Do you know that simulation of joy? Found in smiles of people around you or in the tracks of bands that your friend has told you about and claim they are best in the world. I don’t know about you guys, but personally, I hate those things.

There’s nothing to be worried about here though, I Call Fives really know how to do their thang.

The guys have just released their début full length self-titled album. The album was produced by Paul Leavitt who has worked with Yellowcard and All Time Low. He really knows how to work with début titles and has recently produced Avastera’s debut EP.

Here we have a good old uplifting summertime pop punk album full of joyous tunes in best traditions of Sum 41 and Blink 182, along with bad ass post hardcore guitar riffs.. You believe I Call Fives, because there’s nothing fake about these guys.

People may take the opinion that sometimes there’s not a lot differences between the tunes and it may sound like one long song and not 11 individual tracks. But hey – that’s what happiness looks like.. So it’s one, but long, 11-tracks-long of happiness.

This album makes everything feel good, the feeling is real and stays with you.

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With a name that would strike fear in the hearts of most people in today’s technology times, The Blue Screen of Death is instantly interesting. Indeed this transgresses well into their music, not only in sound but more generally in their style and the atmosphere their music creates.

Opener Let It Go sets you up to do just that, forget all about the musical expectations you have and be open-minded to what lies ahead. The electric guitar interludes are worthy of a head-bang or two. From their lyrics their ethos is clear, ‘Now you see it, now you don’t / Just let it go’, giving the listener a sense that they’re as care free and as laid back as they come.

Highlight Fool’s Façade showcases the bands talent with jagged and edgy guitar parts that run throughout the whole track to create a funky number you can strut down the street to – rain or shine. Imaginative and original lyrics put the icing on their cake, honest, blunt and relatable; ‘The world will see you’re fake / Within the walls of your façade / Never show them who you are’.

The honesty of the band puts them a chord above the rest, their humour and quick wit coming through their music to let the listener know that although the take their music seriously, there is still fun to be had. For a band to incorporate such a variety of factors into their music is unusual. At times this formula of spinning plates falters slightly in that the music becomes a chaotic mash of chords; however this is part of the overall appeal. A band that is perfect all of the time is lacking not only in originality but also something relatable.

Back Against The Wall packs another punch that’s a little rough around the edges. The vocals take a back seat to the overall impression of the track, allowing the drum and guitar work to shine through to an impressive end.

To name the final track of an album as Fatal Error for any band is a subconscious risk, however it closes The Blue Screen of Deaths album with pride. The more relaxed and casual tone to the track adds in a missing element to the album. Plus, it includes the band’s name, ‘I must confess, I’m obsessed with the screen of death’ so you’ll be sure to remember them once the album comes to a close – subtle.

Although a little lacking in lustre and energy, the band still has a vibe around them that’s cool and a little bit quirky. However they would be more suited playing in small venues than big festivals and stadiums without the catchy anthems that are dominating the industry at the moment.

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Released on the 1st November was the American steel string guitarist Kyle Fosburgh’s second solo guitar album, The Traveller’s Journey. This is a rare type of album in that it is in the tradition of the solo instrument genre. It is almost like the modern day version of Bach’s Partitas or Paganini’s Caprices but following in the footsteps of John Fahey or the most excellent Leo Kottke. It is a collection of 12 pieces of hauntingly soothing acoustic guitar music played on the twelve and six string guitars. A piece of artwork at heart, these are pieces of music that are intended to conjure up images in the mind of one’s quest for truth in life and the obstacles that life can give you along the way. Inspiring? Let’s have a listen…

This is a deep album, it requires a few listens and a bit of maturing in the mind before you can open yourself up to the conceptual possibilities on offer here. These days musical releases can be kind of bite size and easy to digest so it is wonderful to come across a release of such creativity and tradition. After a few listens the songs mature in your mind and you notice the little nuances and melodic patterns below the surface. You then realise that this is much bigger than you thought. The tones audible on the top are serving to accentuate the rhythm and melody that is more felt than heard. Being a guitarist myself I suppose I am more likely to appreciate just simply the sounds the strings make and the different picking patterns used but I think that the music has a timeless beauty to it that anyone, given the right state of mind wouldn’t fail to appreciate.

Stand out moments include the wonderful chord play and major – minor switching on The Redwoods, the wonderful mandolin like effect on the opening track Fandango, and the rather groovy slide action on Peddler. Not to mention the excellent tonal colouring of Every Child Born. This cd explores the guitar, but the only critical thing I can say about it is that I don’t know that it expands it. Artists such as Andy Mckee are broadening the spectrum of sounds that one may produce with the acoustic guitar and I feel that this release could benefit from perhaps being a touch more modern in the sense that it could captivate its listeners much quicker. Because it is a beautiful collection of recordings and these releases are so few and far between that it needs to be appreciated by all. Melodic, conceptual, percussive, gorgeously American and placidly epic, this needs checking out.

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This month, from Manchester’s soil springs Brit Rock band The Words’ debut album, Truth and Faith.

The album is a surprising one, and by that I mean surprising in a good way, it’s a good solid fashioned rock music release. Honest lyrics, homely imagery and understated but mature guitar work.

On the cd you will find none of the kind of disjointed danciness or quirky rhythmic noises you might expect from a 2011 release. The album isn’t trying to be anything, its not trying to trick you, it’s the kind of album that accompanies a pint in the local over the pool table, or in the background of an inner city back garden barbeque gathering on an orangey yellow summer afternoon. It may seem funny to say but its not even trying to be ‘cool.’ Wait, hold on, it’d be better to say fashionably unfashionable. Or even unknowingly good. What I mean is when you listen to it, you don’t picture a bunch of silver spoon Topman fops pretending to be deep and brooding with fringes a falling and blazers a size too small. There’ll be no lingering stares into the camera lens in the video, none of that. But you may say that maybe a band needs at least a little of this, a little forced mystery, a little feigned emotion maybe to capture the hearts of the music downloading public. At least at first… But listening to this album with its solid simple construction, northern accents and easy feel you are more reminded of traditional music. It is as though this music is becoming ingrained into the nation’s psyche as being the new folk. Folk re-imagined for these decades of supermarket and coffee chains, of foreign footballers and recession. More akin to the likes of that great British band The Levellers. Once the instance happens where you imagine it in this context, you cannot shake the sentiment, the album comes alive to you and you only see it for what it is. Unpretentious, simple and good. Its as though as British people we should factor music like this into our lives on the medical pretence that it’s good for you.

Photos taken by Design House

Zooming in onto it now, strong tracks on this album are Siren, a racy nostalgic number, Demons, a slower acoustic number rendered memorable by its consistent bright strumming and windy lyrical waltzing, Head Over Heels, a reminiscent dance, embellished with some original guitar riff – action and the authors particular favourite, Stand Up Sit Down. A good raucous British romp complete with violin and banjo and chant-along chorus. An excellent song.

As for weak points, I wont waste your time pointing out single songs and picking them apart, but my only criticism would be that some of the ballad singing work doesn’t seem to gel with the rest of the piece, but, you can decide for yourself when you inevitably google them after reading this.

