NEU!
TRACKS - 01.02.09 - Esser, Frank Turner, Tommy Reilly, The Wombats

Esser - Work It Out
The crown prince of good music in 2009 returns with yet another hit in a long line of perfect funky pop nuggets bound to be indie disco staples by 2010. "Work It Out" is all electro bleeps, robotic choruses and estuary vocals not seen since Damon Albarn started wearing tracksuit tops and prattling on about Parklife. It may not be as immediate as "Headlock" but it's certainly one of the best in Esser's arsenal, which is certainly saying something considering previous singles
8.5

Frank Turner - Reasons Not Be An Idiot
Apart from an amazing way with song titles (e.g. "I Knew Prufrock Before He Was Famous", "A Decent Cup Of Tea", "Thatcher Fucked The Kids", "I Really Don't Care What You Did On Your Gap Year"), Turner also makes some highly entertaining folk rock with lyrics to either make you chuckle heartily or frown at their realism. I urge you to check out his album "Love, Ire & Song" sometime soon.
7.5

Tommy Reilly - Gimme A Call
Seeing as he's the winner of the recent Orange Unsigned Act competition, there's got to be something suspicious about the young lad (see what I mean here, better explained than I ever could). But this is a sweet acoustic number that will lodge itself in to that space between your ears faster than Usain Bolt on a hyperspeed treadmill. Shall be interesting to see what he comes out with next.
7

The Wombats - My Circuitboard City
Yes, I know, I've already reviewed this and it wasn't exactly glowing with praise. But after a few weeks of listening to it, and it not being raped by TV and radio, it's a real grower. The sound has developed to a more downbeat but just as bouncy indie and the lyrics (now that I know what they are) have retained the same wit and verve from their first demos (example: "Welcome to my circuitboard city of yellow and black/We'll score WD40 so our hearts don't crack" and "Grandad George said the heroes are the ones that run away/But I wear no medals as I'm sprawled in a toilet on my birthday"). You shall be singing the hooks for weeks on end once you hear it twice.
7.5

"I want this to be an orgy of love and violence!"
NME Awards Tour 2009
Glasvegas, Friendly Fires, White Lies, Florence & The Machine @ Liverpool Uni

So said Florence Welch before playing (arguably) her biggest hit "Kiss With A Fist" to the baying crowd, full of checked shirts (including myself), tight jeans and Florence-a-likes, on the opening night of this year's NME tour. I wouldn't say it was an orgy, and there wasn't much violence, but in the words of Shakespeare/Hamlet "forty thousand brothers could not quantify" the love given to the acts on stage.

Florence was her usual kooky self, chucking flowers, crowdsurfing and finally running off past the front barrier, never to be seen again...at least for the remainder of the gig. The covers which have become a staple of her gigs were replaced by tracks from the upcoming album, which sounds as if it will be more on the "Dog Days Are Over" side of things instead of "Kiss With A Fist". Certainly one to look forward to in the next few months.

Recent chart-toppers White Lies were delayed in Berlin, thus delaying the entire gig by almost an hour, but it was certainly worth it. Striding triumphantly on stage, wearing a very flash pair of Nikes (obviously souvenirs from a trip to Liverpool One), Harry McVeigh and the rest of the band ensured that, whilst an air of gloom fell over the venue, it was one that had every word sung back, even when the lyrics concern electric shock therapy and kidnappings gone wrong. An epic gig if there ever was one.

A definite change of pace came with the arrival of Friendly Fires. A shoegaze/dance band from St Albans may not seem like a likely proposition, but it's real and it has the power to make even the most awkward indie kid (e.g. moi) want to flail about like a lunatic. Ed MacFarlane is a extremely energetic frontman, like a mix between Mick Jagger and Jarvis Cocker with a sprinkling of Morrissey. He can but can't dance if that makes much sense. Their set kept on building towards a climactic "Jump In The Pool", complete with extended samba ending. If you want a party in the near future to be a success with everyone dancing, just stick their album on and watch everyone start to boogie.

And thus we arrive at Glasvegas, one of the biggest hype bands of the last few years and boy, do they deserve it. Walking on to a darkened stage covered in dry ice will make you cool, even if you're Scouting For Girls or N-Dubz...well maybe not them but you get the picture. James Allan has got to be a long lost relative of Joe Strummer somehow, dressed all in black with sunglasses and a perfect quiff, effortlessly cool. The band's usual wall of sound was amplified to the max with the mountain of speakers at either side of the stage (resulting in me being a bit deaf in my right ear at the moment) and the songs were twice as epic as White Lies before them. The set was peppered with hits and slightly lesser known tracks (such as "Fuck You, It's Over" and S.A.D Light, preformed magically with just James, Rab and their two guitars). But the real highlights came from an improvised cover of Echo & The Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" (with Ian McCulloch in the crowd), a spellbinding version of "Ice Cream Van", during which I'm pretty sure the heavens opened and "Go Square Go", which is bound to be a terrace anthem in a year or so.

