Huddersfield Examiner - Boom Box

Spotify: Friend or Foe?

2010-06-07T10:07:04Z

SINCE the reign of Henry VIII people in the music industry have been arguing over the best way to utilize the internet and tackle the ongoing threat of piracy. The current favourite idea comes from Sweden where the Spotify program has been developed.

]]> For the few that haven't heard of Spotify it's a program allowing the user to stream unlimited numbers of songs free of charge with the blessing of all the record companies whose artists are on the 8 million track database. So in effect it is a free to use legal music library with a vast range of music featuring anything you could possibly want to hear. At least it was. As you can imagine this model relied almost exclusively on advertising and in its first year (2008) the company lost 4.4 million dollars. Since this unsuccessful first year Spotify added a pay service which streams the music without ads and in higher quality. The system currently has 7 million users but only 250,000 of those are premium (paid) members.

The argument is why people would pay for a service when they can get the same content for free from the same program. It's a valid point and one which Spotify alongside the record labels are trying to neutralize. The service provided by Spotify is top notch but many people have argued independent labels and artists are suffering in this arrangement, the very artists most in need of revenue from services like this. Swedish music reporter Helienne Lindvall said "indie labels, as opposed to the majors and Merlin members (Merlin is a body that represent some of the larger indie labels like Domino and Beggars), receive no advance, receive no minimum per stream and only get a 50% share of ad revenue on a pro-rata basis."

This trickledown effect leaves the artist making very little, Swedish artist Magnus Uggla has been an established star in Scandinavia since the 70s, he withdrew his music from the database after claiming he made less in 6 months "than an average busker would in a day." This has been backed up by indie label Junior Racing who earned an unforgivable $3 from 55,100 streamed tracks. That works out at 0.00054 of a cent per stream for maths fans out there. Spotify have said they need time to establish themselves before they can offer more money to the artists.

While the Indies are waiting for Spotify to establish themselves, the major labels are being offered shares and large amounts to allow their music to be streamed. So what can Spotify do to remedy this situation? Very little.

The major labels have become accustomed to receiving large amounts of money and now that they own shares in the company they will use their new found sway to ensure this remains the norm. The other option would be to eliminate the free service and add a monthly charge which could then be used to put more money in the pockets of the independent artists and labels. If this was implemented many of the users would stop using the service, the same would happen if Spotify began using more adverts.

Interestingly, Pendulum's new release Immersion may show what the future holds for Spotify. Instead of the whole album being uploaded five tracks were put into the database, thus giving the listener a free taste of the music and allowing them to make a decision whether or not to buy the whole release. I personally do not have a CD player and listen to all my music through my computer the fact only a few of the tracks were available made me have to purchase in order to hear the whole release, whereas in the past i had no desire to buy the whole release because the whole album was available to me free and legally. However, Pendulum are already a well established band with a dedicated fan base, could this work for independent artists? There is only one way to find out.

The Untouchables

2010-06-07T10:00:44Z

RESPECT your elders and those who paved the way. Everybody who hasn't been in a coma since Victorian times is familiar with this idea and the sentiment it embodies. But should these moral codes apply to artistic endeavours?

]]> In 1972 The Rolling Stones released their most ambitious record to date, a double LP called Exile on Main St. Describing the initial reaction to the Stones 10th album Keith Richards himself said "When it came out it didn't sell particularly well, and it was pretty much universally panned". A review in CREEM magazine said "The Rolling Stones should not be exiled on Main Street, they should be deported." While the Rolling Stone (American magazine not a fanzine) said "you can leave the album and still feel vaguely unsatisfied". Fast forward to 2010 and the album sits at number 1 in the UK and number 2 in the US charts, with every publication with any name recognition tripping over themselves to press their lips against the Stones collective wrinkled pelvises. NME 10 out of 10, Rolling Stone 5 out of 5, the difficult to please Pitchfork Media a perfect 10.0/10.0; even the review collection site Metacritic has Exile on Main Street on an average review score of 100/100.

Don't get me wrong I enjoy the Rolling Stones but this is just another example of the tradition of having sacred "untouchable" artists no one is permitted to slag off. The Untouchables are the musical equivalents of someone else's baby, surely the monsters of music should be criticised for their faults with similar vigour to how they are lauded for their quality.

The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Davis Bowie, James Brown, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Utter a single bad word about any of these artists (or many others) and you will be met with derision and often aggression. I couldn't figure out why these bands and singers were untouchable yet artists like Elton John, Celine Dion, The Bee gees and Madonna who all have sales figures over 200 million are ridiculed and dismissed as cheesy dross.

After much number crunching and talks with Professor Stephen Hawking and Carol Vorderman we came to an agreement and developed a mathematical formula to become artistically untouchable.

Coolness x Number of years since first release + rock n roll (attitude or music) = Untouchability

Death is also a variable that can be added, no one wants to slag of a corpses life work.
Let's see some examples:

The Rolling Stones - very cool x very old + very rock and roll = untouchable.
Frank Sinatra - very cool x very old + not very rock and or roll (+death) = untouchable
Queen - not that cool x kinda old + super rocking and rolling (+ high profile death) = untouchable
Madonna - not cool x not that old + not rock and roll = fair game

The main problem with holding up these bands in such high regard is that people lose common sense when it comes to discussions on them. They confuse a difference in taste to a case of disrespect. I don't especially like The Beatles but I have a great deal of respect for their achievements, album sales and the variety of their musical output. The other problem I have is what will happen to the artists of today. If Lady Gaga dies will the society of fifty years in the future mention her in the same breath as Elvis and Pink Floyd? If that thought doesn't scare you into attacking a musical juggernaut nothing will.

