As an unrepentant Mark Eitzel/American Music Club fan, I've been looking forward to the new Eitzel solo disc, Candy Ass. I have to say I'm underwhelmed. It continues the electronica-thing of The Invisible Man, but it seems like Mark made this one in his sleep (or in the middle of an even-more-enthusiastic-than-usual bender). I can imagine listening to it occasionally maybe at 3am, but would be kind of a big sonic quaalude for the middle of the day on the radio.

Also, any David Sylvian fans out there hear the new Sylvian/Jansen/Burnt Friedman disc? (They're calling themselves "Nine Horses" ... what a terrible band name). The snippets on the Samadhi Sound website make the material sound a bit cheesy to me, but it's hard to tell. "Wonderful World," however, sounds promising. (No, we don't have a copy here ... Samadhi Sound is a tiny label and doesn't generally send their stuff).

I guess, then, that the exciting new release of the moment is still Gang Of Four's Return The Gift. At least, until we get this.