Carnival Ride - Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood was once described to me as the proof that even reality shows could introduce us to talent. That would nicely avoid the fact that Underwood, on her second album, only contributes co-writing on three songs. But then again, Underwood isn't pop, she's country. Except pop is exactly what she is, even if she had no real desire to be a pop star.

Second album time is either more of the same in an attempt to consolidate your strengths or the time when the more adventurous might strike out in a fresh direction to prove they're not one-trick ponies (and I'm not saying either route is necessarily incorrect). Underwood has taken the former route but luckily for her she (or those who make the music) has come up with a collection which is better as a whole than her massive debut.

It's telling perhaps that the best moments are the more upbeat songs such as Flat On The Floor and Last Name. That's not to say that her voice cannot carry the slower, torch, songs because it certainly can, but they fail to convince in the long-run. It almost seems as if the producers have similar misgivings given how many of the seemingly more mellow moments suddenly crank up a gear half way through.

It's not likely to give her the worldwide crossover as a Shania Twain as it's a little bit too country for some tastes, but it is a good album which should offer plenty to any country aficionado's out there.

Acoustic Hearts Of Winter - Aly & AJ

Yes, it's coming up to Christmas so over the next six or seven weeks I shall be reviewing random Christmas CD's as and when the mood takes me.

Now if there's one thing guaranteed to strike dread into my heart, its an album with the word "acoustic" in the title. Even worse when it's a manufactured pop band committing that heinous crime.

Well fear not, this is actually pretty awesome as Christmas albums go.

Funnily enough its not the "pop"ed up attempts to continue their trademark sounds that most capture me, but the more traditional fare. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, We Three Kings and Let Snow quite simply but me instantly in the Christmas mood and more upbeat reworking of Little Drummer Boy and Deck The Halls are superb as well.

Sure some of the rest is cringeworthy, but it's Christmas. Well worth grabbing hold of a copy for your Christmas morning.

The Very Best Of...Diana Krall

If you've heard of Diana Krall then you'll know instantly whether this is the CD for you or not. If you haven't heard of her, or only know her as Mrs Elvis Costello, and feel in the mood for a bit of mellow jazz then you might be well advised to put this on your shopping list.

Fans would probably never agree over which 15 songs should have made the cut from her 14 year career (and consider that three of those are brand new Krall recordings) but on the whole I think it does an excellent job of cherry picking some of her finest moments.

Particular favourites of mine include Peel Me A Grape, Frim Fram Sauce and Let's Fall In Love. Of the new tracks, the only bad thing I can say about them is that it's a pity that Only The Lonely isn't the Roy Orbison classic.

If I was entertaining this weekend, this would be the CD being played as the soundtrack.

The Mary Onettes - The Mary Onettes

Well anyone who likes 80's music, and specifically the likes of New Order, The Cure and The Smiths (or even A-Ha) will be intrigued by what they find on Sweeden's The Mary Onettes album, but they might not necessarily be entranced by it.

There's nothing wrong with wearing your influences on your sleeve but over the course of this debut album you might find yourself wishing that they'd taken the care to marry them to some substantial chops of their own.

There are times when the approach works; the one truly outstanding track, Lost, is a case in point. Just when you think it can't soar any higher, it leaves that assessment trailing in the dust with,

Sadly it's not a trick they can pull off again, at least on this collection. There are other diverting moments, but often your only thought it what New Order song they're sounding like for this three minutes (the most blatant example of this being Slow).

It's a decent effort, but has little to make you come back for repeated listens. Nothing is really an out and out stinker, but precious little of it sails to the stars.

Mutha' 'Uckers

You won't belive me but "you fee me 'cause of your mutha 'uckin fee" is the funniest line uttered on television in 2007.

Thanks to r8dkid.

Kate Nash LIVE

Well all praise my new job. Five minutes after driving off the work car park I was on the motorway. Compare that to the at least 30 minute run from my previous workplace (which lest you people don't realise was only about half a mile further away from the motorway than my current position) and we're already onto a winner.

That said, it led to a problem eventually. After a few games of golf (and having to lend some money to Gee who had spent all his money at the weekend going out with his future wife) and a kebab we headed to Academy One ridiculously early. I did attempt to suggest Kro Bar for a drink, but we pressed on regardless, eager to check out the new and improved venue.

Well basically it was shit. It might just have been the five deep queue for the bar and the irredeemably shit support band (think the Klaxons doing a piss poor Kraftwerk impersonation and you're not even half way to how bad they were) but somehow I doubt it. Unless the venue has something up its sleeve for the final stretch of "improvements" one of my favourite gig-going venue seems to have shot itself in the foot.

As for the concert itself, which is kind of the point, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand it wasn't as captivating as Nash's earlier gigs this year at Night & Day, although at least in a bigger venue it was easier to avoid being stood next to pretentious wankers. The problems I have with Made Of Bricks are well known by now and I have to say that Nash is better when uncluttered by superfluous musical arrangements (read that as a "live band").

That said, despite a feeling of disappointment when the evening was over, I've been singing We Get on ever since the concert. And I dare say that not one of the teenage girls who left the concert into the cold night Manchester air thought that the concert was anything less than one of the best nights out they've ever had.

Single Releases 5/11/07

So amongst others this week we have Paul McCartney, Wet Wet Wet, Bedouin Soundclash, Elvis Presley, The Proclaimers, Nicole Scherzinger , Shitdisco Boy Kill Boy and David Gray.

I tell you what folks, I'll give it a miss this week.

Better Than Blood - Megan McCauley

If the cover of this album, and indeed its' title, suggests emo goth is in store, then Tap That, the lead single, from Megan McCauley's debut album initially defies that description. Indeed it starts off more like some attempt to mix Rap with P!nk (and if that's not a dreadful idea on paper I don't know what is), yet within minutes we're into the kind of chorus that sent The Offspring into the mainstream. And despite initial reservations, I have to say it's really rather good.

And so the experience of the album goes. Yes there are the Amy Lee cast-off's (Reverie, taken from the Fantastic Four soundtrack, is a case in point) but there is more to Megan McCauley than first impressions might suggest.

Wrong Way Out is the kind of uplifting anthem that could "save" Robbie Williams career (for the, erm, record, by the way I don't think his career needs "saving" - Rudebox was his most inventive and interesting album) and if it's in danger at times of veering a little too close into Anastacia territory its saved by an uplifting and soaring chorus.

Labelling Migraine as Nirvana with a female singer might be pushing the point a little too far, but you get the idea, whilst I'll Pay You To Shoot Him (a true tale of McCauley telling police officers to "deal" with her Father) shows that she cuts the mustard lyrically as well.

Some people probably won't be able to look past the album cover (although some people may well be enamoured by thoughts of a busty redhead) and that's a pity. McCauley proves on this really rather good debut album that she's a talent to be reckoned with.

Delta - Delta Goodrem

I did like the lead single from this album, In This Life.

Indeed, I have a soft spot for Delta, for no real apparent reason, and whilst I would never suggest her albums are brilliant, they always contain enough to keep me going.

Delta, her 3rd album, is pretty much the same.

Yes, as the single showed, there is a slightly "edgier" slant on occasions but for the most part its just as you'd expect; good but not great.

The one real exception to that is future single, Believe Again. If the people of Britain didn't hate her for taking McFadden away from Kerry Katona, this would have number one written all over it. It's comfortably the best thing she's ever done and even if you don't feel like you can stomach the entire album, at the very least check that out if you can.

The Donnas LIVE!

Well at least the Gee got a taste of the heavy traffic I usually have to put up with when driving to these things. Lovely to see sweat towel bloke waiting outside the venue as we drove past.

I lost at Golf, but discovered that Peeterman Artois is absolutely deadly for me. Seriously, three pints and I was more drunk that I was at the weekend when I'd partaken in a share of about six jugs of Fosters for starters!

Anyway, onto the concert.

And may I just say...I love The Donnas. This was so much better than being Academy 2 last time around and if the turn out was a little on the poor side (and lets be honest, it was) everyone seemed determined to make up for it.

Old hits sat alongside the new album tracks with the pace never really being allowed to slow down. All four of them seemed bang on form and this has to go down as one of the most entertaining concerts of the year!

I dare say the fact I'm in love with Alison Robertson didn't hurt matters either.

The Black & White Album - The Hives

The Hives may well have been "Your New Favourite Band" with the release of Hate To Say I Told You So but it didn't last long. By the time that the follow up to that album, Tyrannosaurus Hives, hit the shops it seemed as if The Hives had already outlived their usefulness.

