Wishville

Melody Maker - 3 stars out of 5 - "...They're tattered denim charm and soggy Bizkit guitars will tickle the reddest of necks..." Q - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Crammed with sturdy, radio-friendly 4-square rock anthems....Solid fare..." CMJ - "...[Their] sleek, modern-pop...plumbs notions of delusion, redemption, self-loathing and ambivalence....amounting to a brainy, brawny stare-down of the human condition....WISHVILLE is a gem that might catch some light."

In a rare switch, the U.K. release of these English greats' fifth LP came out half-a-year after the American one. Wishville's issue in Catherine Wheel's home country comes with a limited edition second CD of eight songs recorded live at New York Bowery Ballroom, July 11! At the risk of ticking off a die-hard U.S. fanbase by asking it to blow another $25-$30 for a studio LP most already own(!), this live CD is nearly a must. Like the 1991 Bath Moles gig that contributed a number of early B-sides, this Summer Bowery show is an unqualified stormer, a full 45 minutes captured like a puma in a cage. You know it right from track one: "Lifeline" doubles the impact of the harrowing Wishville version, laying Rob Dickinson's excruciating 1999 writers' block-addled anguish open like a slit wrist. His tormented delivery on top of his super-lacerating guitar scratches and Brian Futter's insane leads dwarf the studio version. This track alone makes the prohibitive import expenditure worth it, but the rest is also turbo-charged, and nearly as searing. "Crank," "Little Muscle" and (best of all) the rare "Balloon" EP B-side "Intravenous" are dense as the fog at the bottom of Niagara Falls, and as hammering and vicious as an electric saw. On the other side, the ambient-hushed torch-lit Chrome mood-grabber "Fripp," gripping-plaintive epic "Future Boy" and an anthemic "Heal" prove that new bassist Ben Ellis forms an impressive, flexible rhythm section with ace drummer Neil Sims. The unaccredited live keyboards are a plus, too. The lone minus is the backing vocals of Geneva's overdramatic Andrew Montgomery on an otherwise sweet "Ma Solituda." Otherwise, this is three quarters of an hour of live nirvana, from a wickedly great stage act. ~ Jack Rabid|