The Cribs - Housewife

Returning after their fourth album (last year's lacklustre "Ignore The Ignorant"), The Cribs have released "Housewife" as a stand-alone single. At least I hope it's a stand-alone single, as an entire album with this sound would certainly mark a dip in form for the Wakefield/Manc band. Already splitting opinion betweens fans and outsiders alike, "Housewife" is the first Cribs song to use a synth, to my knowledge anyway, and whilst lo-fi indie-punk is what the band do best, yet another single cut from that same cloth wouldn't have left much cloth to cut from in future...if that makes any sense. Some supposed fans are blaming Johnny Marr's involvement for taking away some of the bite of the first three Cribs albums, and there is some truth in that (it's a common opinion that when played live, pre-Marr songs are ruined due to his rhythm playing being added). But whilst this change in sound is refreshing, I'm not too sure it works. All the pieces are in place; Marr's rhythm guitar adds to the song, the synth riff is actually catchy and Gary Jarman's basslines drive the song along (although Ryan Jarman still can't hold a tune in a bucket with the lid on), but it doesn't seem to gel on the first few listens. Of course, it'll be sung back in unison by the time it's played at Reading & Leeds, so I doubt The Cribs will have too many worries about a backlash just yet.
7/10

"Housewife" is out on iTunes now or slightly less legal means here.
The Cribs play the Reading & Leeds festivals on Saturday 28th and Friday 27th of August respectively

Kele - Tenderoni

Since Bloc Party have gone on hiatus recently, its members have been given a chance to venture into that uneven of lands known as "side projects". Russell Lissack has formed Pin Me Down with Milena Mapris (essentially a electro-pop version of Bloc Party), Gordon Moakes is now a part of Young Legionnaire with The Automatic's Paul Mullen and La Roux's William Bowerman and, whilst drummer Matt Tong has stayed quiet so far, frontman Kele Okereke has gone solo, embracing his love of clubbing and dance music. "Tenderoni", the first fruits of his solo album "The Boxer", recieved its first radio play tonight to divided opinion. Sounding plagarisingly close to both Wiley's "Wearing My Rolex" and Bodyrox's "Yeah Yeah", "Tenderoni" will almost certainly be a mammoth club hit come the summer, even if it lacks that one big vocal hook that every dance classic needs. Skip to 1:36 and you can just envisage the sweaty crowd of skinny jeans going absolutely apeshit...in a good way. The first proper summer anthem is here, and I expect there's plenty more to come on the album.
8.5/10

Vampire Weekend - Horchata

Last year's indie press darlings (and winners of Hitsville U.K.'s Album Of The Year) have been fairly quiet for quite some time now, apart from a great set at the Reading & Leeds festivals. But recently they've revealed the artwork for "Contra", their second album and now the first single taken from that record is free to download on the band's website. That single is "Horchata". Carefree and almost childlike in it's simplicity, "Horchata" sounds like the afrobeat constantly associated with Vampire Weekend and as straightforwardly pop as they come at the same time. Big drums, smooth vocals, easily memorable hooks and a whimsical, orchestral flourish makes this a worthy addition to VW's canon. Of course to the common garden music fan, it's not going to displace "A-Punk" as their One Big Hit™, but to any Vampire Weekend fan "Horchata" will be on constant repeat.
8.5

Los Campesinos! - There Are Listed Buildings + The Sea...

The best band you probably haven't heard of return with two previews of their latest album (second or third, depending on whether you think an Extended EP of 10 tracks counts as an album). Los Campesinos! have always been what I personally want in a band; the ability to make shouty, loud, throw-yourself-around indie and rather twee 'n' tender alt.pop with at least one heart-brakingly great lyric in every song. This winning streak continues in "There Are Listed Buildings" and "The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future" which are on the as-yet-untitled new album.