Yet, here we are in 2007 and despite the introduction of new producers into proceedings, including Pharrell Williams, in an attempt to break new ground it's the "old sound" of The Hives that comes to the fore on the Black And White Album...it's not bad at all.

The likes of Tick, Tick Boom and Return The Favour are up there with the best things they've done and whilst they can't keep that up over the running time of this somewhat over-long album (15 tracks of The Hives is too much for me in one sitting) there's more than enough in the album to enjoy.

Subtle and innovative it may not be, fun and worth a listen it most certainly is.

Blackout - Britney Spears

One thing has been overlooked in the Britney Spears meltdown; those people saying that her music career was over have neglected the fact that Spears herself has little input into the songs themselves. As the sublime Toxic showed, Spears is only ever one truly great pop single away from redemption and as long as she's in some kind of condition to turn up and lay down some basic vocals, the producers can work their magic.

And that's the first impression you get from listening to Blackout. Spear's voice is twisted and contorted by any number of technical processes and it's only that peculiar Southern twang that confirms it is indeed Britney.

And immediately we're into the problems. There is, quite simply, something wrong with Britney. She's not right. It's easy to laugh (or indeed compare her treatment to the treatment that the "talented" Amy Winehouse gets) but anyone with the merest touch of human kindness within them must feel at least a little sorry for her. The problem is that it's left us with an album that has not an ounce of her own personality on it and one, if we're being frank, seems to have been put together with only the merest of input from it's "star."

That said, there are enough catchy pop tunes to ensure that the album is far from a complete washout. Lead single Gimme More deserves it's UK top 5 status, and could well be joined by the likes of Hot As Ice, the Neptunes produced Why Should I Be Sad? and Piece Of Me (with it's seminal lyric "I'm Mrs. Oh-My-God that Britney's shameless" - which pretty much sums up the entire project).

Yes, it could be any identikit young female popstrel on the decks and there's little lyrical insight into Britney's descent from fresh faced superstar to the single mother of two kids who can't even get custody of them due to her "personal demons". Yet for all those problems, and with a nod that it might simply be due to the fact that no-one expected much of it at all, this is not the terrible car-crash album that it could have been. Largely soulless it may be, but it at least does have the benefit of some catchy pop tunes.

Single Releases 29/10/07

It surely has to be a cause for celebration that in 2007 we can have a week with new single releases from Brand New Heavies, Cliff Richard, Simply Red, Celine Dion and Elvis Presley.

And whislt we're here, how the hell can Simply Red "split up"?

Anwyay, onto the serious stuff.

Ladytron's Destroy Everything You Touch gets a pointless re-release this week, but my god it is a killer track.

It's better than New Young Pony Club's Get Lucky, but that's a bloody good tune too.

Other good ones this week are Gilt Complex by Sons & Daughters, Terra Firma by The Young Knives and Handle Me by Robyn (no matter how the fact that the likes of Edith Bowman are banging on about Robyn as if she's some totally new artist that no one had heard of prior to With Every Heartbeat annoys me).

Not very good this week are You And Me by One Night Only, We Used To Vacation by Cold War Kids and The Night Sky by Keane.

Absolutely terrible, of course, is the new Westlife one. But did anyone really expect anything else?

Hot In Here

The wonderful Jenny Owen Youngs doing Nelly's "Hot In Herre"

It's really rather fantastic.

Mano Suave - Yasmin Levy

The chances are that you will not have even heard of the language Ladino. But then why would you have heard of a 15th Century language spoken by Spanish Jews that is now spoken by a couple of hundred thousand people at most?

It therefore may put you off to learn that Yasmin Levy, a striking Israeli singer in her early 30's has a mission to revive the language and one such result is Mano Suave. But anyone who would ignore this album on that basis alone is missing out on a treat.

The real strength of the album is Levy's passionate and charismatic voice which transcends the language of the lyrics. It's all the more striking when set amid sparse percussion arrangements.

Highlights include the soaring title track (which features guest vocals from Natacha Atlas) and, with it's infectious blend of piano and fiddle, Komo La Roza.

By it's very definition it's not going to be an album for everyone, but anybody with a love of "world" music or someone with a suitably open mind will surely find much to delight them on this stunning album.

Amy Macdonald LIVE

It's not every night I go along to a salsa night. But this wasn't "every" night. Dave joined us, I used my mother's car (my new one will get sorted soon I hope) and I had my brand new phone (and as you will have seen it's still not very good at concert pics...but no worse really than my actual proper camera) which at this point was working.

Anyway, after the salsa it was onto the Barfly to catch the last of the support act and wonder how we were going to get a decent view as the petite venue looked ram-packed to buggery. Thankfully as we went in to the venue, the entire left hand side was empty thanks to a large pole (no, not Gregor Rasiak) and no-one else had seemingly had the great idea to actually stand at the side of the pole and thus get a second row view of the concert.

First impressions were that Macdonald looks like a twelve year old and if I am being honest upon the first song kicking in I had to stifle a laugh at her voice. But I soon got used to it and am glad to report that I had a top notch crew night all of the way.

She packs a powerful punch that you wouldn't expect of her, has some genuinely good tunes and I even have to admit to finding her witty banter compelling. Sadly though, Dave has already decided, thanks to the "music, football, teasely" thing, that she's his future wife so I will have to look on with jealousy.

Seeing her so soon after watching the mighty Tunstall might be a tad ironic, but shockingly I would have to say that I enjoyed Amy Macdonald more tonight than I did KT last week.

Single Releases 22/10/07

Did Leona Lewis, or perhaps more pertinently Simon Cowell, make the right decision by waiting almost a year to follow up her X-Factor winning single? Only time will tell. Having said that, Bleeding Love doesn't sound like the kind of song that's exactly worth waiting all that time for.

In a sense, Amerie shows her how to do it this week with the wonderful Crush. It's even better than the Jennifer Page Crush. Not that there is anything else in common with that song other than the title!

I do like that Kings Of Leon new one. Which makes their credit chart up to two (Molly's Chamber obviously being the other one). Which is a start is it not?

That Freemasons feat Bailey Tzuke track is quite a good one too (I know, what is up with me this week?). Even finding out it was written by Alanis Morissette didn't put me off it. Which is something is it not?

How nice of Amy Winehouse to get arrested just before Mark Ronson's Valerie gets a release. It's better than the Zutons, but then what isn't?

McFly are getting boring. Mutya Buena, meanwhile, just keeps on coming up with new ways of staying boring. Newton Faulkner almost gets a "not bad" for All I Got...but i'm not that crazy.

Scouting For Girls - Scouting For Girls

Well, at the very least it's not the Kaiser Chiefs!

In all seriousness though, at least we're not in Hoosiers territory.

But, no, definitely actually starting the review now, for a brief moment you think that this is going to be something special indeed.

The opening trio of songs are really rather good. Keep On Walking is joined by top 5 smash single She's So Lovely and breakthrough hit It's Not About You. And you're thinking "this is really rather great".

But then you hit a wall and realise that this is as good as it gets. It's not to say that the rest is awful, just more of the same in a not as good way.

It is a fun, catchy album which diverts for a while but ultimately fails to totally convince.

Stupid Hair

The one bad thing about the new Girls Aloud single/video is Sarah Harding's hair is as daft as ever.

KT Tunstall LIVE

A big queue at the Chippy meant that my food for the entire day, Toblerone notwithstanding, amounted to a dodgy burger at the van opposite the Apollo. This all did mean however, extra time for booze in the Union. A very underrated pub experience. Even if I can't repeat much of what was said.

So it was onto the palatial Apollo itself, skilfully avoiding the support act, to take our seats. Now I'm a big Tunstall fan and do actually like Drastic Fantastic very much (unlike some other fans who've been with her since the beginning) but there was something just not quite clicking for a lot of this concert for me. As I've said before, the first time I saw her live was so special (and quite unexpectedly brilliant - in the sense I had no real idea what to expect) that nothing has quite managed to live up to that since.

Which is not to say that this was in any way a bad evening, because it most certainly wasn't, even if it had it's, dare I say it, dull moments.

I'm sure the 10 people in attendance who have Acoustic Extravaganza loved Ashes and Gone To The Dogs, but they were two songs I had no real desire to listen to. And if I'm being honest, making a big deal about swearing ceased to be hilario when I was about seven years old. And continuing in an honest vein, I can't say I cared much for the "witty" banter at times.

