21st August - Jane's Addiction's Ritual de lo habitual

Artist - Album: Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo habitual
Released: 21st August 1991
Sounds like: The drugs don't work

Ok, so I know I'm way behind the curve here, but I have just discovered Breaking Bad. Without any TV or internet yet set up in the new flat, my flatmate and I have resorted to gorging on each other's not insubstantial DVD collections. On Sunday I watched both main series' of Alan Partridge, Monday was spent with the second edition of Blackadder, whilst in the last twenty four hours I have demolished the entire first season of Breaking Bad. It's awesome. With writing comparably to that holy grail of television, The Soprano's, the show excellently intrigues and, if I may say so, makes being a Chemistry teacher - and, yes, a drug dealer - unquestionably cool.

Luckily, today's album has come around just in time to remind me that drugs are bad, mmmkay. Although not necessarily chemistry teachers. The second half of Jane's Addiction's Ritual de lo habitual is dedicated to a close friend of Perry Farrell's Xiola Blue, who died of a heroin overdose aged 19. Blue was a beautiful young girl who the band adored, and they were clearly deeply affected by her accidental death. If that's not enough to put you off drugs, then 'Three Days' and 'Then She Did...', the glorious but sprawling and overlong epics devoted to her, just might.

Don't go thinking this is an album composed entirely of ten minute proggy jams though. The first half is fantastically funky metal rock - 'Stop' and 'Been Caught Stealing' are both excellent - and keeps the whole thing fresh. Explosive!

Analbumaday... rating: 8/10

1. Stop! - 4:14
2. No One's Leaving - 3:01
3. Ain't No Right - 3:34
4. Obvious - 5:55
5. Been Caught Stealing - 3:34
6. Three Days - 10:48
7. Then She Did... - 8:18
8. Of Course - 7:02
9. Classic Girl - 5:07

Listen to 'Been Caught Stealing': www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpRpt0ynnfA

Also released on 21st August:

1997: Oasis - Be Here Now

Also released on 21st August:

2006: The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely

Also released on 21st August:

2007: The New Pornographers - Challengers

29th June - Drain S.T.H.'s Freaks of Nature

Artist – Album: Drain S.T.H. – Freaks of Nature

Released:  29^th June 1999

Sounds Like: The Corrs if they were a Swedish metal band

Ah man, I thought I’d left the days of forcing myself to listen to some European metal band far behind me. However, after a month in which the standard of the albums has steadily declined, I’ve been left with a choice between two albums of questionable quality. Lootpack’s Soundpieces: Da Antidote has its moments (naturally, it comes courtesy of the excellent and prolific Madlib), but with 24 tracks it is waayyy too long, and I was honestly bored less than halfway through. The alternative though, is Drain S.T.H., a Swedish all female metal band, that are critically acclaimed but surely, surely, are shit (just look at that album cover – it’s like a vampire Dixie Chicks). I found myself facing the anti-Sophie’s Choice – I want desperately to destroy them both but I must decide which one will be kept alive by virtue of a blog post.

I surprised even myself for plumping with the girly rockers but, to be fair, their effort is a lot better than I had assumed. I say that in a relative sense, I mean, I wouldn’t think to give record a spin again unless multiple guns were pointed at my head, but it’s not half bad. Their particular brand of metal is grungey and accessible, having more in common with Alice in Chains than Slayer, and the vocals have enough of an edge to justify the hard rock behind them – more like Courtney Love in Hole than Evanescence.

The one huge stinker, ‘Simon Says’, is a rap metal clash, that presumably was only ever put down as that type of Limp Bizkit-y rubbish was in vogue back around the turn of the millennium. In truth though, it’s so horrific that it’s actually quite entertaining and so it doesn’t make you want to run a mile as it probably should.

Please note, in absolutely, positively, blinking no way am I recommending this album, but, you know, it ain’t that bad...

Albumaday... rating: 5/10

1.       Enter My Mind – 3:13

2.       Alive – 3:35

3.       Simon Says – 4:10

4.       I Wish... – 4:40

5.       Black – 4:07

6.       Crave – 4:21

7.       The Bubble Song – 3:28

8.       Right Through You – 4:04

9.       Leech – 4:14

10.   Get Inside – 3:23

11.   I Will Follow – 3:40

Listen to ‘I Wish...’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_BwbvLi6_Y

Also released on the 29^th June:

1999: Lootpack – Soundpieces: Da Antidote!