04/00 music 365

review from www.music365.co.uk

ANIMALHOUSE
Small (Boilerhouse)

Animalhouse boast in their ranks the other one from Ride that wasn't Andy Bell and who isn't now gritting his teeth and thinking about the money everytime Noel thrusts the rejigged chord sequence to 'Dear Prudence' into his face with a triumphant thwack. Mark Gardener was the doe-eyed troll who screwed his eyes shut every time he sang, which was no bad thing as, most of the time, his voice was flatter than a Thai lady boy. Ride spoke of Vapour Trails and Driving Blind and their music was as suitably flatulent and out of focus as that suggests. Animalhouse, though, are pretty fucking good. Sleazy, powerpop with a bossanova middle-eight that erupts into a flurry of drums and Kojak police-sirens, there's more going on here in 31 short minutes than the in the entire sum of anything else Gardener's ever lent his name to. Someone's obviously been eating his greens and got all muscley. ***(out of five)

billie swift

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