At the end of the day, you can’t really go wrong with this one. It’s got a kind of timelessness, which is rare. You will listen Stand up sit down over and over again, and it will remind you of how great Britain can be. Bands like this are a large part of what remains of our national identity and are to be treasured. A good, proud album, come of hard work and a long time. But of course, it won’t tell you so…

Time for me to stop typing, thanks for reading.

I didn’t even mention Oasis once…

…damn.

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On the 16th of October 2011 an album was released, the importance of which is, I believe, unsurpassed in the world of hip-hop. The artist is Lowkey – an idol to some, and unknown to the others. The album is Soundtrack to the Struggle.

Soundtrack to the Struggle has, in Lowkey’s own words, been “a quarter century in the making”, and thus the music, the vocal delivery, and the lyrical content’s devastating attack on social and political structures, is the maturation, the ripening, the distillation of a career in which one man has tried to be heard – independently, and without the support of a record-label who, he fears, would stifle his dissenting voice.

The album’s devastating lyrical attack aims its crosshairs at the US’s invasion of the Middle-East, the perpetration of torture and war-crimes by the West, racism, Israel and Palestine, state-sponsored terrorism and many other issues of worldwide injustice. He also delves into more introspective and personal topics such as mental illness, the respect of women and the struggle of being an independent artist. There’s even a track on the album, called Terrorist Part 2, in which he makes an anticipatory defence against the various criticisms that are certain to bombard him as a result of the issues revealed throughout the album.

Whilst there is already a growing trend towards politically conscious rap artists (some of whom are featured on the album), what makes Soundtrack to the Struggle so devastating to the systems that it attacks is just how astonishingly good the music is. Lyrical content aside, this album has provided an answer to something I have long been searching for. As a fan of music across many genres I have always longed for hip-hop that transcends the parameters imposed by genre. Now, Soundtrack to the Struggle has made a very big step towards this with its epic use of strings, choirs, guitars, horns, synths and orchestral percussion, along with a huge variety of vocal styles from a selection of guest singers and rappers, as well as influences from a range of musical genres from across the world. Despite its dynamic range of influences, the album manages to retain a strong sense of cohesion and structure. All this is supported and enhanced by its very impressive production. From the elegiac poignancy of Haunted with its washy dreamscapes, to the epic call-to-arms that is Blood, Sweat and Tears or Million Man March, to the summery and celebratory sound of Too Much, the production continuously provides as much musical interest as Lowkey does lyrical interest. And, perhaps most importantly, what Lowkey has very intelligently done is to make sure that almost every track is insanely catchy, giving the messages contained within the lyrics the legs to spread and to stick.

Since the release of Soundtrack to the Struggle, I have been so exciting about its success, and the implications of this success. The hip-hop world has been abuzz with anticipation for some time, but now it seems that Lowkey is erupting into the mainstream to some degree. The album has received BBC radio-time and had amazing success on Amazon and iTunes, and even sat on top of an Eminem release in charts. And, with a media buzz, various gig-dates around the country, singles and many videos (produced by the excellent GlobalFaction outfit), it looks like Lowkey’s music is finally reaching a mass audience. And, more important, so are the topic’s that the album touches on; topics that I hope educate, inspire, and deeply touch every single listener, as they become the soundtrack to their — our – struggle for a better future.

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After a five year hiatus, Irish band Saso, known best to some as “those guys from the Coors Light advert*” return to their dark musical roots with their fourth album Exitudes.

A slow, languishing album, it never reaches the particular heights that would highlight any one song as a potential single, instead weaving between styles to present an album that is vaguely haunting and supremely powerful.

The first song, Billion Hands is an eerie piano-based hymn featuring echo-y, subdued vocals over a steady drum beat and a muffled, repetitive piano pattern. Its full, mysterious sound trickles nicely in to the next song on the track — the surreal waltz that is Carousel. At only 2:14 this is one of the shorter tracks on the album, but is no less powerful. The long, high notes the vocals lounge upon are comparable to that of Muse singer Matt Bellamy, only without being washed out by pseudo-techno guitar riffs and a self-aggrandising attitude. One of the best songs on the album, this track really does conjure up images of an old battered carousel, broken and weathered but forever turning in some nightmarish, deserted, Terry Gilliam–esque fairground.

The tone turns up a little as we move on to the third track, as the acoustic guitars come out and the drums take on a more rhythmic feel. It’s here that you realise this is a band not content with a single sound, and we settle in to some more traditional indie fare, first with the acoustic funk of From Limbo and then the dark tones of Secret Ministry. That’s not to say that these songs are to be held to a lower standard than the others on the album — each contains the kind of dark lyricism rarely found in contemporary music — more that these may be more accessible to some who perhaps haven’t been exposed to this style of music before, and don’t have time to listen to the whole album.

We get a break in the middle of the album with the instrumental piece Silent Earth. In keeping with the tone of the album thus far, the piece begins very slowly, introducing each instrument gradually and building on some of the hooks developed in the previous songs. Though it does a nice job of ending the first part of the album and bringing in the second half, some may find it a little unnecessary and choose to skip over it. If there’s a weak link in this album it’s Silent Earth.

The second half of the album builds the tone up some more, starting with the acoustic ballad Idle Spirit that crashes in to life with a nice crescendo two thirds in to the song. By this point the band have taken you a thousand miles from where we started with Billion Hands, without you even noticing you were going anywhere.

Tracks like Man Overboard and Facts are the high point of this album — sounding a little like some of the quieter songs by bands like Incubus and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, but still keeping the calm, Jeff Buckley style vocals that make this band stand out.

When we reach Cardboard Cutout we go back to the kind of slow, surreal hymn that the album began with, and the haunting sound continues in to the penultimate song Sooner Or Later — a repetitive, almost threatening track built on minor chords and echo-y vocals that builds to a powerful ending.

Saso don’t leave us there though. The album ends on another instrumental track, Pull The Plug, a confident, sad piece with a simple structure that wouldn’t be out of place on a film score, sounding vaguely reminiscent of Hans Zimmer’s final piece for Inception. It’s a steady, strong song that never tries to build to an obvious end point, leaving you wanting more from this truly excellent album.

What Saso have done here is something that is often unheard in the days of downloads. They have created an album that is actually more than the sum of its parts. Each song has its own merits and style, and most — if not all — are wonderful on their own. But for the full Saso experience this is an album that has to be listened to in totality, in a dark room, in one sitting. And it’s an album that has to be listened to again and again.

*2007’s Type A Jitters from the album I Can Do Nice.

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Ed Sheeran is like marmite. Following the release of his No.1 single The A Team, either you’re an 11–16 year old girl madly in love with him and a hardcore dedicated fan omfg he’s so hot and talented and amazing and he’s your future husband, or you’re every other age male or female and think he’s just another guy with a guitar.

