So I'm finally writing again as you have so smartly noticed! Quite a few albums as well as singles, have been released by a few of my favourite bands so I thought I would share them with you guys!
Okay, so first up is Swim Deep's 'Where the Heaven Are We?' released 5th August 2013. This album is rapidly becoming my top summer album simply because of the sedating tunes and Nirvana-esque appeal of the band. The Birmingham based indie band, having first formed in 2011 and releasing their first single 'King City', went on to perform with up-and-coming band from London who go by the name of Spector (we love 'em) and are now performing in festivals all across the UK. The album features sombre tones such as 'Soul Tripping', which is a perfect song to lie on a sandy beach and just click repeat. Swim Deep are great, but if you were like me a year ago and hadn't heard of them before, I would recommend listening to 'Honey', simply because it's a fun, bouncy tune to have a bit of a jive to. (I apologise for the use of the word 'jive') Their debut album is already set for a top 10 album in the Official Albums Chart. Bearing in mind, this is risky territory with the likes of Miley Cyrus and other mainstream artists. If this band reaches an influx in popularity, their old fans could drift away.
Music Bloggery Recommends: 'King City', 'Honey', 'Soul Trippin'
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Next up, it's another British band, White Lies and their third studio album, 'Big TV', releasing just today in the UK! (12th August 2013) This band is one of my favourites and has been since the release of their first single 'To Lose My Life' (if you haven't listened to it, do so now!). White Lies have always reminded me of Joy Division, as they've got that depressing, eerie mood about them. After releasing their first single from the album via SoundCloud for a free download ('Getting Even), they released short clips of various songs being played by different members of the band on YouTube in order to promote the album. We can only wait and see if this will be as successful as the last. So far it has received mixed reviews. Ben Beaumont-Thomas says 'First Time Caller' uses 'overwrought metaphors' and that 'dumb lyrics can be mitigated by robust anthems' If you're interested in the band, have a listen to the album and tell us what you think!
Music Bloggery Recommends: 'Big TV', 'First Time Caller', 'There Goes Our Love Again' (if you want to listen to their older stuff, we recommend listening to 'To Lose My Life' and 'Farewell to the Fairground')
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Next up is Panic! At
The Disco! This quirky band led by frontman Brendon Urie is back with a
fierce single called 'Miss Jackson'. I don't know if this is the same
Miss Jackson as Outcast sing about, but it's pretty good nonetheless.
When I first heard this track I was a bit confused as to what style the
band is now as they raked in the fans with their unique style but now they're becoming a little generic. If you have a look at most of the comments on their new videos (their newest release being 'This Is Gospel'), you'll see most people agree that they're sounding more like Fall Out Boy, and I'm afraid I have to agree. For me, Miss Jackson lacks the witty lyricism and fun style that I've come to love of the band.I think the fact that the other two band members left, they've become a little different. We've posted the video below, have a look and tell us what you think!
This page will be frequently updated throughout the summer to give you more updates so as much as I hate saying it, watch this space!
Thought I'd add a new segment for the blog. This segment simply discusses various rock artists and their seclusion from the music industry. Hence the title - 'Where'd They Go?!'. The idea for this segment came to me while I was thinking of the New Zealand born indie musician, Ladyhawke. I was introduced to her quirky, odd style of music when I first began listening to rock music. Made famous by her hit song, 'My Delirium.' and other acclaimed songs such as 'Paris Is Burning', 'Dusk 'Till Dawn' and 'Magic', this Kiwi girl is just getting started.
Ladyhawke's been away from the music scene from quite some time. Ever since she released her debut 2008 album, she's been out of the limelight for a while. It got me to wondering where she went to, and don't you worry music fans, Ladyhawke's planning on making her comeback this year! That's right, Ladyhawke's is planning on releasing her follow-up album on the 19th of March, and us fans can't wait!
If you've been living in a cave all of your life and don't know who Ladyhawke is, you should start by listening to her self-titled, 2008 debut album. Every song on the album is a new burst of synthesiser quirkiness. Check out the video for 'My Delirium' below. A real female equivalent to MGMT, I would say.