Album Releases: Week Commencing 05/04/10: Album of the week

2010-04-05T04:53:24Z

Two guys with high voice playing nice musics.

]]> Rufus Wainwright - All days are nights: Songs for Lulu

This is a beautiful album. Put in its simplest form All Days is just Rufus sat behind a piano playing very proficiently using his pitch perfect voice to lay on the emotion. The album was written and recorded just a few weeks after his mother's death after a lengthy cancer battle and the sorrow he is feeling comes through. Throughout the album you can picture Wainwright alone in a large performance hall, playing his heart out with tears streaming down his face. Martha is a upsetting piece about calling his sister while waiting for his mum to die, its horrible subject nature is changed into a thing of wonderment when accompanied by exquisite piano. It's not just sorrow from Wainwright's perspective though he takes a break half way through to set some Shakespeare sonnets to music. Wainwright doesn't really improve the sonnets and actually somewhat detracts from them with his playing. But there is a melancholic beauty to almost every song with the album closer Zebulon the perfect mournful finish to a great album.

Top Tracks: Zebulon, Who are you New York?
If you liked this try: Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia

Jonsi - Go

That voice is one of the most recognisable voices in music today, or maybe ever and it now has a solo album sung in mainly English to show what kind of lyrics Jonsi can write. The fact Sigur Ros' lyrics are mostly in Icelandic means the voice has the same effect as a guitar to most but now the voice must be used to project a message. On the whole Jonsi's voice is so high it is almost indecipherable but when he does sing slow and low enough to hear the lyrics I was left feeling somewhat under whelmed. The lyrics could never match the whimsy of the music but I was expecting a little more. That isn't to say Go is a bad album, it really isn't, it's just underwhelming. When Jonsi veers away from the normal Sigur Ros style the album shines, Tornado is a haunting ballad while Around Us is as close to dance music we are going to see from Jonsi. His voice is impossible to get past it overpowers every note and it may not have the power of Jeff Buckley or the melancholy of Thom Yorke's pipes but it makes up for it with its child like innocence and tranquillity.

Top Tracks: Go Do, Tornado
If you liked this try: Sigur Ros - Takk..

Album Releases: Week Commencing 05/04/10

2010-04-05T04:49:36Z

3 albums, One indie, One metal and One crappy.

]]> David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim - Here Lies Love

The weeks oddest release belongs to David Byrne of Talking Heads and Fat Boy Slim of Fat Boy Slim who collaboration Here Lies Love tells the story of Imelda Marcos former first lady of the Phillipines and her extravagant lifestyle. The album rarely threatens to become interesting in its 90 minute run time mostly plodding along content to drift along as dance pop offcuts. The album possesses 22 guest vocalists (Florence, Santigold and Marth Wainwright amongst others) and two clever left field minds tackling an interesting (odd) subject, it could have been incredible or it could have been horrific, both of which would have been more enjoyable than what we get on this double album. The only time the album get interesting is when Steve Earle guests on A Perfect Hand and the funky bassline throbs of Why don't you love me. But every other song canters around never excelling and never failing to badly, if they were going to use so many resources to make this album you would've though Bryne (a man who has taken many risks in the past) should have really gone to left field. I can't bad mouth the album because it is so inoffensive, but I can't give it any praise either.

Top Tracks: Why Don't You love Me (ft Tori Amos and Cyndi Lauper), A Perfect Hand (ft Steve Earle)
If you liked this try: chewing cardboard for the taste equivalent of this album

Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony/Angel of Babylon

Releasing the final two parts of his Scarecrow saga concept albums on the same day was a ballsy move in anyone's books. Even more so when you realise both parts are over an hour long. There is a lot to digest upon listening with a lot of guest musicians and even more guest vocalists, alongside these is trying to grab a hold of a complex storyline while trying to listen to the music itself. The music itself is on the whole power metal in the style of Iron Maiden with hefty guitars and high pitched vocals. The instrumentation throughout is exemplary especially the solos which rip through most the songs with a vigorous power. The album really hits its peak when multiple vocalists appear on a song with each voice battling against one another which makes the tracks sound very exciting like on the title track Wicked Symphony and Stargazers. There are a few duff tracks (Death is Just a Feeling tries to be quirky but comes across as lame, Blowing Out The Flame is a drab piano ballad) but even with its obviously hammy flaws and difficult to follow storyline, you can not help but respect the effort that has gone into making such an epic, vast album.

Top Tracks: Stargazers, Black Wings
If you like this try: Alestorm - Captain Morgan's Revenge

She and Him - Volume 2

Hollywood types in bands is nothing new they range between the good (Jack Black), the bad (Kevin Bacon) and the just plain odd (Bruce Willis). Zooey Deschanel (of Yes Man and Hitchiker's Guide) falls into the good category along with M Ward they form She and Him, a breezy indie folk band on their second album. Zooey doesn't possess a perfect voice but she emotes so much you ignore her shortcomings, instead focusing on the story of each song and the excellent arrangement from Ward. The album can become a little sickly sweet after a while but it perfectly captures the light loving feel of the 1960s and is a pleasant world to dip into.

Top Tracks: Theives, Sing
If you like this try: Laura Marling - I Speak because I Can

Album Releases: Week Commencing 29/03/10: Albums Of The Week

2010-03-29T04:46:27Z

Ninja Tune strike again as Bonobo hits the target and Hybrid's new singer seems to have settled in very well.

