but it's only a matter of time before something gets done about this!!!
http://www.sweetpicklemusic.com
Ritual, "Superb Birth": With a CD cover which looks as though it was drawn by a 5 year old, we really weren't sure what we were going to make of this one. Then we slipped the little silver disk into the player and all our doubts vanished!
Ritual remind us of 12 years ago - Genesis, Aerosmith and the like. They are good at what they do, and we would find it difficult to criticise the guitar riffs or drumwork displayed here, but unfortunately this is a niche market nowadays and Ritual is nothing groundbreaking.
Several of the KlubKat review team are established fans of this genre, and were not disappointed by this offering. However, there is nothing here to move the genre forward - so if you can remember the happy days of the eighties then by all means add this CD to your collection (you shouldn't be disappointed), but if you're looking for something a little more groundbreaking then you may be better off looking elsewhere.
http://www.ritual.nu
Real People, "Say no More": Hmmm, we're not altogether sure whether the band is called "Real People" and the album "Say no More" or the other way around - it doesn't seem to be obvious from any of the text on the cover. Perhaps the words "Say no More" are a reference to the famous Monty Python sketch, and then again they may be a cryptic pointer to the unsubtle choice of album cover which appears to show a baby in the womb with a ring of sperm swimming towards it!!!
Either way, it's the music that counts here - not the warped minds of the band! The first reference that comes to mind is Evan Dando from the Lemonheads. The vocalists and musicians here seem to be more than capable of keeping up with each other, a rare treat when the sounds gets as manic as it does here on occasions!
The lead singer delivers a great, powerful voice which doesn't let you down. We are more than happy with this one and recommend it strongly to fans of the style - but why don't the band have their own web site?
http://www.henderson-records.com
