EMOTIONAL

Trabant (album)

What's this? An album that's only 34 minutes long? I've got singles that run longer than that! Mind you, to be fair, it does grab your attention right from the off. Galloping horses followed by a two minute instrumental, aptly called Overture as it turns out. It all sounds very grand, sweeping and majestic, which is everything the next track (Maria) is not. Pretty much everything that wasn't in Overture is chucked in here, namely drums, guitars and a singer who sounds like he's having his limbs removed with the aid of almost, but not quite, the minimum required dose of anaesthetic. Those two tracks pretty much set the scene – you don't know what you're going to get from one track to the next. One minute they're funky, the next they're slowing things right down, and another they're almost going disco, all the time sounding like a heavy metal band that discovered keyboards and computers long before guitars – not that that's a bad thing, after all, how many other bands could you describe that way? And that's the thing, they do sound utterly unique, there's no getting away from it, but... one problem is that although there are ten tracks running for just 34 minutes in total, one or two tracks actually go on a bit longer than is necessary – Nasty Boy and I Love You Why? in particular. Another is that they're constantly threatening to go over the top, which is no bad thing as long as you know how far is too far, and the ending of Emotional Meltdown is just a bit too far. However, this isn't all bad news you know. Oh no, towards the end of the album there's a track called The One which hits the nail firmly on the head – it's pure electronic goodness, it doesn't do anything it shouldn't, it's not too long and quite rightly, it's out on single too. When it comes down to it though, this album may be short, but by heck it makes a change to the usual and more power to Trabant for that. If you get a chance to listen to them, you should, but personally, I can't work them out and do you know what, I can live with that. It's nice to occasionally come across a band that genuinely puzzles me.

A NEVER ENDING DREAM

Cascada

Good job this is only a song then, isn't it? Although, it has to be said, the three and a half minute running time literally crawls by. Trabant's music made me think, but as I was listening to this insipid flat-packed pop ditty I could feel my IQ steadily dropping. See, from the moment it started I knew exactly what was going to happen and where, so there weren't any surprises and certainly nothing to make it stand out. I would suggest disposing of the CD by way of a microwave, but I think that'd be letting it off lightly.

IT'S NOT OVER YET

Klaxons

Now, this is just plain weird. I remember the original (by Grace, of course), and this is almost nothing like it. Grace's version is one of those rare beasts, namely a dance track from years ago (well, 1995) that still stands up today. I don't know if this version'll stand the test of time, but it's a decent cover version in which the Klaxons take the song to one side and say, "Song, meet Mr Guitar and Mr Drumkit. I don't think you've met before, these are real instruments." I'll tell you what, hearing the main riff played by a guitar instead of a keyboard (or computer, I don't know how they did it originally) is pretty damned strange, but it works.

SHAME ON YOU

Andrea Corr

It's rather ironic that the Corrs were at their peak in the late nineties, because this sounds like the record company's waited since then to release this song. It's a similar dance/pop song that the Corrs used to put out until they released Irresistable and blew it big time, all very radio-friendly with only the singing to help it stand out. Not really worth the wait, it has to be said.