"TALB" is probably LC!'s most radio-friendly track in a while, not too twee as to be straight, sugary, saccharine pop but not too spiky and indie to drive casual listeners back to their Snow Patrol. Reminiscent of the material on debut "Hold On Now, Youngster", the "ba-ba"s and humming that surround the choruses make this an obvious future sing-along classic (well to us awkward indie kids anyway), and the brass section (brass!!) is a rather welcome augmentation of the LC! sound
There Are Listed Buildings by loscampesinos
8.5


"The Sea..." on the other hand, is a much different beast to the aforementioned first single. The brooding, mournful guitar and violin combo of the intro is very similar to "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" highlight "Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time" until it explodes into an epic maelstrom, which edges towards My Bloody Valentine, musically at least. Lyrically, there are more great lines here than most bands can manage in a career. For example; "you could never kiss a Tory boy without wanting to cut off your tongue again", " I grabbed hold of her wrist and my hand closed from tip to tip/ I said “you’ve taken the diet too far, you have got to let it slip”", " ask her to speak French and then I need her to translate, I get the feeling she makes the meaning more significant" and "She was always far too pretty for me to believe in a single word she said, believe a word she said". Let's see Hard-Fi top that. In short, this is the best thing LC! have done so far and makes me unbelievably excited for the album. And what's more it's free to download from their blog, so go do that and then buy the album when it's released.
10

"Sunday Sunday"

Yet another feature type thing. I should stop introducing these things to the blog as I'll lose track even more, but may as well give it a shot. As you may have guessed from the title, this is going to happen every Sunday (hopefully) and will include anything from the past week that I haven't mentioned or reviewed etc. Which right now, is a lot of stuff.

THE BIG PINK - DOMINOS"These girls fall like dominos! Dominos!"
Any gloomy noise-pop song that can get a Disneyfied 11 year old singing along to it after the first chorus is going to be huge. The Big Pink have built on their first couple of singles ("Velvet" and "Stop The World") which were brilliant but kind of inaccessible to the masses, to produce what is likely to be the "Indie Hit Of Summer 2009"™. It'll be on trailers for Skins, featured on Hollyoaks and you can bet your skinny jeans that the BBC will use it on an advert for Reading & Leeds. Not that this is a bad thing, because "Dominos" is as catchy as swine flu, but less lethal and with more synths. And what's more, it's available for download on TBP's website, for free! Very kind of them.
9.5

JAMIE T - CHAKA DEMUS"Tonight Jay, I'm gonna teach 'em a ballad/An English man in every coward"
Personally, I cannot wait for Jamie T's second album. All signs point towards another modern classic that escapes pigeon-holing, thanks to "Fire Fire" and "Stick N' Stones". Latest single "Chaka Demus" makes it a hat-trick of great pre-album releases with a Funky Drummer-esque beat, Radio 1 friendly hooks and lyrics spat out at a machine gun rate. Like "Dominos", it's going to soundtrack a fair few summers and be used on pretty much any advert aimed at the "yoof of 2day", but also like "Dominos", this isn't a bad thing at all.
9.5

THE CRIBS - WE WERE ABORTED//CHEAT ON ME"Your virility, makes me forget empathy"
"I could be someone else if you'd rather/Try to win you over like a new step father"
A double whammy of tunes from the Jarmans-and-Marr (Marr-man?) collaboration. Okay, neither song is a major change of sound and image (a la The Horrors, Franz, Penate) with both sounding like The Cribs with some melodic lead guitar on top. This is only testament to how effortless Marr's contribution ot the band is. There's no whimsical Mancunian melancholia to be seen (as some may have expected from Marr's last big band The Smiths...not sure you'll have heard of them) just powerhouse riffs and probably the closest thing to the proper punk sound that you'll find around today. Plus it's probably the only song to include the word "masturbation" that isn't sung by 35 year old American pop-punk bands who really should give it up.
8//8

DAN BLACK - UN"Gimme, gimme, symphonies/Gimme more than the life I see"
Whereas 2009 has been overrun by female pop acts, the guys have been left in their dust, on the fringe of mainstream success but no quite breaching the gap from the underground. Dan Black is one such guy. Gaining a bit of attention for being refused to sample Biggie Smalls lyrics on "Hypntz" last year, he's emerged with his debut album. Needless to say, he hasn't reached the heights of La Roux or Little Boots yet, and is unlikely to with anything here. "Symphonies" (the rewritten version of "Hypntz") is the opening track and the best on the album, so subsequently it's all downhill from there. There are few other high points on "Un", with only "Alone", "Cigarette Pack" and the initially aggravating "Yours" reaching above the level of mundane. Pardon the pun, but highly "Un"inspiring.
GO DOWNLOAD: "Symphonies", "Alone", "Yours", "Cigarette Pack"
4

