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Gary Dicks - 9/6/2009
Winning the Mercury Music Prize seems to be a bittersweet thing to me. As a musician, I see it as one of the most prestigious awards to obtain (way above such mainstream meaninglessness as the Brits or even the NME awards) but it has this terrible superstition attached to it. A stigma, if you will.
Never mind that though, this record, Elbow's fourth offering, 'Seldom Seen Kid' is truly beautiful. It has all the usual hallmarks of high-end musical aesthetics that can be found in the rock genre, such as elegant strings and blissful guitars, but also showcases a more unusual quality that is made beautiful in its blending with the traditional. This is, of course, Guy Garvey's "regional" vocals, a style possibly made more fashionable and arguably palatable by contempories Arctic Monkeys, which are often apparent but never intrusive and lend themselves to create a sort of reality, making the listener truly feel what is being sung. And what is being sung is not just an assortion of well-chosen notes but an array of skilfully-crafted poetry, from the poignant to the downright humorous.
My first experience of Elbow was a live one many years ago and then I had little by way of praise to say about them but now, after hearing 'Seldom Seen Kid' many times (as it is definitely a "grower"), I have nothing but praise. Let's hope that Elbow don't fall to the curse of the Mercury Music Prize.
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Gary Dicks - 9/6/2009
Without even having pressed play, I already had a good feeling about this record. Admittedly, I have already heard one track from it - their debut UK single 'Don't Stop', which apparently "set dance-floors on fire" according to their press release. I never witnessed any of this sonic arson but it was definitely a good attempt at a more accessible Nine Inch Nails.
However, it's the latest single, 'Die Tonight, Live Forever', which gets the proceedings underway and, after a tense, electronic opening, it kicks in with quite an industrial sound and a solid, danceable beat. Promising...
The first quarter of 'InnerPartySystem' reminds me of what Pendulum strive to do live but with more variation and a much grimier quality to the sound, particularly with the beats. Although this is not to say that the beats are the freshest things in the world. More like they've been pickled but are still well within their expiration date.
There is a lull in the middle and I had to wait until the unexpected slow-burner called 'This Empty Love' for further signs that INNERPARTYSYSTEM have something more about them than the wallowing electro mishmash that seems to be a hallmark of their music. The bursts of industrial weight are very welcome though, as the electro melancholia gets rather tired after a while, whether it's danceable or not.
The drummer, Jared Piccone, stated that some of their "favourite producers are hip-hop producers" and this shows - the most glaring point being in 'Last Night in Brooklyn'. Almost like they wanted to be Timbaland. Mind you, who doesn't?
Overall this record does not have the teeth it should have. Some tracks do. Most aren't even teething. INNERPARTYSYSTEM work best when they wear their hearts on their sleeves and let their metal influences get a better grip. They are a good band with some good ideas but I feel that the lack of interesting programming lets them down. They embrace technology, just not enough. NIN, 65daysofstatic and Muse all intertwine technology with rock music in an often genius fashion and INNERPARTYSYSTEM should have aspired to do the same. However, INNERPARTYSYSTEM are not geniuses. Not if this is their application to MENSA anyway.
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Gary Dicks - 9/6/2009
After hearing 'The Reeling', I immediately wanted to track down the band that called themselves Passion Pit and the record that contained this song. On first look, I discovered that it ('Manners') had not yet been released, so a waiting game ensued...
A few weeks passed and I again thought to look for 'Manners', this time finding it for a penny shy of a tenner. Nowadays, I rarely spend so much on CDs as they can be obtained much more cheaply unless I have a particularly good feeling about a record. Although not as full on as I had had it before, that feeling was with me about Passion Pit and this record 'Manners'. A purchase was made.
Into my CD player it went upon my return home and, after the first few songs, the only word to describe my feeling is disappointment. I think this is mainly due to the high expectations I had, as on subsequent listens, I have enjoyed it more, though it is still far from the fresh record I imagined it to be.
There are highlights, 'The Reeling' being the main one funnily enough, and it is a pleasant enough musical backdrop for an hour if you are not in the mood to listen intently and just want something uplifting and poppy to nod your head to as you busy yourself with something else.
It was only recently, upon purchasing and listening to 'Pet Sounds' by The Beach Boys, that I realised just how much they sounded like The Beach Boys. Albeit an electro-pop version of them. However, don't expect the genius of Brian Wilson to envelop you when you press play.
