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Reviews

St Thomas – Hey Harmony

Following the attention heaped upon 2002's lovely I'm Coming Home, Norway's most famous ex-postman Thomas Hansen began to wilt, preferring to "hide behind the beer". Straightened out and under the wing of producer Mark Nevers (Lambchop), Hey Harmony is the product of a frantic's week recording in Nashville, spotlighting the 26-year-old's Anglophilia and US country-folk leanings. Sort of Neil Young and Donovan tripping at The Wicker Man's solstice fest.

Outrageous Cherry – Supernatural Equinox

Since surfacing from the Detroit underground in 1993, Matthew Smith's outfit have trodden an ever tangential path with infuriating results. Touching all bases from garage rock through prog, psychedelia and beyond requires a deft touch that's often eluded them but, though this record still finds the ground shaking beneath their feet, it's probably their most assured to date.

Pole – Burnt Friedman & The Nu Dub Players

Pioneering German techno-dubsters relax rigorous approach to electronica

Sunn O))) – White1

Titanic ambient metal, featuring a declamatory Julian Cope

Skin – Fleshwounds

Skunk Anansie vocalist goes it alone

Inspiral Carpets – Cool As

Two CD'n'DVD best-of for the band Noel Gallagher once roadied for

Dave Brubeck – The Essential Dave Brubeck

Wide-ranging anthology selected by Brubeck himself

Various Artists – Required Etiquette

Classic frat-rock spanning 1964-66

Motel California

Killer whodunnit thriller couples smart noir with plenty of blood

The American Friend

Wim Wenders may be struggling to land a gig these days, but this 1977 noir thriller was his big-screen breakthrough. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel (and remade this month as Ripley's Game, see p145) it finds Dennis Hopper for once understated as art dealer Tom Ripley, who persuades dying Berliner Bruno Ganz to become a hitman.
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