Kassidy

Another review I wrote for Spark*. Didn't think I was going to like Kassidy, but turns out they're really cool. Check them out.

New band Kassidy pride themselves on “doing what feels right,” rather than doing what people think they should.  This is echoed in their live shows where, as band member Lewis admits, they “confuse” the audience by going against their conceptions.  With acoustic music rising in popularity and status by the day, there’s no question of how they’ll fit in in the music industry.

‘I don’t know’ combines all four members’ vocals in an acoustic piece, with a country-esque that surely appeals in a time where bands such as ‘Mumford and Sons’ are forever gaining (well-deserved) popularity.  With acoustic guitar and drums leading the melody, there can be focus on the vocals and lyrics.  The four vocals are harmonised perfectly, with lyrics like “do you think that I’ll still be strong without you,” and the repetition of “I don’t know,” both during the chorus.  It’s a perfect example of how sometimes, simple is much more effective.

Kassidy don’t need any special effects to showcase their music, as their instruments and vocals are a perfect match.  Watch this space.

4/5

Hurts- Sunday

Trying to have a productive day today, so I've written a quick review of Hurts-'Sunday' for Spark*. I love Hurts, so I didn't find the review too taxing.
Following the success of previous singles ‘Wonderful Life’ and ‘Better than Love,’ Hurts are back with ‘Sunday,’ the fourth release from album ‘Happiness.’  With the album gaining them the title of 2010’s fastest selling new band in the UK as well as going gold, Hurts seem to be unstoppable.

‘Sunday’ is an upbeat offering from the band, heavy with synths and a beat that is nothing short of infectious.  There’s an interesting contrast between the upbeat melody and lyrics like “please come back, don’t you leave me” and “it’s just another lonely Sunday,” that works strangely well.  Perhaps this is just the charm of Hurts, as a similar contrast can be found in ‘Wonderful Life,’ where uplifting lyrics meet with downbeat synths.  There’s a short breakdown during the track, where the beauty of piano starts to breakthrough, giving a quick breather to the track- not that it’s needed at all.

‘Sunday’ is another winner for this “synth-pop” duo.  There should be no doubts for their future success.

4/5

Aside from music...

A quick post about something other than music for a change. Back in September 2010, my Mum took me to London Fashion Week, which is possibly the best thing she's ever done for me. Although I didn't see any actual catwalk shows, I did see fashion video from J Maskrey, who my Mum does some work for, which was ridiculously cool (in my eyes at least). We later got given passes to go see some of the other fashion stalls, which was fun. We also got to do a photobooth thing with a designer called "Cassette Playa," something I thoroughly enjoyed. 
I've got a picture of my pass here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33372784@N02/5008114391/in/set-72157624996820254/ as well as a more indepth summary of what happened.
This post is mainly to draw your attention to the designer J Maskrey. Her designs have been worn by a whole host of celebrities, including Rihanna and Boy George, as well as being featured in Italian Vogue. Her website is http://www.jmaskrey.com/ so go check it out.
I'll also give a link to Cassette Playa, since I've mentioned them. http://www.cassetteplaya.com/blog/
Enjoy.