V.V. BROWN - TRAVELLING LIKE THE LIGHT"Baby, there’s a shark in the water/I caught them barking at the moon"
One name that slipped under the pop radar at the beginning of the year was V.V. Brown. Barely a mention on any journalist's pick lists and no Top Ten singles to hype up her album, but who needs them when you've previously written for the Sugababes and Pussycat Dolls? TLTL is a solid album, indebted to 50s rockabilly and deserves much more attention than it's got. Anyone who can use the melody from "Monster Mash" and turn it into one of they year's best pop songs ("Crying Blood") whilst making you forget the original deserves a medal, and V.V. Brown is that person. A handful of tracks grate or stick to firmly to one sound but in a year of good debuts, TLTL is up there with the best.
GO DOWNLOAD: "Crying Blood", "Shark In The Water", "Leave!", "Game Over"
7.5

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

'POINTING THE WAY FORWARD
>>>Delphic>>>Counterpoint>>>
The Killers can piss off back to their Las Vegas drawing board. Franz Ferdinand will have to chuck away their newly bought Casios. The new New Order are finally here. And, somewhat unsuprisingly, they're also from Manchester. In their own words Delphic "are the future sound of Manchester mixing euphoric electronica with anthemic songs for a post dance world". Clearly they've defintiely got the typical Manc confidence and swagger which is unusual, as most electronica/dance bands are seen as either uber-nerds or hyperactive students dressed in fluorescent colours, not confident masters of euphoric pop. "Counterpoint", their debut single, is a surefire hit, if not in the charts then definitely in the 'underground'. The swirling keyboards and frantic drumming mixed with James Cook's impassioned vocals make sure the song lives up to it's billing as "anthemic" by the band. The combination of dance and pop hooks makes it easy to envisage "Counterpoint" in a club, at a gig, at a festival, even in an arena or a stadium, which is certainly not a bad thing at all.
FOR FANS OF: New Order, Bloc Party, Friendly Fires
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

"FOUR WINDS BLOWING THROUGH HER HAIR"
>>>The Killers>>>Four Winds>>>
This is possibly the most unexpected cover of the year (unless The Saturdays decide to ruin "Master Of Puppets" next). The rather liberal Bright Eyes being covered by closet-Republican Brandon Flowers. Never saw it coming, but somehow it works. It's basically "Human" but obviously with the lyrics changed. The synths are set to classic New Order setting (I presuming all keyboards have that built in) as with most Killers tracks and it seems set to be a club hit, which is suprising considering it's a song about society advancing and eventually destroying itself. And all this on a b-side! It's worth buying the single for just to get this.

8

"NEW FEAR WILL CATCH US UNAWARES"
>>>The Horrors>>>"Sea Within A Sea">>>



















I used to hate The Horrors. Serious hate. The bone-tight jeans, the Shoreditch haircuts, just the general shit-ness surrounding them. They were awful live too. Why Arctic Monkeys picked them as a support, I'll never know. But it appears the 20-odd months since their last release appaears to have done The Horrors the world of good.

Gone are the hair-sprayed back-combed birds nest hairdos. Done away with are the silly "goffick" stage names. The Sonics ripoff guitar sound have been abolished and Faris Badwan's guttral howl has been replaced with a sombre, mournful croon. In short, it's a world away from anything on "Strange House". There were some influences on the debut that pointed in this direction, but it's tottally unexpected that they'd ever produce this. An 8 minute comeback single, that effectively chucks the sound of Echo & The Bunnymen, Neu, Bauhaus and so many more post punk bands into a melting pot and comes out with something brilliant.

"Sea Within A Sea" sounds almost ethereal in places, verging on Joy Division territory. In fact, Badwan's vocals are errily similar to Ian Curtis in places. The shoegaze feel to the song makes it all the more enchanting, especially at the four minute mark, whilst avoiding being utterly downbeat and depressing. All of the instruments compliment each other and make the song a likely target for a remix or two, If the rest of sophomore album "Primary Colours" follows this route (and accroding to NME.com, it most likely will) then The Horrors will have gained at least one more fan.

