Heavy Rotation

Currently being played over and over again are:

Depeche Mode- Enjoy the Silence: How am I only just discovering this now? Amazing and sounds so fresh even after all these years. I'm thinking I need to get my hands on their GH.

Lady Gaga- Judas: It doesn't hold a candle to the perfection that is Bad Romance, but it's still catchy and fun. Video is good too, bar the ending. Something is off with this era though. Can't seem to put my finger on it.

N.E.R.D- Hypnotize U: Sexy and hypnotic. The beat and Pharell's voice just do it for me in this track. I haven't liked a N.E.R.D song in years so this kind of a big deal.

Kanye West et al- All of The Lights: Genius. Pure genius.

Jay-Z ft Chris Martin- Beach Chair: This is quickly becoming one of my favourites from Hov. Am I biased? Maybe. Lyrically it's brilliant. Whenever I'm having a low moment, I find myself turning to this track. The sound of the piano is so strange you can't help but listen. Definitely one of the best collaborations that Chris Martin has done.

Album Review: Britney Spears 'Femme Fatale (Deluxe Edition)'

Oh Britney. What have you done?

For those of you that don't know me, from 1999 to 2005, I was a massive Britney stan. Huge. Until her knee screwed everything up. From that point on, when she decided her career was nothing and that celebrity status was more important, I decided to flip her the bird and move on. Sure, I bought 'Blackout' and 'Circus' but months after their releases and with minimal excitement. 'Blackout' was great leap forward for her, but 'Circus' was full of filler and seems like such a whimper compared to its predecessor (even 'In The Zone' was more of a leap forward than 'Circus').

So, my thoughts then on Femme Fatale, her seventh studio album.

It is much, much better than 'Circus'. My biggest problem with Britney was that she still had the lyrics and music of a teeny bopper. Not so much on here even though she is still working with Max Martin (who, if you didn't know by now, wrote 'Baby One More Time'). There's a nice duality in the opening tracks 'Til the World Ends' and 'Hold it Against Me'- both of them have the 'faux-dubstep' sound but are very much what Britney should sound like in 2011.
The fan favourite 'Inside Out' is next and while it's a good track, I don't get the hype over it. That's not to say I don't like it though. But it's no where near her top 10 best tracks. That honour should go to the next track, 'I Wanna Go'. The hook, the whistle effects, the beat- it sounds so fresh and different from anything else she's done. I keep going back to this track the most.
'How I Roll' is a cute sounding song with amateurish lyrics, but that's okay. Is it weird that my favourite bit about the song is just opening effects? SMS or e-mail me the answer plz.

The next three tracks that follow have this dance/techno (I use that term incredibly lightly) concept. I really would love to hear a mashup of 'Trouble For Me' with 'Take Me to The Love Parade' *coughmakeithappenpleasecough* There's a real 90s dance vibe on these tracks, in my opinion. 'Trip To Your Heart' another fan favourite off the cut, is good, but it doesn't live up to the hype. It does sound like the older, wiser sister of 'Heaven on Earth' though.'Gasoline' is a catchy albeit filler-ish track using the extended metaphor of petrol for adrenaline/lust. #shrugs
The standard album ends with 'Criminal'. Yes it's a good song, downtempo and harks back to Madonna circa American Life BUT ever since I read the observation that the chorus sounds like 'The Logical Song', it's been tainted. Just a bit.

Now, the real goodies are on the deluxe edition. 'Up N Down' has a great bridge and catchy chorus, as does 'Selfish'. The real highlight on the album is 'He About To Lose Me'. All I can say is: That. Beat. Totally hypnotic. Wonderfully understated. Just a shame that it doesn't sound like Britney sings the chorus at all.

It's a good album. Not the 'Ray of Light' esqueness that we had been told to expect. But then again, I don't think Britney could carry that sound or thematic concerns off very well. Indeed, the album is based on sex and dancing. Or dancing as a metaphor for sex. So it's a safe album in terms of lyrics, but thank god the sound has progressed. Her fanbase isn't 12 years old anymore and neither is she. The big question from here is whether she wants to continue to be a popstar or not, because it looks and sounds like it's just not her thing anymore.

Verdict: 7 Mickey's out of 10 Mouse Clubs
Standout Tracks: I Wanna Go, He About To Lose Me, Till The World Ends

NB: Big Fat Bass and (Drop Dead) Beautiful are both shit. Except for the piano bit on the former.

Album Review: Adele '21'

For many weeks after it's release, I avoided this album like the plague. Adele's debut album, '19', whilst having some great singles, did not live up to my expectations at all and so I was wary of falling into a similar trap.

And then I heard 'Rolling in the Deep'. The first single is an ear assault. It's punchy, with big vocals and full of vitriol. Actually, the whole album is peppered by hate, or perhaps regret. Either way it's one of the best breakup albums I've heard.
So after this, I watched her performances of 'Someone Like You' at the Brit Awards.

Sold.

This is kind of performance that's destined to leave you in tears, clutching a pillow and rocking back and forth in the foetal position. Not that I did or anything....

post performance, I headed to my local CD store and had to have the album. And this time I was not disappointed. Tracks like 'Rumour Has It' and 'I'll Be Waiting' keep the spirit of the album alive in between heartbreaking songs like 'Set Fire to the Rain' and 'Turning Tables'. I've yet to warm up to 'One and Only' and 'Lovesong', but an average of 9 out of 11 brilliant tracks makes up for that. Her voice is so soulful and full of emotion, that you can hear the pain when she sings. Lyrically, it's very good. I particularly enjoy this one from 'Turning Tables': 'Next time I'll be braver/ I'll be my own saviour/when the thunder calls for me'. Achingly beautiful.

