09/00 - uncut magazine

the animalhouse

ready to receive

boilerhouse!

patchy debut lp from band comprised of ex-ride personnel

when ride disbanded five years ago, it was guitarist andy bell who immediately stepped back into the limelight, first with the ill-fated hurricane #1 and then as the bassist for oasis.

but while he's been pursuing his noelrock dream, his former band mates (vocalist/guitarist mark gardener and drummer laurence 'loz' colbert) have quietly regrouped with ex-supergrass producer sam williams to form the rather different animalhouse.

the idea is obviously to create an utterly contemporary rock'n'roll group. the only problem is that the way they go about it (liberal smears of scratching, keyboard loops and fuzzed guitars) is all rather 1994. songs titled 'sodium glow' and 'spacetrash' show that shoegazers never die, while their attempts at attitude (" i wasn't looking for a perfect life/just a girl with a dirty smile") don't really ring true.

one the plus side, nothing here sounds like an oasis b-side. unfortunately, that in itself isn't enough.

james oldham

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