Baxendale

Reviews

Tina Dreams (7") Les Disques Riviera
After the disappointment of their rather weak Summer Of Hate collaboration with Ricky Spontane, Tina Dreams puts Baxendale firmly back on course for the pop deity status that they richly deserve. The drum machine thumps merrily, the guitars chime quietly, the keyboards widdle in all the right places, and the melody soars as Tim lies back on the couch and tells us about his dreams, dreams of Tina, perhaps even dreams of Tina from S Club 7. And the diagnosis? Yes, its sheer madness, but its madness wrapped in seven inches of pop perfection. Hurrah! As if one pop masterpiece were not enough, they go and cover a Geri Halliwell single on the b-side! Translated into Spanish! Why? Who cares? It's fantastic!

You Will Have Your Revenge (CD) Le Grand Magistery
Baxendale's long awaited debut LP is chock full of the sort of tunes that have led many people, myself included, to declare them to be the future of pop. Over the years there have been many indie friendly bands that have dabbled with "pop", but unlike their forebears Baxendale are refreshingly unironic - at last this is an indie band that genuinely loves pop music. Many of the songs on You Will Have Your Revenge have previously appeared elsewhere in one form or another, though several have been re-recorded or remixed for this release, and there are enough new songs here to arouse the interest of the established fan. All in all, the record makes for an excellent introduction to Baxendale, but given that it contains most of the tracks from the band's singles, it is a shame that the fantastic An American Friend has not been included too. The Grand Magistery release has four extra tracks that do not appear on the UK release, including the fabulous You Know The Rules, so it's worth getting the US version if you can.