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Josh Frankpitt - 9/5/2009
All his best songs on 1 cd! I will listen to this rapper/singer all night long!!
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S Edwards - 9/3/2009
Heartbreaker was the last studio album released by seminal British rock band Free and is perhaps their most under-appreciated effort.
The classic songwriting partnership of Paul Rogers and Andy Fraser had been broken when Fraser left the band to form Sharks. An outstanding bass player, Fraser was going to be an almost impossible act to follow but Free rallied by drafting in not one but two replacements. Tetsu Yamauchi took over bass playing duties, while Texan keyboard player John "Rabbit" Budrick, another strong songwriter, supplemented the new line-up.
By all accounts the Heartbreaker sessions were fraught with difficulties, tensions and personality clashes. All this was compounded by Paul Kossoff's ailing health problems, which saw Snuffy Walden, a guitar friend of Rabbit's filling the breach on some of the tracks.
And yet from this maelstrom came a wonderfully diverse and powerful album, arguably as good as anything in the Free canon.
From the dramatic opener 'Wishing Well', which see Paul Rodgers lay down his statement of intent, this record instantly grabs you and refuses to let go.
'Come Together In The Morning' features some of the most haunting guitar Kossoff ever put to record, with emotion literally dripping out of every note.
Rabbit's 'Muddy Water' is tailor made for Paul Rodger's souful vocals and is a triumph, while Heartbreaker ia a tour-de-force. The album closes with 'Seven Angels' a rousing finale and a fitting end to the career of a wonderful band.
If you haven't heard this album do yourself a favour and buy it now. You won't be disappointed.
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Josh Frankpitt - 8/17/2009
What an album, all his latest songs like 'Never leave you', 'Take me back', I could listen to this CD all day. Best music he's done!
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Nariece - 8/16/2009
This album, for me is the best I have listened to in ages. The singles that broke the ice and pushed the small band from Surrey, were in my opinion 'Gossip' and 'If I were in your shoes.' I went to see them at the Camden Roundhouse this year and they were brilliant, they seem to get the whole crowd going. Their shots of pop punk burst with energy and some of the heavier songs make you want to get up and dance!! EPIC!
A MUST BUY!
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Josh Frankpitt - 8/14/2009
Really cheap for what it is, the best song Tinchy has done so far and you get another song called 'It's a problem', which is a very good song too! Amazing Tinchy!
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Josh Frankpitt - 8/14/2009
Good music, great tunes for a party. One of his best albums yet!
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Josh Frankpitt - 8/14/2009
The best 'NOW' album yet! All the latest music and a great CD if you're having a party!
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Lucie Willis - 8/10/2009
The songs are all wicked in theirown way, my personal favourite is called Gossip. You me at six are a band from surrey who formed in 2004. Since then they have realised 5 singles and have won an award for the best band of the year 2008 Kerrang awards.
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Shaun Davies - 8/4/2009
It was with trepidation that I put "A French Kiss in the Chaos" into my CD player. Reverend and the Makers debut album, "The State of Things", was a force of nature. Surely they couldn't pull it off again!?
The opening track (and first single), "Silence is Talking" burst from the speakers. There was that solid groove and sweeping melody that I remembered from the first album, then the main riff started! It was "Low Rider" from 70's bikers, War! I was worried, why would you use someone else's music on the first track of your new album? Then it came to me, "Because you're Reverend and the Makers"! I then laid back and let the jack-hammer rhythms, soaring chords and razor sharp lyrics wash over me....Reverend and the Makers are back!
Like the first album, there isn't a single duff track on "French Kiss" but the stand out moments for me are "No Wood Just Trees", "Mermaids" and the heart-breaking "Hard Time for Dreamers".
For the complete list there's a downloadable track on Play.com called "Skyhighatrist" and two scorchers on iTunes, ""More Than Yourself" and the blood-pumping "Bird of Prey". Both iTunes tracks have "Explicit Lyrics" warnings but, if you were THAT prudish I doubt you'd be listening to "Reverend and the Makers" anyway.
It may not be to everyone's taste (what music is?) but I recommend you give "A French Kiss in the Chaos" a test drive as soon as possible.
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Karen Painter - 7/28/2009
Another excellent musical offering from the "Now" series, 73 is definitely one of their best.
Lively, catchy, raunchy, rocking or just good old fashioned foot stomping - it's all here!
Most tastes are catered for, though sadly Take That fans are surprisingly left out in the cold.