Check out the video at www.thehorrors.co.uk (watch out though, it is rather flashy)

9

CATCHING UP
Apologies for the month without anything being posted. General merriment (eighteenth birthday) and toil (coursework) stopped me from being energised enough to write anything. In that time, I've built up a backlog of stuff that I shall pile upon you all in one big post. A few are just initial thoughts at first. I'll update some to full reviews if needs be. Enjoy.















ART BRUT - ART BRUT VS SATAN (released 20th April 2009)
I wonder who would win that duel. Judging by Eddie Argos' mob's third effort, Beelzebub is a dead cert. The Brut's debut "Bang Bang Rock N Roll" was full to the brim with simple, yet ingenious punk rock witticisms. Follow up "It's A Bit Complicated" was dull as dishwater to be frank. Whilst there are a fair few lol-worthy toe tappers here, it would appear the spark has gone from a once brilliant band.
5
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "Alcoholics Unanimous" "DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshake" "Summer Job"
FOR FANS OF: The Wombats, The Rakes, Young Knives














BON IVER - BLOOD BANK (released 20th January 2009)
Fresh from being darling of the uber-indie gang with last year's debut "For Emma, Forever Ago", Justin Vernon returns with this four-track EP. It's more of the same really; the title track is a typical example of Vernon's sound over his last few albums but is up with his best, as are "Beach Baby" and "Babys". Final tracks "Woods" is probably the most experimental track of any beardy-folksy type to sprout up in the last few years. An a cappella tracks using a Kanye-esque auto tuner (betcha never thought you'd see Bon Iver and Kanye West in the same review), once it gets going it's a thing of eerie beauty.
9
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: All of it
FOR FANS OF: Fionn Regan, Fleet Foxes, Ray LaMontagne













THE BPA - I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT (released 6th January 2009)
Or just more talent. It may be snidey to dismiss this album in the first sentence, but it's really that poor, considering who is involved. Jamie T, David Byrne, Dizzee, Iggy, Martha Wainwright feature, all being orchestrated by that well known musical genius Norman Cook aka Fatboy Silm. Apparently, according to interviews with Cook, the album is a "lost classic" from the 70s and the tapes have just been found. I think I'll point out that Cook was admitted to rehab for alcohol addiction just after this album was released. Coincidence? All this album can represent is an immeasurable waste of talent and creativity. Apart from "Toe Jam" featuring Dizzee Rascal and David Byrne, which is quite the choon.
3
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "Toe Jam (featuring David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal)"
FOR FANS OF: Fatboy Slim













EMMY THE GREAT - FIRST LOVE (released 9th February 2009)
Slightly over-presumptuous, if I'm being honest. As with The BPA up there, this appears to be another one track album. The title track is a cute folky ballad, with a slightly odd ending and a blatant steal from "Hallelujah", but apart from that there's nothing else here to sink your teeth into. Just samey sub-Laura Marling folk-pop. Yawn.
3
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "First Love"
FOR FANS OF: Laura Marling, Noah & The Whale, Lightspeed Champion














IT HUGS BACK - INSIDE YOUR GUITAR (released 6th April 2009)
Certainly does what it says on the tin. The whole album feels like one big warm shoegaze-y hug. A hug that makes me want to abandon any sense of professionalism I have by using smileys and emoticons to describe it. C'mon, it even has felt in the artwork! It's twee and I love it. "Inside Your Guitar" walks the line between droney yet heartfelt melancholia and unbridled, joyous dream pop, mixing bits of both with aplomb. "Work Day" is a prime example of this, and is as great a single as any major label corporate indie whores will release this year. Nothing against major label indie, it just that IHB are a rather underground indie band, so hating the mainstream feels appropriate. Should you happen across this album anywhere, from record shops to HMV to the interwebz, grab it immediately and immerse yourself in utter happiness. In album form.
9.5
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "Q", "Work Day", "Forgotten Song", "Remember", "Now & Again"
FOR FANS OF: The Love Language, The Little Ones, Pete & The Pirates