Still there were great swathes I thoroughly enjoyed. THE highlight had to be Black Horse & Cherry Tree, which in it's own way is telling. The likes of Suddenly I See and Hold On came close, even if I'm one of the few people who actually thinks Hold On was a great single.

A good night then, but not quite a great one.

As an aside though, I am in love with one of her backing singers.

Overpowered - Roisin Murphy

It's obvious that Roisin Muprhy was a little upset that her critically acclaimed debut solo album Ruby Blue sold so few copies because Overpowered sees her crank up the, you know, tunes on the follow up Overpowered.

Of course there will be those who accuse her of watering down her sound, or worse still "selling out", but that is all a load of patent nonsense. Yes, its "accessible" but it's no less delightful that the wilfully experimental Ruby Blue. In fact I'd say, without a doubt, it's the better of the two albums as it still packs in more invention and unpredictability than most albums in the name of "pop" do.

From the likes of the title track, current single Let Me Know and You Know Me Better it's really difficult to pick out THE standout track. Most of it is excellent, with the only real disappointment for me being Dear Miami, which never really seems to get going.

A great album, packed with great tunes that never lose the fact that Murphy has a superb voice. Call it disco, call it dance, call it pop...call it what you like, it still adds up to one of the best albums of the year.

Established 1967 - Radio 1

Well this should be funny; I shall go through this one track by track, not least because it gives me ample opportunity to take the piss out of some of my "favourite" artists. And by "favourite" I mean "least favourite".

DISC ONE

1. Flowers In The Rain - Kaiser Chiefs
In a word, dreadful. It's like a really really bad Kaiser Chiefs song, and lord knows that their best ones can get tiresome.

2. All Along The Watchtower - Fratellis
Well this one is going well isn't it. I really really do hate the Fratellis, so this isn't really going to be the most unbiased of verdicts. But really there is something laughable about them even attempting this song and the end result isn't any more pleasurable than you'd expect. But, as its a better song that any of their own twaddle, this is better than anything else they've ever done.

3. Cupid - Amy Winehouse
Hmm. Passable is the best I can get for this one. A bit too close to what you'd expect from her to really get any better than that.

4. Lola - Robbie Williams
All the invention of making the cover version sound as much like the original as you can. That said, Robbie always has a certain charm which makes this one of the better ones.

5. Your Song - The Streets
Is Mike Skinner taking the piss? If this is tongue in cheek then it may well be the greatest thing ever put on record. If he was being serious, then god help us all. But in all honesty if you can get past the first part, in which his "vocals" are beyond piss-poor, it actually builds up quite a crescendo.

6. Betcha By Golly Wow - Sugababes
Out of all the up-tempo catchy tunes they could have done from the past 40 years, they do this, which is very very dull. It's one of those "oh, but look, they can really sing" songs that they do every, oh, three months. And the world is none the better for them doing it.

7. You're So Vain - Feeling
The Feeling may be naff, in a good "Supertramp" way, but this is a step too far even for me. I'm not sure "camp" was what they were aiming for with this one, but it just doesn't suit the singers voice. A valiant effort I suppose.

8. Band On The Run - Foo Fighters
Manages to combine the dullness of their acoustic phase with the head-banging side of their repertoire. I'm already beginning to lose the will to live if I'm being honest.

9. Love Is The Drug - Kylie Minogue
Against all the odds I like this. It's Kylie doing what she does best.

10. Let's Stick Together - KT Tunstall
If KT never did another good song ever, I'd love her for this alone. I've a feeling that the best ones on this whole shebang are going to be the ones where people aren't taking the damn thing too seriously.

11. Sound And Vision - Franz Ferdinand
Very disappointing.

12. Teenage Kicks - Raconteurs
Pointless. But then again, the Raconteurs are pretty pointless when all is said and done.

13. Can't Stand Losing You - Mika & Armand Van Helden
The second good Mika song in existence? Jesus Christ, this week has been tough on me.

14. Too Much Too Young - Kasabian
A "cover version by numbers" if ever there was one. But then again I hate Kasabian so what do I know?

15. Under Pressure - Keane
If ever a cover version should be wronger than wrong, this is it. But remarkably this is very, very brilliant.

16. Town Called Malice - McFly
Oh, look, just like when we did that Who song, we like proper music you know. In other words a totally perfunctory cover version that will enrich your life not a jot.

17. Come Back And Stay - James Morrison
I'll whisper it quietly, but I quite like this one....

18. Careless Whisper - Gossip
I'm sure somebody somewhere though this was "arch" and "hip" in an ironic way. All it is is absolute tosh.

19. Power Of Love - Pigeon Detectives
I was so happy when this was the Huey Lewis song and not the Frankie Goes To Hollywood one. They don't do it justice mind you, but then surely their attempt at the Frankie song would have been 100 times worse.

20. Don't Get Me Wrong - Lily Allen
Another one of those by the numbers covers. But my dad likes it.

DISC TWO

1. You Sexy Thing - Stereophonics
Every bit as fucking terrible as you would expect. I'm sorry, I do try to keep the language on this site at PG level, with the occasional trip into 12A, but this deserves the use of the f-bomb. How am I ever supposed to remember with a fondness the time Dawn wrote the lyrics to this on my laptop screensaver? Hell, at least she didn't find my porn.

2. Fast Car - Mutya Buena
As if to reinforce the notion that she hasn't an original idea in her head, Mutya delivers this, very blandly.

3. Lullaby - Editors
The singer's voice really annoys me, more than ever in this song, but it's a pretty decent stab at the Cure classic.

4. Englishman In New York - Razorlight
Does life get any better than this? I'll say no more as I don't really feel the need to unleash any more f-bombs. Safe to say, I sincerely wish that Johnny Borrell was an Englishman In New York, or possibly even somewhere further away that that.

5. Crazy For You - Groove Armada
One of those songs that seems to be going nowhere but has a kind of hypnotic beauty. I like it.

6. It Must Be Love - Paolo Nutini
An absolute travesty. And to top it off it sounds like its UB40 doing it.

7. All That She Wants - The Kooks
Ok, so I'll probably never like The Kooks, but this is pretty damn good. It's a great song anyway, and they've tried something different with it. Thumbs up.

8. You're All I Need To Get By - Mark Ronson
As he does nothing else but covers it's a bit pointless having the Ronson on here. But maybe Nigella Express needed another song for background music. Not as good as anything off his album. Apart from that Kasabian one. But that doesn't count as everyone knows they are rubbish.

9. Stillness In Time - Calvin Harris
I love Calvin Harris and this is a funky 80's style beat-bomb. Or something.

10. No Diggity - Klaxons
Yes, another example of how great the Klaxons are. Yes, that was sarcasm.

11. Lovefool - Just Jack
I didn't think anything could make me hate Just Jack any more than I already do. Patiently, I was wrong.

12. Ray Of Light - Bedingfield, Natasha
Great vocal performance doesn't save this being very annoying.

13. Drinking In LA - The Twang
Just when you thought The Twang couldn't get any worse, they prove you incorrect.

14. Great Beyond - Fray
If I never hear another Fray song, it will still be far too soon.

15. Teenage Dirtbag - Girls Aloud
This is also pretty rubbish; they could at least have done their version of Rehab or something.

16. Like I Love You - Maximo Park
Very, very funny.

17. Don't Look Back Into The Sun - The View
Oh, the irony. I do with The View would disappear from, erm, view.

18. Toxic - Hard-Fi
Well it's comfortably the best thing they've ever done.

19. Father And Son - The Enemy
Hmm. Another bad one.

20. Steady As She Goes - Corinne Bailey Rae
She used to be in a punk band you know. And it's pretty easy to see why that didn't work out.

Overall this is for curiosity value only. There's very little I'd have any great desire to listen to ever again.

Disco 4 - Pet Shop Boys

It's not very often that I would call something the Pet Shop Boys released "perfunctory"; sadly this is one of those rare occasions.

It's not the concept that is a problem in itself, bringing together as it does some rather wonderful remix collaborations with the likes of Madonna, David Bowie and The Killers, more that with no liner notes there isn't the feeling that this is something of a "must have". It's also not a complete retrospection of their remix work, with the omission of the Girls and Boys remix being particularly sad.

Throw in one excellent PSB own remix (I'm With Stupid) and one so-so one (Integral) and you have a decent collection but not one that that any non-PSB obsessive needs in their collection. Still, at least it's not Disco 2 all over again is it?

