South - Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars

Genre rock Publisher Young American Recordings External Links Official South Website Official Young American Recordings Website

Let me just get this out of the way - shoegaze rocktronica. There, glad that's over with. No, seriously, the third full-length from the London trio South is all over the place like it's 1990 and BMG is throwing money at them for no reason. I guess that is better - or at least more honest - in some respects than being Kasabian and basing your entire career on one bad Ian Brown impression.

But it's 2006 now, and the starry-eyed jangle that permeates Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars is not dating well. Maybe I'm just resentful because of the lack of awesomely weird promo merchandise available for fans of major-label indie bands these days. Why, back in my day, a fizzy Candy Skins submarine or official Moose moosehead were de rigueur, dammit. What happened?

Promotional tools aside, South's new album is more of a time capsule than a fully functioning, free-standing piece of music. There are vestiges of dance elements remaining from the band's time with Mo'Wax, the label to which they were first signed. But in the context of arpeggiated Rickenbacker riffola, the beats are left cowering in a corner, missing the great time they had at that Gregg Araki film shoot.

However, I have to hand it to South for sticking with their guns and playing the music they want to play, rather than being timely for its own sake. And there are still moments of beauty, like the subtly effects-laden guitar on "A Place in Displacement." Adventures is pretty and definitely cohesive; it's just a little behind the times. Not that there's anything wrong with that.