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WORLD OF JAZZ, POP AND ROCK Part 4

THE BEST MUSICIANS AND TOP BANDS IN GREAT BRITAIN TODAY

 

17. Robert Wyatt
Semi-paralysed since an accident in 1973, the former Soft Machine drummer has become one of British pop's most recognisable, haunting voices. Hugely influential and musically varied, Wyatt is synonymous with uncompromising poignancy: his 1983 version of Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding, released during the Falklands war, remains one of pop's most powerful political statements. He has recorded with everyone from Peter Gabriel to Namibia's Swapo singers, and his recent Cuckooland album finds him on typically vital form. Wyatt can be as personal as he is political, and is able to sing equally movingly about love, brandy, and the joys of mustard. Sound:16 Songs:15 Gigs:11 Style:10 Attitude:17 Total: 69

 

18. Coldplay
They have been much criticised, but Coldplay are arguably one of Britain's premier post-millennial rock bands. Influenced by the likes of Jeff Buckley and Echo and the Bunnymen, they have combined guitar transcendence with traditional songwriting to create what are fast becoming modern standards. Keeping matters fairly safe and anthemic up to now, singer Chris Martin recently revealed that the band are taking some time out to "reinvent themselves". If this means following the wayward career paths of stadium peers Radiohead and U2, we might just see a shift into left field. Sound:15 Songs: 18 Gigs:19 Style:5 Attitude:10 Total: 67
 

19. Beth Gibbons
Glaciers move quicker than the career of hip-hop torch singer turned folk siren Gibbons, but it was always worth the wait. With Portishead, she was a goosebump-raising voice in the dark. She reappeared last year in tandem with former Talk Talk member Paul Webb on the extraordinarily beautiful Out of Season, a record with the autumnal tang of bonfire smoke. Foolishly underrated, Gibbons's voice and songs will be cherished years from now. Sound: 16 Songs:18 Gigs:14 Style:8 Attitude:11 Total: 67

 

 

20: Broadcast
Broadcast's music could be beamed in from another galaxy - you can imagine Barbarella dancing about her space pod to their latest album, Haha Sound. Using 1960s equipment, Broadcast create songs with the texture of scudding clouds and calm seas, topped with lyrics as calmly beautiful as they are fraught with confusion and tension. It is this atmosphere of longing and searching that gives their music warmth - that, and their ability to write cheeky melodies that radiate an infectious sense of joy. Rarely is electronic music so much fun. Sound:19 Songs:15 Gigs: 8 Style:12 Attitude: 12 Total: 66
 

21.David Holmes
With a combination of DJing and composing, Holmes has carved out a niche as a provider of the hustling soundtrack: Out of Sight, Ocean's 11 and Buffalo Soldiers. Tracks from Let's Get Killed, his second album, and Bow Down showed canny foresight: the future, he has realised, is in getting rock back into dance music, something his live band, Free Association, proves to thunderous effect Sound:15 Songs:10 Gigs: 12 Style:13 Attitude:16 Total: 66