Craig Nicholls gives NME the inside story on his new album

The Vines' Craig Nicholls has spoken exclusively to NME about being diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.

Despite the band looking on the verge of collapse when the singer first learnt he had the condition in 2004, they have since recorded their third album 'Vision Valley' which is set for release on April 4.

"I always had an inkling something wasn't right,"Nicholls has revealed. "I just didn't know what it was. But I spoke to someone and it made a lot of sense as to why I'd feel a certain way about things and behave in a certain way."

The frontman is now receiving professional help and is taking
medication for the condition.

In our exclusive interview with The Vines, Nicholls talks about his treatment and how he has changed since the diagnosis.

To read the full interview with The Vines be sure to pick up next week's edition of NME, on newsstands in London on Tuesday (March 28) and nationwide the following day.

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Feast of Wire does indeed offer a tantalizing array of sounds new and old from Calexico, including more pop-oriented takes on their already eclectic style as well as some different sonic twists. Though the album features plenty of the atmospheric interludes of their previous work -- such as the squelchy, piano-based "Stucco" and the cello- and pedal-steel-driven "Whipping the Horse's Eye" -- the overall feel of Feast of Wire is one of restraint and refinement. The album's longest song, the gorgeous, film noir/spaghetti western fusion "Black Heart," tops out at just under five minutes, and the vast majority of the tracks barely make it past the three-minute mark -- not enough time for experimentation to turn into self-indulgence. However, it feels like these shorter compositions have more impact: "Sunken Waltz" sketches a vignette of Southwestern despair with just acoustic guitar, brushed drums, accordion, and Joey Burns' papery vocals. Burns' voice plays a larger part on Feast of Wire than on previous Calexico albums, adding a humble charm to sweeping songs like "Quattro (World Drifts In)." Despite its seeming limitations, Burns' small, parched-sounding instrument is surprisingly versatile, lending a Dylan-like cast to the aforementioned "Black Heart" and a Dean Wareham-like drawl to the lilting Tex-Mex melody of "Across the Wire." Burns' vocals also dominate Feast of Wire's most uniquely accessible moments: "Stevie Nicks," a surprisingly, sunny bit of folk-rock, and the quiet, alt-country-ish "Woven Birds." But despite the steps forward Calexico makes on this album, the band still has time for their more traditional, instrumental-based music, exemplified here by "Dub Latina," "Pepita," and "Guero Canelo." The second half of Feast of Wire in particular sounds more like what you'd expect from a Calexico album, and the group touches on the different facets of that style, including the kitschy-cool "Attack el Robot! Attack," which with its crunchy drums and gurgling synths, does sort of sound like it could be from a Mexican sci-fi movie; the shuffling Latin beat, pedal steel, and mod horns on "Close Behind" give it a Morricone-meets-mariachi feel that makes it a quintessential Calexico track; and best of all, "Crumble" builds on the smoky, jazzy side of their sound that they began developing in earnest on The Hot Rail. In the hands of a lesser band, all the different sounds Calexico explore on Feast of Wire could result in a mish-mash of an album, but fortunately for them and their fans, it's one of their most accomplished and exciting efforts.

Other Albums:
calexico - even my sure things fall
calexico - alone again
calexico - hot rail
calexico - convict pool
calexico - aerocalexico
calexico - iron and wine in reigns
calexico - spoke

