Friday 30 December 2011

The best songs of 2011 (in my opinion)


Gold Panda: Marriage




Bon Iver: Perth 




Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs: Household Goods




Metronomy: The Look 




Azari and III: Hungry for the Power 




Bombay Bicycle Club: Lights out words gone





Friendly Fires: Hawaiian air 



James Blake: The Wilhelm scream




Ben Howard: Old Pine 



Justice: Ohio 


Thursday 22 December 2011

What a beaut.


LIVE REVIEW Friendly Fires – Southampton (Sonar Magazine)


Southampton Guildhall:  16th December 2011






Friendly Fires are back, armed with their sparkling second album, Pala. The album was inspired by the Aldous Huxley Novel, Island, a tale about a sociological experiment to create a perfect, paradise like society. Each track exudes this philosophy. Their live show was like a tropical explosion of summer, the perfect antidote amid the December’s rain and cold.


Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs gave us an electric warm up. He stood at his decks, awkwardly but ever so modestly bopping his head to his electro, power pop tracks. Household Goods sent everyone wild, and he has clearly, from the crowd’s reaction already collected a fan base. He is set to release his debut album next year.


Ed, Edd and Jack blasted onto the stage; their backdrop a large screen with a parrot slowly moving behind them.  They were welcomed with a rapturous applause and smiled back at the crowd’s ecstatic reaction. They started with Lovesick then superbly transcended into the mighty Jump in the pool. The unique thing about Friendly Fires is, they have the character and stage presence of a band, whilst twinning it with the energy and electricity of a DJ. It’s the perfect blend; even their more down tempo tracks like Pala and In the Hospital exude happiness and optimism.


Ed Macfarlane, lead singer, performed his usual dance moves; a clear expression of how passionate he is about the music they make. It works. Euphoria swept across the room whilst they played a mixture of their debut and Pala, each track clearly known and loved by everyone in the room.


They gave the perfect encore. Hawaiian Air, a single from Pala about the strenuous journey and the eventual arrival to the paradise like Hawaii, and Kiss of Life. I never wanted it to end. They have reinstated themselves as one of the freshest, most life affirming bands around.

Thursday 1 December 2011

Justice: Album Review: Written for Sonar Magazine



Justice – Audio, Video, Disco
Ed Banger Records



An astounding second album from French duo Justice, made up of Xavier and Gaspard.  After their debut,it was hard to predict which path they would take with their latest creation.  The bizarre thing about Justice is, they are in limbo – a little too rocky for the world of house, and a little too housey for the world of rock.  This is not a criticism. They sit beautifully in the middle and juxtapose a variety of genres together with sophistication and a distinct flair for risk taking. 

Second albums are always tricky, especially if you’re such a critically acclaimed and legendary act. If they were to lose their authenticity and make a ‘dud’ album they would have had a long way to fall. Luckily, its not even luck it’s a work of art, they have absolutely smashed it.

Highlights include ‘Civilisation’ ‘Ohio’ and the title track ‘Audio, video, disco’. Their distinctive French house sound mixed with double necked guitars riffs is smooth, sophisticated and beautifully produced, whilst sticking to their progressive rock/house roots. The lyrics are powerful and poetic and this album pays great homage to 70’s-era progressive rock.

In monster club tracks were set aside what could only be described as fillers.  It was undoubtedly a great record, but Audio, Video, Disco is more of a well thought out package, it’s a lot slicker and eclectic. I expect this will blow dance floors apart the world over, and no doubt have fists pumping for next year’s festival season.  Bravo Justice! You are admired by dance and rock music fans alike, which are two very hard nuts to crack.