Single Releases 15/10/07

This week I LOVE;

The Wombats - Lets Dance To Joy Division
Blood Red Shoes – I Wish I Was Someone Better
Mika – Happy Ending (no, really I do)

This week I QUITE LIKE;

Concretes – Keep Yours
Richard Hawley – Serious
Robots in Disguise - The Sex Has Made Me Stupid
Jimmy Eat World – Big Casino

This week I COULD REALLY DO WITHOUT:

Common feat Lily Allen - Drivin' Me Wild
Timbaland & OneRepublic – Apologize
Los Campesinos! - International Tweexcore Underground

I HOPE I NEVER HAVE THE PAIN OF HEARING THIS EVER AGAIN:

Orson – Ain’t No Party

Editors LIVE

Narrowly avoiding a "fracas" in the Chinese restaurant (it was only the fact that one of the three tosspots on the table near us himself tried to calm down his idiotic mates that saved them) it was onto the Apollo and bugger me it was busy. Or perhaps we were just later than usual. Loved the "you'll get your £5 back if your car is broken into" pledge by Tiger as well.

We missed the support act (which didn't sound a bad thing from what I could hear) and settled in nicely for the Editors. Who I don't really hate, despite my comments from time to time. That said, the lead singer's voice does get on my nerves. And it did get on my nerves.

That's not to say it totally got on my nerves, just during the slow ones. Which I really don't like. That said songs like Munich, Bones, Sparks and that new one are pretty damn good. And this is the third time that I've seen them live, so I doth protest too much on occasions. But that's funny.

Final (?) Concert List Of The Year

And the first 2008 dates...

27th January - Ben Folds - Manchester Apollo
29th January - Nerina Pallot - Manchester Academy 2
30th January - The Hedrons - Night & Day, Manchester
11th February - Sandi Thom - The Lowry, Salford
18th February - The Long Blondes, Manchester Academy
222nd February - Bat For Lashes - RNCM, Manchester
10th March - Lily Allen, Manchester Apollo
28th March - Kate Nash - Night & Day, Manchester
17th April - The Pipettes - Ritz, Manchester
20th April - Lucy Porter (comedy gig) - The Lowry, Salford
20th May - Girls Aloud - MEN Arena, Manchester
3rd June - Kate Nash - Late Room, Manchester
30th June - Suzanne Vega - Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
12th July - Bat For Lashes - Manchester Academy 3
19th July - Feist - Manchester Academy 3
16th August - Sophie Ellis Bextor - Parr Hall, Warrington
21st August - Rilo Kiley - Manchester Academy 3
9th September - Natasha Bedingfield - Manchester Apollo - POSTPONED
27th September - New Young Pony Club - Ritz, Manchester
7th October - Frank Skinner (Comedy) - Lowry, Manchester
14th October - Editors - Manchester Apollo
19th October - KT Tunstall - Manchester Apollo
23rd October - Amy Macdonald - Barfly, Liverpool
1st November - The Donnas - Club Academy, Manchester
5th November - Kate Nash - Manchester Academy
18th November - Rilo Kiley - Stanley Theatre, Liverpool
25th November - Scouting For Girls - Liverpool Academy
11th December - Jenny Owen Youngs - Night & Day, Manchester

2008

1st March - Natasha Bedingfield - Manchester Apollo
4th March - Kate Nash - Manchester Apollo
14th March - Inspiral Carpets - Manchester Academy

Shotters Nation - Babyshambles

It's safe to say I'm not a Pete Doherty fan. It's not just his drugs, its the fact that I don't see his talent. Oh yes, he was good in the Libertines they tell me, but just how much of that was down to Carl Barat is still open to question (and truth be told, I never rated the Libertines either).

Down In Albion certainly suggested cynicism was in order; to be frank it was a complete mess. But that's what you get when you let a junkie have control over proceedings.

Still at least someone has had the sense to draft in producer Stephen Street in for the recording of this album. The producer, famous for his work with The Smiths and Blur to name but two, brings a nice touch of decorum to proceedings. Indeed this album actually feels like a finished product and, quite surprisingly, results in some decent tracks.

The likes of Lost Art Of Murder and There She Goes approach something special, which I suppose will add fuel to the fire of those who insist that Doherty is a genius, not just a dirty, disaffected drug abuser.

The thing is that this is only a handful of tracks. Most of the rest is the kind of standard indie Rock that is slightly a cut above The View's of this world but is still distinctly average. More depressing still is the realisation that this counts as an improvement in the world of Doherty. The main problem remains that Doherty has confused the endless Tabloid stories about himself as a sign that his life is interesting or worth talking about. It's not. And not even Stephen Street can make it worth listening to.

Little Voice - Sara Bareilles

I love women and I love piano's. So anything that combines the two is sure to be a winner with me, right?

So despite the fact that it's certainly easy to get blasé about yet another female songwriter, if you ignore the delightful Sara Bareilles then it's you that's losing out.

This is quite simply a delight.

Love Song, a former I-Tunes Single Of The Week, is a good indication of what to expect from a lot of the album. Straight up, catchy melodies backed up with Bareilles' gorgeous voice. The likes of Fairytale, Morningside and Vegas are delightful, but Bareilles can also excel on the slower stuff as well. Gravity, in particular, is a real tear-jerker.

If I was summing her up, I'd probably go for "a less willfully uncommercial Fiona Apple". And whilst she can never quite match up to Apple, on more than a few occasions she comes mighty close. And that's more than good enough for me.

Superstar; The Hits - Jamelia

I'll pause momentarily whilst you laugh.

But I am being serious; this really is a "hits" collection from Jamelia. Of course she's had 7 top hits in her time, but really the fact that there's no new tracks, no new artwork or, well, no new anything on this collection should be proof enough that this is merely a chance for her ex-record company to make a last bit of money off their old employee.

It doesn't even include all her "hits".

Still you have to give some credit where it's due. Beware Of The Dog was the best number 1 that never was in 2006 and Superstar is at least a memorable track. No More, with it's Golden Brown sample, was another winner (despite failing to trouble the top 40 this year) and I've always thought See It In A Boy's Eye's is a great tune; and yes, I am aware of the Chris Martin connection with that one!

On the merits of the songs alone, this isn't too bad at all, but its difficult as a listener to avoid the fact that it's compiling a career that there's no real need to compile.

Change - Sugababes

Isn't it funny that the Sugababes, who are as "put together" as the next pop band could get such critical acclaim. Actually that's not strictly true is it? They are more "put together" than the average pop band, currently onto their third incarnation.

It's also doubtful if that, early hits such as Overload and Round Round aside, the babes have ever really laid down a marker in terms of personality. Indeed, whilst there is no denying a Girls Aloud single these days means something quite unique, for example, there are many songs on Change that could be any half decent pop band.

And this has always been the problem with the Sugababes. Their early brilliance soon gave way to more commercial concerns and ever since their albums have been by their very definition patchy affairs.

A couple of radio friendly stompers are mixed with some dull, but commercially viable, ballads and joined with a load of filler that we are told they wrote themselves (albeit it with a cast of thousands helping out).

So as it goes, current single Feel About You provides the upbeat lead single (though it's no Hole In The Head), 3 Spoons Of Suga backs this up, whilst the likes of Undignified and the title track provide the dull but parent friendly ballads.

There's no denying my Girls Aloud bias in the Sugababes/GA "battle" but when faced with an album like this there is little doubt I'm in the right corner. Far from the feisty, independent trio the Babes claim to be, this album shows them to be little more than the much decried "norm" of pretty faces for pop backing tunes. And that needn't be a criticism, but when they're provided with a set of "tunes" as lacking in originality and pizazz as these you start to wonder what the point of the exercise is.

No doubt the marketing will make sure it sells by the bucketload; but that doesn't make it any good.

Single Releases 08/10/07

Back after a week off, singles wise.

Alj & AJ's Potential Breakup Song is first up this week. And it's a corker. It's got more invention than you've any right to expect from an American Manufactured Pop single.

As you'd expect, the law of diminishing returns is at play with Amy MacDonald's new single LA. And is it just me or does she have a total of ONE idea for her promo video's?

Curvy Cola Bottle Body by Chico is so funny. Probably becuase it's terrible, but in a very funny way. If you could believe he was taking the piss you' be proclaiming him as a genius.

I mean it's miles better than Gwen Stefani's latest effort, Now That U Got It. Someone needs to reign her in if you know what I mean.

I hate the Hoosiers. So there.

They're better than Biffo Clyro though.