Well, the marmite theory is what I believed too. To be cliché, ‘I knew Ed Sheeran before he was famous’ (ew), being lucky enough to see him in late 2009 at very intimate gig by pure chance when he was supporting at a concert I was attending. I was hugely impressed by his easy acoustic style and the rarity of a guy coming onstage with nothing more than merely his voice and a guitar, with any effects being produced onstage with his loop pedal; a simplistic sign of sure talent. I was even more impressed by his folk song cover, performing completely A Capella — no easy feat as all those musically inclined will appreciate. I came away highly anticipating the release of more music from a brilliant young talent.

I was not let down. The A Team was a beautiful song, but unfortunately, as usual, the ridiculous amount of overplay on the beeb ruined a lovely song for all those who could have been fans, including myself. Disappointed with how commercial Ed Sheeran had suddenly become, I filled my ears with other musical geniuses. However, following internet links one day, I stumbled across a video of him recording his song You Need Me, I Don’t Need You on YouTube, not only performing his extraordinary mix of rapping/singing with such speed and precision, but also playing guitar avec la loop pedal and linking in various other unexpected songs so smoothly you would have thought he’d written them himself , I became interested again, although still being off put by his teenybopper fan base.

At a very small festival during the summer, I caught ten or so minutes of him performing. The tent was packed with little girls suicidal because they weren’t close enough to touch him, and who were all sighing and moaning through every song that wasn’t The A Team, as they wanted to sing along. I was rushing to get to another band so didn’t actually hear any of his other songs, but saw something amazing; whereas all the girls were there only to sing along to the one song they knew and didn’t sing along to any other, there was about twenty grown men scattered around the crowd, all singing their hearts out, word perfect to every song; and some were crying. That is when my opinion on Ed Sheeran changed, and the marmite theory was obliterated. Setting his commercialisation aside, if he could touch grown men like that emotionally, there must be something special about him.

And so I listened to his debut album, +, upon its release day yesterday, and it was not what I was expecting at all. Still a tad cynical, I was expecting all love cheesy slushy mushy gushy songs. Yes, there are some of those, namely This, Kiss, and Give me Love. However, the rest of the album blew me away.

The titles of most tracks lure you into a false sense of security, making you believe that the album is aimed solely at teenagers trapped in the anguish of love; this is true for the song U.N.I, in which Sheeran describes how many relationships suffer from one side of the relationship moving onto pastures new. The student lifestyle is so perfectly described in ‘I don’t get waves of missing you anymore/They’re more like tsunami tides in my eyes/Never getting dry, so I get high, smoke in the day then I sleep with the light on/Weeks pass in the blink of an eye/And I’m still drunk by the end of the night/I don’t drink like everybody else/I drink to forget things about myself’ that for all those moving to uni this year leaving their loved ones behind, it will lead to many tears, and for those having left uni in the past few years it will undoubtedly bring a flicker of a nostalgic smile to your face.

Another song you many believe is aimed solely at teenagers is Drunk. However, this for me is the most accessible song on the entire album. Loneliness, the wish to get drunk to make things easier, and then taking it too far and immediately regretting it are feelings all humans have experienced (if not, then go away. you aren’t allowed to listen to good music.), and the relate-ability is so apparent it’s near impossible not to like this song.

The City is another song that surprised me. I thought one ‘f#@k’ you song on the album was as much as we could expect (the first being You Need Me, I Don’t Need You) from Sheeran, but this tune is pumped full of such independent ‘who the hell do you think you are?!’ attitude that it’s quite possibly anthemic.

However, the songs that proved to me that Sheeran’s album is far from a girly teenage love-angst are tracks 1 and 6. Track 1 is of course the aforementioned The A Team, and although I still feel it’s slightly lost its appeal due to radio repetitiveness, if you place that thought out of your head and listen to the song for what it is, it is mind-blowing. In a recent radio interview, Sheeran said that the response he got from parents who had lost their daughters to the addiction of drugs and prostitution was overwhelming, and he couldn’t believe he’d touched so many people. This theme of class A drugs, giving the song its title, is not something to be placed in an album for love-struck girlies of the The Wanted, One Direction, JLS and Other Bollocks Boybands era, and neither is the theme of the track on the album which for me is by far the most outstanding, track 6.

Track 6 on + is called Small Bump. The song captures beautifully the pure uninhibited excitement of being an expecting parent, with the most amazing moments of anticipation being laid out gorgeously, like what the baby will look like and everything the future could hold ‘you might be left with my hair/but you’ll have your Mother’s eyes/I’ll hold your body in my hands be as gentle as I can/but for now you’re scan of my unmade plans’.

Copyright Jen O’Neill | jennyoneill.co.uk

I don’t want to say too much about this song in fear of ruining the beauty of it. The feelings the track provokes in anyone who has or wants a child, myself included, are enormous, and I feel the song is so touching that even those who at the moment aren’t even casting a single half-thought to having baby will feel the pure delight at the eagerness for the life changing moment to arrive, the specialness to unfold and the wonder of this tiny person you’ve created to arrive in your life. Sheeran captures this so emotively that it’s hard not to cast your head to the future and imagine the day you’re going to become a mother or a father, and think about the little one that will become your entire world.

The exquisite feeling of excitement is ripped apart unexpectedly at the very end of the song. ‘You’re just a small bump unborn just four months then torn from life/Maybe you were needed up there but we’re still unaware of why.’ The emotion, the tears, and the sheer pain strike you immediately upon hearing this line. Don’t take it from me. Listen. Listen and feel your heart ripped apart.

+ is not what you expect. It’s relatable, raw, honest, gutwrenching. It will pull at the little holes in your soul, then stitch them back up together.

I’m not saying it’s for everyone. I’m not saying it’s perfect. But what I am saying is open your mind to it, and you will find something beautiful in there.

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Like many great artists, poets, musicians and writers, Nick Drake only achieved the fame and recognition he desired after his untimely death. In a cruel case of life imitating art the lyrics to Fruit Tree, from his 1968 debut album Five Leaves Left, seemed more prescient than ever as he sang “No-one knows you but the rain and the air/Don’t you worry, they’ll stand and stare/When you’re gone.” When his short life ended in 1974, Drake had been crippled by depression after what he perceived to be his failure to reach an audience, and with only a few thousand records sold he retreated inwardly.

The catalyst for Drake’s sense of resignation and despair were the poor sales figures for his second album, Bryter Layter; this was his most fully realised attempt to produce a genuine commercial record, and displayed a notable change in sound from the restrained, gentle Five Leaves Left. Drake’s record company backed his ambition, and musical support was supplied in the form of folk-rock group Fairport Convention’s Dave Pegg, Dave Mattacks and Richard Thompson, with The Velvet Underground’s John Cale appearing on two tracks to provide organ and harpsichord, amongst other things. In addition to this expanded line-up of talented musicians, Drake’s Cambridge University friend Robert Kirby provided arrangements for strings and brass on almost every track, and the overall result was an album with a much more accessible, ‘pop’ sound. As always, Drake’s remarkable guitar playing underpins every song, with his strong finger-picking style evident throughout, and his soft, breathy voice sounding clearer and more confident than ever before on his most overtly catchy set of songs. The characteristic pastoral sound of Bryter Layter, however, is due in large part to Kirby’s stunning string arrangements, as they perfectly counterbalance Drake’s guitar and backing group with lush extra layers of melody without ever overpowering the songs themselves. Nowhere else is this contrast better demonstrated than on Hazy Jane I, as forcefully picked guitar gives way to graceful, sweeping strings which add grandeur and tangible emotional depth.

