Reviews roundup – Hion Martell vs. Tone Indbryn vs. The Rolling Stones vs. Poil

Reviews roundup – Hion Martell vs. Tone Indbryn vs. The Rolling Stones vs. Poil

HION MARTELL
Riffs In A Box
Viskningar

Back in the summer, I leant an ear to “No More Hard Times”, a single from Swedish rockers Hion Martell.  I said “if you like things a wee bit Quo and a wee bit Stones, then this is very much your thing.  One for the seventies rock fans.”

And now that the album is upon us, you can multiply that by twelve.  As befits a band who stuttered into life a long time ago, before grinding to a halt, then regurgutating into the new century, their licks are old but well preserved.  When they’re not being Quo or the Stones, they’re throwing some Allman meets Skynyrd shapes across tunes like ‘Straight Shooter’, ‘Devil In A Dress’, ‘High On Martell’ and ‘Turn It Down’.

They do stretch out in places, with ‘Forest Trails And City Street’ getting all grandiose, but when they stick to rocking like bastards, then they, um, rock like bastards.  Music like it was when I were a lad, this was an enjoyable listen from start to finish.

TONE INDBRYN
Songs From The Red Phone
independent

Off to the Canadian colonies now for some folky, singer songwritery type stuff from Ms Indbryn, who has been doing this sort of thing for a couple of decades now.

Now I’m easily confused, because although the credits refer to this, this seems to be a collaboration with one Phil Krawczuk, a producer, composer and musician.  But I don’t know what he’s done, as this is a promo CD.  So let’s assume he’s done a good job, because it’s a pretty good record.

Now it’s not my cup of tea, but Ms Indbryn is a self declared poet, so people who like to listen carefully to the words will doubtless find layers of meaning that my rock and roll ears are ill equipped for.  From what I could gather, though, she sticks to the tried and trusted template of inner dialogue and grand gesture.  Musically, there is an excellent mid section which takes in ‘Beautiful Man’, ‘Do You Love Me So Much’, ‘I Just Wanna Be With You’ and ‘Vampire Man’, and makes the whole endeavour more than worthwhile.

THE ROLLING STONES
From The Vault – Hampton Coliseum – Live in 1981
Eagle Vision

The Rolling Stones must be feeling the pinch, because this is the first in a series of live concerts from The Rolling Stones archive which are getting their first official release.

This is an interesting one for me, because one of the two times I saw the Rolling Stones live was on the “Tattoo You” tour, which this documents.  The most successful tour of 1981 saw them reeling in $50 million dollars in ticket sales on a US tour, and this show in Hampton, Virginia was the first ever music concert to be broadcast on television as a pay-per-view event.

And it does show the Stones having a last hurrah before they turned into their own tribute band.  With a good new album to promote, their were plenty of new songs to play, and Jagger was still at his strutting best while Keef Richard(s) celebrated his birthday by hitting a stage invader around the head with his guitar during ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’.  Happy days.  One for the Hion Martell fans.

POIL
Brossaklitt
independent

Finally, for today, we’re off to French France for some art rock.  Now that will have cleared a lot of the room, bearing in mind that the French do music the way the Italians do personal hygiene.  But if there are any art rock fans left, then Antoine Arnera (keyboards & vocals), Boris Cassone (bass, guitar, vocals) and Guilhem Meier (drums, vocals) may be right up your street.

The band say their sound is “the combined raw madness and virtuosity evoking thoughts of avantgarde-progressive basis like Frank Zappa, classic essence like Frederic Chopin or Igor Stravinsky, and theatrical approaches like Charlie Chaplin”. Which seems to involve swearing in French whilst sounding like mid period Zappa.

But if that’s your bag, then you may want to set ten minutes aside to listen to opening track ‘Fionosphère’, and who knows, it may be your new favourite thing.