On the other hand, I love Roisin Murphy. Let Me Know is a stomper. Pity about those distracting nipples in the video. Wear a bra love.

Natasha Bedingfield attempts to save her career this week with a "featuring Adam Levine" tag line...she fails.

The Flight Of The Conchords

THE funniest thing on TV at the moment.

It helps I suppose to have a bit of musical knowledge to get all the "homages", but I just find it hilarious.

WATCH IT!

Silver Lining

Jenny Lewis. As a bride. Jilting the groom at the wedding. I'm sure they've nicked this plot idea from one of my dreams...

Thanks to dkimster.

The Casket Letters - Monkey Swallows The Universe

Despite what the Daily Mail might tell you, the Internet is a good thing. A case in point are Monkey Swallows The Universe. I simply don't listen to the cool music programmes in "real life" that might introduce you to them, and the likes of Jo Wiley are never going to find them until someone has told her to. So the Internet is a great thing for discovering bands you wouldn't otherwise have heard of.

Ok, so it means that you have to sit through a hell of a lot of dross but when you come across something as good as Monkey Swallows The Universe you can forgive any number of dreadful artists with a Myspace page.

Oh yes, The Casket Letters is good. In fact it's very good. It's certainly one of the best "unknown" albums I've come across this year...hell it's one of THE best albums full stop.

First of all it clocks in at 35 minutes, well within the 45 minute maximum that should be made a law. Secondly it has some of the catchiest, and loveliest, folk pop songs you're likely to hear all year. Little Polveir is one of my favourite tracks of the year although it's got a lot of competition from the likes of Science or Elizabeth and Mary.

Lead singer's Nat Johnson's vocals are to die for, bringing a dreamy quality to the proceedings. But the tunes back it up superbly.

Frankly, if you're reading this, the very next thing you should do is go and order this album. It really is that good. I wish I had more time to wax lyrical about it, I really do, but trust me on this one. You need to hear this.

Pictures - Katie Melua

I tolerate Katie Melua. Mainly because young Dave is quite keen on her and whilst she's hardly at the cutting edge of musical invention, she's a pleasant enough girl with a decent voice. If that seems like I'm damning her with faint praise, you might be right.

But it's not her fault. I can attest to that 100%. It's all Mike "Fucking" Batt's fault. The guy is a grade A knob-head. I went to a Katie Melua concert once, but half of it was taken up with his unfunny anecdotes and stories. Yes Mike, we know you wrote the bloody Wombles song.

And he writes all her lyrics.

So we get gems like "Douglas Fairbanks wore a moustache, must have had "much cash" too". And thus, less than 30 seconds in to this album we have already reached a low point from which there is no hope of return.

Simply put, the melodies are lilting enough to woo the Radio 2 crowd but anyone who takes more than a cursory glance at the lyrics is going to be in pain for days. There is quite literally nothing on this album that I'll be listening to ever again.

Duets - Reba McEntire

Country LEGEND Reba duets with the Country likes of Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts and Vince Gill. And just in case it's all a little too Nashville for you, the youthful likes of Kelly Clarkson and Justin Timberlake pop up as well. Strangely there's no Tito Santana though.

Anyway, there's nothing out of the ordinary here. It's exactly like you'd expect Reba to sound with the addition of a few special guests.

If Reba's your kind of thing then you're in for a treat. If not, aside for the curiosity value of a few tracks you really needn't bother yourself with this.

Normal Service Will Resume

I've either

A) Been arrested.

Or

B) Got a new job and haven't much time at the moment.

Take your pick.

Somewhere High - Stalingrad Cowgirls

If only for the headline on their myspace page ("SAVE A HORSE - RIDE A COWGIRL!") I'd love the Stalingrad Cowgirls. Even the fact that they make me feel old, with the three Finish girls all being under 20, doesn't change my opinion.

Somewhere High might not be the most original album you'll hear all year, with its guitar, bass and drum punk-pop set up, but it's another one that is pure fun from start to finish.

Catchy tunes such as Rainmaker and Love To Make You Cry successfully merge some heavy metal chops with a pop sensibility to great effect.

The only criticism would be the one-paced nature of the album; indeed there is a relentless pace that has it's charms but does leave the album starting to sound very familiar once you get into the second half. Still, as a debut album this is great stuff and could lead to them gaining a good fan-base, with the promise of more to follow.

Echoes Silence Patience And Grace - Foo Fighters

It must be nice being Dave Grohl. He's pretty much the lauded gentry of modern rock, feted everywhere he goes as a great musician and a great bloke. Indeed he's in such good grace that most people have ignored the fact that the Foo's last studio album, 2005's In Your Honor, was, frankly, rubbish. The rock disc was turgid, the acoustic disc was limp and whilst Grohl called it a "fitting" tribute to the Foo's 10th anniversary, I thought it was pretty much an admission that the Foo's had done all they could.

Still, rapturously received live dates and the reappearance of Gil "The Color & The Shape" Norton at the production helm meant that there were reasons for me to look forward to the album. And whilst it never comes close to matching the majesty of The Color... (which is their finest album by far) it happily never threatens to sink to the depths that Honor did.

Lead single The Pretender is exactly what you'd expect from the Foo's - hard hitting, punchy rock - and as such effectively highlights where this whole experience is heading. In many ways it reminds me of One By One, in that it's definitely a top-heavy disk.

Let It Die shows that the idea of an "acoustic" Foo Fighters need not always be a desperate thing, the use of strings on Erase/Rewind adds a wonderful edge to the Foo's traditional sound and Long Road To Ruin highlights Grohl and his band at their very best.

Once you get over halfway through though, it begins to disappoint and the realisation hits me that despite their best efforts, the Foo Fighters seem unlikely to ever better The Color And The Shape. Sure, occasionally they can reach the same kind of heights for a couple of songs, but never for a whole album.

So this is solid, rather than spectacular, but that in itself is a reason for elation after the disaster that was In Your Honor. And no doubt, there's enough here to ensure that it sells by the bucket load.

New Young Pony Club LIVE

Back at the Manchester Ritz. And this time I could see the stage! Woo, and indeed, hoo.

A nice Chinese banquet to kick off the proceedings (although really it was far too much for a pre-concert shindig - I was stuffed after the starters!) and it was indeed onto the Ritz. Which may or may not be famous for something to do with The Smiths.

The support act was playing as we went in. Tings Tings or something. They seemed relatively good. Plus there was a good chance that the singer was fit. The two songs I heard where almost enough to make me regret not getting there earlier.

Scanning the venue two things became clear. I am not trendy enough to be a fan of the NYPC. Nor am I gay enough. I didn't feel out of place because I just don't care about these things, but if I were the kind of guy to feel out of place at concerts I doubt I would ever have felt as out of place as I would have done at this. And that includes that coach trip to Sheffield to see the Spice Girls.

At least fellow attendee Mike Pickering has the gravitas to back up his out of place vibe.

Anyway onto the concert itself. It was a good one, although not a particularly great one. My immediate thought whilst listening was that live, at least, NYPC are little more than the credible version of Rogue Traders. Sadly the vitality that comes across on record wasn't quite there.

Lead singer Tahita Bulmer was certainly exuberant enough, but the rest of the band added little to the visual flow of the show. I have to admit mind you to being entranced by keyboard player Lou Hayter's hips. She can wiggle that's for sure.

It's perhaps telling that the biggest crowd reaction of the night came for a cover version, Technotronic's Pump Up The Jam. Indeed the bloke in front of me, who had been fairly still all evening, whirred into action for that one and became somewhat of a blur.

So all in all it was a decent night out, but failed to live up to the album, which is fantastic. And to top if off, the only song they didn't do was Jerk Me. Which just happens to be my favourite. What a bunch of bastards ;-D

Necessary Evil - Deborah Harry

She's 62, it's fourteen years since her last solo album and Blondie are doing great business on the revival circuit. So the question is, is there any real need for a new Deborah Harry solo record in 2007?

Maybe not, but if she uses the opportunity to come up with something as willfully odd and undeniably brilliant as You're Too Hot then I'll forgive her anything. I swear to god, if Beyonce did this song it would be at number one for weeks. It sparkles with a wit and invention that is increasingly missing from the pop charts these days.

Of course it goes without saying that a whole album of this is too much to ask for but there are enough sparks to make this a worthwhile purchase for any existing fan. Dirty & Deep is the best song Madonna has never done, Paradise slows things down a touch to great effect and the title track is another winner.

