Tweet-ville U.K. featuring Dizzee Rascal, Codes, Slow Club, Mumford & Sons, Wolfmother and Tubelord

Since I've got a whole heap of albums that have yet to grace the pixels of Hitsville U.K., and I want to clear the space they're taking up in my mind, here's a handy little thing to help me (that I may have nabbed from Jamie Milton of Music Fan's Mic, who may have nabbed it from someone else...don't really know); an album review in the space of a tweets, or to those of you not keeping up with modern trends and technology, 140 characters. Call me lazy for doing this (and I'll call you correct) but it's simple and allows me to just give a brief overview etc etc. I'll get on with it now.
(Ratings, track recommendations and other stuff not included in the 140 limit, just so you know)

DIZZEE RASCAL - TONGUE N' CHEEK
"Bonkers leads to this; a go at proper pop "Cheeky" misogyny, stale beats, phoned-in flows, the odd Credit Crunch reference. Yawn, mostly"
RECOMMENDED LISTENING: "Bonkers", "Dance Wiv Me", "Holiday", "Dirtee Cash", "Can't Tek No More"
5.5
CODES - TREES DREAM IN ALGEBRA
"Odd title, epic stadium rock. Would be a new U2 (zzz) if not for ambition and creativity. Bit samey halfway through but one to look out for"
RECOMMENDED LISTENING: "Malfunctions", "Guided By Ghosts", "In Algebra", "Starry Eyed"
7

SLOW CLUB -YEAH SO
"Twee-er than B&S, but even better. Simple folk ditties mix with bittersweet indie rock to lodge in your thoughts for long after listening"
RECOMMENDED LISTENING: "When I Go", "It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful", "There's No Good Way To Say I'm Leaving You", "Because We're Dead", "Apples And Pairs", "Our Most Brilliant Friends"
8


WOLFMOTHER - COSMIC EGG
"Big-haired Aussies return with new members but no new ideas. Same retro-rock as debut, but no equally great songs a la "Dimension", "Woman""
RECOMMENDED LISTENING: "Cosmic Egg", "New Moon Rising", "Sundial"
3

TUBELORD - OUR FIRST AMERICAN FRIENDS
"Another quiet-LOUD band. Noticeably more depth, talent and ideas than most new bands. Clever, thrilling, few negatives cept little diversity"
RECCOMENDED LISTENING: "Somewhere Out There A Dog Is On Fire", "Stacey's Left Arm", "Propeller", "He Awoke On A Beach In Abergavenny", "Cows To The East, Cities To The West"
8

Maybe the new hairstyles were a good thing...
>>>Arctic Monkeys>>>Crying Lightning>>>
To surprisingly little fanfare, Arctic Monkeys slipped back onto the music radar with "Crying Lightning"'s first radio play. No big advertising campaign, no countdowns, just an announcement on their website and Zane Lowe's tweets. Which is surprising, as a) they're probably one of the biggest bands in Britain, b) they're headlining Reading & Leeds and c) this is quite different. Whereas previous Arctics material has been characterised by a taut, funky rhythm section and either spiky guitar stabs or crunching powerchords, "Crying Lightning" sees the band return with a swagger.

The plodding bassline, revealed in an early form in one of the band's "The View From..." video blogs, is up there with their best whilst the lead guitar snakes in and out of the track, hinting that Josh Homme's influence on the new album will be fairly noticeable. It bares more resemblance to "Matador" and "Too Much To Ask" than "Fake Tales..." and whilst it may not be a big sing-a-long moment at gigs like the latter (seeing as the lyrics seem to be more pre-occupied with "gobstoppers" and various other confectionery) it'll be a welcome change of pace. It's all too tempting to call it a "Crying" shame (and thus produce one of the worse Arctics puns) but all signs point towards a hat trick of classic albums.
("Crying Lightning" is available to download from iTunes now. So go get it, now.)
8/10

NEU!
>>>TRACKS>>>31.05.09>>>Little Boots, Kasabian, Jamie T, Alexis Blue, The Chapman Family

