Leo Abrahams - The Unrest Cure

Session guitarist Leo Abrahams has worked with the likes of Brian Eno, Ed Harcourt, David Holmes, Starsailor and Thirteen Senses but his solo albums have never really made much of an impression on the market. The main problem with Abrahams's solo career is that his albums have been quite obtuse, and The Unrest Cure is no different. It may have KT Tunstall on it, but this is challenging music to say the least and the rest of the guestlist certainly proves that, with Kari Kleiv, Bingo Gazingo, Pati Yong, Merz, Phoebe Legere, Foy Vance and Ed Harcourt, along with Eno. Albums where the artist is in the background to a load of guest vocalists are always difficult to categorise because each guest brings a lot of themselves to each song. The main risk with albums like this though is that they can be very inconsistent by their nature, because the quality levels can depend on who is performing on each song and dependent on the tastes of the listeners. How many KT Tunstall fans would want to listen to this? How many Brian Eno fans would want to own something featuring Ms Tunstall? Fortunately, Abrahams has put together quite a cohesive collection here, all tied together by his very cinematic approach to music, having worked on a few soundtracks this clearly comes through on The Unrest Cure, particularly on the instrumental tracks. The rest of it is sometimes weighed down by unwieldy and portentous lyrics, but for those prepared to make the effort, Abrahams has produced an album that is full of great music and it is certainly different, particularly 2000 Years From Now, featuring elderly American poet Bingo Gazingo. It's the highlight of the whole record because Abrahams gives it a memorable backing score and Gazingo's voice is so unique and entertaining. The rest of it doesn't quite live up to that, but there's plenty to enjoy.

Mexicolas - X

Nine Black Alps and The Zico Chain are two bands who seem to have been inspired by rock bands from the early to mid 90s rather than any of the predominant rock trends in the last few years, and Mexicolas certainly fit into the same small group. Certainly their press release places them somewhere between Green Day and Stone Temple Pilots and vocalist Jamie Evans has got a voice that is very similar to Scott Weiland with a hint of Chris Cornell at times. Hailing from the UK's rock heartland, Birmingham, Mexicolas do what they do very well, without every really hitting the creative heights of the bands who inspired them, and X is a very credible debut album. Two of the most immediate tracks are obviously the singles Shame and Come Clean, both of which are cracking rock songs, while Big In Japan is surely a certainty to follow in being released with its memorable chorus and biting lyrics. What is most impressive about X is that it's remarkably consistent, certainly more so than the Zico Chain album or Nine Black Alps' latest effort, and only the overblown power-ballad bluster of Times Infinity doesn't really work. But a time when Velvet Revolver are soon to tour the UK with a very similar style of rock music, there's certainly a market for Mexicolas if they get the right kind of exposure, and this debut album is a good step in the right direction.