"How could I have missed all this for so long?"
Fantastic article in the Guardian last week by their travel editor on his first ever visit to Blackpool.

"In the early evening, the Pleasure Beach was bathed in that wonderful light that only a west-facing coast can conjure up, tingeing the profiteroles at the White Tower restaurant orange." Beautiful.


--------------------------------------

Spellcnut 'Skool of Rock ' exam results for May 2005

Chromeo – She’s In Control - 5/10. Kept hearing tracks here and there (most memorably in a wee indie shop in Stockholm last autumn) and finally got the album. Several listens so far and it’s not gripped me. Maybe it’s a grower not a show-er.

The Departure – All Mapped Out - 5/10. Am I the only one who wants to slit the singer’s throat half way through so I don’t have to hear that ridiculous cockney accent? Short on tunes. Nice haircuts and jumpers though.

Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock ‘n’ Roll - 8/10. Strangely I don’t find the ridiculous cockney accent on this one annoying at all. The sarcastic lyrics lift this one out of the pub-rock bracket. They’re like a shouty Squeeze.

The Rakes – Singles and Xfm demos - 8/10. Loving this. Fast and fuming. These mad boys sing about stuff like city-job envy, blue balls and towns on the French/German border. Saw them at the Barfly last year and they made an unholy racket (in a bad way), hope they’ve tightened up since then.

The Engineers – 5/10. What’s all the fuss about? Nothing like My Bloody Valentine (unfortunately).

Vitalic – OK Cowboy – 9/10. French disco/electro/techno. Like Mylo? Get Vitalic!

The Cribs – The New Fellas - 8/10. First heard on the radio in the car on the way to Blackpool (spookily, two hours later, as we turned into our street, there was a Cribs poster on the wall advertising their gig in Preston last weekend). They’re from Yorkshire too (sworn enemy of Lancashire). Most likely to succeed.

Maximo Park – A Certain Trigger – 9/10. So what if they are riding The Futureheads coat-tails. This clever power-pop debut is chock-a-block with meaty tunes. Geordie smart-kids done good.