Three of the album’s ten tracks are instrumentals, and it is the music which does the bulk of the work in charming the listener here – so much so that it is easy to miss some of Drake’s most unsettling lyrics up to that point. Although his life was yet to take the unfortunate downturn which would eventually catch him there is still a notable pessimism in many of the words on offer, and in the wider context of his eventual fate it is possible to discern the seeds of the depression which would ultimately blight his future. Even the first words sung on the album, in fact, suggest a distinct forboding on his part, as he begins Hazy Jane II with the question “What will happen in the morning/when the world it gets so crowded that you can’t look out the window in the morning?” Drake’s positivity and sense of calm wins out, however, as later he urges himself to “take a little while to grow your brother’s hair/Now, take a little while to make your sister fair”. The impression of a duel of personalities between the Nick Drake who strives to be positive and the Nick Drake who won’t let him is present throughout the set, as on Hazy Jane I where some disturbing verses are once more followed by the singer checking himself on the chorus (“Hey, slow, Jane, make sense”), and the juxtaposition of playful piano and melody on One of These Things First with what is ostensibly a list of objects he’d sooner be than the man he is. The undoubted sense of unease reaches a clear pinnacle on the melancholy Fly, as Cale supplies mournful viola and harpsichord whilst Drake begs and pleads “I’ve fallen so far for the people you are/I just need your star for a day”, and the listener gets a clear glimpse at the tragic figure the artist will become. It is left, though, to arguably Nick Drake’s strongest candidate for a single to have the last word on the album; the shimmering, gorgeous Northern Sky sees a renewed positivity win out in the form of a fragile, vulnerable and honest love song, as a sumptuous piano and organ raise the song to lofty heights. What makes it all the more remarkable is the fact that a man of so few words in his personal life can express himself so vividly and with such painful candour when projecting himself through song, and Northern Sky is without parallel in this distinction.

Despite his hopes, his second album did not prove to be the commercial breakthrough for Nick Drake, and his increasing discomfort and reluctance to tour the album or give press interviews further compounded its lack of impact. Embittered by the failure and wracked with disillusionment, he would make one further album – the stark, brooding Pink Moon in 1971 – before his death. His music was rediscovered in the following decade, however, and succeeding generations have discovered his back catalogue and its wonderous gem, Bryter Layter.

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Inundated with powerfully voiced, female artists, the British music industry in 2006 was an era dominated by Déjà vu lyrics, Aguilera’s comeback album, Back to Basics, and not to forget, Girls Aloud were still on top. With that said, it was surprising that a young woman from North London would come on the scene, so breathtakingly, that the world was oblivious to the fact that the music playing over the airwaves was, in fact, from her second album.

Evidently steered down a path to an enamouring music genre, music lovers have engrossed themselves in a music style that has grown ever since Amy Winehouse gave us her second album Back to Black, a compelling, eclectic mix of relationships, pain, and individuality. Produced by Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, Back to Black is an autobiography by a woman learning the ramifications of drugs, sex, and heart break. It unravels the way in which she deals with pain, how she values love, the only difference, however, is that it’s bound in lyrics and written with ink drawn from a churned pot of Soul and R&B.

The first single released from the album was Rehab, a foreshadowing set of lyrics that came back to haunt Amy. Her defying words “No, no, no” are part of the chorus that makes this first track eye-opening. Winehouse’s fearless response to her parents’ advice of going to rehab is met with shear arrogance for she “Ain’t got the time” and obviously, she’d “rather be at home with Ray,” which later became “Blake,” her bad romance that sent her off the edge. An interesting preview, the song was successful, but once the catchiness wore off the album offered another ten tracks that really caught our attention.

Songs like You Know I’m No Good, Love is a Losing Game, and >Tears Dry on their Own are the ones that can be taken more seriously, more sentiment applied, as throughout these three songs Winehouse delivered a tasteful passion that showed the world her brilliance as a songwriter. The second single You Know I’m No Good told listeners “I was trouble,” “I cried for you on the kitchen floor,” piercing images that are buttressed with references to her lifestyle in the lyrics “Tanqueray” and “Stella.” Contrastingly, “Tears Dry on their Own” gives us a bite of an intelligent Amy, a woman who asked herself “why do I stress the man?” and “I don’t know why I got so attached.” We clap our hands as we listen as Winehouse realised the “inevitable withdrawal” of a painful relationship, and she held her head up high letting her “tears dry” as she, like many people in life, didn’t see the good side of love, which is clear in her opinionated but agreeable song Love is a Losing Game. The album’s title song Back to Black, is arguably the soundtrack to Winehouse’s deteriorating life. Black, obviously, is a morbid, dangerous shade, which is what the lyrics in the song point out. “We only said goodbye with words, I died a hundred times” are words sang by a love-bruised Winehouse who felt her solution was to return to a dark place where “life is like a pipe” and ultimately, where life wasn’t possible to maintain. Winehouse gave the masses deep words on a plate, poetic words, which grasped the attention of everyone, for she, like nobody before, wrote so eloquently from a pierced heart that we, as fans, wanted to fix all her problems.

A protégé of nobody, Winehouse gave music a different edge. Even the album cover draws a wondering eye to a confident, but innocent, Amy trying to put the pieces together of a scathed relationship, a time of her life from which she so brilliantly plucked 11 songs. After all, no one can forget that her image (remember “swagger” wasn’t mainstream five years ago) was at the vanguard of showbiz media, and everyone sat back and watched teenage girls use more mascara than ever before, and prop their hair up higher, because Winehouse portrayed her lifestyle through her own stereotype, a tattoo-showing, ruthless, and down-to-earth stereotype that we all, at the time, adored.

In the aftermath of her death, fans must ask themselves what it was that made them fans in the first place. Was it simply Amy Winehouse? Was it her music? The honest answer is both. The press wanted a piece of her, and rightly so, her tumultuous life warranted high readership for day after day she was in the public eye, albeit, for the wrong reasons. However, it was her controversial lifestyle that yielded her second album; her defiance over going to rehab; her loving heart that drew the wrong types of men; her addiction to drugs; Winehouse translated her turmoil into bold lyrics, Marvin Gaye backing music, and five wins at the Grammys, she had a talent for injecting life into music, which can only mean that yes, indeed, it is both her music and herself that kept us listening, and will keep us listening, as we all know, deep down, she has left us with a legacy.

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The epic monument for post hardcore from Texas

American post hardcore guys Memphis May Fire claim that the new third album is about to set Memphis on fire again and they believe this latest album is more powerful than 2009’s Sleepwalking and 2010’s Between the Lies.