]]> Bonobo - Black Sand

Ninja Tune are building up quite the reputation for releasing interesting high quality music. Amon Tobin, Qemists, The Bug, Mr Scruff, Coldcut, Roots Manuva, Kid Koala and Jaga Jazzist are all signed to the label and Bonobo's Black Sand will surely join the list of great albums produced by the label. Black Sand is a chilled out trip hop album with each track building layer by layer to create spectacularly inspiring and relaxing sound scapes. It was interesting to listen to and really sees Bonobo form his own sound after three uninspiring unoriginal sounding album. The influences in Black Sand are obvious but Bonobo makes them his own with Caribbean guitars, skittling flutes, sweeping strings and on occasion beautiful vocals by Andreya Triana. The only way to truly describe the album would be the word widescreen. It sounds so vast and open its like sitting in a jungle, you can't really grasp how big the surroundings are you just know its huge. The album works best when it combines the traditional instruments with the pulsing digital beats to create something like H.R. Giger's aliens, clearly organic but equally synthetic. I'd recommend lying down with a book and losing yourself completely in another world.

Top Tracks: El Toro, Stay The Same
If you liked this try: Amon Tobin - Bricolage

Hybrid - Disappear Here

There comes a time when every band needs to change, on their fourth album Hybrid decide that time is now. Previously the group recorded the music then hired guest vocalists to sing atop their beats, but on Disappear Here the band have added singer/songwriter Charlotte James to their ranks marking the first time the vocals have been written with the music. This change makes the band seem more cohesive and gives them a second wind. The songs recall Pendulum at their most organic, with guitars playing along side the beats and electronic drums adding to the ambience of the album. The analogue influence never derails the band from their electronic glory and the album in fact peaks on the lengthy tracks with solely electronica. Original Sin recalls an intelligent Prodigy circa mid 90s while Salt sounds like Kosheen on a good day. Overall, pleasing album with a few good ideas but ultimately will be forgotten about in a few months time.

Top Tracks: Break My Soul, Original Sin
If you liked this try: Kosheen - Resist

Album Releases: Week Commencing 29/03/10: Part 2

2010-03-29T04:42:52Z

You can probably guess the kind of things that lie inside here.

]]> Halestorm - Halestorm

Do you like Kelly Clarkson? Do you like Daughtry? Then you will love this album. Halestorm (not to be confused with incredible pirate metallers Alestorm) are a plodding AOR band who are so middle of the road they are walking through the central reservations. Singer Hale attempts to ooze sex appeal but it's difficult when her lyrics are so abjectly bad and unsubtle. "I get off on you getting off on me" is the kind of line that could only get a 13 year old boy off, although that being said the curvy bottles of Evian are sexier than Ms Hales voice. Each song is formulaic to the point where it becomes sort of painful, each chugging chord feeling more like a slap to the temple with each passing song. It's a shame because Hale sounds exactly like Kelly Clarkson and does have a lovely voice, it just isn't allowed to shine through the dirge of guitars and drums. I'm sure it will sell incredibly well and I'm sure pictures of Hale will adorn bedroom walls across America but Halestorm are like an easter egg, tasty in small doses, vomit inducing in large amounts and ultimately hollow.

Top Tracks: What Were You Expecting, I'm Not An Angel
If you liked this try: Rev Theory - Light It Up

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part 2 (Return of the Ankh)

Weirdly enough, Erykah Badu was in the news just two weeks before her album came out for stripping nude in Dallas and faked being shot by a sniper for her latest music video, she didn't tell anyone on the streets what was happening so they just thought a nude woman had been shot. It's almost as if she pulled this stunt to get some publicity for the release of her new album. Cynicism aside, this is a pretty sweet album. The tone is very relaxed and very minimalist, with Badu's voice sounding perfectly soulful and funky, so effective is her voice it is pretty much the main instrument. I can imagine her voice getting on the nerves of some, especially if they listen to the whole album. But I really like it. Badu is even kind enough to spell out what the album is about in "Love", "There are only two humankind experience, fear and love". Part 1, subtitled 4th World War, was based on paranoia and fear while part two is about the different kinds of love. In "Turn me Away Badu plays a gold digger, she plays a loyal girlfriend in Gone Baby and a slag on Fall In Love. The atmosphere the music creates is more interesting, and has a greater effect, than the words (not to undermine them because they are beautifully written) the main problem I have with this album is atmosphere overtakes the quality of the songs. None of the songs particularly stand out or leave a lasting impression, they just all flow together to create a hazy cotton wool ball in your brain. Not a bad album, just an odd album.

Top Tracks: Window Seat, Fall In Love

Craig David - Signed Sealed Delivered

Poor old Craig he never really recovered from Bo Selecta. His debut album was packed with hook filled laid back songs about love and lust, but with each subsequent album the quality lessened and lessened until he was dropped by record label Warner. So Signed Sealed Delivered is his first release for new label Universal and on the whole it's uninspiring stuff. Basically an album of motown and soul covers with 3 original tracks. Craig's voice is no where near powerful enough to carry the songs and the backing music sounds like it belongs on the background of an ITV football pre match build montage. The choices are equally uninspiring looking like the kind of motwon greatest hits album you would find at a petrol station. You know something is seriously wrong when Blue do a much better soul cover than you. Universal may have made an expensive mistake by signing Mr. David.

Top Tracks: Heard It Through The Grape Vine, I Wonder Why
If you like this try: listening to the originals.

Album Releases: Week Commencing 29/03/10: Part 1

2010-03-29T04:12:46Z

As March comes to a close the overall quality of the albums on release is steadily going down. Even so there are new releases from Kids In Glass Houses, Craig David, Bonobo and Hybrid.

]]> The Bamboos - 4

Australia isn't really known for their funk ensembles, but The Bamboos demonstrate it isn't where you're from its where you're at that matters. This eight piece show off their credentials on 4 with each track being a slice of retro toe tapping "deep funk", with shades of hip hop and soul throughout. The horn section are on top form (especially on The Ghost) and each track has something a little different to keep you interested with guest vocalists throughout alongside the customary instrumental tracks. It is difficult not to get caught up in the band enthusiasm but at times the tracks start to become clichÃÂ©d sounding like they should've been on the Jackie Brown soundtrack.

