Mansun Little Kix [Parlophone / EMI; 2000] 6.8 Top Ten Things I Thought I'd Never See: 10. A Godspeed You Black Emperor! song under seven minutes in length 9. The advent of coprophilic pirate metal 8. An indie rock Gentle Giant tribute 7. Nude gymnasts (don't you think it's about time they lived up to the name?) 6. An Anal Cunt song over 1\xBD minutes in length 5. Bachmed, the Farsi-turned-Rastafarian baroque sitar player 4. Universal health care 3. Peace in the Middle East 2. An end to world hunger 1. Mansun releasing a pop/R&B; album Okay, so maybe not. But it's certainly up there with Bachmed on my list. After all, Mansun went from brooding glam-ish guitar rock on their 1997 debut, Attack of the Grey Lantern, to all-out prog song structures and abstrusities on the astonishing follow-up, Six. They haven't exactly been pointing the way to Little Kix. This isn't a 180. This isn't even a 90. This is almost shifting onto another plane of music. But that's not to say the shift is dramatic enough for comparisons to become meaningless. The band has expressed a taste for the Bee Gees, ABBA, and mid-'80s Prince, and this record is probably the result of such affinities. (大意:對Mansun從華麗搖滾-前衛搖滾到轉向八零年代流行樂的驚愕與肯定) All the same, not much of Little Kix could be classified as filler, even if two tracks-- "Fool" and "Goodbye"-- exhibit a slight dip in quality from the surrounding material. The band seems to be painting with muted colors, though, especially in contrast to the manic off-kilterness of Six. Perhaps this has something to do with the seeming disinterest of the band members backing frontman Paul Draper. Little Kix could, at times, be mistaken for a Draper solo album for all the effort the other guys appear to be investing. Guitarist Dominic Chad contributes some nice lead touches occasionally, but bassist Stove King and drummer Andie Rathbone seem content with just laying down a nice pocket. (大意:認為相反於Six,Little Kix說為Paul Draper的個人專輯也不為過) The album's largest detractor lies with its lyrics. The complete lack of irony prevents it from reaching its potential as a genuinely satisfying production. Sure, honesty and directness are nice and all, but with no bite, lines like, "We are the boys, think about nothing and/ We are the boys, boys have got feelings, too," fall flatter than the late Bill Hicks at this year's Republican National Convention. Everything is so amazingly darling and cliched. Even the chorus of "Soundtrack 4 2 Lovers," a fine ballad by any measure, could've been culled from the new age compilation, Pure Moods. (大意:認為Little Kix過於平淡且不痛不癢的歌詞是敗筆) If you're a real wonk for deep, original sentiments, Little Kix will probably wear like steel underwear. But as a collection of love-themed songs, the record has a lot to offer for listening in the car, boudoir, or singing in the shower. (大意:用輕鬆的一面去聆聽缺乏深度的Little Kix 其實亦有收穫) — Craig Griffith, August 14, 2000 ---------------------- 感覺向來尖銳冷僻的Pitchfork 對Mansun其實還蠻有愛的 之前也開玩笑說Paul Draper既然被NME傷的很深 那其實他的音樂聖經可以換成Pitchfork呀。 XD 而Pitchfork 對灰燈籠的樂評高達9.3分 可惜的是那一篇樂評不見了...>_< -- http://blog.pixnet.net/Gronkjaer --

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