To be fair there is a fair share of stuff I won't really listen to again, but you can't have everything can you? Patchy it may be, but at it's best it reminds you just how vital Deborah Harry has been...and still is.

Family - Leann Rimes

Well at least she's jettisoned the attempt to become a "pop" star. (I don't care what you say Mercy, Don't Fight The Moonlight was awful).

Well, no, she hasn't actually done that, but has at least realised that commercial Country might be her best bet of crossover success.

Lead single Nothing Better To Do is one of her strongest songs yet (ah, not difficult I hear you say) and is really rather good. You could even say it's far better than anything Leann Rimes does has any right to be.

Sadly it is by far the best song on Family, apparently her TWELFTH studio album, with only a couple of others, Upper Hand and Something I Feel (with it's Pretty Woman esque drum intro) coming close.

It's not awful - Rimes can sing and there are a number of ballads which are just screaming out for Radio 2 airplay - but it's just not memorable enough in the final analysis. Still, it's better than Whatever We Wanna, which surely is a step in the right direction.

Single Releases 24/09/07

I can't find my usual list of singles, so this might be a short one.

That new Katie Melua one, If I Were A Sailboat, is a bit saucy for her isn't it? It's crap of course, but you have to give a modicum of respect where it's due.

It's miles better than Shayne Ward's new one mind you. But then he is useless, so really you don't expect anything from him do you?

Spooky by the Puppini Sisters is ok. Maybe the joke is wearing thin now though. Enjoy it whilst it lasts Sisters.

Annie Lennox really does annoy me. But then I have a thing against rock/pop stars telling me how I should lead my life, so it's nothing that personal love.

I was surprised to see the Stereophonics are still plugging away...ok I kid. I know they're successful, I just don't see why they are! It Means Nothing is another in that long of line of Stereophonics songs that are alright but don't exactly rock my world.

The problem with Duke Special and Ed Harcourt is that I don't think they're as quite as good as a lot of people tell me. Thus it is the same with their new singles. Good, but not great.

Colbie Caillat's Bubbly hits the singles market this week. It's nice and pleasant but nothing that will be staying with you for that long.

Under The Influence - Terra Naomi

I know. You're sat there thinking not another female singer-songwriter to digest...and another one who has taken the "overnight" route to success via the Internet, this time with Say It's possible causing quite a stir late last year. Of course that would be unkind, given that she's been releasing unheralded albums independently for quite some time and that's before we've even got to question what exactly is wrong with using all the tools available to make a name for yourself.

Under The Influence may well strike some as an ironic title; one presumes that it's a reference to strong substances (Naomi not having been shy about previous dependencies) but one might also see that title and immediately come up with a list of influences the length of your arm. And indeed whilst it may not be anything we've not heard before (I'm thinking Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morrisette) that's not to say that it isn't without merit.

Naomi has a strong and inviting voice and has a knack for creating very catchy choruses the problem seems to be one of record company pressure. Like a lot of artists these days, Naomi seems a little too intent on chasing the pop single (and I'm not blaming her for that by the way) when if somebody somewhere had the gumption to let her strike out completely then we could have ended up with something very special indeed.

So in the end we've an album that is half suited to sound tracking the next American teen drama and earning airplay from Terry Wogan on Radio 2 (evident on the likes of Million Ways) and one that hints at something a little more expressive and special (such as on New Song or Flesh For Bones). Here's hoping that someone lets her concentrate on the latter next time out.

Bitchin - The Donnas

Have I woken up in a Life On Mars style world or did someone take me out in a Delorean, because it's as if the 1990's never happened on Bitchin, the new album from the Donnas. It's certainly as if their last album Gold Medal never happened. Indeed this new album is released on their own label largely because Atlantic wanted to take their sound in a different direction again.

This is, for all intents and purposes, 80's hair metal spiked with a Noughties attitude...and it ROCKS!

It's not their best album (I'm partial to Turn 21 and Skintight myself) but it is the crispest and makes the best use of the big studio production that was, presumably, beyond their budget earlier in their career.

I've long ago given up on the girls making a real breakthrough, but if there was any justice the likes of Girl Talk, What Do I Have To Do and Here For The Party would make at least a small dent in the charts.

The real star of the show seems to be guitarist Alison Robertson, who's licks and riffs transform this from a decent album to a good one. It's one that Donna's fans should love, as should anyone with more than a little liking for 80's rock (and for once that's not to disparage it). It's not subtle, but it is a hell of a lot of fun.

Updated Concert List

27th January - Ben Folds - Manchester Apollo
29th January - Nerina Pallot - Manchester Academy 2
30th January - The Hedrons - Night & Day, Manchester
11th February - Sandi Thom - The Lowry, Salford
18th February - The Long Blondes, Manchester Academy
222nd February - Bat For Lashes - RNCM, Manchester
10th March - Lily Allen, Manchester Apollo
28th March - Kate Nash - Night & Day, Manchester
17th April - The Pipettes - Ritz, Manchester
20th April - Lucy Porter (comedy gig) - The Lowry, Salford
20th May - Girls Aloud - MEN Arena, Manchester
3rd June - Kate Nash - Late Room, Manchester
30th June - Suzanne Vega - Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
12th July - Bat For Lashes - Manchester Academy 3
19th July - Feist - Manchester Academy 3
16th August - Sophie Ellis Bextor - Parr Hall, Warrington
21st August - Rilo Kiley - Manchester Academy 3
9th September - Natasha Bedingfield - Manchester Apollo - POSTPONED
27th September - New Young Pony Club - Ritz, Manchester
7th October - Frank Skinner (Comedy) - Lowry, Manchester
14th October - Editors - Manchester Apollo
19th October - KT Tunstall - Manchester Apollo
23rd October - Amy Macdonald - Barfly, Liverpool
1st November - The Donnas - Club Academy, Manchester
5th November - Kate Nash - Manchester Academy 3
18th November - Rilo Kiley - Stanley Theatre, Liverpool
25th November - Scouting For Girls - Liverpool Academy

Graduation - Kanye West

I can't believes I's only got seven minutes to write this review.

Anyway, my take on Kanye West is pretty well known. He can usually be relied upon to give us a handful of genuinely brilliant moments on an album, but will also back it up with a lot of filler. He's also not a very good rapper. Competent he may be, but purely on rapping he's not going to be top of the list.

Does Graduation change any of this in my eyes? Hell, no.

Lead single Stronger was/is fantastic and the Daft Punk nod was a welcome one for sure. The Glory sneaks in a bit of Laura Nyro to great effect whilst Flashing Lights is another winner, pitching it's self as something between a Bond theme and Bernard Herrmann produced soundtrack. Having said that though, I really could have done without the proclamation on that track the paparazzi are worse than the Nazi's. Nice one Kanye.

And that really points to another weakness on the album; West's self-importance came across as surprisingly tongue in cheek on his recent Friday Night Project presenter stint (hell he came across as extremely likable) but on Can't Tell Me Nothing, where the "impact" of his blast at George W. Bush's supposed ineptitude in respect of Hurricane Katrina is deemed more important than the aftermath of the disaster itself.

So lyrically there are many moments to cringe to, in one way or another, and there is a fair share of interesting, but misfiring, attempts to do something different (really, Chris Martin's appearance on Homecoming does neither man any favours whatsoever - although that won't matter to those who will see Martin's singing slot here as some kind of rallying call for real musicians).

Still the moments of genuine class just about drag this into thumbs up territory. But much like his previous two albums, in the months to come I'll be very selective over which tunes make it onto my playlist.

Pop Life - David Guetta

Everyone will be aware of Love Don't Let Me Go after it was in some car advert (forgive me, but cars in general interest me so little that I've no idea what particular car it was) but the question remains, does anyone particularly need a whole album of David Guetta? If you're immediately thinking no, then you might be surprised to hear that this is his 3rd album.

Of course as with, what seems like, every dance album these days you're pretty much going to like it or not. There is precious little ground. If it's your kind of thing you'll be jumping in the air, if it's not then you might as well switch off now.

Looking at it with a critics eye, it's not bad but not brilliant. When it hits the spot, such as Delirious its poptastic. When it's bad, chief criminal being the Public Image Limited cover This Is Not A Love Song, it's pretty dispiriting.

Unfortunately for Guetta, there's more tracks like the latter than there is the former.

Donna Marie

A bit of a change of pace from my usual rantings and ravings, although this is actually the first in an, occasional, series where I hope to spread the word about some artists you may not have heard of.