Top Tracks: Like Tears In Rain, The Ghost
If you liked this try: Blaxploitation soundtracks.

Kids In Glass Houses - Dirt

Their debut Smart Casual fizzed with sharp singles and since its release in 2008 Kids In Glass Houses have been touring like crazy getting their faces and their names about. It seems to be working and the music is reflecting this live success. Dirt is a big unashamed album to be played at loud volume to annoy your parents. It puts its best foot forward with Artbreaker setting the tone, big riffs doo wop backing vocals and a tight rhythm section. The lyrics aren't great but they don't need to be they just appeal to the teenager in everyone, meanwhile vocalist Aled Phillips' sounds like he is having a ball singing with his friends. That's the overall feeling I got from listening to this album, fun. It takes you back to good times in the summer sun with your friends and not enough albums do that anymore.

Top Tracks: Youngblood (let it out), Maybe Tomorrow
If you like this try: You Me at 6 - Take Off Your Colours

Meth, Ghost and Rae - Wu Massacre

Wu Tang Clan always delivered the hardest rap around so it isn't surprising this side project of Wu Tang members Method Man, Ghostfaced Killah and Raekwon doesn't break from the Wu tang tradition. Heavy beats, racial slurs and vulgar rapping ensue. The only shocking thing about this release is that it isn't that shocking, Wu Tang used to push the boundaries but they just sound uninterested content to stay in their own groove. The album takes an odd turn on Our Dreams a track that heavily samples Michael Jackson but other than that a fairly unremarkable half hour of gangster rap.

Top Tracks: Mef Vs Chef 2, Pimpin' Chipp
If you like this try: Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu Tang

Album Releases: Week Commencing 22/03/10: Albums of the Week

2010-03-22T02:36:07Z

A Dinosaur Life and a Marling.

]]> Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life

Fall Out Boy split up last year and in their wake is a gap that needs filling, the advertisement reads "Clean cut pop punk band needed - goofiness optional". Motion City Soundtrack have been on the fringe of the mainstream for a few years now and with the lack of the genres biggest exponents this could be Motion City Soundtrack's chance to make that leap. In all honesty its out of the groups hands, but even if they don't break onto MTV they can be proud of My Dinosaur Life. The album will sound very familiar to Fall Out Boy with similar chords, style and lead singer Justin Pierre sounds uncannily like Patrick Stump. This is one of the happiest albums you will hear all year, every track has an endearing quirky goofiness to it that you can't help but be charmed by. The lyrics tell common stories anyone can relate to ("if we had only stayed together, maybe I wouldn't have fallen apart") this band seem custom built for chart success. If the pieces fall into place for this band they could become a chart shagging behemoth mentioned in the same breath as Blink 182 and Weezer. Whether things work for them or not is a matter for the public to decide but Motion City Soundtrack have produced the album of their lives. If this doesn't get them noticed nothing will.

Top Tracks: A Lifeless Ordinary, Pulp Fiction
If you liked this try: Fall Out Boy - From Under The Cork Tree

Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can

Why are there so many female acoustic singer songwriters around at the minute? I wish I knew, the only thing that keeps me sane is that there are some with talent. Laura Marling is one of those with a lot of talent, a mere 20 years old she has released a very confident self assured sophomore album. This is predominantly a folk album with her voice and her unplugged guitar providing almost all of the sound. Her lyrics are beautifully morbid and poetic, direct and subtle in equal measures and it really is her lyrics which put her above the competition. Opening track Devil's Spoke kicks the album off in brave style building up to a crashing chorus with lyrics like "I am your keeper, and I hold your face away from light, I am yours till they come" it is impossible to hate. Blackberry Stone showcases Marling's impressive vocal range, Maid By Maid shows off her guitar playing and every single track is a master class in simple but effective lyrics. Laura Marling is the complete package and at just 20 there are hopefully many years left in her.

Top Tracks: Devil's Spoke, Alpha Shallows
If You liked this try: Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me

Album Releases: Week Commencing 22/03/10: Part 2

2010-03-22T02:27:34Z

The Dilinger Escape Plan, Justin Bieber and Mary J Blige walk into a bar....

]]> Dillinger Escape Plan - Option paralysis

Album four from math metallers Dillinger Escape Plan has been released with little fanfare after the band were dropped by record label Relapse, Option Paralysis is self released and sees the band on top form. The music is frenetic leaping around like a hyperactive spring and recalling the likes of Fantomas with singer Puciato doing a brilliant impression of Mike Patton effortlessly transitioning between smooth crooning and brutal screaming. Album opener Farewell Mona Lisa is a perfect representation of the Dilinger sound unpredictable, in your face and raw. It isn't all violent rage and screams as the band show on "Gold Teeth In A Bum" and "Widower" taking the pace down a few notches and letting you breathe. Thankfully these are short intermissions with "Good Neighbour" and "I Wouldn't If You didn't" increasing the brutality stakes even further with the keyboard and guitars going into hyper drive creating a claustrophobic sound that can become very intense. Chances are you will have made your mind up about The Dilinger Escape Plan 5 seconds into any song, if you like unadulterated pummelling, dodgy time signatures and buzz saw instruments, enjoy until your neck snaps from over use.

