ALBUM REVIEW: Alabama Shakes: 'Boys & Girls'

Make way for Alabama Shakes, with their harem of famous fans including Adele and Bon Iver and Russell Crowe. This album is pure neo soul with classicist influences. There are moments of Jack White, Al Green and Tina Turner. This album is a spectacle, and in my books –an instant classic.

They met at high school and have been a successful covers band for a few years – covering the likes of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC to name but a few. So in essence, they have spent time imitating the greats, doing their homework and drawing inspiration from an array of iconic sounds. The studying has paid off, and this is only their debut album.

Every once in a while you hear a song and think you've heard before somewhere. Why is that? This rings true for ‘Hold On’, the album opener that is also their debut single. This has received loads of airplay and huge support from DJ’s.

Brittany Howard is lead vocalist –her androgynous voice is iconic in itself, similar to the strength of Amy Winehouse with the character of Jack White. ‘I Found Out’ is magnificent, and ‘Rise to the Sun’ is my favourite, sounds a little like Macy Gray, the spangled guitars twinned with her voice are a winner.

‘You Ain’t Alone’ is a ballad, it’s so delicate and emotional, “Are you scared to wear your heart on your sleeve, are you scared of me?” ‘Hearbreaker’ sounds enormous; it reminds me of Al Green’s ‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart’.  ‘Be Mine’ is silky and smooth.

The album has the feeling of being at an intimate gig in a bar, sounding so raw and crisp. Her voice is spectacular; I do doubt without the unstoppable Brittany Howard, they would still be playing cover band slots. I foresee that this album will appeal to a wide range of demographics, and no doubt be the soundtrack to many a summer barbeque this year.

ALBUM REVIEW: Speech Debelle - 'Freedom of Speech'

Published at:  http://sonarmagazine.co.uk/2012/03/review-speech-debelle-freedom-of-speech-big-dada/

It’s been three years since her debut, Speech Therapy, won the 29-year-old rapper the highly acclaimed Mercury Prize, beating off strong contenders like Florence + the Machine and Kasabian. Her new album is inspired by Tupac and has been produced by the same producer as Ghostpoet, Kwes. The happy go lucky tracks have gone and made way for political statements and earnest tales of lost love.

The record opens with ‘Studio Backpack Rap’ in which she samples Biggy, “it was all a dream, she used to read Smash Hits magazine”.  Backpack Rap by definition means a person that dislikes mainstream rap, “a person who raps about real life shit that matters and has experienced, rarely about pimping hoes/having millions/selling immense amounts of drugs/murdering random people for no apparent reason or motive.” This is exactly what this album personifies, and what a great note to start with.

‘Blaze up a Fire’ was written just before the London riots, and serves as prediction of anarchy. It was released just after, Debelle could obviously feel the unrest bubbling underneath the surface of society and that is something, I think, is quite extraordinary. It has appearances from fellow rappers Roots Manuva and Realism.

‘Elephant in the Living Room’ makes way for strings, and talks about a relationship that needs to end, because she doesn't feel the same about him anymore. There is a secret between them, and the elephant signifies that. She then flips the script on ‘X Marks the Spot’ where she angrily raps about a guy always talking about his ex. It’s angsty and hip hoppy.

‘Angel Wings’ is a little too sentimental for me. “I know these writers and bloggers want to hate on me.” It is very obviously an autobiographical song about her struggle to make it in the music business. It doesn’t really match up with the strong sentiments that are conveyed by the other tracks, it doesn’t resonate. ‘I’m With It’ gives us a taste of soul disco, its a nice blast of happiness onto the record.

So, Nicky Minaj has been given all this praise for being such a good female rapper? Minaj doesn’t have a patch on Speech Debelle. There is no need for gimmicks and fancy videos and a dressing up box; her music speaks enough power not to need them, It’s just stripped back talent. Thinking back to ‘Better Days’ and ‘Spinnin’ , which were two great tracks from her debut, Debelle has changed it up but kept her power, this album is surprisingly good.

ALBUM REVIEW: Goldfrapp - 'The Singles' (Published at Sonar Magazine)

Published at:  http://sonarmagazine.co.uk/2012/02/711/

Goldfrapp starting making music just over a decade ago and is made up of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory. They have attracted a huge cult following that has spanned their career, and what a great time to remind the world of just how good they really are.

The album highlights how musically skilled and versatile the pair are with a collection of their most successful tracks, and two additional ones; ‘Melancholy Sky’ and ‘Yellow Halo’. The album artwork is a collage of their previous album covers artistically placed over one another.

The album kicks off with the huge glam rock sound of ‘Ooh La La’, which is a perfect opener, followed by ‘Number 1’ both taken from their ‘Supernature’ album and are a strong representation of their finest electro moments.

Swooping into the trashy techno sounding ‘Strict Machine’ this song showcases the beautiful union of Alison’s seductive husky vocals and Wills synths. Could music be anymore perfectly engineered? It’s eerie. ‘Lovely head’ is heart breaking sad, strange and was uber sophisticated for its time. ‘Utopia’ is another glowing moment and a reminder of how daring Goldfrapp were throughout their career, constantly changing their sound, but never losing their personality.

‘A & E’ is an absolute favourite of mine. ‘Happiness’ is a dreamy almost hypnotic in parts beauty of a song. ‘Train’ is the ultimate in electro-sexy. ‘Ride A White Horse’ is disco pop, and their most successful single to date. ‘Rocket’ is pure and flawless pop music. The euphoric ‘Believer’ is followed by ‘Black Cherry’ which is just mesmerizing. Words cannot describe how much I adore Goldfrapp.

‘Yellow Halo’ is just unbelievably emotive, and what a great way to finish off the album. It’s upbeat, but emotional like someone’s funnelled life into music. ‘Melancoly Sky’ is nice, but I’m not overly fond of it. All in all, thank you Goldfrapp, for reminding us just how wonderful and iconic you really are, and what a glimmering career you’ve had.

Published at: http://sonarmagazine.co.uk/post/14642199282/friendly-fires-live-review

Introducing: Daley (Written for Sonar Magazine): http://sonarmagazine.co.uk/post/14128370474/introducing-daley

http://sonarmagazine.co.uk/post/14128370474/introducing-daley

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.