Album Review: Paramore - S/T

Having never been a huge fan of Paramore, but always been a big fan of their singles, I've found myself listening to their entire discography over the years but have never been overly impressed; sure they were often showing glimpses of being a great pop punk band, but the reliance on a strict formula and cringe worthy ballads totally killed it for me. On their latest self titled album I was totally caught off guard by how much I enjoyed this album, with a total line up overhaul, Paramore have strung together a diverse collection of top tier pop songs that just relentlessly deliver in memorable hooks, melodies and energy. With tracks such as 'Fast In My Car', 'Grow Up' & 'Ain't It Fun' all jostling for single of the year you also have some awesome heavier moments such as the Post Rock closer 'Future'. It could be criticised for being perhaps a bit too long but as far as I'm concerned the isn't really a dud on the whole album, but if it was only 12 track it'd have been one of the greatest pop record released this generation.  As it stands it's a flawed pop masterpiece. 

Dawn Richard - Goldenheart

'Goldenheart' is the debut full length LP from former P.Diddy manufactured girl band 'Danity Kane' member Dawn Richard coming off the back of her highly brilliant EP 'Armor On' which came out last year. This album pretty much follows all the tropes of this alternative R&B that seems to be around at the moment & if I'm honest with you I think this may be that genres defining piece, at least currently. Full of hooks, infectious melodies & some incredibly clever song structures which combines subtlety with abrasiveness which allows Dawn to create an album that sounds familiar and approachable as well as producing an album that has got it's very own defined sound, atmosphere and theme. For an album as long as 'Goldenheart' I was really quite surprised at how cohesive it sounded with every song sounding completely at home within this album with enough variants and changes to stop the album from dragging or becoming repetitive. In short this album is a masterpiece and would proudly sit as the Magnum Opus of any musicians back catalogue & considering this is a debut I really cannot wait to hear what else comes from the mind of Dawn Richard in the near future. 

Comadre - Self Titled

A fresh new year and a time for fresh new releases & whilst I have never heard Comadre before this release I have to say that if 2013 continues in this trait then I'd be a very happy chappy. Comadre is very much a hardcore/screamo album with onslaughts of distortion underneath some incredibly palatable and melodic guitar riffs. Clear influences would be bands such as 'The Blood Brothers' with their grooves, screams and noise. 'Cold Rain' and 'King Worm' pull off one hell of a 1 2 blow as they come in loud and proud with grooves and infectious hooks. 'Drag Blood' comes out a little leftfield with inclusion of Trumpet and the ninth track 'Hack' is a superbly poppy synth laced number with lots of momentum and drive. And that how I'd best describe this album, it's album with a lot of momentum and drive & it never relents, it finds it's footing and pacing early on and runs with it. The isn't any real weak tracks on here, just some tracks outshine others & this is a fantastically punchy record which I'm sure will get a considerable amount of plays this year. 

Patrick Wolf - Sundark and Riverlight

Patrick Wolf has already been with us for 10 years & that's quite a hard thing to get your head around. I got into him fairly late in 2004 when I first heard Lycanthropy pouring out of my friends stereo and immediately fell in love with his electronic folklore. Over the years Patrick Wolf has gone under a bit of a diva transformation, gained and lost fans on every passing release & is constantly evolving his sound. The heart is still there but where it was in an incredibly bleak place before it's now dancing on the beaches of San Fran with a huge smile on it's face & good on him. This song concentrates on stripping down some old favourites to their bare acoustic roots & whilst it is for the most part a collection that provides some memorable renditions it has to be said that given most these songs were made with a showy composure in mind some of these songs simply don't work. The are moments in songs like 'Paris', 'Bluebells' & 'The Magic Posistion' in particular where he goes into chanting and without the grand composure behind the lyrics the songs begin sounding a little bit on the comical side. Some songs translate surprisingly well such as 'Hard Times' & a lot of the material from 'The Bachelor' in particular come out far better then I thought it would with it's more sombre approach foregoing to schizophrenic production on that album. Patrick's vocals are also the strongest I have ever heard them, he's certainly not the shy 17 year old any-more  he sings his songs loud & proud and that really helps carry this album. As an artist that relies so heavily on electronic beats on his songs this is a surprisingly good experiment & works as your very own acoustic session of Patrick Wolfs greatest hits & whilst they rarely improve on the originals it's a very good way to cap off your 10 year anniversary  Even the most jaded Patrick Wolf fans should give it a shot even if it's to hear some reworkings of your favourites from yesteryear. 

