Watch The Tapes! feat. Girls, Editors, Mumford & Sons, Johnny Foreigner, Ash, Florence & The Machine, Lily Allen and Everything Everything

Yet another new post catergory type thing. Yeah, basically the best music videos of the past week or so shall be here for your enjoyment/derision/apathy. Obviously this week won't include Jamie T's "The Man's Machine" or Arctic Monkeys' "Cornerstone", as they've got their own posts because they're so special/I've only just thought of this now.

"The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem..."

As you can (hopefully) tell from the title, I've been watching High Fidelity. It involves girls and music, how did I not find it/start worshipping it earlier? In fact, I can pretty much see my life being like that in 10/15/20 years, should I make certain decisions. Hell, it's pretty much my life know...just minus the constant stream of women (more like being drip-fed one per year) and my very own record store (more like this blog and the rest of the internet).

Anyways what it relates to is the Spotify mix playlists that I have created for you lovely people...at least I'm hoping you're lovely...to just spread a bit of aural goodness around. No, I don't see myself as some sort of musical Maharishi, imparting pearls of great music to you, the unenlightened. Being honest, most of you reading this will probably know infinitely more about this than I ever will and should you open one of the playlists, laugh in scorn at my woefully "mainstream" choices. But who gives one? I just want to share stuff I think is freaking awesome with anyone who wants to listen, hopefully convert a friend or two into liking a band and kill a bit of boredom.

Playlist Numero Uno is full of more well known bands/tunes of this year, with the odd suprise. So expect "Bonkers", "Dog Days Are Over", "Run This Town" and "Zero", though not "Bulletproof" or "In For The Kill" by La Roux. Even I'm sick of them by now.

Enjoy!

Playlist Nummer Zwei is the best of the lesser-known, "weird indie shit" (as I'm certain some acquaintances would call it) to appear this year. So album tracks from slightly less mainstream bands, obscure groups you're not sure how to say the name of (hello, Dananananaykroyd!) and basically good stuff. I've gotta say though, listen to the Noah & The Whale album in one go, as it is, not shuffled. You'll thank me later.

Enjoy even more!

Hopefully you'll enoy them, go buy the various albums/singles, see the bands live and, y'know, be a proper music fan. Or, if you're disgraced by my tastes, feel free to send me a playlist back to "educate" me. It could be fun. And these playlists will over there in the sidebar should you ever feel like downloading in the future and can't be bothered to click a few times right this second.

Oh and if you don't have Spotify, I reccomend you get it. Now.

>>>HEAD TO HEAD<<<
Little Boots vs Florence vs La Roux















So it's finally happened. After all the hype, tentative interviews, glamourous photoshoots and all the other bollocks that comes with showbiz, the "Three Hot Ones To Watch in Pop 2009" Little Boots, La Roux and Florence & The Machine have finally all released their albums for public consumption on the derision of music snobs (a.k.a me). Impressively Little Boots and Florence have both made the Top 5 in the Album Charts, but La Roux has grabbed a Number One single which puts her in pole position to become the biggest of the three. But enough chit-chat.

LITTLE BOOTS - HANDS
Big catchy pop tunes, a few of which are better than anything Girls Aloud have released (excluding "Love Machine"). "Stuck On Repeat" is one of the pop singles of the year, without a doubt and succeeds where Madonna and Kylie have failed recently in crafting pure electro-pop that is actually worth listening to. Similarly "Meddle" shows Little Boots' talent for a big pop hook, as does "New In Town". But that's all "Hands" is really, choruses. Even Steps and S Club Juniors could do choruses! Even whilst listening to it now, I can't remember "New In Town"'s verses. When she decides to get a bit ravey (e.g. the intro and chorus to "Earthquake") Little Boots has tunes to rule the charts and the clubs. But whilst she decides to peddle schlock like the overly-80s and tired Symmetry, which features The Human League's Phil Oakley (sample lyrics "You're the night to my day/And the left to my right". Anyone else have an almost jaw-breaking yawn at that?) she'll unfortunately be stuck dangerously close to the pop scrapheap. I'd advise sticking to singles, but then again I have no bearing over anything in music really...at least she's better than The Saturdays.
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "New In Town", "Earthquake", "Stuck On Repeat"
FOR FANS OF: Madonna, Kylie, Girls Aloud anything big and shiny and pop
5.5