Top tracks: Farewell Mona Lisa, Gold Teeth On A Bum
If you like this try: Rolo Tomassi - Hysterics

Mary J Blige - Stronger with Each Tear

Track one of the Mary J Blige's album is called "Whole Lot Of Love" a Led Zeppelin riff comes out of my speaker figuring I have made a mistake I head back to Spotify. No mistake, Mary J Blige opens her 9th studio release with an r n b cover of "Whole Lotta Love". I'm sure some will go for it, but it certainly did not impress me dance club synths do not mix well with 60s music and certainly not when Blige's voice can not reach all the notes. Blige has massive cajones to attempt a hard rock track by one of the most popular bands ever, but to open your album with it is jaw dropingly brave. From here the album does get better, I do enjoy Blige's soulful voice she never overcooks it giving each song an effortless coolness. Each track gives something a little different, The One is a song perfect for a Friday night out, a fun bouncy guest rapper track, I Am is a low key Dilemma style mid tempo toe tapper and Stronger is a great wistfully melancholic acoustic track showing off Blige's vocal range. She opened with a Zeppelin raping so it's only fitting she closes with one, that's right the last track is Stairway to Heaven, she plays this cover fairly straight and does a good job of nailing the notes and adding soul. A surprisingly good album from Mary J Blige who proves she can still cut it at the top of the charts and beat out all the young pretenders.

Top Tracks: I Am, Stronger
If you liked this try: Led Zeppelin - IV... apparently

Justin Bieber - My World

If you haven't heard of this lad, run, run now. Remember S Club Juniors? Imagine if they was given a blank cheque book to record his album. You're getting close, now imagine if they started using gangster terms like shortie and paid for Usher and Ludacris to duet with them. That horrible image is only a tenth as scary as Justin Bieber. His eerie vacant stare and cold chilling voice would make him perfect to play Damian in The Omen. The world is ending and we will be too busy watching Hollyoaks and listening to Justin Bieber to notice fire raining from the heavens. I don't think Justin is a bad guy, I just think whoever hired him is the antichrist.

Album Releases: Week Commencing 22/03/10: Part 1

2010-03-22T01:54:20Z

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Children of all ages...welcome to week 4. We have rock, pop, rap, metal, blues and lots of stuff in between.

]]> Gabriella Cilmi - Ten

Sweet About Me was a track that was played everywhere and got in every single head. It was a catchy slice of minimalist pop, why break a winning formula? I don't know but in their infinite wisdom the team behind Gabriella Cilmi thought she would connect better with an audience if she sounded more like the eighties. The retro trip is not totally horrible with Cilmi's big Anastasia style voice mostly syncing with the beats pleasingly especially on girl power track On A Mission. When they move away from the retro fitting the album hits a stride, but it is never for very long. Let Me Know and Superman lets Cilmi show off her pipes but for the majority of the album she seems to be constantly reigning herself in, content to stick with middle of the road bland vocals, which is a shame because she possesses some diva vocal chords. In the end this sounds exactly like the hundreds of 80s electro pop revivalists doing the rounds at the minute, just not performed anywhere near as well Why break a winning formula? Because they clearly didn't want any modicum of success for their artist.

Top Tracks: Superman, On A Mission
If you like this try: Various Artists - Ultimate 80s Schlock

Goldfrapp - Head First

They have always liked the 80s by the sounds of it but never has the influence come through so clearly in Goldfrapp's music than on new album Head First. It's all synth, airy vocals and not so subtle sex references (sit on your rocket huh?), as with any retro sound it can easily fall on the wrong side of cheesy and Head First is very cheesy. It doesn't necessarily detract from the quality of the album, there are moments of fried gold, but there are fewer than on previous albums. Where once Goldfrapp trail blazed they now seem content to plod along way behind the Gaga, Little Boots and even the La Rouxs of this world. It must taste even weirder when you can hear Goldfrapp's influence in the work of all three. Instead of grabbing you by the jugular and forcing you to dance at knife point like Oh La La and Strict Machine did, these songs seem happy enough in the background like cast offs from the Never Ending Story soundtrack. A band stuck in first gear producing solid output just nothing worth looking away from your shreddies for.

Top Tracks: Alive, Shiny and Warm
If you like this try: Annie - Anniemal

Joe Bonamassa - Black Rock

I imagine in Texas where Joe is from they have a version of Stars In Their Eyes presented by a stitcom hypnotist whose tricks always go wrong with hilarious consequences. One night Bonamassa shuffled onstage and said to the host I want to be a blues guitarist from the 1960s the hypnotist clicked his fingers and little Joey Bonamassa could play and sing like B.B. King, but the hypnotist had a sudden heart attack and died. To this day Joe still thinks he is a 1960s bluesman. At least that what it sounds like on his new record Black Rock. The guy can clearly play very well and his voice is suited for the blues he plays but my god is it unimaginative. I criticise Nickleback for producing such formulaic songs so it's only fair I do the same for Bonamassa, you can set your watch to the key change it happens so consistently. Some of the tracks are horrifically clichÃÂ©d you'd be forgiven for thinking they were blues parodies, Bird On A Wire, Blue and Evil should be played for prisoners at Gitmo. It would certainly make them confess to anything, in a futile attempt to stop their suffering. As I said before the man has a lot of talent and it is on display here with some superb riffs on show, but there is so little emotion he should play the greys instead of the blues (pause for laughter). "I know suffering, that's the game I'm in" if Black Rock is anything to go by Bonamassa is very good at hiding his suffering from the masses. Give me Seasick Steve every time.