Menomena - Moms (8.2/10)

Menomena are one of my favourite bands & have been for quite some time, their mix of experimental and traditional indie rock has always drawn me in, & when they announced the band would be losing long time member Knopf so he could focus on his other band 'Ramona Falls' I grew a bit worried as some of his contributions where my favourite. Luckily for me 'Moms' doesn't sound like a band in disarray at all & in fact feels even more reassured and better put together then previous release 'Mines' which was a pretty great album but didn't quite tickle me in the same way the magnificent 'Friend & Foe' did. This album starts off incredibly strong with 'Plumage' & 'Capsule' being incredibly ear catching with bold, memorable & loud melodies being thrown at you from the word go. 'Capsule' also given time to breathe with an incredibly nice and sombre ending which shows Menomena's gift in being able to take what sounds like a predictable pop song into an entirely new direction as if it comes second nature. 'Pique' is the track that follows & this maybe the highlight for me with it's quite sombre build and brilliant vocal harmonies playing a particually ear catching drum beat and a fantastic ear catching chorus and some brilliant uses of horns, it's busy but incredibly pleasing to the ear, it's one of the most fully realised songs Menomena have put out to date. 'Heavy Is As Heavy Does' is an album with quite frankly stunning progression which Menomena have shown signs of before but never so clearly & it's ball grippingly brilliant. Both approachable and off the wall experimental,  'Moms' is an album full of all the highs of Friends And Foe but it's also an album that feels a lot more consistent, complete & accomplished. Menomenas strongest experimental and conventional song writing is to be found here and it's a great marriage. 

Recommended Tracks

Deerhoof - Breakup Song (8.4/10)

'Breakup Song' has this very strange honour of not only being Deerhoofs strangest and most bizarre album to date but also the most approachable, yes it's time for some quirky pop music, & honestly I couldn't think of a better band for the job then 'Deerhoof'. 'Vs Evil' to me felt like an underwhelming change to the Deerhoof formula, it seemed to lack all the energy and fun found in earlier releases, well I guess the nap really paid off as 'Breakup Song' is anything but lacking in energy & it certainly has a lot of fun thrown in. The pop music is a strange blend of their old stabbing guitars and jazz like percussion over an orchestra of sampled sounds, electronic beats, synths, strings, horns & pretty much anything else you can think of. You would be forgiven for thinking this album would sound incredibly cluttered and way too busy from that description but the songs are structured as such as to give each individual element of their new style to interact and breath with each other and the results are often, if not always, brilliant. 'Mothball To The Fleet' for example has a very traditional Deerhoof chorus but in between it gets filled with processed guitars and synth keys but it doesn't feel at all disjointed. Personal highlight 'The Trouble With Candyhands' has quite the sixties vibe about it but also the air of the Caribbean with a very gentle vocal hook & it'll remain one of my highlights of the year & that's for sure. 'Flower' also a fantastic demonstration in the merging of sounds is a fairly disjointed and uneasy sounding song up until a chorus which frankly reminds me of Jackson 5 and it's insanely catchy. This album is just the right length & whilst I think it could maybe stretch out for another 10minutes or so the are some signs  within this album that anymore and it may have started to collapse under it's own weight & ambition, but as it is this is a very enjoyable album which sounds incredibly fresh and has breathed some new life into Deerhoof & this little taster leaves me very excited for more. 

Recommended Tracks:

Jessie Ware - Devotion (9.0/10)