There is no doubt about it, as compilation albums go "Now" lead the way. They offer a regular unparalleled choice of all the latest chart hits from the current music genres.
"Now" that's what I call value for money!!!
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lizzie sharples - 7/22/2009
From the opening bars of 'On the Bound' this album is beautiful. Diverse in its content, its rhythms and the layers of instruments making a bed for Apples mellifluous voice to lay upon. I can guarantee you won't have heard anything like this album before, I've been searching for 10 years now.
Whats makes it so different? It's Apples haunting voice from which you can feel the depth and breadth of her pain, anger and sadness. 'Here's another speech you wish I'd swallow, another cue for you to fold your ears', maybe why Apple isn't a more successful artist is that as the above quote from 'To your love' suggests Apples songs don't always make for comfortable listening.
Whilst most of the focus is on Apple voice the music supporting it is what completes the complexity of each song. Layers upon layers of different instruments, melodies, rhythms...strong piana melodies, crashes and booms of drums, squiggling horns. When bought all together makes this eclectic album which truely is my favourite.
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Stephen Taylor - 7/22/2009
Reviewing this album is like reviewing the Bible, just as the bible remains the ultimate text for Christiais, White Light/White Heat remains the ultimate collection of songs for alternative musicians. One cannot begin to describe the influence this album has had on the alternative music scene, Henry Rollins, Kurt Cobain even John Lennon have all cited this album as a favourite.
Suffice it to say this is the Velvet Undergorund at their most experimental, take for instance the eight minute epic 'The Gift' which features John Cale reciting a story of love, jealousy and unintentional murder, whilst the rest of the band play a feedback ridden jam. What is interesting about this album is how great the contrast between John Cale's melodic welsh vocal charm and Lou Reed's snarling New York tinged vocals, this comes to a peak on the wonderful 'Lady Godiva's Operation' which could be the strangest duet in the history of music.
Lou Reed's guitar techniques remain both unusual and exuberating especially on 'I Heard Her Call My Name' which could stand as the album's best track if it wasn't for the seventeen minute opus that is 'Sister Ray' which features the finest use of three chords along with Reed singing of drugs, violence and transvestism.
To say this is the velvet underground's best album would be an understatement, this may well be one of the finest albums ever made. Forget Led Zeppelin, forget The Beatles, forget Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground are the greatest band of all time.
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Nariece - 7/19/2009
This is their first, and in my opinion, their best album. All the albums are great, but this is top. The sheer power in the opening track makes you want to get up and groove. 'Franklin' makes you dream of distant places, and the contrast of the female and male vocals makes you smile. 'My Heart' makes you feel the pain of love loss in the most perfect way, and the screaming goes beautifully. The whole album is amazing, and worth buying if you want some powerful pop/punk. Thumbs up from me!!!!
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Kevin Ryan - 7/18/2009
Perhaps the most eccentric and certainly the most upbeat record of Springsteen's career. A pop album inspired by the music of his youth - we get Beach Boys harmonies, Byrds guitars, Beatles choruses, even a Dylan shuffle. At first these songs seem lightweight but slowly the killer hooks and catchy melodies work their magic and the often simple lyrics resonate with themes of contentment, the simple joys of life, long-term love and lifelong friendship. As might be expected from an artist nearing 60 though, thoughts of time passing and mortality are not far away and the record is bookended by darker, lonelier, sadder tales - comic, epic, western 'Outlaw Pete', heartfelt goodbye 'The Last Carnival' and the bonus track title song for 'The Wrestler'. The lush, kitchen-sink production, lack of coherent, unifying mood or sound, simple (at times bordering banal) lyrics and general 'poppiness' will disappoint some fans but many more will see it as a welcome addition to the catalogue, fleshing out the Springsteen story with an optimistic, mature pop record. In times like these couldn't we all do with more of those?
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nichola jones - 7/15/2009
Absolute legand and a legand of an album, the best of the best all on to 1 album, I have always loved his songs anyway but this is by far the best album as like the title says "number ones" best album ever and after what has just happened it makes you realise just how good he was
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chris purvis - 7/9/2009
Mr Hudson is fantastic and with music buddies like Kanye West and Kidd Cuddy you get more than you bargain for. This album is great for those anticipating the next release.
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Dominic Wallace - 6/20/2009
Another excellent song by the metal Gods, Slipknot. As well as being the theme tune to 'Resident Evil', it has some amazing drumming, immense guitaring and incredible screamo-singing! One of Slipknot's best songs, by far.