Gil Scott-Heron

Terrible news today about the death of Gil Scott-Heron. He is a legend who will be truly missed. There's a couple of newspaper articles here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/gil-scottheron-songwriter-and-poet-dies-aged-62-2290290.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/may/28/gil-scott-heron-obituary?INTCMP=SRCH

I've also just been linked to this blogpost by the boss/producer of XL Recordings, which pretty much sums up why he will be so missed:

http://richardxl.tumblr.com/

Digital Rights

Interesting article in the Guardian, giving an overview of how digital licensing rights works at the moment, and how EMI are changing it.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2011/may/24/emi-music-publishing-digital-licenses?CMP=twt_fd

Independent Festival Guide

Also found this guide from the Independent. Covers EVERY type of festival around.


http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/here-comes-the-summer-your-guide-to-the-best-festivals-of-2011-2286441.html

Guardian Festival Guide

Heard this advertised on the radio, so had a look for myself. Brilliant look at the summer's amazing line-up of festivals.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/series/music-festivals-guide 

What makes good Journalism?

Interesting conference coming up in June...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/may/20/journalism-education-wikileaks?INTCMP=SRCH

The Wombats

Review of The Wombats new offering. Veerrrrry good!

Liverpudlian 3-piece The Wombats first infected our radios in 2007 with the release of their debut album The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation.  Spawning numerous radio and indie-dancefloor hits, such as Kill the Director, Backfire at the Disco, and the highly infectious Let’s Dance to Joy Division, they inevitably set themselves up for success.  Having proved their worth, they had the honour of opening the opening ceremony of Liverpool, European Capital of Culture.  Now they’re back, with The Wombats Proudly Present:  This Modern Glitch.  With initial releases having been met with huge satisfaction for fans, the album is set to be triumphant.

Album opener Our Perfect Disease shows a darker side to the band, yet still embraces the upbeat pop sound fans love.  High energy, shamelessly sing-a-long ‘ooh-s’ and hugely relatable lyrics- “we all need someone to drive us mad” make this a great album starter.  The album moves seamlessly into single Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves).  A perfect contemporary pop nugget, it holds lyrics about more mature subjects, whilst keeping the same level of humour and, perhaps fantasy,  that makes them popular.  Jump into the Fog, shows their move towards a slightly more ‘electronic’ sound, whilst Anti-D combines strings with their perfectly crafted melody to create an anthem for fans.  It shows off their musical talents brilliantly, both in composing and performing, along with their progress in writing lyrics.  Anti-D holds a level of emotional maturity that was perhaps not so present in the first album, with a chorus hook of “Please allow me, to be your anti-depressant.”

Latest single ‘Techno Fan’ begins surprisingly calm, building into an upbeat offering.  A sure-fire indie dancefloor sensation, it doesn’t come without the choral vocals we’ve come to love.  Highly infectious, it filters smoothly into ‘1996.’  Another more techno-based track, it highlights their want for experimentation.  An anthem for those who miss the good-old days, it mourns the change in society, and in relationships, with seminal lyrics “we kiss with one eye on our TV set.”  An ending that would surely unite fans in many-a-gig, we move through the personal ‘Walking Disasters,’ more of a return to their old sound, with the hook “You and I are just walking disasters,” into Girls/Fast Cars.  A track that shows no remorse, it sets-up us up for album closer Schumacher the Champagne.  An ode to washing away troubles with alcohol, it’s laden with guitars, drums and even a banjo, alongside layered vocals.  A perfectly busy end to a brilliant album. 

It’s infectious, uplifting and enjoyable, to say the least.  The Wombats have succeeded yet again in creating an album that shows everyone why they are so loved as a band.  Definitely worth spending your money on.

4/5

Japanese Voyeurs- Get Hole

Latest review for Spark*. An alright single, but I preferred the instrumental!

Five-piece Japanese Voyeurs describe their music as “heavy” but with “a sense of melody,” a combination which has earnt them the chance to work with Canadian producer Garth Richardson (famous for his work with Rage Against the Machine amongst others).

Get Hole confirms their sense of melody, with one that (cliché alert) will hit deep into your core.  It brilliantly combines being heart-pounding, heavy and catchy, not conforming to what anyone wants it to be.   However, whilst the melody hits all the right spots, particularly at the end, where it is really put in the limelight, what perhaps lets this track down is the vocals.

This is not to say that lead singer Romily Alice is a bad singer in any way.  What’s disappointing is that the vocals get lost in the music at points, making them seem somewhat strained.  Perhaps this is a vocal style that only appeals to certain music, but it doesn’t seem to be completely right for this track.

Overall, not a bad track.  Yes, the vocals could possibly be altered, but the melody is spot on.  Worth a listen.

