Cornershop - Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast

  by Sarah Maybank

published: 13 / 8 / 2009

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Review

Certain artists – Marilyn Manson, Lily Allen, Ashlee Simpson – coin it in by giving the impression they do whatever the hell they want, when they want. Others, like the magical Cornershop, genuinely DO what the hell they want, when they want. So if that means releasing a critically acclaimed album then waiting for their next batch of songs to marinade for seven long years – England have bungled two World Cups and two European Championships since ‘Hand Cream For A Generation’ was released in 2002; Peter Andre has romanced, married, had two kids with and split from Jordan - then so be it. Luckily for us, ‘Judy’ is well worth the wait. This capricious minx manages to simultaneously groove like a ‘Rocks’-era Primal Scream and stomp like a glam rock princess. Okay, so that doesn’t exactly rip up the ‘Hand Cream’ template, but it’ll still put you under that uniquely Cornershop spell. Atop sweet, simple nursery school-ish melodies, Tjinder Singh’s sulky-boy vocals denounce everything from war to music industry meddling, accompanied by twangy sitars, cosy brass flourishes, Punjabi MC-esque twiddles and ska-style keyboards. Colouring the tapestry are politically charged song snippets such as ‘Shut Southall Down’ – a response to the 1979 riots; avant garde-ish sound collage ‘Chamchu’ and ‘Turned On Truth’, a brave, 16-minute tranche of blissed-out gospel. Despite on-off music biz wrangling for the past few years, Cornershop have taken the Jack Daniel’s slow-distilled bourbon approach. They’re less about the bean-counters and more about getting it right by doing it at their own pace, in their own time. So at this rate we’re waiting with bated breath till 2016. Don’t rush things, though, Tjinder.

Track Listing:-

1 Who Fingered Rock'n'Roll
2 Soul School
3 Half Brick
4 Judy Sucks A Lemon For Breakfast
5 Shut Southall Down
6 Free Love
7 The Roll Of Characteristics (Of History In The Making)
8 Operation Push
9 The Mighty Quinn
10 The Constant Springs
11 Chamchu
12 The Turned On Truth (The Truth Is Turned On)
13 The Battle Of New Orleans (Exclusive Track)