The Brits, Shoes and 2 Strictly Judges

Catch up blog post. It was the Brits on Tuesday, so I thought I'd give my quick opinions on that. Plus, I went to see a dance show called "Shoes" yesterday evening, and it was fantastic, so just a few things about that.
For me, the Brits 2011 was really good, in that yes, we had the usual predictable winners, but there were some welcome surprises in there too. Take British Female Solo Artist for example. I was fully expecting either Cheryl Cole or Ellie Goulding to take the statue, considering the radio support (and such) they've had over the past year. However, as much as I quite enjoy Ellie Goulding's music, it was actually Laura Marling who received the award, which was a welcoming surprise. Accepted humbly, it was good to see someone who has made a perhaps understated, definitely brilliant album in the past year get the award. If you haven't heard "I Speak Because I Can," I highly recommend buying it. 
Mumford and Sons were another shock (in a good way) of the night,  picking up the award for MasterCard British Album of the Year. I personally put my money (not literally) on a win for perhaps Take That or Plan B, since a] they're both really good albums, and b] they've been hugely hyped since their release. However, perhaps it was the Mercury Music Prize nomination that clenched it for Mumford, although I'm in no way dismissing how good a record it is. Again, I would highly recommend listening to 'Sigh No More.'
Arcade Fire, following their recent Grammy Win, deservedly picked up awards for International Group and Album, whilst, unfortunately, Justin Bieber grabbed International Breakthrough Act.
In terms of performances, Adele, Plan B and Take That were standouts for me. Adele was quite possibly my favourite, because it showed just how beautiful her voice really is. Tinie Tempah's performance was also pretty flawless, full of energy (perhaps because he'd just deservedly won 2 awards). Rihanna disappointed voice-wise, although through no fault of her own, singing live less than expected, reportedly due to contracting laryngitis. Paloma Faith put a damper on the Cee-Lo Green performance, which had started on a high, which I was highly annoyed by. 
All-in-all, with James Corden being a thankfully superb host, The Brits 2011 was a great show.
A full list of winners can be found here:
http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/2011 (Scroll down and it's on the right)
Onto Shoes. This was something organised by my University as part of my (Film &) Theatre modules, but as I couldn't go on the day they organised, I went last night with a friend. And what a good decision it turned out to be. When we arrived, there was a red carpet outside... unfortunately not for us as hoped. After waiting inside for a while, Strictly judge Craig Revel-Horwood (is that how you spell it?!) walks in a lovely shiny suit and silver shoes. Having done latin dancing myself, and being a bit of a fan of Strictly Come Dancing, I got rather excited- something which was heightened when I realised there was a Strictly 'event' inside. To my surprise/delight, I then later saw Bruno Tonioli, pretty much completing the evening for me.
But enough about Strictly. 'Shoes' is a dance show marking the history of shoes, plus the highs and lows of shoe wearing, and a handy step-by-step guide to walking in heels. With live singing and a visible live band in tow, the show turned out to be much more than I expected. There was also humour involved, something I'd never thought about, as I'd assumed it to be just another standard dance show.
What's nice about this show, is that it doesn't just showcase one kind of dance. There's something for pretty much everybody, be it Latin American, Salsa, Tap, Ballet... etc. It was interesting to see how they were all linked not only to each other, but to the shoes they were showing-off. 
Shoes is a refreshing change to the dance shows I've known. Well worth a watch as it's only on until the 3rd April. The trailer is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voBKMe7zfuM

The Highs and Lows of Downloading

A few weeks ago, I read this article on Alt Press:http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/no_money_mo_problems/

Then, a couple of days ago, I started to have a discussion about illegal vs legal downloading with a friend. I’m currently watching The Brits [and getting excited that people I actually like eg Laura Marling are winning some awards] as I write this, and I’m realised just how much music has become a part of my life. This is all exceedingly tedious, but I thought I’d give my opinion on the downloading “debate”, and what I believe would happy, particularly for me, if the music died. It’s not a perfectly written piece, but I just wanted to share my views. Sorry if it sounds like I’m preaching, that wasn’t my intention.

I have to admit, before I read the Alt Press article, I was strongly under the impression that musicians were pretty loaded, living the lifestyle most of us dream of. Having now read the article, and several others since, I realise this is not really true at all. Particularly in the case of smaller artists, less in the league of GaGa, CD profits (for example) rarely find their way into artists’ hands. As Alt Press explains, various things have to be paid for, like the studio time and manufacturing of the CD. It’s even getting harder to make profit from selling CDs “wholesale” (http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/no_money_mo_problems/), as prices on all sides rise. This links perfectly to how important I believe it is to conserve music as much as we possibly can.

As mentioned, bands and artists rarely see personal profit from the sales of songs, EPs and LPs. This might pose the question: ‘why do we bother paying for a CD when it’s not going to benefit the artist?’ In my eyes, this is wrong. Surely, if we’re not paying for the songs, they can’t use the profits to pay back the money for other things (studio time etc), so have to find the funds elsewhere. This would probably mean losing money they could have used to perhaps go on tour, so as the fans, we start losing out. HOWEVER, I’m not an expert on these things, so for all I know, I could be completely getting the wrong end of the stick.