THE JOY FORMIDABLE - A BALLOON CALLED MOANING (released 17th February 2009)
As previously seen being raved about by me on here a few months back. The Welsh trio have the perfect dreamy pop melodies at their disposal, only buried under walls of mountainous feedback, massive riffage, thunderous drums and (just to cram one more cliche in) widescreen vision. There's something slightly reminiscent about Holy Bible-era Manic Street Preachers about the ten songs here, but I can't quite place my finger on it. A more obvious way to describe them would be Pixes mixed with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, if only for Ritzy's punkish Karen O-aping vocals. Most tracks are surprisingly danceable too, with impressive fuzzy bass work being at the core of the album. Hyped festival appearances await, surely
8
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade", "Cradle", "Austere"
FOR FANS OF: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pixies, Red Light Company














K'NAAN - TROUBADOUR (released 24th February 2009)
Somalian rappers are not a regular feature of anything really. But my guess is K'naan wants to change that. Not strictly from Somalia as he's lived in the US and Canada for 18 years, but still, the influences of his home country shine through. Looking like Crabman from My Name Is Earl and roping in an all-star cast of Mos Def, Adam Levine, Damian Marley and Kirk freakin' Hammett(!) "Troubadour" is a fun, summery hip-hop album (well apart from "If Rap Gets Jealous" which Hammett plays on, which sounds a bit like a good rap-rock band (I seriously can't think of any)). Not exactly revolutionary or life changing, but highly enjoyable
7
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "If Rap Gets Jealous", "Wavin' Flag", "America"
FOR FANS OF: Common, Wyclef Jean, Kid Cudi














N.A.S.A - THE SPIRIT OF APOLLO (released 17th February)
If I'm being honest, then this is basically The BPA's album, all over again. Even down to having David Byrne feature. But it's actually much, much better. "The Spirit Of Apollo" is in the same vein as "Troubadour"; cheerful, summer BBQ hip hop, although with a slightly more famous cast list (David Byrne, Chuck D, RZA, Karen O, John Frusciante, Santigold, Lykke Li, Kanye West, George Clinton, Tom Waits, Lovefoxxx, The Cool Kids, M.I.A and more) being used by DJ Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon . The songs range from amazing tunes ("There's A Party", "Gifted") to half baked ideas that plod along with no direction ("The Mayor", "O Pata"). Once again, it's not going to change your life, but it's still worth parting with your hard-earned cash if only for a Kanye/Santigold/Lykke Li collaboration
6.5
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "There's A Party", "Gifted", "Whachadoin?", "Money", "N.A.S.A Music"
FOR FANS OF: Kanye West, M.I.A













OASIS - FALLING DOWN (A MONSTROUS PSYCHEDELIC BUBBLE MIX BY AMORPHOUS ANDROGYNOUS) (released 9th March 2009)
Fook me. I know most people wouldn't be able to sit through one track that lasted 22 minutes, let alone an Oasis track that went on for that amount of time. But this is mind blowing. Okay, to begin with it is a rip-off of "Tomorrow Never Knows" by, you guessed it, The Beatles; all sitars, eastern flavouring and slightly complicated drumbeats. But as it evolves it becomes an epic piece of music, more ambitious than Muse, Radiohead, Blur and Klaxons put together. Yes, it may get a bit tedious to listen to the same lyrics repeated for 22 minutes albeit by Noel, Alisha Sufit (the singer of Magic Carpet...nope, I dunno either) and a creepy young girl. But the swirling paranoia and sudden bursts of orchestral arrangements just keep building on an already brilliant track. This may sound like hyperbole, but it really is an astonishing remix. According to Gallagher Sr. himself "It changed the way I think about music....life has never been the same since" Now if that isn't reason enough to download it from iTunes, then I don't know what is.
9.5
FOR FANS OF: Oasis, The Beatles...obviously



















PETER, BJORN AND JOHN - NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT (released 23rd March 2009)
I'm not sure how many of you remember P,B&J. You'd know "Young Folks" a mile off if you heard it, with it's irresistible whistling hook. Well this latest single is a world away but just as brilliant. Once again the trio have dreamt up a great hook, albeit quite the opposite of "Young Folks". The electronically distorted voices slowly worm their way into your head, but in a good way, backed up by a funky bass to make the indie kids dance. Oh, and the video is a work of genius. Look out for it on MTV2 or NMEtv, seeing as YouTube and Myspace Music Videos are being utter idiots.
9
FOR FANS OF: Lykke Li, MGMT