First in line for this is Donna Marie, a Warrington based singer-songwriter who is already a favorite with radio/internet DJs from as far as Guatemala to the USA with her self produced debut EP Paint The Sky.

One quote alone from her website is enough for me to reccommend Donna Marie;

"I think lots of people see the word POP MUSIC as a dirty word, but not me....I love to write pop. I don't see the point in writing 10 minute long songs that don't really have a hook to it."

and therein is her appeal. She has a soaring voice and specialises in catchy pop songs which immediately lodge in your brain.

It was seeing the likes of KT Tunstall and Nerina Pallot live that gave her back her passion for music and it's not too much of a stretch to compare her to those two. Top quality, pop songs that achieve their melodic aims without any compromise on quality.

With an album scheduled for later in the year and artists like Amy MacDonald asking her to support at concerts, Donna Marie is not going to remain off the radar for long. Now's your chance to impress your friends by getting in there first.

http://www.myspace.com/donnamariemusicsite
http://www.donnamariemusic.co.uk/

Single Releases - 17/09/07

Jack "The Gay Lumberjack" Penate comes back this week with Second Minute Or Hour. It's dreadful, but then everything this fella does is dreadful. So what else can you expect?

As a rule, Leann Rimes is also dreadful. So it IS a surprise that Nothing Else To Do is quite good. Thankfully she's also jettisoned the attempt to be a pop star and stuck to something a little bit Country.

Oh Kate Nash, what are we to do with you? Mouthwash is undeniably catchy but I'm still reeling with the relatively disappointing album. The video is absolute tosh too.

Ashely Tisdale attempts another breakthrough in the UK market. He Said She Said is certainly a decent enough slice of pop, but nowhere near the big hit that would give her a name over here.

WigWam died a death didn't it, but it hasn't put Betty Boo off trying to re-make a name for herself and Jack Rocka enlists her help for Take Off. What can I say, because it's Betty Boo and is therefore automatically awesome.

Mutya Beuna has got past the two, sorry ONE, decent song on her album so really there is no need for you to listen to Just A Little Bit.

I'm getting sick of hearing that bloody Peter Bjorn & John song. Young Folks is a good tune but I'm suffering from over exposure to it.

Still, they're doing better than Will.I.Am It only took one listen of his new song I Got It From My Momma to get sick of it.

Glorious: The Singles 1997-2007 - Natalie Imbruglia

Yes, she really has been going for 10 years, but no with only 10 singles in that time (including title track Glorious, which was one of the customary new tracks on such an album) and only three albums is there really a clamour for a Natalie Imbruglia singles collection?

Way back in 1998, thanks to my erstwhile flatmate of the time Duncan, Natalie Imbruglia was quite the "in" thing. Indeed rare was the night playing Doom on the Playstation that Left On The Middle didn't get a spin on the CD player. Since that time though, I've had no real interest in the former Beth Brennan. Sure there would be the occasional moment when a new single came out and I alternated between "oh is she still carrying on" and "that's alright but not something I'd want to buy."

At least Imbruglia had the sense, on a recent appearance with Graham Norton, to admit that this wasn't a "greatest hits" but rather a "singles collection". Not that success hasn't been achieved in the UK with 5 top 10 hits but with Imbruglia I've often got the feeling that success, in itself, isn't what it's about for her. She wants respect and to be seen as a real musician.

Which kind of went tits up when the hit that introduced her to the world, Torn, was revealed to not even be an original song. Imbruglia claimed that she'd never said it was, but by the same token she was quite happy to let people think that.

Even now, almost a decade on, Torn is still a fantastic single though. And in fact it's probably too good for her to ever match; it certainly is the best thing on here by a fair distance. It's not the most interesting thing mind you, that honour would go to Smoke which for a brief moment suggested that there may have been more to Imbruglia that the ex-soap pop princess hype machine would suggest.

Sadly the other tracks from Left Of The Middle haven't aged as well. Wishing I Was There is so formulaic that it could have been done by anyone from Meredith Brooks to Alisha's Attic whilst Big Mistake makes you wonder if Kurt Cobain's revolution was all for nothing.

Follow up album White Lilies Island bombed if we're being honest and That Day and Beauty On The Fire show you why. They're not terrible but not tracks that I had any real memory of and "pleasant but forgettable" must be one of the harshest things you can say about a record. Wrong Impression isn't much better, but I at least remembered it so that counts for something.

Third album Counting Down The Days quite inexplicably reached number one in the UK charts, although Shiver, it's lead single, is definitely the best thing that isn't Torn on this collection. We return to averageness with the title track from that album.

Recent single Glorious is one of 5 new tracks and again follows the nice enough, but not memorable trajectory that most of Imbruglia's career has followed. But as Be With You, another of the new tracks, shows occasionally she can create something truly special. It's just a pity she doesn't do it more often and as a result, she's never likely to get the respect as a serious artist that she so obviously desires.

Set Me Free - Marion Raven

If Avril Lavigne or Kelly Clarkson were Norwegian and were putting together an album of potential Eurovision Song Contest entries, Set Me Free by Marion Raven would probably be the sort of thing that would result.

And now I've got rid of three quarters of the readers of this blog, we can continue.

The salient points to get out of the way are that 22 year old Raven wrote (or co-wrote) every track on the album, she can actually play the guitar and piano and rather messily extricated herself from a major Atlantic Records deal so she could released the album she wanted to. Fact fiends will also be aware that she was the woman who accompanied Meatloaf on his terrible version of the terrible Celine Dion's terrible song It's All Coming Back To Me from Bat Out Of Hell III.

She's brought along a whole host of fantastic songwriters for the ride, including Max Martin and Chantal Kreviazuk and has also co-written with Nikki Sixx, who's called her "the most talented new artist I’ve worked with since I’ve been making music." Which probably says more about him than it does her.

The sheer weight of collaborators on this album means that anyone looking for a cohesive piece of work might as well go home. It does also mean though that whilst there are definite duff moments, there are also some sparkling ones too, with the pick of the bunch probably being the piano-driven 13 Days.

Far too often though the album is a little too predictable and unoriginal. There's nothing that's particularly offensive and if this all sounds like your kind of thing then you'll not be too disappointed with the album. Those who want a bit more might find themselves hoping that next time around someone might get Marion Raven to show a bit of restraint and focus on her strengths.

Poison Kiss - The Last Goodnight

I am a mind reader. I bet when you were drifting to sleep last night you were thinking just how the musical world needs a "new Maroon 5". And lo and behold, here they are...The Last Goodnight.

It's the same upbeat 80's pop style fast songs mixed with the same mellow and boring ballads that you might expect from Adam Levine and the boys with some laborious Darren Hayes style vocals tossed in.

The fact that they make copious use of the piano is a plus point and I would have to admit that this album, if only by default is better than Maroon 5's It Won't Be Soon Before Long. But then again that is one of the most soulless albums of 2007; this isn't far behind but does at least have the advantage of not being quite so nauseous.

Ten New Messages - The Rakes

Well if KT Tunstall has gone "pop", then the 2007 version of The Rakes have followed a similar
trajectory. But, for my money, it's been a good move. Much like Maximo Park earlier this year, the Rakes have followed a critically acclaimed album that underwhelmed me with a second album that may not get the same fevered response from a lot of critics but is a record that I prefer.

The brashness and punk ethic that encapsulated the likes of 22 Grand Job has pretty much disappeared, to be replaced by reflective, but utterly melodic, tunes.

At it's best it's brilliant. The likes of Down With Moonlight are sublime and there are a few tracks, like We Danced Together, that get better every time you hear them again.

The only real places when it gets a little too misplaced is on the likes of Suspicious Eyes, a game attempt to write a song relevant for these terrorist influenced times but one that falls flat. It's neither sharp enough lyrically, or memorable enough musically to convince. Similarly When Tom Cruise Cries is a game effort, but just not a very memorable song (seemingly exactly the same all the way through it's near five minute running time) and whilst the idea of song largely concerned with mobile phone signals being crap may sound interesting, Mike Skinner has already given us much wittier examples of how to do it properly.

So it's not a perfect record, and I can well imagine fans of their first album being very suspicious when they first hear it. Still, it is a good record which does improve with repeat listens.

It's All A Bit Complicated - Art Brut

In a world where every British rock star seems at pains to paint themselves as "serious" (for one, witness the new Kaiser Chiefs record) it's a bit of a bonus to have Art Brut. Because their second album, It's All A Bit Complicated, directly follows the witty, crazy and catchy template that their debut, Bang Bang Rock 'N' Roll, brought us.