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - LUNGS
Or the non-electronic one as she may be seen as. Barely a hint of synth or keyboard anywhere on this album, which leaves Florence seeming more human, more real than tired, boring mainstream pop (Little Boots) or cold, expressionless 80s revivalism (La Roux). Oh, and the fact that she dress like a woodland sprite and is a mainstay on the London scene, but we'll brush past that. "Lungs" is the most ambitious out of the three, with some big orchestral ideas just beneath that "modern Kate Bush" exterior. "Dog Days Are Over" and "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" should be pretty familiar to anyone who's listened to Radio 1/read NME in the last year, as they showcase Flo's good set of lungs (awful pun, sorry) and ear for a tune. Much of the album follows suit, with liberal use of harp and various other folksy elements along with the mystical or magical feel brought on by the lyrics. The only time "Lungs" diverts from the style is for the early White Stripes-aping "Kiss With A Fist" and "Girl With One Eye" which is so bluesy that I imagine it being sung in a smoky bar somewhere in the American south. However, the foresty, folksy schtick does begin to grate after a while with a handful of tracks indistinguishable from each other but skip past them to get to the good stuff.
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "Dog Days Are Over", "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)", "I'm Not Calling You A Liar", "Kiss With A Fist", "Girl With One Eye", "Between Two Lungs", Cosmic Love", "Hurricane Drunk"
FOR FANS OF: Kate Bush, Laura Marling, Bat For Lashes, Lightspeed Champion
8

LA ROUX - LA ROUX
La Roux are already on the path to being big. A duo with a public face and a producer beavering away in the background, a unique look, possibly iconic album artwork and of course a Number One single and a Number Two album (thanks to a certain Mr Jackson). Whether they're a retro-futurist pop act to be loved or shameless 80's revivalism to be discarded is an arguement that will rage on for quite a while, but personally, they land somewhere inbetween. The tinny synths of "In For The Kill" as well as the Thriller-esque spoken word middle-eighth belong back with the miners strike and Thatcher, whilst drippy ballad "Cover My Eyes" is sooooo 80s that the video for it would involve a smoke machine with a black background, a slightly out of focus camera, lots of pastel and Elly Jackson on a stool. I don't care if she broke down in tears after recording it, it's shite. But apart from this and the plodding "As If By Magic" and "Reflections Are Protections", "La Roux" is a suprisingly good, modern pop record. It manages to steal the theme of heartbreak from country & western/crappy emo and bring it to the euphoria of electronica without being too cheesy or heavy-handed. Elly Jackson's voice, which trembles between annoyingly fragile and ear-bleedingly shrill often within the same verse, may make it a bit hard to like as well as her looking like the most twattish of LDN scenesters, but don't be suprised if she gathers a few more Number Ones in future.
ESSENTIAL TRACKS: "In For The Kill", "Quicksand", "Bulletproof", "I'm Not Your Toy", "Fascination"
FOR FANS OF: Little Boots, Ladyhawke, Lady Gaga, Passion Pit, Erasure, Eurythmics
8.5

NEU!
>>>TRACKS>>>17.06.09>>> Ash, Florence And The Machine, La Roux, Marina And The Diamonds, Jack Penate, Noisettes, Sam Bennett And The Sharp Knees, Gossip

Ash - Return Of White Rabbit
Rejoice! Arguably the finest singles band of recent times have returned. Having given up making albums to concentrate on a series of singles for the next year (although the best of the lot will be compiled into an album, which kinda defeats the point...), Ash have released this as a precursor to the A-Z singles run. Whilst the heavy bass and disco guitars may be surprising, the amount of pop hooks are as high as ever. Funky and catchy enough to make it a Proper Hit™, it gives a few hints that Ash have some surprises up their sleeves this year.
7

Florence & The Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
Probably the oddest title of any song released by a much-hyped pop star so far this year, but this doesn't stop it from being Flo's best single to date. Lyrically it's a postulation on how ruthless the music world can be (a bit dangerous for a fresh, new star who has yet to release her album I reckon), but musically it's far from the ponderouse and worrisome subject matter. A mix of angelic harp-plucking, powerhouse drums and piano that verges on house, with only a little bit of synth tucked in for good measure, it may not be in vouge a la La Roux's/Litte Boots' throwbacks, but it's all the better for it and with a chorus that needs to be shouted out should make Ms Welch very popular at the summer festivals. The pick of the b-sides is Jamie T's lo-fi, dancey & dubby 'Lionheart' mix giving the option of dancing 'til you drop if you don't like the folky feel of the original
8.5

La Roux - Bulletproof
The biggest and most successful of the three hyped music-press-darling poplets (including the aforementioned Florence and Little Boots) having spent a month in the No 2 spot in the charts with "In For The Kill", La Roux look like grabbing their first Number 1 with this. The duo have created a track so 1980s that it should come with free shoulder-pads/Rick Astely/mass unemployment (delete where appropriate). Awash with synthesisers and enough 808 drumbeats to make Kanye West envious, it's a messy contrast to Elly Jacksion's simple vocal melody. The sheer amount of keyboards and electronic noise may not be too appealing to those of advanced years, but it's too catchy to ignore.
8


