However, the songs Angel has written, and, in the main, performed for this here Transparent Dayze EP don’t bear too much relation to that


particular group. Instead, what Senor Kaplan offers


up are wistful, heartfelt vocals alongside ringing acoustic and electric guitar tones, for these sad-faced, elegant little tapestries. You can easily imagine characters from a forgotten time (un)happily going about their daily business.


Tastefully augmented by all


manner of instrumentation: trumpet on great Byrdsy opener ‘Broken Toys’; viola, xylophone, and Mike Mariconda’s lap-steel (the truly melancholy ‘Time Will Be Gone So Fast’) also make an appearance. The choice of songs, coupled with the warmth of the Circo Perrotti production are a breath of pure fresh air; Los Vidrios Quebrados and We All Together have certain songs that can also make you feel the same way. This old-fashioned style six-song


12” vinyl EP is already a modern classic in my book. Lenny Helsing


LIGHTNING BEAT-MAN Lightning Beat-Man & His No Talent Voodoo Rhythm CD www.voodoorhythm.com


This kind of no-fi rock’n’roll is certainly not for the faint of heart. Here for your perverse delectation are 19 tracks of terminally


frustrated rat-fink abuse mangled on the three or so chords Beatman knows on his outta-tune guitar. His wail and scream akin to a cat trapped in a lift full of weasels.


Aside from a few less brutal


tracks, ‘Honey Baby Blues’, ‘Wrestling Rock ‘n’ Roll Girl’, and perhaps best of all, ‘Wrestling With Satan’ – I sense a theme here – Switzerland’s Lightning Beatman tries real hard to shock, but doesn’t really come anywhere close to the mad genius of similar-style practioners of old like say Jack Starr, or the mighty Hasil Adkins, but then huh so what you can argue. This particular brand of no-talent takes some nerve (or Swiss courage) to get up and perform it; mind you LB does cover his face with a Mexican mask onstage, but ultimately I’d say this probably works better trashed at some punk rock‘n’roll show somewhere or other, rather than a cosy listen at home. Lenny Helsing


THE MAKEOUT PARTY! Play Pretend Not Lame www.notlame.com Back in the ’80s, a handful of British Mork


74


(get out your Cockney dictionaries) bands, more often than not signed to Rough Trade or Sarah Records, had a wonderful habit of reworking


the most affable aspects of ’60s pop groups into styles like the ones found on Play Pretend.


Although in this instance, The


Makeout Party! are thankfully a little more genuine given that they hail from none other than Anaheim: home of great institutions such as Disneyland and the general surf.


This debut finds four kids who’ve


clearly done their homework and sound about as great as everyone wishes they could feel. Knocking out two minute-tops pop ditties with names like ‘My Birthday Suit’ and ‘Raspberries’; the former a catchy- whistle-whether-you-want-to-or-not garage turn and the latter a reason to call them a band for all seasons. Although whether they prefer Jan


& Dean to the The Sea Urchins I have no clue… Mork. Mork and Mindy. Indie, by the Way.


Richard S Jones


THE OTHER GUYS The Beat Block Club Sessions Larsen LP www.larsen.asso.fr


It’s good to know that an


endangered musical species is still thriving in parts of Europe. Like their British counterparts The Rapiers, France’s


The Other Guys live and breathe early ’60s beat. They have the guitars, the clothes, the LP sleeve design and the moves. Crucially, they also have the musical chops to be convincing. Everything is driven by a Ringo-style backbeat, and the three part vocals are well arranged on songs like ‘That’s My Girl’ and ‘I Won’t Give You More’. Two short instrumentals, ‘Cry For A Shadow’ and ‘Amazone Twist’ really swing.


Several competent covers


(‘Peanut Butter’ anyone?) probably go down well on stage, but the band originals are more satisfying. At least, I presume the tunes I don’t know are originals, as no song credits are given. Whilst not breaking any new ground, Kaisers and Rapiers fans will enjoy this. Phil Suggitt


THE QUARTER AFTER Changes Near The Committee To Keep Music Evil CD www.thecommitteetokeepmusicevil.com Brothers Dominic and Robert Campanella pop up, Zelig-like, all over the tangled fabric of South California guitar pop. As well as fronting The Quarter After they’re tied to, er, The Tyde, The Brian


Jonestown Massacre, Beachwood Sparks, The Warlocks and countless other Cuban heeled, Ricky-wielding purveyors of


retrodelia, LA model. Their second outing finds them


mining the same holy grail of Byrds and Rain Parade that coloured their debut, although this time there’s a whole lot more oomph, both in the production and in the playing, particularly that of newly installed drummer Nelson Bragg – another man who can lay claim to being in 20 bands at any given time.


At times Dominic’s


McGuinn/Clark vocal mannerisms are uncanny but ultimately distract too much from the songs – I’d like to hear him sound like himself a little more, even when the material does sound like it came straight off Fifth Dimension or Roadmaster. When the band is really firing on all cylinders – as they do on several slices of backwards tape- strewn psych jangle here – they could be the best Sunset Strip folk-rock act of the century. Andy Morten


MICHAELRAULT Crash Boom Bang! Chickadee Recordings, CDR EP www.myspace.com/michaelrault


Canadian garage guitarist/ songwriter Rault, applies his teen spirit to the blues and successfully marries Jack White to RL Burnside in the


process. There are three respectably delivered covers, but it’s the five originals that really count. Chief amongst these are the catchy


and riffy ‘Sidewinder’ and the most hum worthy ‘I Want You For Mine’, which is a great power pop number in formative mode here. ‘Paranoia Paint Box’ would be it’s double A-side if it were a 45. He may only be 19 but he has a


genuine talent that deserves nurturing. Help by visiting him on his Myspace page. Paul Martin


WINDY& CARL Songs For The Broken Hearted Kranky CD www.kranky.net


In the early-to- mid ‘90s an explosion of space rock sounds emerged from the indie


underground. Acts like Bowery Electric,


Jessamine, Labradford, and Flying Saucer Attack, et al, used the dronier work of Krautrock bands, My Bloody Valentine, and


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