'Given To The Wild' is the new 2012 release from British indie rock band, The Maccabees. This is the
third studio album release from the London based band. The whole sound of the album was quite a transcendental, eerie sound. The band's first single from the album, 'Pelican' is fast paced, repetitive and just too damn catchy! I personally like the meaning of the song. How I interpreted it as was that we grow older, holding more and more responsibilities on our shoulders until we die. What's your interpretation? Have a go in the comments below!
The album starts off with a two minute instrumental, then immediately carries on into the second song, Child. This song is one of those songs that starts off beautifully harmonious, and continues doing so until it reaches the last minute or so, where it becomes more louder and builds into a crescendo-style instrumental. There's quite a few songs in the album that use this same technique which becomes a sort of motif of the album. The album itself is a much more refined version of the band. If you have a listen to their older stuff on their album 'Wall of Arms', you'll find that it's quite a mish-mash of different ideas and I find they don't work as well as 'Given To The Wild. With better piano melodies on songs such as 'Ayla' and much more experimental, emotional lyrics, it makes for a much more pristine album.
However, there are a few things that didn't really stand out for me. For example, the title of the album is Given To the Wild, and as the album artwork suggests (a picture of a bushfire in a deserted area), you would think the sound would be more similar to the sound of their first album Colour It In, a more 'wild' sound, yet it is more peaceful and toned down. How can you be given to the wild if the sound is completely the opposite?
If you know me well, you'll know that I hate when you can't hear the lyrics of a song properly. With such a good sound, the fact that vocalist Orlando Weeks doesn't make an effort in actually enunciating his words and making sure that they're clear to the listener ruins the experience for me. It's only when I actually research the lyrics that I understand what he is saying fully and therefore enjoy the song a whole lot more. I just don't understand why there is such a style in indie music of having distorted vocals and not singing like a normal person.
Another point is that a lot of the songs have a habit of sounding similar to one another. I know this is bad of me, but it usually takes me a while before I become completely used to an album, and can be trusted to remember the song fully when I haven't listened to it recently. With this album, it took me about 10 listens before I remembered most the album off by heart, which tells you something really. I found that songs like Glimmer and Heave (to name a few), were too similar to one another, and I just hoped that they would have more experimental songs on the album, with it being called Given To the Wild.
So, for the following reasons, I am awarding The Maccabees' Given To the Wild a 4/5 stars! A very good effort, but for me, still needed a but more something. There's potential for more chart-toppers, but there are no actual hits there.
Music Bloggery Recommends: Pelican, Child, Feel To Follow, Glimmer, Go, Slowly One, Grew Up At Midnight
The penultimate day and yet another amazing great Blink-182 song. This song, 'Down' is released from the band's self titled 2003 album, which some people regard their best album (including me). I find the song quite similar to 'Feeling This'. Nevertheless, it is still a great song.
The repetitive singing of the word 'down' as the hook works really well, and doesn't fail to get into the listener's head straight away. According to guitarist Tom DeLonge, the song came from a picture he had in
his head about a girl and a boy in a car with it raining outside (hence
the repetition of the word 'down' in the chorus). The song is on the same album as 'I Miss You', but I find that it's still a great song and it's too underrated. It did feature on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, but quickly fell off, therefore the song received mixed success. The song begins with a great punk rock riff that is consistent throughout the song.
The video features the actor Terry Crews who you may recognise as playing the father in the TV sitcom 'Everybody Hates Chris' as a policeman entering a backyard party (in which the band are attending), in search of a gang member, resulting in a chase. It's another one for the books, so make sure you give it a watch!
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk, new wave band, first formed in Glasgow, Scotland. Rip It Up is the second studio album by the band, and it was first released in November 1982. This album features the self-titled song Rip It Up, which was the first and only song to feature in the UK Top 40 (It featured at no. 8).
When you first listen to the album, you'll be confused yet intrigued as I was, simply because of the collaboration of odd, slightly dark vocals with upbeat synthesisers and extended saxophone solos. The modulated vocals of frontman Edwyn Collins work really well with the fast-paced guitar and rhythmic drums. Part of the reason I believe this album works really well, is because of the mash-up of upbeat, constantly changing melodies and almost unrealistic vocals with the poetry of the lyrics. The sound of the band is quite a nonsensical one, however, if you take a look at the lyrics, they are quite poetical in their own way. 'When I first saw you, Something stirred within me, You were standing sultry in the rain'. Yes, it's no Shelley or Poe, but they are beautifully simple in their own way.
