BIG JESUS TRASHCAN FROM HELL
NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN
God Fodder
FURTIVE 468112/MC/CD
NAMES ARE important. Nova Mob -there's a name. The Fall, Miracle Legion,
Volcano Suns...all storming band names. 'Atomic' is a good word to have
in a name. 'Ned' is not. 'Dustbin' is right out. But Ned's Atomic Dustbin
are about to be very big indeed, so they're saddled.
But that's about the only problem they have, because 'God Fodder' is
a blinder - 13 songs that range from the oddly pleasing to the tooth-rattlingly
ecstatic.
True, there's something of The Wonder Stuff in them (Jessica Corcoran,
who diddled about with the knobs on 'Hup', co-produces with the band)
but everything that has been said of that band is true of the Neds.
They are a pop band in some kind of special, beautiful hell.
What noise. Not content with the accepted roles of their instruments,
they make everything sing along, and the result is that each song is
just one big, complex, timeless melody. Add to that guitars which hop
back and forth between power chords and fine, needling precision playing,
and you've got a band, and an album, that doesn't know how to be boring.
'Kill Your Television' opens it up with some groovily aggressive words
from Jonn (apparently the band are opposed to last names) and an all-out
attack on at least two senses (one of which we may not even know about
yet).
There's a moment on 'Less Than Useful' when they begin to sound like
early Big Country, and 'Grey Cell Green' tips the cap to the semi-legendary
Pylon with its simplistic, resounding bass before transforming back
(some feat) into the band.
Otherwise, it's all very simple, leaving little to talk about. The words
'passionate', 'angry' and 'spirited' could be applied, if they weren't
redundant.
Ned's Atomic Dustbin give it their all, they're right in every song,
up to their foreheads in it. 'Capital Letters' is the sound of total
involvement, total synthesis. 'Happy', their single, you know about.
'Nothing Like' and 'Your Complex' are madly, joyously depressed.
Call them what you want, but the Neds are a true band right down to
their tippy-toes.
This is a pretty massive album. Fodd of the Gods.
[•][•][•][•][ ] GRAHAM LINEMAN