LONDONIST LIKE THE CHILDREN

Amongst the early reviews of the War Child album comes one from Londonist, which is like Gothamist, only more Steptoe and Son than Kate and Allie.

As with it's predecessor it makes for decent snapshot of our NME / XFM sponsored music scene and whilst hanging together better as an album in its own right. Many of the songs included here are worthy of a place on a full-on long player.

The mildly approving tone is withheld from the Kaiser Chief's Heard It Through The Grapevine, though ("a fairly droneful, uninspiring cover") but, in keeping with received ideas, Babyshambles are given a tick without any real underwriting of why:

Kudos then to Pete D and crew who raise the stakes once more, late entrants in the game too, with the pleasingly shambolic acoustic strum through From Bollywood To Battersea replete with rain sticks. Well why not.

We do wonder, though, if we'd not be better served by people reviewing charity albums without telling them that's what they are - nobody really wants to criticise a collection pulled together with an open heart; it'd be like phoning up the Spastics Society and asking them if they couldn't find a prettier girl to model for the child-in-calipers collection box.

music warchild londonist