All in all, it was the best gig I've ever seen. You won't hear a bad word from me about any of the bands and they all surpassed their high standards, which are pretty damn high. Roll on next year's tour, and may it be just as amazing as this year.

CREDIT TO kavita41 FOR THE PHOTOS.

GRAMMATICS - GRAMMATICS

Apologies for the lack of blogging over the last two weeks. The internet has been decidedly unkind to me.

Grammatics may not be a big name on anyone's lips in terms of tips for 2009, apart from a handful of those in the know. The Leeds quartet mix Foals-esque guitars that border on prog with heavy chunks of distortion, choirboy vocals, cello and a distinctly emo-sounding production. Not that any of that should put you off their eponymous debut.

The album kicks off with their more accessible material, such as the shouty yet swirling pop-rock of "Shadow Commitee" and "D.I.L.E.M.M.A" which could come straight from the soundtrack of an eerie horror/thriller with it's chiming guitars, funky ominous bass and stabs of cello. "Murderer" sounds more classic Bloc Party than the actual Bloc Party have done for quite some time due to the strong drumming that powers the track and yearning lyrics and vocals of singer Owen Brinely.

Despite being their more accessible songs, upto now the album isn't exactly full of singalong pop nuggets made for the festivals. But really, this is to be expected from a band who wants to reinject some drama and grandeur back into English music in this post-Libertines/Arctics era, and describe themselves as "maximalist" pop. This approach is exemplified perfectly on "The Vague Archive", which is more angular than Franz Ferdinand and Foals in a protractor shop before morphing into an anthemic driving rock chorus and finally to a sombre Arcade Fire-aping lullaby.

But it's the next group of songs that show the ambition and talent of Grammatics in the greatest light. "Broken Wing" begins as a simple, uplifting acoustic ballad, which isn't really spectacular but is a highlight amongst already high standards. Suddenly, it explodes into some headphone bursting riffing, giving the song another dimension and the listener a bit of a welcome shock. "Relentless Fours" returns to the chiming math-rock guitars of the earlier tracks, coming worryingly close to "in one ear, right out the other territory", but as with "Broken Wing", the salvo of Led Zep riffing and wall of noise is enough to almost destroy my speakers and totally unexpected from four twee looking kids (unless you knew they were influenced by QOTSA and My Bloody Valentine).

From here, the album does tend to tail off a little, getting bogged down by repetitive instrumentation and a lack of lyrical hooks. But there are a few moments worthy of repeated listens on the remaining tracks, mainly "Cruel Tricks Of The Light". You can't fault Grammatics ambition at all, seeing as they've released an epic debut, with no songs under three and a half minutes (not counting the 'secret track'). While it may need repeated listens to uncover some hidden moments of genius, they've produced a solid starting point for what will hopefully be a long and interesting career.
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "Murderer", "The Vague Archive", "Broken Wings", "Relentless Fours".
FOR FANS OF: Foals, Biffy Clyro, Arcade Fire

7.5

JAMIE T - FIRE FIRE


















The Thamesbeat bard has returned, and it appears he's decided to show his love of hardcore and punk this time round, rather than ska. But this is only a preview track, and won't be on the new album apparently. Confusing eh? It certainly begins with a bang of a chorus, sounding like a riot between Gallows and the Beastie Boys. Don't even try to decipher the lyrics, it's nigh on impossible. The verses are a bit more typical of Jamie T, funky bass, rapid fire vocals and a bit of ska guitar. Make of it what you will, I reckon it's pretty great, takes a while to get into but it's an interesting insight into where the next album will be headed

7.8/10

THE VIRGINS - THE VIRGINS
The Virgins are the latest "sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll" band to stagger from New York, and also one of NME's tips for 2009. It's fairly obvious why, without even listening to their album. They look like a dangerous, party boy, "lock-up-your-daughters"-type gang, and God knows that there's been a lack of one in music for a while (I don't count Towers Of London because...well they were shit). But when you bring the music into it, then they're deserving of a ones-to-watch tag.

The band used to be a bog-standard garage rock band like a million others in New York after The Strokes broke through, but all of a sudden they've transformed into a disco-pop band, with Nile Rodgers-esque guitar being a major part of most tracks. Sort of a Strokes you can actually dance to. First track "She's Expensive" is a carbon copy of Elvis Costello, "Rich Girls" could be The Teenagers if they were American and "Fernando Pando"'s guitars sound like The Clash in their ska mode.