Little Boots - New In Town
Apologies for reiterating the most over-used cliché concerning new music this year, but let the electro-pop battles commence! For those not in the know/living under a particularly heavy rock, Little Boots is being grouped together with La Roux and Florence & The Machine as a "Holy Trinity" of modern, hyped, female electro-pop singers. All three are being weighed down by the expectation laid on them at the beginning of the year by critics eager for bright new stars to foist into the limelight. Anyways, "New In Town" is the lead single from LB's debut album "Hands" and has "CHOON!" written all over it. It's pretty clear to say that this will be getting repeat plays all over the country during Freshers Weeks in September, and they'll be deserved. The chorus "I'm gonna take you out tonight/I'm gonna make you feel alright" is simple yet genius at the same time and puts the former Victoria Hesketh out in front against her rivals. {Watch the video for "New In Town"}
8

Kasabian - Fire
The Leicester loudmouths comeback single is something of a slowburner (pun intended). Starting off sounding like a psychedelic jam, "Fire" soon bounces into a bluesy stomper of a chorus and possibly the easiest thing to sing along to at this summer's festivals that isn't "Ruby" or "Chelsea Dagger" ("I'm on fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrre!" is pretty much it). As always with Kasabian's lyrics, they don't exactly mean too much, but who really cares with a something this groovy (hippy-ness not intended). It's not even the best track on their third album "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum" but still possibly the best thing Kasabian have released. {Watch the video for "Fire"}
7.5

Jamie T - Sticks N' Stones
How Jamie T isn't as big as Arctic Monkeys will forever be a mystery to me. He's got all the lyrical wit and verve of Alex Turner, the musical eclecticism of The Clash and the likeability of Kaiser Chiefs (without actually sounding like them, which is a talent in itself). "Sticks N' Stones" is his first new material released since the fantastic debut album "Panic Prevention" and it jumps about in all the right places. For a middle-class white guy from Wimbledon, he can't half rap and can craft a tune better than almost any 'bonafide popstar' around. Once again, it'll be massive at the festivals and if it doesn't propel Mr T. (no, not that one) to a similar level as the aforementioned Kaisers then I'll eat my straw hat. {Watch the video for "Sticks N' Stones}
10

Alexis Blue - Tarred & Feathered
AB have returned! Any new material from them is a cause for celebration, and "Tarred & Feathered" is no different. No massive deviation from the typical AB formula, but if it ain't broke, then it doesn't need fixing. "Tarred & Feathered" sounds more focused, tighter than anything AB have produced previously and, like Jamie T up there, they should been rising faster than mercury but for some baffling reason, they remain virtually unknown. So go download their debut album (it's free) or other demos or get down to a gig. You won't regret it. {Download "Tarred & Feathered"} {Download AB's debut album for free}
7.5

The Chapman Family - Kids
I haven't got a clue whose idea it was to stick The Chapman Family on the bill of the NME Radar tour below Magistrates, Heartbreak and La Roux, but whoever it was has a wicked sense of humour. Imagine a bunch of Radio 1-obsessed kids running to the front of the venue to see La Roux and all her electro tricks and being hit with the wall of distortion and anger that the Chapmans make. Hilarious, in my mind anyway. Back on topic, "Kids" is the first single from Teeside's finest and has an unfortunately similar chorus to Maximo Park's "The Kids Are Sick Again". But, this is a world away from the slick indie-pop of Maximo. This is proper "turn-it-up-loud-and-piss-off-your-parents/neighbours" angry rock that has been missing from British music for a long while (I don't count Gallows). "Kids" should be the anthem for all pissed and pissed-off teens across the country and for those in the know, it certainly is. {Watch the video for "Kids"}
9

A REFRESHING CHANGE

>>>Passion Pit>>>Chunk Of Change EP + The Reeling>>>
There are some bands that prove simple to pigeonhole. For instance, The Futureheads are simple indie-rock, Bon Iver is folk and The Pigeon Detectives are bollocks. But there are the bands that are almost impossible to categorise, such as Late Of The Pier, Foals, Grammatics, Test Icicles. Obviously you can sweep them all under the all encompassing carpets of "indie" and "alternative" (as I'm kinda forced to do when tagging these posts) but doing that plainly ignores the other elements those bands have and strive to put into their music and make them stand out. The latest band to join "the uncategorised" is Passion Pit. Hailing from Massachusetts, Passion Pit throw bits of pop, dance, soul, indie and even a little emo (the chorus to "I've Got Your Number - "Can't you see me crying?/Tears like diamonds" is irresistible and wholly emo at the same time) into their musical melting pot and this approach has seen them tipped as a big name for 2009.