Top Tracks: When The Fire Hits the Sea, Athens to Athens
If you like this try: Seasick Steve - Dog House Music

Album Releases: Week Commencing 15/03/10: Albums Of The Week

2010-03-15T01:38:29Z

A British hip hop duo and a bunch of Norwegian others claim top honours this week,

]]> Jaga Jazzist - One Armed Bandits

Not all bands are created equal. Some musicians are very talented and will never have a chart hit in their life, the members of Jaga Jazzist are such a band. If you are a genre geek like me instrumentalists Jaga Jazzist are one of those bands that make life worth living. They are a bit jazz, a bit electronic and more than a little rocky, I'll settle for the term experimental. That really is the best way to describe this 9 piece group from Norway who boast John Coltrane and Aphex Twin as two of their main influences. One Armed Bandit is a very intense album there are always seven things happening at once and keeping up is very difficult and that's all thanks to the technical skills of all the players involved. The leaps between genres are staggering from plain jazz to drum n bass and back via funk and electro. Clearly this album is not for everyone but it is a rewarding listen, even if it does sound a lot like the soundtrack to a 1960s spy film. Albums like this really make you look at your music collection and make you realised how narrow your tastes really are.

Top Tracks: Bananfluer Overalt, Toccata
If you like this try: playing John Zorn, Squarepusher and Wagner at the same time while standing on your head.

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - The Logic of Chance

Scroobius Pip is a rapper...kinda, Dan Le Sac is a electronic musician....kinda, and together they are Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip and they make rather good British Hip Hop. Their debut album Angles was a revelation to me personally the story telling from Pip was complemented perfectly by the ever changing beats of Sac. Angles is still one of my favourite albums to this day, so Logic of Chance has a lot to live up to. Sadly it is not as good as its predecessor but it certainly is not a failure. The album kicks off in style with Sick Tonight as Pip raps over twinkling synths and beats, spitting lines about how "Jesus died for somebody's sins but god knows he didn't die for mine". This track serves as a good introduction to the world of Sac and Pip, it's fun, it's catchy, it's intelligent and it's always interesting. Pip's delivery and lyrics are the clear focus of the songs each line seemingly painstakingly put together to give a message of hope or a piece of enlightenment to the young people of Britain. It's when Pip has his councillor hat on the album really soars, Great Britain is a simple catchy ode to the rise of knife crime he practically vomits statistics seamlessly into the middle of a verse slowing down until he is speaking before accelerating off again into vicious rapping. The other perks of the album come when Pip goes into storytelling mode like in Snob, the story of a council estate urchin who is ridiculed by the middle class for enjoying Mozart. The album has fun stories (Last Train Home about riding a train with hoodlums and Cauliflower about a groovy city chick) but each is counter balanced by a moral message (Get Better is more a manifesto for the young than a song while Five Minutes tells a harrowing tale of domestic abuse) meaning an album that could easily become pure comedy or pure tragedy has a perfect blend of joy and sorrow. You will laugh, you will learn but most of all you will be entertained.

Top Tracks: Great Britain, Snob
If you like this try: B Dolan - Fallen House, Sunken City

Album Releases: Week Commencing 15/03/10: Part 2

2010-03-15T01:26:36Z

Christopher Lee and the Cast of Glee. Who would win in a fight?

]]> Christopher Lee - Charlemagne: By the Sword and The Cross

When I read about this album I knew I needed it. Christopher Lee, the nearly 90 year old actor has just released an album with the members of Manowar. You did read that correctly. Charlemagne is a symphonic metal concept album about the life of roman emperor Charlemagne who is apparently a distant ancestor of Christopher Lee himself. The album chronicles Charlemagne's life with the different vocalists representing different people in the emperors life, Lee obviously playing Charlemagne. Music for this huge story is provided by the 100 strong Tolkien Ensemble of Denmark. This isn't the greatest album in the world musically, but it is certainly the most epic release ever forged.

Top Tracks: Act I: King of the Franks, Act II: The Iron Crown of Lombardy
If you like this try: watching all three Lord of the Rings in one sitting while sat on a throne made of steel.

Glee Cast - Volume 2

I have tried to watch and enjoy Glee, I really have and you know what, it would be tolerable without the music. But the music is just horrific. Needless to say I was never going to particularly enjoy an album of songs I hated the original versions of, performed by a bunch of preppy American foetuses. That being said are a couple of songs I enjoyed, the version of Imagine is heart warming and the cover of Don't Rain On My Parade didn't instil me with an urge to walk into oncoming traffic. I understand that the target audience for Glee isn't 20 year old males but who is listening to this? Fess up so I can kick you out the gene pool.

Top Tracks: ...................
If you like this try: High School Musical Cast - High School Musical

Album Releases: Week Commencing 15/03/10: Part 1

2010-03-15T01:12:27Z

Week 3 of reviews coming right up, Sir. Would you like some Sugababes, Ludacris and Cathedral, Sir?

]]> Sugababes - Sweet 7

I love the Sugababes and I don't care who knows it. They were one of the most consistently good girl bands of the past 10 years, so I was interested to hear Sugababes seventh release. Even with the firing of longest serving member Keisha the band has always been more about the songs than the members. But Sweet 7 is just horrid. The album gets off to a promising start with Get Sexy, which is a sassy stomper of a track with a breakdown that would be a treat in any club. But from here the album goes into diminishing return with each track being worse than the last, Wear My Kiss is catchy and fun but very disposable and About A Girl is a Lady Gaga rip off without any of the Gaga quirks, it also marks the last listenable song on this album. The rest of the songs on this album I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy, even production from Stargate and guest vocals from Sean Kingston don't help. Give It To Me Now marks a personal low point with its lyrics so sexual driven it just becomes unsexy, kinda like Billie Piper in Secret Diary of A Call Girl. The members may never have written the songs themselves but they had some kind of good luck surrounding them, like the girls from Charmed if you break up the original trio the band seems to lose its power.