3/5

Lady Gaga

Metro.co.uk are streaming Lady Gaga's album before its release. Love it!


http://www.metro.co.uk/microsites/lady-gaga-born-this-way-album-stream-uk-exclusive/

Songwriters in The Guardian

This has been discussed alot on twitter today, so I thought I'd read it myself. The Guardian has written a really interesting article on songwriting today, well worth a read.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/may/17/professional-songwriters-ivor-novello?INTCMP=SRCH

Steve Lamacq on Dermot O'Leary

My Sister sent me this to listen to today. It's Steve Lamacq talking to Dermot O'Leary on Radio 2 (Saturday) about Creation Records (Upside Down: The Creation Records Story DVD), music journalism and the like. Well worth a listen.
Starts about 1hr10 in. Enjoy!


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0112ykp/Dermot_OLeary_14_05_2011/

Toy Horses- 'Toy Horses'

Good family-orientated bands are hard to come by these days, with The Jackson 5 remaining perhaps the most famous.  Luckily, Welsh step-father/step-son duo are set to change this, presenting their debut self-titled album.  Having already been picked up by various radio stations, not only here but also abroad, 2011 is set to be a successful year for them.

The album opens with ‘Play What You Want,’ an upbeat start that brilliantly highlights the duo’s harmonising abilities, whilst showing both vocal skills in their own right.  The lyrics are well-written, with hooks of ‘I’ll play what you want, I won’t play at all’ and ‘you don’t care about us,’ mixed with a “la la la” sing-along section.  Debut single ‘And It Was You’ follows, with a piano-focus melody, and an arrangement with more instrumental sections.  This time, we get to hear their talents as multi-instrumentalists, and it’s worth it.  It may be fairly simple, but that’s all these tracks need.

The album takes a slower turn with ‘Last Chance,’ an acoustic offering showing a softer side to the duo.  Later in the album, with ‘Love at an Arm’s Length,’ we get the treat of another laidback track, this time mix with particularly heartfelt, poetic lyrics.  ‘Loyal to the Cause’ bounces them back into faster melodies, with the direct lyrics “you’re loyal to the cause but the cause is bound to fail” set to a more instrument heavy melody.  This track in particular shows how just two people can make great music which sounds distinctly like a band is playing.

The album finishes with ‘Interrupt,’ weaving laidback section, some laden with strings, with more intense ones, to create a track that keeps you guessing.  Their lyrics yell of personal experience, just like “I’m waiting for you to interrupt.”

Perhaps not to everyone’s tastes, but an all-round beautifully simple debut album. Toy Horses have set themselves up for a cracking 2011.

3.5/5

The King Blues- 'Set the World on Fire'

London-based punk rock/ska band ‘The King Blues’ have been making music since around 2004, albeit with a variety of line-ups.   Said to have “a commitment to politics and resistance,” the band have a heavy focus on politics in a number of tracks, with their music also being described as “radical.”  ‘Set the World on Fire’ is the latest released from third album ‘Punk & Poetry.’

High energy from the start, The King Blues clear politic influence immediately shines through, as their lyrics talk of “newspapers” and “asylum seekers”. The hook of “fire, fire, I wanna set the world on fire” shiftly follows, giving something for crowds to hang on for many gigs to come. This is not forgetting the melody, which is heavy and memorable in its own right, with the ability to promote both dancing and moshpits together. It’s both simplistic yet complex, combining the best of both worlds to create music that unites a whole audience (along with the relatable lyrics of course).

Not a band to be missed. Catch them while you can.

4/5 

Noah and the Whale- 'Tonight's the Kind of Night'

Far too long since I wrote on here... now back at University after Easter break, and straight back into writing for Spark*. I've written three reviews so far, starting with Noah and the Whale.
Perhaps most well-known for hit track ‘5 Years’ Time,’ back in 2007, Noah and the Whale have fast become a well-loved ‘folk’ band, appearing at festivals such as Glastonbury and SXSW. Their third album, released in March of this year, has already spawned the magnificent track ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N,’ setting-up the band up for huge success in 2011. Next single ‘Tonight’s the Kind of Night,’ isn’t likely to change things.

With a happy, upbeat melody and a hook of ‘tonight’s the kind of night, where everything could change,’ there’s nothing not to like about this latest offering. Their ability to mix ‘folky’ instruments, such as the fiddle, together with more modern ones, such as keys, and still present a track that is universally enjoyable is a real talent, one which could easily be overlooked. Add some choral vocals, and the track is a winner. Destined to be another sing-along hit for the band, there’s no questioning their ability to churn out crowd favourites.

Not a track to be missed.

4/5