The is something I really love about melodic and understated pop music & provided it's well produced then the concept of it alone is probably enough to carry it to a seal of approval. Devotion is such an album & after hearing 'Wildest Moments' & 'Running', which sounded like instant classics to these ears, I was already expecting this album to meet my expectations. So the question I have to ask is does it exceed my expectations & once again the answer to this question would be a resounding yes. As said earlier in the review 'Wildest Moments' & 'Running' are both the sort of instant classics that most musicians could only dream of having with their strong hooks, strong performance & incredible production the really isn't a single thing you cannot like about those songs. But it's also the sheer amount of other songs on this album that also reach the dizzying heights of 'Wildest Moment' & 'Running' which really took me aback, for example '110%' is a more upbeat song with lush chorus but all achieved without really ever hitting the volume dial; the energy and melody carries song so as a result it never really needs to, and 'Something Inside' is an incredibly beautiful song with some fantastic melodies and harmonies in the chorus.... hell even the bonus track 'Strangest Feeling' is the sort of track that would normally stand head and shoulders above the rest of it's contemporaries. The vocals on this album are really top notch and accompany the understated melodies and use of instrumentation incredibly well, the vocals are definitely at the forefront & are generally significantly louder then the music the accompanies it, but such is the strength of the instrumentation you will remember and pay equal attention to both. 'Devotion' does bog down a little bit in the middle, the highs are not quite as high and the themes become slightly repetitive but this is something I found become less of an issue on repeat listen & I eventually found it serves as a reliable bridge between the start and the end of the album. Some people may say think this album is a bit 'Radio 2' or 'MOR' for them but for me I think this is an incredibly well crafted album with some of the most memorable songs you're likely to hear this year; it's clever, it's catchy, it's memorable & as far as I'm concerned it has all the makings of an instant classic.

Why - Sod The Seed [EP] (7.5/10)

I often find that even my favourite bands are often fully capable of releasing an album that does absolutely nothing for me, usually right when I feel the band is capable of doing no wrong, it was in 2009 that Why? became the latest addition to this ever growing list of bands. 'Eskimo Snow' was an album I found to be rather bland, it kept all the melodic scope of Why? but it seemed to lose the quirkyness along the way & I found it made for a collection of rather dull forgettable songs. As a result this latest EP from Why? felt like a bit of a re-evaluation, are they going a direction not meant for me, or was 'Eskimo Snow' just a one off? Thankfully 'Sod The Seed' passes this test with flying colours as it seems to be calling back to the sort of sound found on 'Elephant Eyelash' with it's focus on melody still firmly intact but with the added bonus of their quirky sound and hooks, something I felt was missing almost entirely from 'Eskimo Snow' and as a result the personality that drew me to Why? seems to be back in full force. The album opens off with title track and 'Sod In The Seed' which in particular reminded me of the 'Elephant Eyelash' days with it's soft chorus and rapped vocals over bass line and organ. This is followed by personal favourite 'For Someone' which does more of the same and then the very church organ inspired 'The Plan' comes in full force with a very catchy melody which could come off a bit hokey but the uplifting feel of the organ tone really suits this song. The closer 'Shag Carpet' follows a couple of incredibly short but very much enjoyable tracks which almost trade off as interludes between the start of the album and the closer which carries the slightly darker  feel found on 'Alopecia'. On the whole Sod The Seed has the very much unmistakable sound of 'Why?' about it and whilst 'Elephant Eyelash' had this sparingly this album breams with 'Why?'s' very distinct character and that's what I like about them more then anything, it's the concept & sound of the band that first drew me to them & whilst the lyrical prowess remained  threw out Eskimo Snow the sound I fell in love with was no there but with Sod The Seed it appears to be back.

  

Bloc Party - Four (8.0/10)

To put it politely I have had no time for Bloc Party at all for quite some time, Silent Alarm was excellent and A Weekend For The City was a flawed but still by all accounts strong sophomore effort by the band, however everything since then has been a confusing mess of experimentation of the house variety which quite frankly simply didn't suit the  band. Kele seemed down right intent to silence his incredibly talented friends by making them take a back seat to his new love of electronic music & making some truly trash tracks in the process of doing so. So it's to my surprise that 'Four' isn't only not embarrassing but it's actually rather good with some of the bands strongest output since 'Silent Alarm' won all our hearts way back in 2005. The band have embraced the raw sound once again with the traditional bass, guitar & drum formula they'd become famous for, but whilst this may sound like they've just retreated back to old territory, that would be an inaccurate assumption to make. 'Four' is far heavier then anything they've put out before with a lot of Grunge influences to be found on this album, 'Kettling' for example sounds like something Smashing Pumpkins would've put out in their peak, and the first 2 tracks 'So He Begins To Lie' & '3x3' slap you in the face with distorted guitar and creepy vocals. The are a lot of incredibly melodic moments to be found here as well 'Real Talk' sounds like a very strong Red Hot Chilli Peppers song and 'Day Four' grabs the listener with it's subtle build and captivating atmosphere. This album is by no means perfect and I don't think it reaches the highs set by 'Silent Alarm' but it's a very consistent collection of good songs which will make Bloc Party fans everywhere sigh with relief; the band hasn't sounded so together and cohesive for a long time. 

