The Blue Aeroplanes Title: Life Model Label: Beggars Banquet/Atlantic This has got some overly poppy stuff on the first two tracks, before it goes off into a slower, darker, sparser direction based on male vocals that hover between sung, spoken and whispered, with just a touch of a British accent and you know what? This is pretty good. 1. 3:16 "Broken & Mended" - Fast poppy, upbeat. Lyrics are a little better than they sound at first... 2. 4:13 "(I'm a) Smart Drug" - Best of the fast poppy, upbeat tracks (too bad about the touches of cheese guitar): "I don't know what I can do for you!/I'm a smart drug baby" 3. 4:13 "Ghost-Nets" - Very slow sparse, spoken word, sort of Gothic. 4. 4:32 "Frightened at Night" - Another slow folkier piece, on a gothic theme, if not with a very gothic sound. Very cool. 5. 5:32 "Daughter Movie" - Nice, dark stuff, starts slow, later guitars kick in, hits a "grunge" crescendo. 6. 4:55 "Open" - "Stay open", another track that alternates slow stuff and faster harder chorus. 7. 3:46 "Honey I" - Banjo & Clarinet (?) folk. Lighter sound. Divorcee relating to his X. Some female french vox thrown in. 8. 3:26 "Vade Mecum Gunslinger" - Aerosmith guitar. Pop Will Eat Itself rapping. Upbeat, but okay. 9. 3:52 "Mercury (Hold/Protect/Love)" - Midtempo guitar and strings. Sappy lyrics and vox. 10. 6:56 "Fragile" - Slow dragging, shoe-gazer, mostly spoken. Slows to a stop 1:45 into it, then suddenly starts again. Forget this track for radio play. Contact info: Beggars Banquet Records Ltd 274 Madison Avenue, Suite 804 New York, NY 10016