The album is a giant boiling pot of completely different songs, yet they all go together perfectly. For example, songs such as Breakfast Time, (a perfect nostalgia song by-the-by) is incredibly slow paced, and literally on the next track, it's the polar opposite and the pace is much faster on I Can't Help Myself and Flesh of My Flesh.
'Rip It Up', is not a quintessentially indie album, so I came to discover. When listening to it fully, it reminded me of the African sounds of the modern American band, Fool's Gold. It seems to me there is some sort of African language being spoken on A Million Pleading Faces and Hokoyo (correct me if I'm wrong), which made the tracks much more interesting and I think it's great how the band are so in tune with other cultures.
In terms of themes, the album is very consistent. The title, derived from the self-titled first track on the album summarises the whole album and what it is inevitably all about, and the title for the track is taken from the lyric in the song 'Rip it up and start again'. Rip what up exactly, I don't know. It could be ripping up the time vortex to start again, or ripping up anything, really. It's all open for interpretation. (So make sure you share your interpretation in the comments section!). But initially, the album is about love and the loss of it. To be honest, I'm quite bored of the topic of love. I understand why people choose to write about it, because it is raw, human emotion, and because of various experiences, but to be honest, I'm tired of artists singing about love. It's a matter of opinion, but I'd like to see more artists talk about death and a completely opposite theme. It's very rare that music artists choose to do so, which is why it would be interesting to see.
However, I did get the feeling that the band were trying too hard to come across odd and quirky when they're not at all. Collins' vocals seemed too staged and slightly melodramatic to me. For example, on the track Turn Away, Collins' vocals sound completely different to his vocals on songs like Breakfast Time, and to be honest, I much prefer his vocals on Turn Away as they sound more natural.
So, for the reasons given, I am awarding 'Rip It Up, a 4/5 stars! Don't get me wrong, Although I did enjoy the album, there were a few negative things that stood out in my mind. The great thing about this album and the band in itself is that there's no one genre that you can define them as. The frequent use of synthesisers on Hokoyo would make you think 'electronica', yet the extended saxophone solos on songs like I Can't Help Myself make you think 'jazz'.
Share your views in the comment box below!
Music Bloggery Recommends: Rip It Up, A Million Pleading Faces, Turn Away, I Can't Help Myself and Hokoyo
'Angles' was released earlier this year (March 2011). The fourth studio album to be released by American indie rock band, The Strokes, it is the first since their previous release 'First Impressions of Earth' in 2006. 'Angles' was the longest gap The Strokes have had in between albums. However, I believe 'Angles' was worth the wait. No doubt it is more of an experimental album in terms of instruments, but it's a positive cacophony of various beats and synthesisers which combine to make one great mixed up album. There are more overdubbed guitars and lead vocalist Julian Casablancas can be heard experimenting with various vocal layers which adds more of a depth and makes for an interesting sound. Casablancas said in relation to the new album: "Sonically, I feel it's the album which should have been made between 'Room on Fire' and 'First Impressions of Earth'" and I completely agree. The band have not necessarily developed a new, refined sound (although this album does sound quite refined), they've stuck to their roots and followed the style of their 2001 release, 'Is This It'.
When you first listen to the album, you'll be taken aback by the interesting guitar melodies, synthesisers and Farfisa keyboards broken up by a few sombre, melancholy songs such as 'Life Is Simple In The Moonlight' and 'Call Me Back', while maintaining a small element of rock.
The album cover as well as the album art suggests a element of perplexity. Personally, I think this concept is a little pretentious. I got the feeling it's a little attention seeking, almost as if they were trying to say 'Hey, look at us, we're weird and cool. Like us!'. While the theme itself is coming across quite odd and disjointed, the music in the album is quite the opposite. The structure of the songs is quite basic and has your basic rock elements which I found was quite contradictory to the album art and theme. (Comment if you disagree!)