Their pop is the opposite of the bland, interchangeable pap peddled by Cowell & co, you won't find it in Tescos for a fiver. Their dance is the opposite to the stuff clogging up the charts, making you think "What is this? This is rubbish! We should be listening to firm young melodies, kicking tunes, thumping bass!" and then hopefully "God I sound so stupid!". "Chunk Of Change" is the next logical step on from LCD Soundsystem's hipsterness, Metronomy's joy-to-despair lyrics and Friendly Fires pure-pop-through-dance formula. Standout track "Smile Upon Me" even steals it's chorus melody from LCD's "All My Friends". The EP may be a little challenging to listen to with its 8 tracks reaching almost 45 minutes, but is definitely worth a full listen if only to get to future classic "Sleepyhead". This one track is probably the best example of pop in 2009; an electronic wall of sound mixed with a million and one hooks and just a feeling of utter joy. If that makes any sense. It's happy, it's danceable and it should be everywhere this year.

Passion Pit's lead single "The Reeling", taken from their debut album "Manners", doesn't quite match up to the tracks on "Chunk Of Change" but that would be a difficult task to follow for any band. Instead we get a faintly 80's sounding surefire hit. Big beats, a simple melody and all manner of keyboard whirrings should propel this to the charts, but knowing the British music-buying/downloading public, it will probably reach about Number 112.

ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "I've Got Your Number", "Smile Upon Me", "Cuddle Fuddle", "Sleepyhead", "The Reeling"
FOR FANS OF: LCD Soundsystem, Friendly Fires, Hot Chip, Metronomy
Chunk Of Change - 9
The Reeling - 8

THE PRODIGY - INVADERS MUST DIE
Not such a huge fan myself. A few tunes good for partying/raving to, but I've never gone any further. But new single "Invaders Must Die" is good enough to join the old hits, and you'll probably find me jumping round like a loon at a party to it some time in the future. The track is produced by Does It Offend You, Yeah?'s James Rushent and it has to be said that he definitely has had some influence on the sound. The synths and drums are virtually identical to most electronic bands around at the moment, like DIOY,Y?, Hadouken! and Pendulum. That may put the fear of God into you, if you're quite a big fan, that a band such as The Prodigy has been reduced to sounding like that load of crap (although DIOY,Y? are actually very good).Well cast aside your hatred for a minute, as the 21st century influence is a positive thing. Alright, it may not be as agressive as say "Smack My Bitch Up", a little poppier being honest, but "IMD" is still one hell of a tune. No lyrics apart from "Invaders must die!" and "We are The Prodigy" said in unnerving distorted voices, so the music does the talking. Your mum and dad still may not like it but, really, who cares?

8/10

THE JOY FORMIDABLE
Here we go again with the noise pop. Yet another band with perfect pop melodies buried under fuzzy distortion and a wave of noise. But where The Joy Formidable differ from the rest of the pack (hello Abe Vigoda, Women, Times New Viking, HEALTH and the rest!) is that the balance between distortion and pop is perfect. There isn't the overwhelming distortion drilling into your ears, the droning giving you a migraine and the fact that bands seem utterly bored with making music. Not exactly punk rock.

Glasvegas are the only band at the moment that TJF could call contemporaries. Both produce melodies that Girls Aloud, The Saturdays et al would kill to have, but applied to songs you wouldn't hear coming out of plastic pop princess' mouths. Both have fantastically loud walls of sound over the top but not too much as to cloud the songs. The band themselves have even mentioned that their approach to songwriting is very close to that of the great Scots. It's not exactly bad company to be in. I highly recommend giving them a listen. As well as finding the banned video for "Austere" on their website. It's quite "interesting" to say the least. Anyways that's the worst band recommendation ever over with.
8.5/10 - (Austere)
7.5/10 - (The Last Drop)
8/10 - (Cradle)