Despite the release of two singles ‘Overrated’ and ‘Twist Of Fate’ (both included here), Ms Donaghy is probably still best known as the Sugababe who quit just as the band went massive. However, whereas the rest of the Sugababes have taken advantage of the split to make some of the most hook-ridden, catchy pop music of their career, Siobhan has made the decision to make what is being promoted as a more serious, mature album. Despite the production talents of Cameron McVey (Massive Attack, Portishead) and a clutch of young supporting musicians, her “fresh new direction” for the most part translates as sub-Dido indie-lite. Part of the problem is certainly the lyrics – clumsy rhymes and levels of wishy-washy abstraction last heard on Oasis’ ‘Be Here Now’ abound, along with risible non sequiturs such as “Here’s the paradox / We’re like presents all wrapped up” on obligatory anti-war number ‘Iodine’. In fact the only line to stand out first listen was “For every turd / There’s a turning point.” The fact that I was disappointed that I’d actually misheard a certain word (“turn”) in those lines says a lot about how much my interest was held. Musically she can certainly sing in a competent, ethereal, if non-distinctive way. McVey’s efforts, mostly drum machines, fine guitars with a dose of synths often add up to a pleasant enough track. If ‘Twist Of Fate’ (her most recent single, bordering on the engaging) left you wanting more though, you should beware as it’s the exception rather than the rule. Maybe one for those who have worn out their copy of ‘Life For Rent’ and like inoffensive pop-indie. Just don’t expect to be moved…ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

The 22-20s:05/03Out next week ‘05/03’ is a modern rarity: a live album that does full justice to a very good live act. From the first wails of feedback on the opening track, you know you’re in for a sizzling, full-fat rock feast. The vocals rasp and writhe, cutting deeper with each repetition; slide solos are executed with ear-splitting vigour, and the bass riffs are so slick that you half-expect to find Brylcreem oozing from the CD player. Take for instance ‘Such a Fool’, a 4-minute pounding of blues-rock gristle, which could easily be a passionate Starsailor. Except that it sounds good. Sure, there are a few quibbles. The endless riffs at times start to wear thin, while some of the lyrics seem painfully contrived. But these boys are young, and if this taster is anything to go by, it’s the White Stripes who should be getting worried and the general public who should be excited. 22-20s play The Zodiac, Oxford on 29 October.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003

Travis:12 MemoriesOut now After a promising start to their career, Travis have recently become much more of a poor man’s Coldplay. The uninspiring blend of overly soft melodies and Fran Healey’s wailing vocals that were once so refreshing are now out-dated, familiar and repetitive. Whereas a Travis album was once a ray of indie-pop sunshine breaking through the bleak Glasgow skyline, it is now a grey cloud looming on the horizon. Healey’s charisma seems to have evapourated over the years along with his creativity and Travis’ spark and it is this that they are lacking. ‘12 Memories’ is not a bad album. The catchy chorus and Dougie’s guitar line from recent single ‘Reoffender’ show Travis’ true talents whilst ‘Paperclips’ shows a darker side to Travis’ work. Listening to ‘12 Memories’ you cant help but feel Travis have been left behind. Where once they trod new ground, this follows the same track to unoffensive soft rock. A ‘nice’ album by a ‘nice’ band, but the vital ingredient, passion, is evidently missing.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Electric Six:Dance CommanderOut now You have to love Electric Six, only if for being Americans who actually understand irony. They can’t sing and can’t dance, but, unlike Christina Aguilera, they know it. They trade exclusively on chutzpah, surreal videos and priceless lyrics – “I’ve got something to put in you, at the Gay Bar, Gay Bar, Gay Bar” – pure genius. And so I expected great things of ‘Dance Commander’. I was mistaken. The vocals sound like those on Electric Six’s previous two singles – much earnest shouting by Dick Valentine who actually inserts the microphone into his mouth and, indeed, half-way down his windpipe. However, there’s no backing track to support this – the punchy electric guitar is in short supply. The song is about some kind of communist dance revolution, but I only know this from the press release, since the words are obliterated by a painful synth riff and boring drumming. Most disappointingly, though are the sub-standard lyrics; “You must have been a Dance Commander” just doesn’t equal “Danger Danger” as a chorus or a chat-up line. I was desperate to like this single, but I just can’t do it. Send Electric Six back to the Gay Bar and go listen to The Darkness.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Desert Sessions: Feat. Josh Homme/PJ Harvey Out 3 November Desert Sessions are booked to appear on Later With Jools Holland this year. Can you imagine? Former Marilyn Manson guitarist Twiggy Ramirez, Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, angst queen PJ Harvey… and the uber-shifty Jools cowering uncomfortably in the corner. It’s quite a line-up, but there’s something about ‘Crawl Home’ that doesn’t quite work. The fat, crunching bassline is delicious, as are the insistent, nagging hooks that drive QOTSA’s often overrated stoner rock, but in the absence of a memorable melody, Homme’s falsetto chorus feels extraneous to Harvey’s superior presence. She’s on top form here, all steely sexuality (nicely demonstrated by some urgent orgasmic moaning) and metallic sheen, but ultimately ‘Crawl Home’ veers uncertainly between a storming QOTSA rock-out and a pummelling Harvey track. Still, even Jools can’t possibly play boogie piano on this, and for that we should all be grateful.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Sophie Ellis-BextorMixed up WorldOut now The cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s new single features bright primary colours and lettering that smacks of the over-enthusiastic eighties revival that’s been doing the rounds lately. That would be bad enough on its own. However, start listening to the track itself, and what you get is a fairly nondescript song that wouldn’t be out of place on her last album, overlaid with synthesizer stabbings and vocal sampling that screams ‘Human League rip-off’. Still, this is not necessarily a bad thing; Mixed Up World is the perfect song for dancing around one’s room in pants and hair rollers. If that is your sort of thing, buy this record. If not, save your money. That said, the B-side features the talents of ex-Suede man Bernard Butler, and is really rather good. Tell yourself that’s why you’re spending your £1.99.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