Marina And The Diamonds - The Crown Jewels EP
A challenger appears! Whilst everyone else is getting concerned with La Florence And The Roux Boot Machine (or something along those lines) young Marina has come along and produced some fantastic pop. Combining the simple charm of Kate Nash with the kookiness of Kate Bush, but without having the name Kate, Marina should be the alternative popstar of choice. Highlight "I Am Not A Robot" is reminiscent of Regina Spektor in it's perky, unusual lyrics and a charming, homemade feel. Definitely one to watch/namedrop to feel "indie".
8

Jack Peñate - Be The One
Biggest suprises in music this year? Blur getting back together? The Horrors' amazing second album? Alex Turner's hair (seriously he needs it cutting. Now!)? It could very well be Jack Peñate's second album "Everything Is New". This, the first proper single before the album's release, starts with trumpet blasts usually heard at South American carnivals or Timbaland's latest musical atrocity, instantly a world away from the overly-chirpy ska-pop of Peñate's debut. Despite including a hipster's handbook of influences, from Philidelphia soul to Afrobeat, this is pure pop from start to finish, and all the better for it. It's a remarkable turnaround for indie's whipping boy (circa 2007) and shows he clearly has bigger things in his sights. It's even got a "Born To Run"-style breakdown in the middle, for Pete's sake! Continue with tunes like this, and Mr Peñate could enjoy reverence reaching the level of The Boss...
9

Noisettes - Never Forget You
It's amazing what an advert can do; relieve mid-programme tedium (those Cadbury's ads), make you want to chuck the remote through the TV (again, those Cadbury's ads) and even revive a band's career. First The Clash with those jean commercials aaages ago and now the Noisettes. Okay, it's a bit of a jump between the two in terms of importance and overall greatness, but were it not for "Don't Upset The Rythmn" soundtracking a car ad, then the Noisettes would have been consigned to the pop scrapheap quicker than you can say Danni Minogue. But they've come back with a suprisingly good album and this soulful gem of a single. A Motown-esque bassline 'n' beat along with a smooth croon from Shingai Shoniwa amake for a delightful pop tune, even before the chorus, which is catchy enough to rival Swine Flu, brings in the distorted guitars of their earlier work as well as lucious, lilting strings. They're already fairly big, but if this doesn't cement their place, I'll eat my straw hat.
8.5

Sam Bennett And The Sharp Knees - Hummingbird EP
Odd name, good pop. The unsigned indie-poppers from Nottingham combine the bubblyness of The Rumble Strips and Jack Peñate's debut with The Undertones knack for a good hook to great effect. A warning though; this isn't for any indier-than-thou hipster who's favourite band haven't played one gig, released an album and the only thing available by them is 5 seconds of noise on Pitchfork. Okay, OTT stereotype, but SB&TSK are poppy and don't seem to care. "Two Headed Girl" is a sure-fire future hit whilst the title track shows a softer acoustic side before bursting into pure happiness in pop form and ending with a pretty epic-sounding wall of guitars. In my opinion they're just a Jo Whiley play or two away from the big time.
7.5
[>>>Download a selection of Sam Bennett & The Sharp Knees tracks for free>>>]

Gossip - Heavy Cross
Completing this female-dominated edition of NEU! are Gossip. Remember them? Apparently their record company don't think you will, and have resorted to using uber-hit "Standing In The Way Of Control" on the promo advert for the new album, with a disclaimer saying "'...Control' appears on the previous album of the same name, not on new Gossip album "Music For Men"". It just smacks of desperation to me, but I digress. Basically "Heavy Cross" is Franz Ferdinand, with Beth Ditto's warbling on top. Nothing new, innovative, special. Okay, it's a pretty funky track Ditto is a good singer (and rather scary looking in the video) but there's a feeling that, having soundtracked so many parties thanks to Skins, they should be making awesome pop instead of mediocre retreads. As Beth says herself "it's already been done".
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.

PREDICTIONS OF THE NEAR FUTURE

Forgive me for the awful pun on Klaxons debut album title. This year is shaping up to be an extremely good one for music (not so much for the economy). With so many new artists readying debut albums for release and a lot of established artists returning with new material, music fans are in for a treat.

The most-hyped new star has to be Florence And The Machine. Already awarded the Critic's Choice award at the Brits, she looks set to be a name on everyone's lips and in everyone's music library, seeing as that award was previously given to Adele, who was undoubtedly successful last year (if overshadowed by Duffy). Her previous two singles "Kiss With A Fist" and "Dog Days Are Over" are two totally different creatures; the former being the kind of punky track to throw yourself around like a madman to at a gig and the latter is something of a Kate Bush-channeling, folky piece of pop. If the rest of her debut follows on from this, then it's future classic time. Another solo star showing promise through a run of early singles is Esser, the ex-drummer of Ladyfuzz (who? exactly). He's gone from a universal indie shoulder shrug with his old band, to a genre-challenging, pop mastermind with the likes of "Headlock" and "I Love You" (sample lyric: "You bring me up then you tear me apart/Still, love is no excuse for bad art"). Look out for him support Kaiser Chiefs on their arena tour this year, the guy is a superstar in the making.