But enough comparing them to other bands. The Virgins are good enough to stand out on their own. Their sound walks the tightrope between funky indie rock, and straight-up camp disco pop (I get the irony of straight up and camp in the same sentence) and you can imagine it soundtracking all the parties that the cool kids go to (the five tracks from their debut EP has already soundtracked an episode of Gossip Girl). So yeah, check them out and prepare to get your groove on. God I'm cool....
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "She's Expensive", "One Week Of Danger", "Rich Girls", "Hey Hey Girl", "Radio Christiane", "Love Is Colder Than Death".

7/10

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

FRANZ FERDINAND - TONIGHT: FRANZ FERDINAND
It's here! It's finally here! After months of leaks and various ever-changing descriptions, the third album from Franz Ferdinand has finally found it's way to my ears, four long years since "You Could Have It So Much Better". It's gone from being a pop album, produced by Girls Aloud collaborators Xenomania, to being influenced by world music (thanks to a few Africa Express gigs with Damon Albarn) to finally ending up as "music of the night: to fling yourself around your room to as you psyche yourself for a night of hedonism, for the dance-floor, flirtation, for your desolate heart-stop, for losing it and loving losing it, for the chemical surge in your bloodstream. It’s for that lonely hour gently rocking yourself waiting for dawn and it all to be even again". That's according to Alex Kapranos. Well he wasn't gonna come out and say it's boring, derivative shite. It's far from it.

"Ulysses" kicks off the long over dues shebang with a cool, confident strut. Kapranos' smooth vocals are some of his best ever, Bob Hardy's bass is restrained yet has a certain something that makes it utterly danceable (if that make sense) and the electro parts definitely have a positive effect. "Ulysses" is the first single from the new album, and it's clear to see why, as it's basically the midway point between old indie rock Franz and the new electro-pop Franz. "Turn It On" is in the same vein, perfect for the indie disco, more sultry vocals from Kapranos but with added "yeah, yeah, yeahs" worthy of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

The hooks keep coming "No You Girls" and "Twilight Omens", both packed with keyboards, plenty of riffs and Bowie-ness, with the latter having possibly the best opening lyric of the last few years in "I wrote your name upon the back of my hand/Slept upon it then I woke up with it backwards on my face/Reading forwards from my mirror to my heart ". It's a bit more advanced than "Do You Want To", to say the least. Up to this point, "Tonight:..." is full of solid pop gold, surpassing the majority of Franz's back catalogue, which is no mean feat. The middle of the album slows the pace down a bit, and shifts from electro to almost disco, the keyboards mixing incredibly well with the usual Franz indie stompers. "Bite Hard" is even quite Beatles-y before transforming into what could be the perfect summary of the album's sound.

"What She Came For" was already released a while ago, but in live form. The recorded version has little difference from it, apart from the riffs being tighter and cacophony of guitars at the end being even more thrilling. "Can't Stop Feeling" is yet another track to rank along side FF's best, all choppy guitars, sultry vocals and a perfect addition in the electro elements. The leaked demo was a much poppier affair, possibly a result of the Xenomania involvement, but the album version is all the better for not being standard pop-with-guitars. And then it's possibly the most talked about track on the album, "Lucid Dreams". The track was also previously released, but in a much different form. The leap from typical Franz fare to an 8 minute techno monster is an extremely difficult and unexpected one, but they pull it off. It's highly experimental for such a big name band on their third album, but it shows their ambition and talent to create something like this, which appears to go off into a hundred different places but comes back to one direction. There are obvious some elements of the original version left in it, but it's essentially a remix (possibly what to expect from the dub version of the album). It may not impress the casual fans, but I doubt Franz care.

The final two tracks "Dream Again" and "Katherine Kiss Me" are a world away from the previous ten. The keyboards are restrained (or in the case of "Katherine" gone completely") and the songs are all the better for it. Both build on the softer tracks of "YCHISMB" such as "Eleanor, Put Your Boots On" and "Fade Together" to create two sweet ballads, once again verging on Beatles territory. Franz, whilst not as innovative, trail-blazing, ingenious and many other superlatives as the Fab Four, are just as brave. No other band from the indie boom in the mid 00's could change direction like this (apart from possibly Bloc Party) and pull it off with panache. The added electronica opens a lot of doors for Franz in the future and makes it very exciting to see where they'll head to make their fourth classic. I just hope it doesn't take another four bloody years.
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "Ulysses", "Lucid Dreams", "What She Came For", "Bite Hard", "Katherine Kiss Me"

9.5/10

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)