The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Well, last night I trekked over to Southpaw to check out two bands previewing material from forthcoming albums. One of them was quite good, the other not so. The Good- the Essex Green. The Bad- Isobel Campbell. The Ugly, by-the-way, is the sound at Southpaw these days. It used to be so excellent but the last three shows I've seen there opened with either some sound mishap, the monitor levels sucking for the band or, in he case of last night, everything coming out a bit to bassy.

We actually previewed the new record from the Essex Green, entitled Cannibal Sea, back in February. The set last night consisted mostly of the new material and it was delicious power pop from sea to shiny sea. The album drops next Tuesday.

Isobell was not my cup of tea. While I enjoyed some of the tracks she recorded with Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan for her new album, I found tonight to be an absolute snorefest. (Lanegan is not actually touring and has been replaced by Eugene Kelley, formerly of The Vaselines, for the duetting material.) Of course maybe it was just me, as she played to a rapt sold-out crowd. Personally, I felt you could barely even hear her under the snare drum and accoustic guitars- that's pretty damn quiet!