I will just contradict myself briefly. I think the odd illegal download is ok, IF you are merely sampling the song and buy it/the album at a later date. I guess if you’re using Spotify (which I’ll admit, I do, but I have bought the majority of songs I have listened to, and intend to buy the rest when I get some money), this idea becomes strongly relevant, although I know it is legal as the artists are paid by advertisements and premium users, which I guess makes that point somewhat irrelevant. But it just sums up how easy it is to get music for free these days, which, unless given away by the band themselves, isn’t a good thing.

One argument I’ve heard, in favour of illegal downloading, is “lack of money.” I’m a student myself, and money is obviously hard to find sometimes. However, surely if you don’t have the money to buy music, you shouldn’t just, in all reality, ‘steal’ it. You wouldn’t steal clothes if you don’t have the money, so why do it with music? There’s also the argument of ease. It is so easy to quickly download a song off YouTube and listen to your heart’s content? (Sidenote: we could argue about how far illegal listening/downloading goes. Is YouTube a form of illegal listening, since we don’t pay for it? The argument is too broad to write about in this piece) It’s also stupidly easy to borrow a CD of a friend, rip it on iTunes, and bob’s your uncle- you have that album. I’ll admit, I have done that before. But since then, I’ve made a point of buying all of, or the majority of, those albums for myself. I’m saving up for the ones I haven’t quite got yet. But again, this is just stealing. Yes it’s easier, but it’s just taking money out of someone else’s pockets. I’m guessing you wouldn’t enjoy it if someone came along and took money from you.

I realise I’ve become to ramble, so for now, I’ll summarise what I’ve been trying to say. This article is aimed at no one in particular; I just wanted to get my thoughts across. Apart from in the one or two instances I mentioned, illegal downloading is, in my eyes, completely wrong and extremely harmful, not only to the artists, but also to the fans. If everyone stops paying for music, musicians won’t be able to afford to make music much longer, and then we’ll be extremely limited in our listening choices. Personally, I’m not sure what I’d do without music, as it has become a part of my everyday life. I hate silence, and I find it pretty impossible to do anything without it. I support legal downloading to the upmost.

White Stripes [The Demise Of]

Quick piece I wrote about my personal favourite White Stripes song- My Doorbell. Very sad to see them go, but hopefully Jack White [at least] will continue to spread his musical genius with all his various projects.
The 2005 single, written by Jack White and featured on the album “Get Behind me Satan,” upholds catchy lyrics, an infectious drumbeat and a black-and-white video to match.  A perfect example of what you can do with just two band members, ‘My Doorbell’ is surely one of the most famous and instantly recognisable White Stripes hits.  With a particular focus on drums and piano, it’s the simplicity of the song that makes it so easy to listen to and enjoy.  This is all echoed in their 2006 Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for this song, and in turn, their Grammy win for Best Alternative Music Performance for “Get Behind me Satan.”  “My Doorbell” is a White Stripes track that will not be forgotten.

Twin Atlantic

Review of Twin Atlantic's new single 'Edit Me.' Bit pants in my opinion...

Four-piece Glaswegian based ‘Twin Atlantic’ already have a large fanbase frothing at the mouth at this new release.  Having already received play on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show, and a run as a trending topic of Twitter, the band are wasting no time in getting the single heard.

‘Edit Me’ starts strong, with a heavy riff and relentless drumbeat that really underlines the essence of the track.  However, when the vocals come in, ‘Edit Me’ begins to falter.  Although the instrumental is bold and full of charisma, it becomes over-powering to the point where the vocals are incomprehensible.  It’s true that the Sam McTrusty’s vocals do have a certain quality to them, making it somewhat frustrating that they are not utilised to their full potential.  Perhaps if they were, the track would be near magic.

Faults aside, Twin Atlantic are clearly capable of producing the melodies for a hard-hitting rock track.  It’s a shame that ‘Edit Me’ doesn’t quite meet the standards hoped for.

3/5