While in the previous albums clean vocals and guitars smell sometimes perfectly clearly like hard rock from the 70’s with its charm and charisma of its pride rock’n’roll way. The Hollow has perfectly straight and classic post hardcore sound with all these familiar sweet breakdowns and screamos, crazy shred guitars, electronic beats in the right places and charismatic clean vocals. One can say that there is no new effects or some awaited experiments with the iconic Memphis May Fire sound. Yes, maybe there is no new styles or that any experimental boundaries have been pushed but The Hollow is still an epic statement of modern post hardcore sound.

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Choosing once more to utilise the services of producer/collaborator Brian Eno, Talking Heads continued to explore their own musical and artistic boundaries with their fourth album, Remain In Light. Their previous outing, on 1979’s Fear of Music, showed a marked progression from the nerdy jerkiness of their first two efforts, with its darker themes, esoteric lyrics and more experimental sound, and under Eno’s guidance once more Talking Heads set out for newer, unchartered territory.

Musically, the band sought to re-frame themselves as a group in the most fundamental sense: previously they had been essentially a backing group to frontman and creative leader David Byrne, and with this in mind it was decided that the whole group (Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth, drummer Chris Frantz and guitarist Jerry Harrison) would work up the basis for what would become Remain In Light’s songs from instrumental jams. Influenced by the afrobeat music of Fela Kuti, the band experimented with polyrhythms, moving away from the short, spiky New Wave of old and towards a groove-based style of music; for the tour of the album Talking Heads’ line-up would be augmented by a further four musicians to carry this over to the live performance. Thus — although not displaying an overt afrobeat element — the record is strikingly different to anything they had attempted before, and distinct emphasis is placed throughout on repetition of musical phrases to afford what is at times a hypnotic quality to much of the music on offer.

Unlike previous albums, many of the songs in this set lack a narrative element to the lyrics, with Byrne eschewing his usual tendency for quirky emotion-free observations in favour of short, chant-like phrases and ominous proclamations, and a sense of urgent paranoia is quickly established when Byrne sings “I’m not a drowning man/I’m not a burning building” on opening track Born Under Punches. The qualifier that “drowning cannot hurt a man/fire cannot hurt a man” — sung with an air of taut, nervous conviction – only serves to heighten concerns for the manic, sermonising character who has clearly taken leave of his senses, despite his protestations of sanity as he declares “I’m a government man”.

The essence of what the first person narrator is (or is not) lies at the core of Remain In Light, as Byrne’s lyrics touch upon themes of identity, alienation and suspicion with a vocal delivery abundant with burning restlessness. Without doubt the album’s most famous and accessible example comes in the form of the bizarrely brilliant pop of Once In A Lifetime, where Byrne dons the guise of a faux preacher-cum-life coach, boldly evangelising to listeners bemused by the speed of their modern lives who may ask themselves “well, how did I get here?”. Elsewhere, Houses In Motion finds him “walking a line/just barely enough to be living”, whilst veering off into the cryptic (“I’m keeping my fingers behind me”), and it seems at every turn the uncertainty is there; on the superbly agitated Crosseyed And Painless he declares: “lost my shape, trying to act casual/can’t stop, I might end up in the hospital”
to the backdrop of an irresistibly danceable rhythm, before reeling off a list of ‘facts’ about facts themselves, as seen through the fractured lens of the song’s delusional protagonist.

Having epitomised his existential angst with frenzied delivery and arcane poetry, one could be forgiven for thinking that nothing more comprehensible is forthcoming, so it is perhaps typical of Byrne that the most explicit rendering of the record’s central premise comes hand-in-hand with his most dispassionate vocal. On the spoken word of Seen And Not Seen he flatly recounts the story of a man seeking to change his physical appearance by the power of thought alone, with the remarkable effect of making the whimsical and slightly tragic sound serious and matter of fact. The song might even serve as a punchline of sorts, had the setup not been as unnerving and Byrne’s tone of voice not so unconcerned.

Even the album cover sought to almost drive the point home in an artful manner, and in keeping with the spirit of distributed creative control the artwork was entrusted to Tina Weymouth. It may appear clunky in the 21st century but her collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (utilising cutting edge techniques at the time) afforded a perfect visual embodiment to the recurring subject matter of ambiguous identities. There was even a nod to her father – a former pilot – in the motif of a series of war planes on the reverse of the sleeve.

After high watermark of Remain In Light, Talking Heads would subsequently take three years to record the follow up, unveiling another change in direction and drawing the curtain on perhaps the more experimental phase of their career. They would go on to produce more successful singles, bringing them to wider attention, but creatively, musically and critically they would never top this.

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Releasing their first album in 3 years, The Kills return with their eclectic blues-rock with a twist. With several well-received albums behind them the Anglo-American two-piece have built on the foundations of their success, refusing to merely reproduce past glories but delve deeper into their creative yearnings.

Lead single Satellite showcases such intentions, sounding both innovative and fragile in the same beat. It’s heavy bass, drawing from the roots laid down in 2005’s No Wow, sets out a marker for the entire album, with it’s ferocity and relentlessness standing in contrast to the intimacy of Mosshart’s and Hince’s relationship.

Though a return of The Kills was never in doubt, the gap between albums granted the two, who regard their relationship akin to that of brother and sister, to engage in other activities. Most notably Alison took up vocal duties for Jack White’s critically lauded Dead Weather supergroup. Their two ensuing albums (Horehound and Sea Of Cowards) and raft of live dates appears to have served in honing her already razor-sharp voice into the powerhouse that presents itself on Blood Pressures.

Indeed, from the very opening track one is reminded of what has been lacking in their absence, with Future Starts Slow proving a superior fusion of accessible and contemporary blues than anything Mosshart produced with White and co. The use again of a drum machine, something that might prove disparaging in other bands, syncs perfectly with The Kills sound, helping to maintain focus on the two pillars of their strength in Alison’s voice and Jamie’s primal guitar. This lo-fi accessibility, a virtue of knowing that ambition does not merely equate to over complication, marks the album and continues to be one of the band’s enduring features.

Wild Charms grants the listener with a brief respite from the pounding drive of the album’s insatiable start and also provides Jamie with a rare lead vocal outing. Whilst the track proves one of the weaker, indeed its inclusion appears mainly as a gateway to a softer second half of song writing, it does grant a balance to the album and demonstrates a band with the courage to show their delicate side.

The dual vocals on Baby Says prove especially moving, appearing almost as a lament alongside haunting guitar lines. The Last Goodbye sees Mosshart at her most exposed with the accompaniment by piano helping to stand the song in contrast to the vibrancy of much of her other vocals. The glorious Pots And Pans anchors the album delightfully, showing The Kills at their most lyrically playful and stripped back best.

On the whole Blood Pressures proves a continued step forward for The Kills and maintains their creative distinction. Able to grow their sound sufficiently whilst maintaining the potency of what made them triumphant in the first place this album should be welcomed (and accessible) by new fans and already converted followers. This is how to make a fourth album.