Twin Shadow - Confess (8.7/10)

One could be said that I'd be bored of 80's inspired pop by now, but if it's done well & with a somewhat modern twise, it is easily one of my favourite genres of music being released at the rate that it is. 'Twin Shadow' is the latest album I've heard to provide me with such thrills and it does achieve the aim of both sounding positively huge and 80s but is also a cannon full of incredibly catchy songs. The first 4 track of this album in particular sound like would be classics with 'Five Seconds' simply being one of the finest pop songs I've heard in quite some time. This album isn't = in it's self a bona fide classic though, the album does to lose it tremendous momentum going into the final 3rd, but it's still a great album to check out if you're a lover of 80s inspired pop music such as myself.

Playlist: 50 More Of The Best Songs So Far 2012

Because 50 wasn't enough!

Playlist: 50 of the best song from 2012 so far

Half way through the year! Here's what I'd imagine to be half of the final playlist

Album Review: Jesca Hoop - The House That Jack Built

To say this album was a bit of a curve ball would be accurate, I became familiar of Jesca Hoop after someone recommended me 'Silverscreen Demos' which, hinted at by the name, was an incredibly lo-fi collection of folklore sounding tracks. Now whilst at it's core Jesca Hoop retains her folklore sound on this latest record it's certainly a lot more pop and rock influenced then before with lots of incredibly up tempo'd and polished songs creeping threw, whilst for most artists this will strip them of their charm, Jesca Hoop's songwriting helps her pull threw the transistion coming out stronger then ever. This sounds like a breakthrough album with some interesting little riffs, lyrical ideas and sound hiding underneath the abrasive uptempo pop sound. It's a very enjoyable album and somewhat of a evolution of Jesca Hoops sound that I'm sure existing fans will lap up; whilst attracting an entirely new fanbase.

Album Review: Gaggle - From The Mouth Of The Cave

This album is the kind of album that'll get an immediate pass from me because it's an album with an experimental edge but has it's roots firmly rooted in pop music & for anyone that knows me that's pretty much a winning formula in my ears. Often this album actually reminds me of bands such as 'The Go! Team' just in terms of the energy and chanty vocal delivery often shown on 'Army Of Birds' & 'Power Of Money' in particular show this side to them with their 2 most concise and catchy songs taking center stage early. Songs such as 'Gaslight' focus on the noiser element of the band with lots of really interesting sounds and experimentation thrown in amongst the forumlar established in the early goings. Personal highlight for me is the beautiful and majestic swooping 'Hello Spider'  & the hypnotic album closer, 'Leave The City', which truly shows 'Gaggle' as a band with an incredibly fresh, dynamic and unique sound & that 'From The Mouth Of The Cave' is an album that should hopefully put the notions, that this 23 piece all girl band are nothing more then a novelty act, to bed.

Album Review: Doseone - G Is For Deep

Doseone has been a central figure in my music taste for as long as I can remember. Being a member of cLOUDDEAD, Subtle, 13&God as well as Themselves and being a co-founder of the always incredible Anticon label he has been in, some way shape or form, my gateway drug into alternative hip hop and electronic music for quite some time. This album sort of carries on from Subtles excellent 'exitingARM' in that each song feels like a combination of many whilst carrying a coherent arc & it works very well. The production is quite alienating at first but on repeated listens it reveals its self to be a very catchy and strangely beautiful set of compositions with some truly brilliant/odd sampling. On top of Doseones ever weird, wonderful & creative vocals I find it very hard not to recommend this album, it's brilliant.