Top Tracks: Get Sexy, Wear My Kiss
If you like this try: Sugababes - Angles with Dirty Faces

Ludacris - Battle Of the Sexes

The man with the best wordplay in rap has been around a while now with Battle of the Sexes his seventh release. Ludacris is one of the most inconsistent rappers in the business, he can make some brilliant singles, songs that are up there with the best in the business (Number One Spot, Area Code, Stand Up) but Battle Of the Sexes isn't up with his best, it is very much Ludacris on auto pilot. Originally the album was thought up as a collaboration with Shawna but after she left Ludacris' record label he wanted her off his album, maybe these distractions took Ludacris' focus away from creating a good album. The lyrics do reflect the title with most the songs being about the discrepancies between men and women, don't worry Luda hasn't become a feminist, the main difference he notices is that all men are players and all girls are slags. The singles are uninspired, How Low is a by the book hip hop track including auto tuned high pitched backing vocals all 3 minutes of rapping about the female posterior and its similarity to jelly when jiggled, My Chicks Bad is bad (not the good kind of bad) and Sex Room is just plain embarrassing. One positive is the quality of guest vocalists he snared Ne-Yo, Flo Rida, Eve and Lil Kim all show up and make brisk cameos, but they can't save the album from it's mediocrity. I can almost guarantee the album will get to number one on the other side of the pond, but Ludacris is a brilliant rapper on his day and can make much better than this.

Top Tracks: Tell Me A Secret, I Know You Got A Man
If you like this try: Busta Rhymes - E.L.E. The Final World Front

Cathedral - Guessing Game

In the 90s Black Sabbath were not making very good music and the slow doom metal style needing someone to kick it in the bum. Alongside Candlemass, Cathedral were the band that kept the genre alive and kicking. Guessing Game is the bands 9th release and sees them making their first double album. The extra disc give the band a bit more room to experiment bringing in elements of folk and prog to the restrictive doom genre and on the whole it works brilliantly. The group certainly aren't reinventing the wheel but they are the best at what they do. The lyrics are typically bleak dealing with social decay, slavery and the nanny state, the music isn't exactly jolly but this is the most upbeat the band have ever musically sounded. The extra length on the tracks means the band can have long psychedelic passages and massive monolithic guitar solos. If you like your riffs carved from lead and your lyrics bleaker than a stormy day at a hopelessness convention, say hello to your new favourite band.

Top Tracks: The Casket Chasers, Edwige's Eyes.
If you like this try: Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Album Releases: Week Commencing 08/03/10: Albums Of The Week

2010-03-08T23:54:00Z

MY favourite two this week were the latest releases from Burzum and Jimi Hendrix.

]]> Jimi Hendrix - Valleys Of Neptune

"Oh wow another release from an old dead artist, why do they continuously sodomise the legacy of talented artists with these live albums and b sides" Wrong dear reader. Valleys Of Neptune contains previously unreleased studio recordings of Hendrix songs to be used on his fourth album, with all but one of the tracks being recorded in 1969 the year before his death. The album calls the tracks previously unreleased which is a slight exaggeration (live versions of a lot of the songs have been released) but this is Jimi Hendrix sounding like Jimi Hendrix with the songs sounding crisp and dare I say it "fresh" 40 years on from their original recording. In a time where the charts are filled with either sweeping bland chord fests or angular awkward indie crud, it is refreshing to hear the guitar being played with such a funky sense of joy and liveliness. There isn't a great deal of variations between the tracks but highlights include the singles Valleys of Neptune and Bleeding Heart, while Lover Man and Fire are filled with such speed and such merriment it is impossible to keep still while listening to. Hendrix guitar playing is like aural caffeine, you just want to move. Absolute highlight of the release is a studio version of Cream's classic Sunshine Of Your Love, an iconic song that Hendrix completely mashes his imprint all over. Certainly the coolest Clapton has ever sounded with the middle third in particular sounding incredible. You will already know if this is your cup of tea but listening to this release it makes you wish Hendrix had lived longer and recorded a lot more.

Top Tracks: Sunshine Of Your Love, Fire, Valleys Of Neptune
If you like this try: Clutch - Blast Tyrant

Burzum - Belus

Often an musicians baggage can overpower an album and overshadow what could be a monumental release. No one thinks about the music on a new Britney Spears album anymore, everyone is too focused on her backstory instead of what she has created and Burzum is in a similar shadow. Burzum is the solo project of Varg Vikernes, a man who many see as a founding father of Norwegian black metal, Vikernes was (and may still be) a white supremacist and a hardcore pagan, but even these sensationalist facts pale in comparison to the real story. After visiting ÃÂystein Aarseth to discuss a contract signing the two former friends began fighting and Varg stabbed him repeatedly until Aarseth died of massive blood loss. In 1994, Varg was sentenced to 21 years for this murder (the maximum in Norway) and was also charged with four counts of church burning. 2009 saw the release of Vikernes after serving 15 years of his sentence. It's under these circumstances that Belus is released, it is Burzum's first album since Vikernes' release from prison and if black metal fans were worried jail had dulled his ability to pen high calibre black metal, they can breathe a sigh of relief. It doesn't seem as though Vikernes has been away at all, Belus is a crushing black metal opus of magnificent proportion. The guitars sound distant and gritty as ever while the blast beat drumming is simple but very effective. The production is a little murky but that just adds to the mystical immersion that this album provides. The only real difference between this album and Burzum's glory years is Varg's voice, which has naturally lost some of the power it once had. His vocals are much lower, almost growls in the distance instead of the powerful screeches and screams of yore. The other major change is that most the album is sung in Norwegian instead of English because of Varg's hatred of America who he believes "wants to be the new Roman Empire, and their Latin is English." The only real disappointment I felt was the lack of any ambient sections and deeper atmospheric parts but this doesn't ruin the album or take anything away from its splendour. Despite its flaws and the personal hatred I harbour to Varg's "activities" I really enjoyed this album and will definitely be playing it on grim nights in the frostbitten future.

