ALBUM REVIEW: Chad Valley - Young Hunger (Blessing Force)

Orignally published at Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/albums/chad-valley-%E2%80%93-young-hunger-blessing-force

Chad Valley is an experimental bedroom musician, and is by far the brightest light from the Oxford based creative movement Blessing Force, which his band Jonquil is also a part of. His real name is Hugo Manuel and having released two EP’s, both of which were highly celebrated in the UK and the US amongst other places, it seems a logical progression for Hugo to bless our ears with a full-length album, that goes under the title Young Hunger.

Opener ‘I Owe You This’ lends vocals from American musician Twin Shadow, the track is bursting with emotion and longing, even sounding a little like Tears for Fears but an RnB twist. ‘Fall 4 U’ is very George Michael in his ‘Careless Whisper’ era. He teamed up with synth Siren Glasser on this track, her voice as soothing as his as they both fade in and out. Spotting a trend? Young Hunger is undeniably 80’s, but in the best kind of way.

‘My Girl’ is rather cheesy , it goes: ‘If you wanna be my girl//you gotta get with my friends’, the Oxford based band Fixers’  front man features on this one, but the vocals are overly auto tuned and honestly, it’s  a little too silly. The album really does come into its own towards the end.  ‘Fathering Mothering’ features the delectable voice of Norwegian singer Anne Lise Frøkedal.  It’s perfect, delicate and encapsulating pop music.  Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (or for less of a mouth full – Orlando) is an old school friend of Hugo’s, adds a gloss of expertise on the track ‘My Life Is Complete’ makes for another standout moment.

In its most excellent parts, Young Hunger is delightful and interesting low-fi pop.  In others, it is a little too; ‘video gamey’ with too many odd little beeps and noises rattling on in the background. Chill wave seems to be the genre that Hugo has continuously had stamped onto his previous material. However, on Young Hunger he has ever so slightly curbed his infatuation with that surfer, west coast of America vibe, developing the best of that sound and melding it in with his love of 80’s synth pop.

ALBUM REVIEW: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Trouble (Polydor)

Originally published at: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/music-news/totally-enormous-extinct-dinosaurs-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%98trouble%E2%80%99-polydor

A phenomenal effort from 22-year-old Orlando Higginbottom, aka Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – or... to the cool kids T.E.E.D (which is a little less of a tongue twister). Once you’ve got past all the riff raff - ‘Trouble’ is quite possibly one of the best albums to come out of 2012, and the perfect response to the current influx of dance beats that have surged their way into most genres in recent times.

T.E.E.D is of a dreamy Oxford background, and has been DJ’ing in the flourishing Oxford music scene for years. He’s released one EP prior to the album titled ‘Prehistory’.  The album is a heck of a lot more refined, and I’d imagine would sit much easier on a lot more ears, the EP was very hard, this is soft, bubblegum dance music.

Every track on ‘Trouble’ shimmers and sparkles with electro, samba infused house, and you get the distinct feeling that every moment of the album is very personal to him. He is not only a musician, he also pens and sings the lyrics as well as donning ornate dinosaur come Indian headdresses at his live shows.

Opener ‘Promises’ is pure Balearic chill out house.  If you like bands like Friendly Fires you will love this album. T.E.E.D is signed to major label Polydor, either way you could definitely cite Hot Chip as another reference point for him.

‘Trouble’ (which is one of the singles) goes, “you make me happy, I’m in trouble now.” T.E.E.D marries the perfect blend of earnest lyrics with beguiling house. It’s all very crisp and clean cut , whilst ‘Shimmer’ soars into tropical spirals and echoey vocals.

‘Household Goods’ has an incredible drop – it’s kind of like what Example does, but with more taste. ‘You Need Me On My Own’ is less of a dance floor filler, but is one of my favourites. It’s swoony dream pop with a new wave edge. It seems Orlando’s heartache is a recurring subject in each of the tracks. ‘Garden’ (which has been made famous by the Nokia TV ads) is probably the most well known out of his songs and ‘Closer’ is one of his more obscure moments, but still screams his signature sound.

T.E.E.D strips the hedonism from house, and acts almost as a serenador to the heartbroken on the dance floor. It’s likely to strike a chord with both indie and dance music fans. In my opinion, this is not just a good album, it’s an absolute masterpiece. 

Friendly Fires release a bonus remix edition of Pala:

The mix is available to stream from http://www.wearefriendlyfires.com/

This is a highlight, I couldn't imagine that this song could have got any better, but I actually prefer this remix. There are also remixes by SBTRKT, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Benoit & Sergio. Really is worth a listen.

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

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.