Album Review: Future Of The Left - The Plot Against Common Sense

Future Of The Left are easily one of my favourite bands of recent times but it has to be said that the EP 'Polymers Are Forever' left me really cold & a bit concerned about the quality of the upcoming album 'The Plot Against Common Sense'. Luckily though these fears mostly go unanswered and what we get is the bands most adventurous album to date. Whilst not a perfect release, it could easily be argued that the album be 2 or 3 songs longer, when this album hits the mark it hits it a lot stronger then it has ever done before. Particular stand outs being 'Beneath The Waves An Ocean'  & the closer 'Notes On Achieving Orbit' are arguably the 2 best songs Falco has ever penned. Mostly brilliant & lots of fun and with a few exceptions such as the rather lacklustre pairing of 'Anchor' & 'Rubber Animals' this is as good a follow up as you could have hoped for from the band & I am glad they're moving their sound forward as opposed to flogging the same shtick over and over.

Album Review: Laurel Halo - Quarantine

I have a very strong feeling that this will be one of the most polarising albums of 2012, Laurel Halo on 'Quarntine' combines some beautifully produced and crafted electronic music with some of the most disjointed, jarring and awkward vocals I've heard in quite some time & couldn't be happier with the overall direction of this album. Dreamy avant garde pop scopes are often met with dreamy vocals and whilst that's all well and good I just love the way this totally tears apart the rule that this should happen every time. At it's heart this album is experimental avant garde music that sounds distant, dreamy & other worldly and has an incredible pop edge to it but the vocals are incredibly direct, confrontational, blunt and well don't feel like they fit at all. It gives this album an unsettled feel to it which just adds to the appeal, but as I said I can see people tuning off the moment 'Years' kicks because the vocals are so jarring, however I still say give this album a try because if you can get over the vocals then you'll find a very rewarding & different album. 

Album Review: James Blackshaw - Love Is The Plan, The Plan Is Death

James Blackshaw's guitar playing style is one you can pick off a mile away, for starters he rock as 12 stringed acoustic and he just has this way with it, the way he plucks and constructs a melody is fairly unique and bespoke to him. It has to be said that 'All Is Falling' his last album released in 2010 really didn't do much for me & was the first release of his to leave me feeling that way but I'm glad that this album seems to have gone back to what makes James so unique and stand out and that's those songs mostly constructed with nothing more than his 12 string and a couple of keys thrown in for good measure. Unlike many guitarists that noodle and frantically pluck at their guitars this album doesn't do it at the expense of emotion or song structure. This album is just here to swallow you in sheer acoustic beauty and it does it so well that if you like the sound of that in anyway then I suggest you pick this record up, though the heavy breathing you can hear which many might describe as intimate can be a bit distracting at times.

Album Review:Liars - WIXIW

After 2 releases which toned down the experimentation a few notches we see Liars return with WIXIW (pronounced Wish You) an album which see's the band embrace all things electronic. Fans of the bands later 2 albums 'Sisterworld' and 'Liars' may be slightly disappointed with the direction taken on the more experimental 'WIXIW', which see's the bands more contemporary influences in the last 2 records all but disappear, in favour for sombre atmospheric electronic sounds. It's all a lot more chilled, with the exception of the frantic, noisy & pounding sounds found on 'Brats', this album is all about the atmosphere which is incredibly easy to get lost in. This album is one probably best listened to in solidarity & threw headphones, when listening to a few of the tracks released prior to the album I found they bit left me feeling a bit cold, but as a collection of song's it's pretty great & see's the band feeling reinvigorated. *Note: I do actually really enjoy Sisterworld but am glad they didn't get stuck in a contemporary sound, that's not what Liars are about* 

Album Review: Mount Eerie - Clear Moon

I've always enjoyed Phil Elevrum's song writing, it's always been so atmospheric and hypnotic but it has to be said I've mostly been left a tiny bit cold ever since it evolved from 'The Microphones' into 'Mount Eerie' and despite being impressed by the songs when I saw him support Earth earlier on in the year I hardly jumped into this album the moment it was released. In fact it's taken a bit of a back seat for other newer artists that I thought I'd try out instead of falling back on the old dependable ones & what a fool I was as 'Clear Moon' by Mount Eerie is a fantastic album. From the beginning where the album starts off fairly conventional and warm it slowly progresses into an almost apocalyptic atmosphere in such  a seamless & engrossing way that I feel it's a ride anyone should try at least once. It's dusty, atmospheric, medative & at times very noisy, so it follows Phil Elevrum's song writing ethos & is my favourite Mount Eerie release to date.