Turn It Up - Pixie Lott. This album should be called Turn It Off. Complete in difference to an album is more painful than it being bad because you can see potential to where it could of gone. I admire the skill to completely rip off the sound that Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse crafted on Black to Black. Replacing Winehouse with a pretty face with a non distinct voice so they can autotune it to sound like Amy and just missing the point. The bits that aren't ripped off something are just generic pop tunes.i don't think she had creative control of the music which is something I would of preferred to hear (at least it would be honest) not just whatever the music executives wanted.
Here, not there - Heathers. Glorious Folk duo with great harmonies, intelligent words and it's upbeat. Clocking in at 25 mins, I can't think of a many better ways to spend that time. I wish I had listened to this sooner. I first heard one of there tracks on Steve Lamo's 6 music program and I fell in love with it so I am disappointed it's taken me this long to get here.
Mesh and Lace - Modern English. Dark Noisy arty post punk ala Joy Division and The Cure. Monotone vocals, relentless rhythms and excellent use of effects on guitars (phaser on guitar adds an experimental feel. Does miss the single I know this band for off the original release but still stands up as a obscure post punk gem.
Cluster and Eno - Cluster and eno. Ambient music that actually gives you something digestible to listen to. It's mostly drone based but it does merely sit in the background. There are change in dynamics, bright synth sounds and glorious echos giving it a spacious feel. Selange has has some abstract drumming to it that follows the jazzy repetitive piano.
Tuesday
Third Reich and Roll - The Residents. Normally I listen to something 'easy' on a morning first thing but when I read about this LP yesterday I had to put it on ASAP. and now I am just confused. It's noisy, discordant and free form versions of other people's songs in two 20 minute segments. There is some straight sampling of the originals, versions of the songs in German and then when songs are played over each other it's just messy. This is an oddity, if this peaks your curiosity check it out and if not I saved you the audio chaos. Do I like it? I like it because it is a brave and interesting album. No I will not be listening again.
Update Your Brain - The Tuts. Power pop with personality. Tales of being a girl in a band, which for some reason is still really a taboo and you get misstreated for it as you will hear. the songs are great, the lyrics are great and it's just a great slice of power pop/ pop punk.
Lights - Ellie Goulding. What a really fun folky pop album with great songs, distinctive voice and just a very enjoyable album. Saw her live on this tour and it brought back great memories of seeing her live. Unlike her second and third LPs which saw her musically become generic pop and become overtly sexualised. This is most enjoyable.
Soft Hair - Soft Hair. Twisted disco is the first thing that popped into my head. It grooves like a disco track but has too many off kilter rhythms, vocoded vocals and dark synth sounds. It's glitchy in places, ambient in places but unfortunately it's nothing new. I had an allergic reaction to this kind of slow electro stuff last year because it's so damn boring.
Wednesday
Playland - Johnny Marr. Melodic power pop with some great songs (including the excellent single, Easy Money), splashes of experimentation with heavy reverb and echos as well as some awesome guitar work by Marr. It has energy, melody and is well worth forty minutes of your time.
Simplicity - JAWS. It's dreamy poppy noisy and a thoroughly enjoyable listen. I have pretended long enough to know about these guys so it's great listening to them now.
How men are - Heaven 17. You can tell it's a Heaven 17 album due to their unique sound. I don't really know why this album has been sidelined. It's really enjoyable. Apart from the ten minute last track which goes off on a tangent for no reason and then return to the chorus and I just thought, this songs ended didn't it? Very enjoyable stuff from the shefield Lads.
Wreckless Eric - Wreckless Eric. Odd quirky pub rock with a punk rock attitude. Some great horn sections on this album. Includes the smashing single Whole Wide World.
Revolution Dub - Lee Scratch Perry. Oh my word this album is great. Very unique mixing style. Interesting use of panning/stereo. The bass is so heavy. The early sampling in this album makes this album so unique.
Another Eternity - Purity Ring. Pop music from the school of Grimes. Instead of light drum machines, generic lead singer autotuned to be in tune and bad lead synth riffs. this is has over the top in your face big synths, autotuned vocals as a vocal effect (like you would a reverb) and the drum machines sound huge and glitchy. There are touches of industrial music, dub and big beat in just the drums. It feels like a pop album but of course this is too good to be widely recognized by the pop music market.
The abstract dragon - Busta Rhymes and Q Tip. Short but perfectly formed hip hop album. the lyrics aren't particularly nice to female kind but the production is great if you like Jazzy Hip Hop.
In a Gadda Da Vida - Iron Butterfly. Oh god no flashbacks. This isn't Yes-terday again is it? My word I really find it hard to like early hard rock. It's just such an awkward middle ground. It's not heavy enough to be metal but it's not soft enough to work as beat music. So they just sound like drawn out Beatles songs with a distorted guitar and bad mixing. The stereo is dreadful as it shoves the whole drum kit in one ear, but even in mono, I think I still would of fallen asleep. It's just show off, especially the last track. 17 mins of a boring song because everyone needs a solo and then a chorus return.
Inner fire - the soul jazz orchestra. I always thought by the front cover that this was a Sun Ra album despite it bearing no resemblance to one. However like Sun Ra, I like this album very much it's an African jazzy funk album with chanting, great rhythms and some extraordinary musical skill.
Future Breeds - Hot Hot Heat. First off love the album cover, second, I was expecting some kind of synths electronic stuff but I got Post Punk/ Dance Punk. Some tracks have an Arctic Monkeys thing going on some are like The Rapture/ Lcd Soundsystem, there is a bit of jazz elements when it gets slower but the was a glorious surprise for me. Thirdly, we picked up the CD cover when we were on Holiday in Santa Barbara thinking it was a free CD and then got in the card to find no CD but it did comes with a cool poster.
Friday
If you were Fruit - The Lovely Eggs. I am just gonna come out and say this. I love this. It's inconsistent in music tone changing from noise rock to country to indescribable things but it's Lyrical tone is funny all the way through and the best part is they play it straight. Rhyming Scorpion and bourguignon as if it was just a normal thing to rhyme. This is an a drill, listen to this album. It's Half Man Half Biscuit, Courtney Barnett and Velvet Underground. It's country, Indie rock and punk.
Tookah - Emiliana Torrini. can't decide if it's a folk album or a Bjork album and ends up sounding odd because of this. Instead of a fusion of the two styles it's just a split album. It's pleasant don't get me wrong but is just not consistent in style.
The Slow readers Club -The Slow Readers Club. If Johnny Marr joined New Order...scrap that. Sounds like an electronic (Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner project) album. It is a really enjoyable album and would recommend it to fans of either New Order or Electronic.
Souvlaki - Slowdive. Shoegaze classic that lives up to the classic tag. Like Galaxie 500 it's dreamy but has enough going on to keep it interesting. It's noisy in places too which makes me wonder why I didn't listen to this album sooner. There is a Beautiful acoustic number at the end too.
New Brigade - iceage. Noisy intense 25 minute punk record. Songs are short and punchy and dark. In that sense, there is some resemblance to the work of Bauhaus (the band, not the important school of design in Germany). Nothing particularly inventive here (unlike the Bauhaus school) but if you like that kinda music give it a shot.
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