When he's not directing feature films like House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects, Rob Zombie likes to make music. Educated Horses, the prolific director, writer/animator/horror aficionado's return to the world of hedonistic, sexed-up monster rock doesn't stray too far from the formula that garnered him such a rabid fan base, but there's less theater and more backwoods creepiness at hand this time around. Horses crawls on all fours for the first three tracks, relying on too many tried-and-true White Zombie dance beats and turgid guitar riffs to hint at anything outside of sheer puppetry, but when the mid-tempo crunch of "17 Year Locust" begins to echo Sabotage-era Black Sabbath, it's clear that Zombie himself is having the time of his life pulling the strings. "Scorpion Sleeps," with its boot-stomping intro plays like Gary Glitter's "Rock & Roll, Pt.1" blaring from angel's trumpets at the apocalypse, "Ride," with its Tubular Bells-inspired piano riff, evolves into a storm of sonic debauchery, and the purely psychedelic singalong "Death of It All" sounds like the end credits to the last film ever. Schlock it may be, but it's infinitely more listenable -- and enjoyable -- than most schlock thinks it is.
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The Zutons make their long awaited return with the release of 'Tired Of Hanging Around', the follow-up to 'Who Killed The Zutons', which spawned five Top 40 singles. Produced by Stephen Street (Kaiser Chiefs/ The Smiths), 'Tired Of Hanging Around' finds the cosmic scousers developing their schizophrenic, 60s influenced beat-pop into a masterstroke of indie-eccentricity, blending all the quirky flourishes that accentuated their debut with a tighter and more concentrated agenda.
From the swaggering opening title track, to the infectious and boisterous single 'Why Wont You Give Me Your Love', to the sublime jaunt of 'Valerie', 'Tired Of Hanging Around� looks set to be The Zutons' big crossover moment, bringing their retro-influenced rock to the charts in 2006.
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Beck's Japanese eight-song B-sides collection Stray Blues is a short but sweet reminder of all the different sounds and styles he's capable of embodying and combining. It's especially refreshing after the somewhat forced, funk-soul-brotha vibe of Midnite Vultures to hear reflective, stoner-folk epics like "Totally Confused" (which features three-quarters of That Dog on violin and backing vocals), "Brother," and "Feather in Your Cap" next to noisy workouts like "Lemonade," the deadpan hipster-hop of "Clock," and a surprisingly straight mariachi version of "Burro." His groovy, Odelay-style pastiche is in full effect on the '60s pop send-up "Electric Music and the Summer People" and the rambling, ultra-psychedelic cover of Skip Spence's "Halo of Gold," which originally appeared on the Spence tribute More Oar. Impressively, most of these songs were recorded years apart from each other and with different musicians, but Stray Blues holds together nearly as well as any of Beck's proper albums, proving that he's at his best when he's at his most eclectic. The album's Japanese-only release (and corresponding priceyness) is frustrating because Stray Blues deserves to be heard by more people than just die-hard fans (who may already own most of this material anyway). Not only is this collection a reminder of Beck's impressive diversity but of how necessary a domestic B-sides collection is to his discography.
Tracklist

To Subscribe Modern Music

Nestled between the accomplished Crime of the Century album and 1977's Even in the Quietest Moments, Crisis? What Crisis? may not have given the band any chart success, but it did help them capture a fan base that had no concern for Supertramp's commercial sound. With Rick Davies showing off his talent on the keyboards, and Roger Hodgson's vocals soaring on almost every track, they managed to win back their earlier progressive audience while gaining new fans at the same time. Crisis received extensive air play on FM stations, especially in Britain, and the album made it into the Top 20 there and fell just outside the Top 40 in the U.S. "Ain't Nobody But Me," "Easy Does It," and the beautiful "Sister Moonshine" highlight Supertramp's buoyant and brisk instrumental and vocal alliance, while John Helliwell's saxophone gives the album even greater width. The songwriting is sharp, attentive, and passionate, and the lyrics showcase Supertramp's ease at invoking emotion into their music, which would be taken to even greater heights in albums to come. Even simple tracks like "Lady" and "Just a Normal Day" blend in nicely with the album's warm personality and charmingly subtle mood. Although the tracks aren't overly contagious or hook laden, there's still a work-in-process type of appeal spread through the cuts, which do grow on you over time.
Tracklist

On Even My Sure Things Fall Through, Tucson's Calexico compiles eight European B-sides, remixes, covers, and other unreleased tracks, as well as three CD-ROM videos. Such albums often come off as hastily compiled and shoddily sequenced, but Calexico's attempt at a rarities release is surprisingly coherent. From the then-unreleased opener, "Sonic Wind (Instrumental Mix)," to the elegantly lush remake of American Music Club's "Chanel No. 5," the 45-plus minute EP manages to showcase wonderfully the band's deserted desert songs, Tex-Mex music, and arid roots rock. And while diehards may more fully appreciate having these hard to find titles all on one domestically released album, Even My Sure Things Fall Through should prove to be a mini treasure trove for new Calexico fans as well.
Tracklist