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Insurrection is a beautiful blend of dub reggae poetry and steady electronic beats that are used to remember and discuss the Brixton riots of 1981, that not only affected Brixton’s black community but Britain as a nation. It is the first single off of Hiatus’ forthcoming LP Ghost Notes and features respected dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson.

The track is a poetic collaboration of Linton’s lyrics tinted with his distinctive Jamaican tones and Hiatus’, aka Cyrus Shahrad, smooth vocals and steady electro beats. Both artists have different roles in the track, Linton speaks from the perspective of being in the Riots, he starts the track by saying “it was in April 1981” and reminiscing about the riots.

The vocals of Hiatus and the Jamaican accent of Linton is one of those collaborations that compliment one another and create something extraordinary. The subject matter is so important and socially relevant to today’s government. Hiatus says that the release of Insurrection is in part due to the 30th anniversary of the Brixton riots but also because history very may well repeat itself with Britain now facing a cold conservative government.

Putting aside the seriousness of the message for one moment, the beat is really relaxed and the song for some reason is perfect for chilling in the sunshine and warm evenings because it sounds so amazing. It is one of those songs that makes you stop, breathe and take stock of your life. One of those outer body moments that help clarify life and put it into perspective.

Although the song provokes vivid mental imagery of the Brixton riots there is no need to imagine the disastrous events that changed so many lives as Hiatus has compiled a video to accompany Insurrection using archived footage of the 1981 riots which can be checked out on his website.

On the single there is a remix of insurrection that is just as phenomenal, slightly similar bass to Yolanda be Cool’s — we No speak Americano. The remix loses most of its reggae vibe and ups the club beat but sounds just as good, with its upbeat bass and revamped chilled sound it would be great for an evening beach party or rave.

Insurrection is an honestly surprising song that’s void of the auto tuned vocals and repetitive sampling that is so constant in many of today’s mainstream songs, a hauntingly beautiful reality check with a chilled beat and deep lyrics. I Strongly advise you to sit in a quiet place and really listen to the lyrics to fully appreciate how beautiful the song is, then dance to the remix.

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Dance Gavin Dance the American experimental guys from Sacramento, California, pleased us with their fourth album. It’s a second and remastered release of their debut album, Downtown Battle Mountain, that was released in 2007, but without Roman figure II.

In the current music scene where there are a lot of similar bands that are siblings at best and clones at worse. It just makes my heart beat faster when I hear bands like Dance Gavin Dance, that DO have their own style and create a unique sound that is produced in their own way.

If you were to compare this album with their previous album Happiness, that was released two years ago, in 2009, the Downtown Battle Mountain-II is much more optimistic (how ironic) in sound and has less dramatic melodic parts. Vocals are still sensual, sweet and romantic, but there are more ‘sandy’ scream and shoutings with almost hip hop insertion in a Limp Bizkit style. And of course unforgettable guitar shreds and sick solos in a Mars Volta style, post hardcore breakdowns and unpredictable drum parts. The sound passing through the guitars sounds like the amperage, becoming a resistance between the pickups of their guitars, the hit of sticks on plastic, binder vibrations, returns to its prehistoric wildness, finding its initial purity and sonority. The sound becomes almost like the soundtrack of your childhood… Only better!

I Recommended you listen to extend your music taste and to start a new life not tomorrow, but today. Start with tracks: Spooks, Elder Goose and Pounce Bounce

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The Joy Formidable are a three piece band from North Wales, I suppose if you had to attach an all encompassing word to their music, it would be panoramic. I don’t know about you, but ‘panoramic’ isn’t a word that I use very often to describe a band’s output. But in this case, yes, panoramic is exactly it. The music rises, falls, swells and changes exactly like the landscape. But the impression of rolling quiet hills isn’t the one that fills you when you listen.

Fading in at the beginning of the album, is the song The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie. Now this is a beautiful, intense voluminous track that breaks you in nicely for the feel of the rest of the album. After twenty seconds or so of strange noises akin to a sleeping animal being beaten with cassette cases, the rising and falling of the first bars enter, and you realise that this band are one of those that possess the gift of being able to hypnotise a listener. I have used the word ‘atmospheric’ in previous reviews, and at the risk of repeating myself… they create a real atmosphere. It has the ability to instantly change your perception of the world around you. Now obviously yes, this does change depending on what situation you are in. For example, this reviewer got his listening hours with this album from an Ipod, traipsing across rainy Cardiff at six in the morning on the way to the day job. So I suppose you could say that anything other than the sound of wind and cars would change my mood, but until you have bought and burnt the album to some sort of portable device and had the music of this band accompanying you during bad times then you simply just wont know.

The album is a nice trim package, all borders and classicism. The artwork reminds me of a fusion between Hokusai and Jorg Immendorff, which I think works well with the music of the album, its naturally beautiful and panoramic, but at the same time is filled with huge qualities of expression and sheer loudness. Its uncanny, if you’re unfamiliar with the work of these artists, google them, you’ll see what I mean.

Another key track on this album in my opinion is the rather beautiful Austere, coming straight after the euphoric I Don’t Want to See You Like This. Both tracks being imbued with a strange sort of surrealism, and punctuated with one of the best drum sounds I’ve heard in a long time. That brings me on to something I’ve forgotten to mention, that of the sound quality itself of the cd. The swelling bass, the understated but excellent guitar work, Ritzy’s piercing, siren like tones and of course to mention it again, the massive, bombastic drums. Listening to the cd in headphones you will find yourself sometimes just aurally focussing on the drums. The sound is one of those that you think you can almost reach out and touch.

But to sum up, try and get to listen to this album. Even better, make your experience of it better by listening to it in headphones whilst doing something you hate. They have really done well here, so listen either for the escapism, the artwork, or maybe just the almost tangible drums.

Damned brilliant.

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Inspiration: Postremo is a genius pick ‘n’ mix combination of tracks from the indie rock, punk and pop rock genres. All of these genres seem to be experiencing a rapid growth in popularity recently so with this album you will be bang on trend.

Not only does this CD offer something for every music fan, it also appeals to a vast age range. Tracks such as Exit Stage Left offers something for a young pop rock fan who enjoys going to gigs to have a good mosh, yet more mature tracks such as Gotta Get Out would appeal to an older listener who fancies a chilled out, sing-a-long instead.

There is an overall summery vibe to Inspiration: Postremo and whether the sun is out or not, one listen to this upbeat album and you are sure to be feeling like summer is on its way.

If the tracks alone were not enough to tempt you into this free download, there is also a free booklet thrown in to the package. Wonderfully designed by Jamie Topp, the booklet allows you to put a face to a name with pictures, information on all of the artists and various other named sources where you can find more.

A Look at the tracks

No Other Way has a very current indie sound, right from the word go. The track is laid-back with a non intrusive melody which is brilliant for when you want to stick a something on and not have to think about anything. There are long episodes of instrumental which nicely breaks up the catchy lyrics and would certainly sound fantastic live, especially at a festival this summer.

There is a slight resemblance to Kasabian in their early Club Foot days or The Enemy, so if you are a fan of either of those two bands then have a listen!