PETER DOHERTY - GRACE/WASTELANDS (released 16th March 2009)
Ahh, old crackhead Pete. The tabloids' favourite non-political-or-sporting whipping boy has brought out his long-threatened solo album....and it's not bad. Not bad at all. In fact it's better than all of the ex-Libertines efforts after the breakup. "Grace/Wastelands" shifts from finger-picking Dylan-esque opener "Arcady" to the dubby "Last Of The English Roses" (which has grown on me immensely and works much better in the context of an album), The lyrics may not be the amazing poetry that Pete... sorry, Peter is known for amongst his fanboys (there's even a line stolen from Carl Barat on "A Little Death Around The Eyes") but with the help of Graham Coxon and fellow Babyshambler Drew McConnell, the album is a triumph. All he has to do now is stay of the bad stuff, turn up for shows and be a rock star. Simple.
8
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "Last Of The English Roses", "Salome", "I Am The Rain", "Palace Of Bone"
FOR FANS OF: The more acoustic moments of The Libertines and The Courteeners


Finally finished....for now.

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

RED LIGHT COMPANY - WITH LIGHTS OUT





















Currently second place in terms of the race to be the big, new stadium rockers, behind White Lies (more on their album later), Red Light Company are a rather different beast to that band. Whereas the band formerly known as the indie-poppers Fear Of Flying dress head to toe in black and have a worrying pre-occupation with death and darkness, RLC seem more content with making widescreen driving rock 'n' roll with a dollop of angst here and there. Their last few singles ("Scheme Eugene" and "Arts & Crafts") have been rather good too, although not exactly reinventing the musical wheel. "With Lights Out" is typical "epic indie" fare with its chugging guitars, impassioned vocals etc. You're more likely to hear it on Hollyoaks or in Topman than in any holier-than-thou indie snob blog (obviously not what this is). It's still a good song from a good band, but in comparison to White Lies, there's no way they can win.
7/10

THE WOMBATS - MY CIRCUITBOARD CITY
Could the ever-cheerful 'Bats finally be maturing and moving away from the bouncy, sugar coated indie pop of "A Guide To Love, Loss And Desperation"? Going by this next single, it would certainly appear so but it doesn't seem like the best thing to do right now. A move like this would be best later in their career, in 4th album territory maybe, when absolutely everyone is sick of chirpy Scousers pratting about (not just miserable NME hacks). But right now, it'd be best to stick to what they do best. The song itself is a bit more "Is This Christmas?" than "Kill The Director", only without Les Dennis and bells. Few angular riffs here, chanty vocals there, and a bit of a boring chorus in "I can't wait to wallow in self pity/In my circuitboard city tonight". Who knows, the album may be superb like the debut, but the signs aren't looking so good right now.
6.5/10

Good Books - Manifesto

Yet another band to change their name recently (after Panic At The Disco dropped the "!" and The Muslims opted for the much-less contreversy-courting The Soft Pack), Good Books release their yet-to-be-titled second album on the 4th of May next year. Feautring on the album will be "Manifesto", a track which has magically found its way onto teh internetz. GBs first album was full of angular, bleepy math-pop (for want of a better description) but with some big, big choruses which hinted at a lot of potential and a move away from a new Foals.

"Manifesto" begins with the kind of strings you'd expect to hear James Morrison rasping over, but then suddenly bursts into a wall of synth, funky drums and impassioned vocals. To sound like NME, it's like Blaine Harrison from Myserty Jets singing with Glasvegas with Tony Allen on drums. Now back to the actual song. As it progresses, "Manifesto" shows more and more links to the type of melancholy anthemia we've come to expect from the likes of Arcade Fire and British Sea Power recently. If they continue down this route, then they certainly could follow those two into the indie big leagues.