Top Tracks: Morgenroede, Belus Doed
If you liked this try: Coldworld - Meloncholie

Album Releases: Week Commencing 08/03/10: Part 2

2010-03-08T23:26:36Z

PART 2 is here now with 100% extra New Young Pony Club, Gorillaz and Boyzone.

]]> Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

Damon Albarn's fingers must've been bleeding from the sheer number of guest musicians he called and e-mailed to get Plastic Beach put together. Guests are numerous and varied ranging from Snoop Dogg and Kano to Lou Reed and Mark E Smith. Each track providing something a little different, you can argue that's the influence of the guests, but I think Albarn has been a very clever camper. Instead of ripping off ideas from the guests genres he takes little slithers of ideas and builds around them meaning they are integral to the song but not the focus. The album is at it's best when phasers are set to mellow with highlights including Welcome To The World Of Plastic Beach with guest vocals by Snoop Dogg oozing out atop waves of brass and a sturdy hip hop beat. This track serves as a perfect introduction to the mood of the album, a relaxing mash of different styles and cultures. The world music interests of Albarn is showcased on next track White Flag with guest spots from the National Orchestra For Arabic Music who play alongside rappers Bashy and Kano. The intro from the orchestra leads perfectly to the calypso beat that Bashy and Kano alternate over before the Arabic orchestra join in to add their cultural style alongside the Caribbean and London sound. In less competent hands this could have been a mess but under Albarn's production and structuring it just works. Plastic Beach manages to get the balance of internal difference perfect, each song sounds different while maintaining an ambience throughout, no mean feat considering the number and styles of the guests. Out of the guests it's the elder statesman Bobby Womack who impresses most adding a world weary melancholy to Stylo and over powering Cloud of Unknowing with a gravitas none of the other guests bring. The album is by no means perfect and does have some very glaring problems. Firstly the album is far too long and it doesn't justify its length with quality with a lot of the tracks sounding like filler. Maybe that's the problem of having so many guests, no one wants their song the cut one. Empire Ants is dull, Glitter Freeze is generic (if you listen carefully you can hear Mark E Smith thinking about the cheque he is getting for this) while Broken is repetitive and very tedious. It's a good album (one which will no doubt be hyped ad nausea and hailed as a modern masterpiece by the hipsters) but it never seems to really hit a stride, content to stay in second gear. It is certainly not the catchy album Demon Days was nor is it as experimental as the Gorillaz debut. The aim of Plastic Beach was to create a microcosm of paradise and it does create it's own little world thanks to some great collaborations. But in the end it seems half finished and perhaps a little too ambitious.

Top Tracks: Stylo (feat Mos Def and Bobby Womack), White Flag (feat Bashy, Kano and National Orchestra For Arabic Music)
If you liked this try: Peeping Tom - Peeping Tom

Boyzone - Brother

You remember Boyzone right? Ronan Keating, No Matter What, Father and Son? Ringing any bells? Boyzone may not be as fondly remembered as Take That but they are hoping to change that with the release of Brother an album written in memory of Stephen Gately. So not only was this the groups first album in 12 years but their first as a four piece and they deliver exactly what you expect them to. The album opens with lead single "Gave It All Away", one of the two tracks with Gately's vocals on. Sounding a little bit like UB40 with a little Sigor Ros thrown in (oddly the track was written by Mika) the group march through the song with no problem sounding exactly like Boyzone of old. The material on display isn't the greatest but it takes on an extra emotional layer when you factor in Gately and it is a fitting tribute from his band mates. "Separate Cars" is a highlight with a stadium sized chorus and melancholic delivery, "Love Is A Hurricane" recalls Keating's Love is a Rollercoaster and "Til The Sun Goes Down" is similarly fist clenching with a joyous piano riff. The emotional aspect really comes to the fore in "One More Song" with the band telling us "Without your voice its just not a song", Moving stuff but it loses some of its emotional clout when you find out it was written not by the band but by Canadian Greg Wells. The main problem is that the lyrics seem very vague and it becomes obvious fairly quickly that none of Boyzone penned any of the admittedly moving lyrics, it cheapens the album a little making it seem insincere. It is a sad fact but Boyzone will forever be in the shadow of Take That and even in the shadow of Westlife. A band should only reform if they feel they can produce something better than what they have done in the past, if you judge the album on that criteria it succeeds. I honestly believe this is the best album you could get from Boyzone, is it better than the recent albums of Take That, The Backstreet Boys or JLS? I think not, but if you listen to Brother you will find an uplifting album with clear appeal, as long as you don't go in expecting something to challenge your musical perception, you can enjoy the tracks on here. Just don't give Jan Moir a copy.

Top Tracks: Separate Cars, Nothing Without You
If you like this try: Take That - Beautiful World

New Young Pony Club - The Optimist

Nu Rave is dead. Most of the bands the NME built up parallel to this new genre have either disbanded (Ghost Frequency), descended into silence (Klaxons) or flopped (Hadouken). So New Young Pony Club's second release The Optimist comes along with a heavy dose of pessimism. This albums sees the band subtlety evolve into an almost gothic sounding area of electronica with singer Tahita Bulmer deadpanning her way through the album giving the songs a futuristic eerie feel. The songs are still very danceable but they are loaded with such quirky timings and instrumentations it never is in danger of becoming boring. The synths and bleeps are so off time with the rest of the music you can't help but admire their guts and feel it does make the sound of the album very different. The album was certainly helped by the lack of record label interference with the band funding the album themselves and this freedom has certainly helped the band creatively. An unexpected success.

Top Tracks: Chaos, The Optimist
If you like this try: Ladytron - Witching Hour