Adele was lumped in with Winehouse and Duffy as her contemporaries. Out of those three, it seems like she's the one that's made progress musically and may have long term success.

A stunning gem of an album.

Verdict: 9 angry texts out of 10 screened phone calls
Standout Tracks: Rolling in the Deep, Rumour Has It, Set Fire To The Rain, Someone Like You

Album Review: Aston 'Aston'

Here's something different. Aston are a classical music group.
WAIT! DON'T LEAVE!
They do covers of pop songs.
Still here? Good. Because these guys are brilliant. I took one look at the track listing and went 'yes, yes, YES!', as if they had stumbled upon my music collection purposely. They arrange the tracks themselves and in some cases, they have one upped the originals. Muse, Coldplay, Florence + The Machine; hell even Rihanna and Lady Gaga get treatments here. It's all instrumental but it just sounds amazing. Each track sweeps and soars- you can feel the emotionality of these songs that you may not have noticed before. Perfect for a mainstream music lover who wants something a bit different.

Verdict:9 woods out of 10 winds
Stand out tracks: ET, You've Got The Love, Rude Boy

How to Cover.... True Faith

This is a good cover:



This is a not so good cover:



Just an opinion

Track of the Day: Bat For Lashes 'Strangelove'

This track surfaced sometime last week and is the official track for the new Gucci 'Guilty' campaign. I'm not familiar with the original by Depeche Mode, but having had Bat for Lashes stunning version on repeat since it was made available, I will make a note to hunt down DM's. Musically, it doesn't sound like anything off the last album, nor does it sound like their contribution to the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack, the fantastic 'Let's Get Lost' featuring Beck. Natasha Kahn (pictured) provides stunning vocals and the strumming riff that occurs throughout the track give it this mysterious edge.'Strangelove' indeed.

Verdict: Without comparing to the original, 8 Bats out of 10 Lashes
NB: not sure whether I'm allowed to post the track or not but Google is your friend *coughcough*

Album Review: Take That 'Progress'

A bit of history: I became a fan of Robbie Williams in 2000 after I received a copy of his album 'Sing When You're Winning' for my birthday. I've been wearing my RW fan badge with pride ever since. Considering I'm too young to remember Take That v1.0, in a span of 10 years I went from: not knowing who the hell they were, knowing they sang 'Back For Good', knowing that Robbie left the group in 1995, listening to their greatest hits and finally liking and accepting them as a four piece. So when news broke that Robbie Williams was rejoining them, I was aghast. I like my Robbie solo and my TT as a four piece.

I would like to officially state, for the record, that I'm now on board for TT v 3.0 (or v1.0 mark 2). And it's all because of 'The Flood'. It doesn't quite sound like TT, nor does it sound like Robbie's last record. In fact, much like the rest of 'Progress', it's the best of worlds, shaken up Bryan Brown Cocktail style, and presented in the most delightful fashion. 'The Flood' is epic in all sense of the word and although there isn't anything else like it on the rest of the album, it makes sense as the opener. 'SOS' and 'Kidz' are upBEAT. The drums are loud as are the choruses (catchy as hell). It's been said a million times in other reviews, but you can hear the Muse influence at play here. If they choose to cover the band on tour, I vote 'Undisclosed Desires' or 'Neutron Star Collision' (But they'll probably incorporate 'Uprising'). Similarly, Robbie's 'solo' track 'Underground Machine' is in this dystopic rock style. And yes, I just made that genre up. :D

There's even hints of hip-hop influences in 'Wait'. At first, I didn't like it, but that chorus is just... catchy. And that's the thing with every track on the album. If the verse or bridge is dull, the choruses come to the rescue. Not saying that's a bad thing at all though.

The middle tracks 'Pretty Things' and 'Happy Now' have this Bee Gees esque ness about them, especially the latter. 'Pretty Things' has this 'We-are-starring-in-a-period-drama-produced-by-BBC'. I lol'd at first, but it grew on me considerably.

'Affirmation' and 'Eight Letters' are really amazing tracks that round off the album. 'Flowerbed' as the finale is sweet as and that second chorus when the beat really kicks in is sort of heartbreaking.

The ultimate standout track for me here is Mark Owen's solo track 'What Do You Want From Me?'. Over the past three days since I've listened to the album, I find that it's the one track I keep coming back to. It's uplifting and sweet but also again, heartbreaking. You can hear the emotion in his voice- he means every word he's singing. I can just imagine the video for this: close ups of him, black and white, fists in the air and pulling it down to his chest. Sadly, this track also contains the cringeworthy lyric of 'I still want to have sex with you' which I like to block out every time. However, I think, in the spirit of this album's concept, that these are men who are in their late 30s and early 40s- they are not teenagers. If they can't sing about sex, then who can?

Without a doubt, this is one of the best album's of 2010 for me. With the help of Stuart Price, the group have moved on...yes, they've made progress from they boys they once were to men who are scared, happy, nervous, asking for forgiveness. Whether Robbie stays or not is the point here; it's how they can take this sound and evolve it.

Verdict: 4.5 Takes out of 5 Thats.
Standout Tracks: The Flood, SOS, Kidz, What Do You Want From Me?