Southpaw - Southpaw 

Christmas
Thy Will Be Done
The Great Unknown
Permanent
Vertigo
All That I Want
Oh Yeah
Surprise
Caught In The Middle
Holy Water

The Band:

Total Playing Time: 45:36 mins:secs

Review date: 31 Sept 1998

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With those backgrounds I was expecting some tasty Scandi hard rock. The track on the Z Sampler CD told me that it was most likely that Southpaw had different ideas. Now that I've heard the CD, it appears to me that the band seem to be hell bent on taking us into the new millenium with a distinctly modern style. The more pink & fluffy Mood Swings visitors can stop reading this now, because it is going to be too heavy for you. For the rest of you the modern approach could be the problem. Whereas labelmates Human Race managed to get the balance right, these guys are too modern for my tastes.

I always believe in giving something a fair go & I've listened to this more times that I really wanted to, just to write this review. I sit listening to this, track after track, and they all sound the same. To put it simply, I just don't get what this album is all about. A typical listening experience is that I sit with track after track washed over me, then I hear something interesting - "that sounds a bit like Kings X. I like that track". Glance of at the CD player - track 10, the final track. Maybe this one of those albums where if you stick with it, it might just click & be a life long friend. I just can't see me investing the time to find out if that is gonna happen with me. I guess Z have to cover a spectrum of styles to develop the portfolio of the label. This train is leaving the station with me still standing on the platform waving it goodbye.