I’ve waited three years for this to happen; the sainted Arab Strap, on the hallowed ground of the Zodiac. Sadly, Messrs. Moffat and Middleton’s (undeserved) reputation for inconsistent live shows must have reached Oxford; the room’s only half full. The Strap walk on to a decidedly muted reception, and I find myself wondering if this lot’d bother to cheer the resurrected Elvis. Never underestimate people who know you can have a good time in Falkirk; without breaking a sweat, Arab Strap conquer Oxford, and make a 6’4 failed boxer weep. The band tonight is the biggest stage setup yet seen at an Arab Strap gig; the two core members are joined by a string section and three-piece backing band. The sound’s somewhere between the bludgeoning attack of their first live album and the ‘post-folk’ acoustics of their latest. ‘Fucking Little Bastards’ is like Concorde landing on your face; ‘Who Named the Days?’, the sound of male unity in the face of the world, both gentle and majestic, musical Hemingway for modern men; the reworked ‘Here We Go’, unimpeachably brilliant, the strings never threatening to over-sweeten the pill. There are no duds in the set. Aidan does his Elvis impersonation, has a conversation with someone in the crowd, requests good reviews, accepts a few free drinks. The band walk off, leaving Malcolm and Aidan alone on stage, asking for requests. They play ‘Pro-(your) life’, presenting the male side of abortion with an eloquence and nobility to persuade the Pope. The emotional exhaustion, confusion and regret that seep from the song reduce your hard-hearted reviewer to mush. Afterwards, I meet them and shake hands; they go back to move their own amps. There’s no justice for the best band in Christendom; Turin Brakes get roadies..ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

This week’s comments from Lord Butler in favour of privatisation, and the ‘coincidental’ publication of the details of a report by the New College Bursar that purports to demonstrate the feasibility of rejecting state funding and control, might appear to signal a departure in the debate on Higher Education funding. However to accept them as such would be to exaggerate their importance. They should be taken in the context of attempts by all interested parties to set the tone of discussions. Given the hostile reception the government’s proposals for topup fees are receiving, we are hearing alternative proposals from all sides. What is perhaps more worrying than Lord Butler’s stance, is Charles Clarke’s refusal to contemplate defeat for his bill and listen to some of the alternative schemes for reform which are being put forward. The joint OUSU/CUSO (the Oxbridge student unions) “Alternative White Paper” is intended to point out that other options do exist and that doors should not be closed unnecessarily on policy solutions. These calls for privatisation, follow similiar, if less elequent, comments from Professor Michael Sterling, the Chair of the Russell Group of top universities, claiming that privatisation would be “plan B” should topup fees fail to be implemented. Such statements add up to a disparate campaign by parties with vested interest in the Higher Education sector to scare the backbenchers currently set in opposition to top-up fees, and encourage them to pass the bill as the lesser of two evils. Yet both the Government and the universities’ proposals still fail to recognize the voice of student bodies which seek to retain a Higher Education system in which any student, irrespective of financial concerns may study at the university of their choice. While Lord Butler is keen to stress that many students would be willing to pay more for an Oxford education, there are some that are not. The Ivy League system undoubtedly releases universities from financial burden, but it precludes many students from the choice that we continue to enjoy. We should not allow these scare tactics to succeed.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003