NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN: Nothing Is Cool (Furtive/Sony Video £9.99)
CRIMPED FRINGES swish like tattered curtains in a typhoon. Guitarists
quake, shock victims of bad wiring. The sound of a battalion of supercharged
hoovers buzzes through track after track after track.
Nothing Is Cool is a wobbly, disorganised spin around
and about Britain's grubbiest teen sensations. A raucous pile-up of
live footage, promo videos, interviews, ropey animation and general
on-the-road malarkey. On the way we learn that Holland is flat, snow
is cold and touring is a bit repetitive . . .
... So no real insights there. But then again, you get the impression
that's the last thing anyone wants from the band; sweaty celebrations
and laddish silliness are much more the order of the day. The live clips,
which take up most of the 47 minutes, are energetic enough but never
really involving. It's just too fragmentary; two songs in the same venue
never follow on without some interruption, some endless shot of a wet
road from a bus window. Plus there's not enough of the fanatical audiences
to bolster the atmosphere.
'Terminally Groovie' is likeably raucous, and the drab rumble of 'Until
You Find Out' is enlivened by the spectacle of the band drowning in
Crystal Palace swimming baths. 'Happy', miles and away the strongest
song, is also blessed with the best video; a collage of the most interesting
bits from the preceding 11 tracks. Nothing here will win Ned's Atomic
Dustbin any new fans, but then when has a video ever managed that?
John Mulvey