One of my personal favourite songs on this album is 'Two Kinds of Happiness'. The introduction of those eerie harmonies sets a tingle down your spine and the calming yet sceptic vocals of Casablancas reassure the listener.
While I believe this album to be a great collaboration of experimenting with instruments while keeping it simple, I do have one little niggling criticism. Now if you don't know already, I cannot stand vocalists who don't pronounce words properly! I know it sounds stupid, and some would say this is the attraction to indie music in the first place, but if I can't hear the words of a song, I can't enjoy it as much and it just ruins most of the experience for me. Casablancas isn't too bad, however, on a few songs such as 'Games', I find the words just impossible to understand in parts. Yet, in other sections, I can hear the lyrics completely.
So, for the reasons provided, I've decided to rate 'Angles' a mid/high 4/5 stars! I love the whole sound of the album, but I do wish it didn't contradict with the album theme and I wish Casablancas would develop a new style of delivery, as I'm not too fond of his current one. If you're new to The Strokes, you should definitely listen to Under Cover of Darkness, their first single from the album.
'Angles' In One Sentence: An exuberant, odd cacophony of interesting riffs and memorable hooks.
Music Bloggery Recommends:Macchu Picchu, Under Cover of Darkness, Two Kinds of Happiness, Taken For a Fool, Gratisfaction and Life Is Simple In The Moonlight
Paramore, the Tennessee based pop punk band released their album 'Brand New Eyes' in 2009, and it was not without great success. Of course, Paramore was already used to success, as their 2007 release 'Riot!' got them to where they are today and it is the album when they received recognition and skyrocketed to fame.
It's because of this fame that I believe this album isn't as good as their previous ones. Paramore used to make music because they enjoyed it, and now on 'Brand New Eyes', it just feels like they're trying to re-create all their old hits to try and make some money (I mean, singing songs like 'Decode' for Twilight?!). It also seems like it's too much about Hayley Williams (vocals) and not enough about the rest of the band. If you take a look at the video for 'Brick by Boring Brick', you'll see how much footage there is of Williams as opposed to the rest of the band.
Initially, I felt there's the Paramore 'edge' that's lacking on this album. Whereas the previous two albums, 'Riot!' and 'All We Know Is Falling', didn't have Williams' extremely high range of vocals on songs such as 'All I Wanted', they were still much better musically and with meaning. I find that they delved deeper within the morbid aspect of love, and on this new album, it just seems to be a mish-mash of different emotions that don't work together very well. Songs like 'Looking Up' and 'All I Wanted' act as an oxymoron. You can't say that you're happy with life, and then literally yell out 'All I wanted was you'. Personally, it just doesn't work.
No doubt that as a standalone album, it is very good and has many different aesthetics and sounds which sound well together - but when comparing it with their older albums, 'Brand New Eyes' is nothing. Like many bands, they seem to be repeating themselves in terms of themes. It seems to be all about lost love with this band. Yes, this is an interesting concept to write about, I just wish they would learn to experiment with different themes more.
However, I do believe it is a good album as it is more of a refined Paramore. I do love their first single from the album, 'Ignorance', as it's a complete teenage angst song, and who doesn't love that?! (Apart from grumpy old men, of course.) Also, I believe that the lyrics for this song are really effective. Lyrics such as 'Where's your gavel? Your Jury? What's my offence this time? You're not a Judge, but if you're gonna judge me, well sentence me to another life'. They're really catchy and have some sort substance. The hook is repeated about a dozen times, it's hard notto get it in your head! I must admit, in all honesty, Williams' song writing is much more better on this album than on their older material.
In terms of the music, it is pretty decent, but nothing special. Like I said previously, it's been done before. By themselves!
So, for the above reasons, I believe the album to get a 4/5 stars. Paramore do have a very addictive sound, but they just need to broaden their horizons more and just get a little knock back down to Earth. I recently heard a story from a close friend of mine - her brother had the chance to meet Williams' and apparantly she came across as quite rude and uppity, which I didn't seem to like at all. Looks to me as if the fame really has gone to their heads. Do you agree? Comment below!
Music Bloggery Recommends: Ignorance, Brick By Boring Brick, Where The Lines Overlap, All I Wanted and Misguided Ghosts