She Rules starts with a real punk rock sound, heavy guitar riffs and a loud bass, only to be immediately contrasted by the pleasant, gentle voice of Billy Mowbray. You would think of these two factors as being chalk and cheese but it is a clever combination as it increases the appeal to the punksters and indie rockers, alike.

She Rules is well produced and shows complexity, especially when halfway through the track, the sound drops away leaving the only the guitar. It then builds and breaks into a rocking instrumental which is sure to get any crowd pumping.

Man Or Mouse? could be compared to the likes of Feeder or even Biffy Clyro with a pop twist!

The track Gotta Get Out has an old school, soft rock sort of vibe to it– think Status Quo with a 21st Century twist. Now, it won’t be to everyone’s taste but that is to be expected when the 48Ks are brave enough to try something new. There certainly hasn’t been a band like this for quite some time and the wait for someone like this is long overdue.

It is going to sound odd, but whilst listening to this song, you can’t help but do the twist! It is funky, upbeat and fun – a great track.

Too High Hopes is a track which would sit nicely on the O.C Soundtrack or something similar. It has a relaxed sound which reminds you of sun, sea and sand, especially when the harmonica chirps in. Matthew Neel doesn’t opt for unnecessary complexity with his track as it is mainly compromised of an acoustic guitar, barely there drum beats and his vocals. The sound has almost a slight country and southern rock twist to it too.

The track doesn’t sound particularly like Jack Johnson as Matthew Neel has a very unique voice and distinguishable sound but it does share the same laid back, surf vibe that makes Johnson so popular.

Wow, The Eleven 37’s are really different and definitely a band to watch. They have a unique sound which mixes funk, soul, and indie rock– something that not many artists are brave enough to try, thus leaving a nice Eleven 37’s sized gap in the market at the moment.

Here Comes The Storm is a track that would appeal not only to the youth of today but your mum and even your grandma! You can’t help but dance to the infectious chorus and the track will indeed ‘make you happy to be alive’. There are no current similar artists to compare this band to but that can only be a good thing!

Exit Stage Left is a firm favourite track on the Inspiration: Postremo album. No Lights At Lockdown bring a great pop rock sound which is currently working so well for the likes of The Blackout and You Me At Six at the moment. The track does have some similarities to these power pop rock bands but No Lights At Lockdown pull it off with a more mature sound which could be attributed to Chris Edge having an almost indie, raw sounding voice which is a nice change from the plain tones that are present in so many pop rock songs in the chart today.

With the current market, I can see No Lights At Lockdown having great success. Everyone seems to be going crazy for pop rock at the moment and these guys tick all the boxes.

Brand New Day presents itself as another stand out track on the Inspiration: Postremo. The band play music and they play it loud but with the gravelly vocals of Louis Ellis anything less than that wouldn’t work.

The track sounds professional and something that could easily make it on to the Radio 1 or the Kerrang! Radio playlist. The band state that they take influences from the likes of Bon Jovi and you can definitely hear essences of this within the track but you can tell they aren’t trying to be anything that they aren’t. They are fresh, confident and know how to pull off a great guitar solo– everything you want from a band. This track is guaranteed to make you want to hear more of what they have to offer!

All The Way is a great little summer track which you can imagine listening to when driving with the roof down. The lyrics and melody are simple and repetitive allowing listeners to quickly become familiar with them. They therefore have a great tendency to get stuck in your head– an essential quality of any anthem.

The track has a similar sound to the Foo Fighters, with Colin Parkinson’s vocals bearing a striking resemblance to Dave Grohl but with a slightly purer quality to them. From the start of the track, the band rock out full throttle but around the half way mark, there is a breakdown which exposes the band’s tender side.

Catchy, well written and a great rock sound – Britain’s answer to the Foo Fighters.

Dark Dark is a very appropriate title for this song as it starts with a heavy and mysterious guitar riff. The conflict between the two vocals present on the track, combined with the frequently changing rhythm, makes it somewhat chaotic and busy however, somehow Corpus make it work by occasionally bringing everything back to normality, allowing the listener to catch up and reflect on the craziness that had just occurred.

‘We are not a metal band’ proclaim Corpus and they have certainly got that right. It is extremely difficult to pigeon hole them into any genre. The track sounds like an unusual combination of 36 Crazyfists, with a hint of the Arctic Monkeys, and even a little bit of old school Kings of Leon, all bundled in to one. Intrigued? Well, have a listen.

When Pretty People first kicks in, it sounds like a throw back from the 80’s as it starts with an electro pop sound that you would expect from the likes of George Michael or Duran Duran. When the vocals begin however, you realise you couldn’t be further from Simon Le Bon if you tried.

Looking through the band history, it is clear to see that Michael Trapp is somewhat of an individual who enjoys going against the rules and Pretty People most definitely follows suit. CrimsonFaced opt for a rather unique sound which combines heavy guitar riffs with singing/ talking vocals, similar to the style of Marylin Manson. The track also bears resemblance to Korn and Mindless Self Indulgence, both of which are artists whom have had huge success with a similar sound to CrimsonFaced.

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So Elbow return with their 5th album Build A Rocket Boys!. After the mercury prize winning and hugely successful album The Seldom Seen Kid which brought them many new fans, their task was not unlike a band who had made a successful début album and now have to follow it up with their sophomore effort. Not that their debut album Asleep In The Back wasn’t highly acclaimed it just didn’t reach as many fans as in my opinion as it should have.

So to the album itself, opener The Birds is an epic opening shot which finds both Guy Garvey and the rest of the band in fine fettle, it’s both understated and beautiful with Guy telling us how the “birds keep our secrets”.

Next up is Lippy Kids which is a lament to the forgotten youths, who are often over looked as petty criminals and a waste of space. Guy implores them “to build a rocket boys” and to make something of themselves. In a similar vein to The Birdsit is very gentle but builds to a beautiful climax with Guy’s voice worthy of a particular mention in the beauty of the song.

With Love is built around a cascading piano riff and the Hallé Youth Choir backing the band on the chorus.

Its not until the first single Neat Little Rows that you remember this band can do rockier songs just as well as the ballads, with a crunchy guitar riff it finds the band in high spirits, and seems to be this album’s Ground For Divorce

Jesus Is A Rochdale Girl takes us back to a probably simpler time where its just a flat, a girlfriend some records and a cluttered backyard. It is an acoustic which seems to hits the album’s theme of youthful exuberance on the head.

Open Arms is for want of a better comparison, this record’s most anthemic song, which Guy and the Choir singing “We’ve got open arms for broken hearts” and it will take some time to see if it replaces One Day Like This as the festival crowd pleaser.

Last song on the record Dear Friends ties up the album nicely and is a message to the band’s friends that whoever they are and whatever they might be, they are loved equally.

So what do I think to this record, in a word BRILLIANT, the band could of made a strange unaccessible record or one full of One Day Like This anthems. Instead they made another great record on their terms, with all songs having room to breathe and both the musicianship and the song writing really shining through. This record makes me want to go and fetch old photo albums, ring old friends and celebrate life that is for living today but looking to the past the can be an amazing thing.

