REVIEW: Ned's Atomic Dustbin, 0.522 (Sony, European Import)
- Martin Bate
Ned's Atomic Dustbin are now at a crossroads in their career. Of their contemporaries, The Wonder Stuff have called it a day, Pop Will Eat Itself have re-invented themselves to critical acclaim and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine have continued to plow the same old furrow to a dwindling fanbase. So where do the Neds go next ? The new album Brainbloodvolume is due out in the near future so that should answer the question, but in the meantime there's this cut-price compilation of all their non-album tracks (with the unfortunate exclusion of the classic single "Trust").This a full and very mixed bag - everything from the EP tracks that inhabited the early live sets to later dance remixes and one-off compilation cover-versions. There's even a couple of new songs in the shape of "Wirey" and "Perfectly Rounded". If these are anything to go by then the next album will see Ned's giving us pretty much more of the same. If that's the case, then mixed with the lack of press support, it looks as if there'll be little to tear 'the kids' away from their Oasis and Blur records. Ned's don't fit in as part of the shiny Brit-Pop explosion - they lack glamour - and the fickle UK press seem to have forgotten that Ned's once released a debut album that buzzed with hit-singles and live favourites just as Definitely Maybe did. Admittedly they spoilt things a little by going all grown up on us and coming back with a glossy, restrained second album but in retrospect that was still a great collection of guitar-pop songs.
The best stuff here is the early stuff where Ned's were taking elements of dour indie bands like The Cure and Joy Division and marrying them to a punk-pop buzz, topped off with Jonn's happy-sad comments on relationships. The fact that they looked and acted like 5 members of the audience was part of the attraction. Now you need a 2-piece suit and/or an arrogant demeanour to get praise.
What makes this collection patchy is the later material - the non- chronological order masks the point where the songs stopped being integral parts of EPs and live sets and start becoming B-Side filler. The cover versions, the lackluster "Saturday Night" and the dreadful techno attempt at "I've Never Been to Me", are best skipped and a good 25% of the rest is simply Neds-by-numbers. The techno remixes of "Intact" and "Not Sleeping Around" are OK though, even brave, given that they came at a time when your average guitar-pop fan saw anything with a dance beat as the enemy. And the orchestral re-working of "Cut Up" makes me smile every time.
In the end, if Sony releases this CD at the ultra-low price it enjoyed in the UK when released a few months ago, you can't go far wrong. Otherwise, it has to be said that it hangs together dreadfully as an album, and is really only essential if you're a fan trying to fill the gaps in your collection.