7/10

One Month Off

No, not what I want for Christmas (that would be a new iPod) though I wouldn't say no to it really. It's the title of the latest Bloc Party single released from their third album, and sixth best of the year according to this very blog, "Intimacy". A mix of the crunching guitars and electronic paranoia of the band's first two albums with the new dancey direction, the song is a perfect vehicle for Kele Okereke's brilliant-as-always lyrics (trying not to get too far up BP's backsides here). It's a highlight of "Intimacy" and should win over anyone who lost faith in the Bloc after "Mercury" (which I think is a work of genius personally). "One Month Off" is also accompanied with a rather cool video, if not too subtle with it's political feel, which is slightly confusing as the song lyrics are more to do with yet another failed relationship with someone and have nowt to do with tanks appearing out of nothing.... ahh well, it's still pretty good.



8/10

The Fear

Stop the presses! Lily Allen in doing-something-worthy-of-merit shocker! For the last year or so, the gobby queen of the LDN scene hasn't really done much other than get drunk, get angry and blog. It's been 877(!) days since her debut "Alright, Still" came out (and even longer since biggest hit "Smile"), which was full of ska-pop tunes which soundtracked that summer.But all that's changed now. Gone is the cod-reggae and Vicky Pollard image, and in comes synth-pop and a more mature, wiser Lily. Starting off with soft acoustic guitar plucking and lyrics which are about as sarcastic as me, Chandler Bing and Bill Hicks in a room together.

It's pretty clear that Ms. Allen has the lobotomised, reality TV-adoring Barbies of the world (well hello, Pussycat Dolls) in her sights, and so she should too. For far too long, Big Brother wannabees have been clogging up pretty much every media outlet in the country and it's time for it too stop.

The song goes on with increasing levels or cynicism and sarcasm, bursting into an electro-pop stomper of a chorus, talking about the "fear" of the current celeb-fuelled world. I think I can smell another Number One going Lily Allen's way with this single. In terms of electro-pop, if this is any indicator of the quality of "It's Not Me, It's You", then Franz Ferdinand will have a struggle on their hand to better it.


9/10

808s & Heartbreak

Well Kanye won't win any prizes for album title subtlety, seeing his fourth offering is basically made up predominantly of the Roland TR-808 drum machine (as it can be used to"evoke emotion"....go figure) and a turbulent year for West himself; the death of his mother and a split from his fiancée. So you can forgive him for the overwhelming woe-is-me feel of the album.

Two other main factors of the album are the use of AutoTune/Vocoder and the complete lack of rapping. Seriously. Gutted for all the kids who like to think they're from "da ghetto" then buy this album, just because it's Kanye, and get just one track featuring a rap (new single "Heartless"). If anything, the album is rooted in classic 80's pop, than 21st century hip-hop. West has already said that he has a soft spot for pop and that some of the "greatest" singers of all time were pop artists, specifically Madonna and Michael Jackson (obviously he hasn't heard their last few releases).

But for all the background and bumfluff, for all the concepts and melancholy, 808s & Heartbreak just comes off as a bit bland really. Opener "Say You Will" is fine musically, but Kanye's vocals are instantly forgettable, as are most of the tracks on the album. In fact, the collaboration tracks (with Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, Mr. Hudson and Lil' Wayne) are the best here, seemingly as they're not all Kanye moping about. Lead single "Love Lockdown" is pretty much a work of genius from the "college dropout"; distorted vocals and tribal drums gel together suprisingly well, but from here, 808s... is downhill, right down to the final track "Pinocchio Story" a freestyle from a gig in Singapore. Pretty pointless really, it's a dirge of a track and I lost track of what Kanye was on about half way through, so I switched to The Wombats.

Anyways, 808s & Heartbreak is a suprising curveball, a confident change in direction for one of the biggest rappers around. Yet, despite the actual heartbreak behind it, you'd think West would find something positive out of the whole experience instead of turning into a sort of hip-hop Morrissey. At least he can make misery seem interesting, he's been doing it for 26 years.

6.5/10

Speaking of The Wombats, they're releasing a Christmas singe. No, wait...come back! It may not seem so much at first but it's a grower. Despite the Les Dennis cameo. Just ignore the first ten seconds when you hear it, then go buy it. Or Glasvegas' Crimbo mini-album. They're more deserving than whichever sorry excuse for humanity wins X Factor of the Xmas Number One (except that Diana one, she's rather fit) and also better than the other over-sweet festive sludge being released around this time.

7/10 (The Wombats - Is This Christmas?)
8.5/10 (Glasvegas - Please Come Back Home)
xxx