Reviews

(9/3/10)

Stereophonics are Wayne Rooney’s favourite band. There, as that must be stated whenever the Stereophonics are written about, best to get it out of the way quickly so we can get on with the business of seeing whether they will live up to their reputation as one of the better live acts in the country…

We are all confronted with the concept of cool and the actual reality of it. Either when we were young and foolishly delved into the latest fashion craze or delve into when we get a little older without understanding the context it never worked quite the way you wanted it to. The reason tends to be that the people we try to emulate pull off cool effortlessly. At Southpaw on March third, Imelda May, continued that trend by playing a conquering set of effortless cool rockabilly and owning every inch of the stage.

When it comes to musical collaborations, Damon Albarn has something of the Midas Touch. It’s no surprise then that when the ex-Blur frontman decided to embark on a third Gorillaz album there were no shortage of musicians to offer their services. In contrast to the usual bunch of obscure producers and B listers who get roped into such projects, Plastic Beach features an impressive and diverse array of musical luminaries such as Mark E Smith, Bobby Womack, Snoop Dogg, and Lou Reed. There is also a welcome re-union between Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of the Clash, their first since 1981’s Combat Rock album.

The brilliantly named Cosmo Jarvis, a talented young man from Devon, England, is someone who may well get his fair share of column inches in the music press this year. A little unknown band called Muse gave him a leg up when they invited him to support them at a huge homecoming gig in Teignmouth last September, an accolade that put his name on the map and no doubt won over some new fans.

Hailing from Nashville, the sound of three-piece The Antennas, consisting of brothers Layne and Landon IhdeNiemiec and drummer/producer Mark , couldn’t sound further from the traditional sound of their home-town; bringing to mind the late-90s pop-punk of the likes of Blink 182 rather than the best bits of Kings Of Leon before they went all Sex On Fire on us.

Glorious, joyous and frivolous are just three simple words I can think of to describe, what some critics are calling, the perfect pop album. Topic of discussion is the wonderful ‘Odd Blood’ by Yeasayer. Think back to those awkward moments when you were a teenager and life was just full of idiosyncrasies. It was a dream world of discovery at times and for me, ‘Odd Blood’ would have been the perfect soundtrack to my adolescent days capturing an innocence and a magical sense of well-being assuring that  ‘everything is gonna be ok’.

02/12/2010

Excellent things to come out of Scotland: kilts, bagpipes, Irn Bru, lochs, and most importantly, the music. For a country so small in size, it is absolutely overflowing with great talents. Over the past decade, some of the biggest acts to find success in the States have been bands from Scotland, such as Franz Ferdinand, The Fratellis, Belle and Sebastian, Travis, Arab Strap, The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit, and Glasvegas… just to name a few. But coming out in the forefront of these newbies is Edinburgh’s We Were Promised Jetpacks; whose name is incredibly fitting for the lack of jetpacks the 2000s has brought us!

The Patio Set caught the attention of our writer Peter at ‘Adults night’ at The Macbeth the other night. Read on to see if the quartet left behind a good impression :

Michael, Gareth, Sean & James make up The Patio Set and this band of awkward noiseniks made me salivate from my ears. They’re brought together by their love of all things slightly angular and their shared joy of making an intelligent racket. With their frenetic guitar work and pummeling drum sounds, these guys do not shy away from challenging the norm to an ear-bashing, and they are always triumphant too. Describing their sound is tough, try to imagine Fugazi having a threesome with The Foals and Talking Heads. It’s mind-bending and frustrating at times, but what may seem like a heart-wrenching display, is in fact an example of something quite brilliant.  Lead singer, Gareth also demonstrates the more emotional and harrowing side to The Patio Set, as at times, the lyric’s dark undertones seemingly guide their constantly growing sound into another dimension.

Opening with a distinctive, shimmering guitar which shines throughout the track, Canadian four piece The Besnard Lakes recall all the best moments of 90s shoegazing rock on their new single ‘Albatross‘. Initially carried along by the brilliant, weary vocals of Olga Goreas, the song grows into a glorious melting pot of drums, brass and West Coast harmonies, but loses none of it’s under-stated majesty along the way. The early refrain ‘You showed me so much‘ is a fitting metaphor for the track, which hints at a special album to follow when ‘…Are The Roaring Night’ is released in March.

After an abrupt end to the Verve’s comeback, Ashcroft has wasted no time in returning with new material. He could have easily just basked in the glory of his former band’s successful return and sat on the sofa for a couple of years counting the cash, grinning to himself over the rave reviews. On the contrary, he’s gone straight back into the studio and recorded an album under his new project, ‘The United Nations Of Sound‘.