Go and buy this record and I’m sure you will feel the same. Another great record from one of Britain’s best loved bands.

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Some of the best bands around the current US pop punk scene have joined forces and created a fantastic collaboration CD called Vs. The Earthquake, as a means of contributing something positive to the catastrophic events that have recently occurred in Japan. As the world knows, northern Japan suffered their largest notable earthquake and if that wasn’t enough, this was then followed by a tsunami which destroyed lives, homes and businesses. Such a disaster affects everyone with each person keen to do all they can to help. You too can help by donating a minimum of $5 and in return you get 22 tracks by 22 incredible bands– a small price to pay when you think about what you are getting and where your donation is going.

The CD is composed of unreleased covers such as The Wonder Years doing Hey Julie originally by Fountains of Wayne. There are also rare acoustic tracks by Man Overboard and The Swellers, along with live tracks by Allison Weiss and La Dispute.

It is a very clever release as the choice of songs and lyrics manage to bring home the message that these bands are trying to portray but in a way that is positive and spirited. There are upbeat tracks from Perfect Lines and Save Your Breath but there are also more moving songs from Koji. This CD is made up of so many different artists it just isn’t possible to mention them all but there is something for everyone, whether you are a fan of pop punk or not.

The really special tracks come from Transit and Valencia. Transit’s track Indoor Voices is not an exclusive as it can be found on their latest album Something Left Behind but with lyrics such as <‘I’m getting tired of being told you’re only one person to the world, when to one person you could be the world’, the song is just so fitting. Valencia contributes an acoustic version of their track Spinning Out which again has fitting lyrics including ‘I know somehow, someway, things will get better’.

Limited Pressing, who are responsible for donating a store front for the project state ‘music has always been there to help people through difficult times’ and I am sure this CD will help in some way– be it to raise awareness, raise funds or just simply make someone smile. This compilation CD would be great for those who are fans of the 22 artists and want a rare recording to add to their collection or even those who have not heard any of the artists before.
Go buy it!

Vs. The Earthquake can be purchased from the official site:
Buy Vs. The Earthquake now

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After Oasis split in August 2009, everyone has been giving their two cents about who of the Gallaghers would win the race for the first solo record. Not only that, but also who would make the best one.

Liam Gallagher, along with Andy Bell, Gem Archer and Chris Sharrock, went straight to the task of creating an album that would prove they could make great music without the help of Gallagher the Elder.

The first few singles gave a picture of a return to form for Liam, plenty of sixties influences and the rest of the album follows suit. The album kicks off with Four Letter Word, and it is the perfect opener for the album. There is plenty of energy and a vocal from Liam that is a lot more prominent and up front in the mix than it were in Oasis. It’s also a well-written dig at Noel with Liam singing, in that well-known snarl, ”nothing ever lasts forever”. There is some brilliant guitar work in there too, and you can’t help but feel slightly taken aback: no one thought it would be this good.

On to Millionaire, a track with a lighter sound and plenty of slide guitar that helps define the song. It’s an incredibly catchy song, and although some would say that the lyrics aren’t the cleverest ever written they do the trick, and it’s an instant sing a long.

The Roller makes clear what everyone already knew: the main inspiration for Liam Gallagher & Co. is still The Beatles in general, and John Lennon in particular. The song is great, it’s got a great rhythm, but it’s a near complete rip off of Lennon’s Instant Karma, with the guitars from The Beatles’ Getting Better and you’re left thinking that a tribute to your heroes could have been done a lot better.

In fact, Beady Eye does get it right on the next track Beatles And Stones that perfectly captures the energy of the sixties, not only of the bands mentioned in the title, but also The Who and more recent bands like The La’s, the latter also produced by Steve Lillywhite, the man behind the mammoth task of making a perfect debut album for Beady Eye. Once again we’ve got the maddening self belief from Liam that this band ”is gonna stand the test of time”. Indeed, he has been quoted saying that people will name their children Beady Eye by the end of the year. Although I find this very unlikely, he’s got a point. This album is a smashing debut, and he knows it.

Wind Up Dream is maybe not the greatest track on the album, but it still contains enough lyrical references to Mr. Lennon, and a harmonica, to hammer home the point that this is definitely Liam’s band, even though all members of the band share song-writing credits. Up next is the Jerry Lee Lewis inspired Bring The Light an immediate crowd pleaser complete with hand claps and an incredibly amount of positive energy that’s just a thrill to listen to.

For Anyone is almost too sweet a song, the lyrics complement the simple melody that provides a throw back to bands like The Searchers and other pop acts from the sixties, and of course Liam’s own Songbird from Oasis’ Heathen Chemistry.

From here on the album takes a break, as the next few numbers are not quite as strong as the others. Kill For A Dream is slightly melancholic, with a very sincere sounding Liam, and is guaranteed to get lighters up in the air. Standing On The Edge Of The Noise is essentially an Oasis tune, Liam’s voice is buried in the mix and although this works fine, I just prefer being able to listen properly to his voice. Wigwam is the album’s longest track at 6:39 and this drags it down slightly. Sure, the sha-la-la chorus is great, and the track ends up being slightly psychedelic, but it might just be the weakest track on the album.

Three Ring Circus signals a welcome comeback to a more melodic approach but it’s what comes after that takes the price: The Beat Goes On is a joy to listen to, wonderful lyrics and the anthem-like quality of the song makes it a sure hit for Beady Eye live gigs.

For the last track of the album, it’s all back to Champagne Supernova with Liam becoming a poet on The Morning Son, with ”he’s in my mind, he’s in my soul, he’s even in my rock’n’roll”, a hint, one could hope, to his brother. The fact that the ungrammatical line ”the morning son has rose” makes sense is all due to the quality of Liam’s voice. Gone is the trademark snarl and here to replace it is a much more sincere and deep-felt approach that suits him, and the band. He sounds much less arrogant and the whole album has an over all positive vibe to it.

Quite frankly, an outstanding debut, and one cannot help but wonder how they are going to follow that one up. Or how Noel is, for that matter.

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Interesting artwork for new music is always exciting, and this is no different with French born Syd Matters. Syd Matters began as a solo musician and then went on to form a four-piece band which is what we hear in their new album Brotherocean. The album presents a folky, oceanic sound which is easy to listen to. Images of the seaside and water spring to mind when listening to it and this goes hand in hand with their song titles; river sister and I might float.

The folk sound of the guitar keeps a lot of their songs acoustic and adds to this seaside vision of their music. The peaceful noise created in hi life is very simple and is mainly based on vocals; the song builds up with the addition of a drum beat, but avoids eruption and still maintains a calm aura to the song. River sister takes this oceanic vision to another level with lyrics about diving and swimming to islands through echoey seas, putting us all into a dream-like trance of wishing we were away on holiday. The band then climax the song with what can be described as a fairy-tale sound of extremely high pitched fluttering; although very playful, this Disney-land feel ruins the song as they take it all too far. All in all this entire album is a very chilled and easy to listen to, with a hint of crazy if you are up for it.

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