Continuing on the theme of solo stars, Scandinavians Lykke Li and Jens Lekman should be huge in the next 12 months. Okay, Lykke Li is already pretty big in the "alternative community" but her album "Youth Novels" is perfect pop mixed with a healthy dollop of electro and is beautiful in places, a definite 8/10 at the very, very least. Lekman is pretty similar. "Night Falls Over Kortedala" is kind of like Morrissey at his dreamy, melancholic best, an album that's sweet, sour cheerful, miserable and pretty perfect. And on the subject of perfect misery, there's two bands who will be slugging it out this year for the most comparisons to Joy Division, Editors et al. White Lies and Red Light Company are the kind of bands with a knack for writing sky-scraping gloom-laden, radio-friendly anthems to fill stadiums across the country, although it has to be said the latter don't appear to be the kind of band to be too down about being famous rockstars. White Lies' debut "To Lose My Life" has already received the same amount of hype as an Alex Turner yawn, which is quite a fair amount. Tracks leaked from the album sound quite promising as do a reviews floating around the blogosphere. RLC, on the other hand, haven't had too much hyperbole foisted onto them but singles "Scheme Eugene" and "Arts & Crafts" hint at a very good album and some festival anthems for the summer.

A lot of big hitters are set to return this year with new albums, which are already highly anticipated by their core fanbase. The obvious one being Arctic Monkeys. A third classic album will definitely cement their place as the most important band of the decade (not that my poll didn't already do that). There are positive signs already, with band hero Josh Homme possibly producing the album and songs being played "loud and fast". Fingers crossed for that one. On to a totally different band now with Foals, and their follow-up to acclaimed debut "Antidotes", which Yannis claims will be "eager" and "optimistic", as well as sounding "like the dream of an eagle dying" (now that's a song title for all you emo bands out there). Make of that what you will. Klaxons! Yes, those "new rave" gurners are back and apparently their sound has changed slightly but with no real evidence apart from blurry Youtube videos, it's hard to tell exactly what they'll come out with. As long as it's got more tunes, I'll be pleased. U2 have a new album out this year too. "No Line On The Horizon" or something. I'm saying it now, it'll be mind-numbingly average, maybe 2 or 3 okay singles but that's it. Oh, and so do the Manic Street Preachers and Franz Ferdinand. You'll get more about them sometime soon, as I'm already just too excited about that to put it into words.

On the live circuit, there's quite a lot to look forward to. Oasis' stadium tour as well as three nights at Wembley and three gigs at Manchester's Heaton Park will please the lad-rock contingent; Blur's return with reunion shows at Hyde Park and heavily rumoured Glasto headline spot will be the events of summer and then we come to the festivals themselves. Whilst Glasto seems to have ignored any band formed before 1990 with its supposed headliners of Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and, as mentioned, Blur, Reading & Leeds look to want to appeal to the young'uns this year with rumours flying about that the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Green Day, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Oasis, Manic Street Preachers, Kings Of Leon, Muse and even Kaiser Chiefs topping the bill at the sites.

Hopefully some bands might call it a day this year too. Here's hoping Johnny Borrell breaks up Razorlight for a solo career then loses the ability to speak or sing, Crystal Castles get unplugged, Chris Martin stays good to his promise and finishes Coldplay before he turns 33 and Interpol stop ripping off Joy Division. But a few reported splits, such as The Maccabees, Good Shoes, Bloc Party and We Are Scientists, won't be so pleasing to hear. But that's just the way music goes.

Here's to a fine '09 after a great '08! (I'm expecting the bad joke police to be questioning me tomorrow).

"With every bubble she sank with her drink..."

Yet another big hyped band for 2009, Florence and The Machine. Methinks she is being picked by most of the big tastemakers to hit the big time next year purely because of her slight kookiness and the fact that her two singles have been entirely different; "Kiss With A Fist" is a ramshackle rocker with a big chorus, "Dog Days Are Over" is a ukelele-using folky song with handclaps, harps and presumably the kitchen sink. Comparisons are being made to Kate Bush and any other female singer who writes her own songs and isn't a complete acoustic bore aimed at the over 40s who go to Glasto or a brainwashed, plastic pop princess. Whilst it remains to be seen wether Florence and her Machine will make it to the mainstream, two things I can say is that she knows her way around a tune and hasn't half got some lungs on her. And her cover of "You Got The Love" by The Source and Candi Staton is simply amazing.



8/10 (Dog Days Are Over)