The one thing they have cranked up though this time around, are the tunes. Indeed, even at their most obtuse, Art Brut have always been about the tune and It's A Bit Complicated is one of the catchiest pop records you'll hear all year.

Direct Hit, if there was any justice, would send them into the Chart stratosphere with its catchy, and instantly singable, chorus and genuinely funny lyrics (based around tongue-tied night clubbers dancing rather than talking to their crush). There's plenty of other tracks that could provide a similar success, such as People In Love and Nag Nag Nag Nag, but there's also a couple of more reflective tracks, such as Sounds Of The Summer with it's narrative of compiling a "mix-tape", that work as well.

Art Brut have often been accused of being one trick ponies and favouring style over substance. This album should prove the doubters wrong on both counts.

LP1 - Plastiscines

Looking for something to tide me over until the new Donna's album, I found myself grabbing this, the debut album from Plastiscines, a quartet of French nubile's (all under 20, or so I believe) who specialise in catchy pop/punk tunes.

Subtle it isn't; half in French, half in broken-English it could be summed by saying it's three chords on distorted guitars, drums and bass thudding away and never outstaying its welcome. All the songs are less than three minutes (some not reaching two) and the entire album is over in less than half an hour.

If it's all sounding a bit daft then don't worry; it's actually really rather good.

It's packed with memorable and catchy tunes and half the fun is ticking off the list of influences (Blondie, The Kinks, The Ramones, Patti Smith, The B52's to name but a few) that the band's own press release homes in on.

It also has a sense of mischief and humour that is missing from a lot of records like this, and a Gaelic charm all of it's own. If you can resist the likes of Pop In Pop Out, (Zazie fait de la) Bicyclette and Loser I'd suggest finding yourself a little joie de vivre.

I can't think of a more enjoyable way of passing 28 minutes of your day.

Single Releases 10/09/07

With all apologies to anyone else releasing a single this week, in protest against The Sheilas and (I'm So) Happy Happy (You're Mine) I refuse to review properly this week.

This is one of the worst records ever, and I hate it. So there.

Drastic Fantastic - KT Tunstall

This album was second only to Rilo Kiley in terms of my most anticipated album of 2007. Yes this was more important than Kate Nash mainly because Eye To The Telescope was one of my most loved albums of the past few years. Indeed I remember with a fondness having to change my top albums list of 2004 list about 3 seconds before I was due to unveil it to the world because even though ETTT had only been out for about 2 weeks before the end of the year I had to include it.

Of course all this ignores the fact that Acoustic Extravaganza was a complete waste of my time, but as that's not a "proper" album I'll continue to treat that as an aberration that I need not bother with. But in many ways it signifies the problem that Tunstall faces. Eager to stay true to her roots she may be, but when your debut album sells 4 million copies your record company want something similar next time out.

And indeed we get two KT Tunstall's for the price of one here. We get the glamour pop princess on the one hand (one only needs to look at the cover picture), whilst the old folk KT still wants it's time in the spotlight. You cannot deny that on certain tracks, radio-friendly pop mega sellers were certainly in mind.

In might come as little surprise to anyone who's had more than a passing conversation with me that the pop side of things is very much to my liking. The likes of Little Favours, If Only and Hold On are instantly memorable. Indeed, despite it's lack of a decent chorus, I was singing Hold On for about three days after first hearing the album in it's entirety - a feat all the more remarkable considering it's playing in isolation never moved me all that much as a single.

I Don't Want You Now and next single Saving My Face aren't quite up to those levels but are both good songs as well.

I have to admit that it all gets a bit too pedestrian for me in parts. Paper Aeroplane and White Bird are not terrible songs, but can't really hold a candle to the slower songs from ETTT and without being too unkind, Beauty Of Uncertainty might well prove to be my cue for a toilet break at the upcoming tour. Slim it down to 3 minutes instead of 5 and it might have kept me interested for it's duration.

Still all is not lost on this side of the coin. Someday Soon just enchants me. Its simple, but wonderfully heartfelt and is the song that most grabs me like Heal Over did on its predecessor.

It's hard to say that it's better than Eye To The Telescope, and I have to admit to not really believing the "you have to be drastic to be fantastic" line that Tunstall has been spinning, but that doesn't make this a bad album.

It has enough shiny pop hits to captivate the casual fan who loves her on the basis of Black Horse & Cherry Tree or Suddenly I See and also, despite my ambivalence to some of the tracks, enough of the softer/acoustic side of KT that drew in other people as well.

The only "negative" I can really come up with is that at times it seems as if KT is trying to be all things to all people and as such it doesn't have the cohesive brilliance of Telescope and it's not the great leap that it might have been. Still, whilst it may not be convincingly "Drastic", at least it's a lot closer to being "Fantastic".

Kala - M.I.A

The one thing you can say with certainty about this record is that you can definitely tell that it was recorded in America, India, Japan, Trinidad, Australia, and Jamaica. This is not your standard "mono sound" album filled with identical tracks, this is a sonic melting pot to an insane degree. The question is, does that mean it's any good?

Well for the most part it does.

Be it the Indian drums pervading Bird Flu, the Clash sample on Paper Planes or the appearance of Afrikan Boy on Hussel there is always something bombarding your senses.

The only real problem is that those of you looking for a classic "tune" might find yourselves with a task on your hand. And when you consider that one of the few songs that does have a catchy tune, Jimmy, sounds exactly like something you'd expect from Boney M you might be put off already. (For the record, for all the "who sung what" nonsense, Boney M were awesome).

But whilst this album may in some ways be purposefully alienating you there is no doubting the power of it. It may not get it right every time, but you'll not hear anything remotely like this anywhere else this year...and that has to count for something.

Hey Venus - Super Furry Animals

I've seen them live quite a few times (including that awful year at Leeds when they attempted to alienate 95% of the audience with a largely Welsh-Language set) but I would never call myself an avid fan. It's the tendency to, well, go off on one and lose track of what constitutes a tune that has never quite meant that I get too enamoured.

Thankfully, for me at least, their eighth studio album Hey Venus sees them firmly in the effervescent pop mode.

Yes it has all the usual off-beat genius you would expect, but it consistently wraps them up in gorgeous and memorable melodies.

Be it the Wall Of Sound, erm... sounding, Run Away, the almost glam rock posturing of Neo Consumer or the straight up rock of Baby Ate My Eight Ball the album is an almost constant delight.

Sure the supposed concept story of the album (a young woman moving from a small town to a big city with tragic consequences) will probably pass you by but since when has there been anything wrong with a rag-bag series of great songs one after another.

It's unlikely to win the Furry's any new fans but anyone with any previous liking for their unique brand of pop will find an awful lot to enjoy on here.

Sweet Danger - Suzy Bogguss

Suzy Bogguss hasn't had a quantifiable Country hit this century but this might actually have been a good thing as far as this listener is concerned. No longer recording to have "hits" has freed up Bogguss to really show her musical chops. This is proved again with Sweet Danger, an album you could just as much call jazz as you could country.

The cynical amongst us could label the "change" of sound a calculated gamble given the fact that A) Bogguss wasn't selling many records as a Country artist and B) the likes of Norah Jones have made this kind of coffee table lounge sound very "of the moment". But that would be to do Bogguss a dis-service.

The clear reference point for me in many ways was Suzanne Vega; whilst never threatening to come anywhere near to the excellence that Vega has made her trademark it has the gentle but vital heart-beat that makes her records such as absorbing treat.

No Good Way To Go is a case in point, and is perhaps the closest thing to a "rap" song you'll find a 50 year old Country artist doing, but it's not the only highlight.
Her cover of Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now” is a pleasant surprise and In Heaven, the closest thing to traditional country you'll find shows that whatever Nashville may say to the contrary, there is a place for "old country" in the modern marketplace.

Of course it's difficult to see this appealing to Bogguss' long standing country fans, although for the most part it's them who are missing out. Bogguss has the voice to carry this "new direction" off very well and this is well worth a listen.

Mercury Music Award

"This album is not very good. It's three or four good songs, surrounded by fairly poor tracks."

So said your esteemed blogger about the Klaxons chances of winning the Mercury Music Award for their album. Shows what I know doesn't it?

Anyway, in my defence I'm sure it was just the prospect of what Amy Winehouse may have spent £20,000 on if she'd won that cost her the prize. (Incidentally it was nice to see her piss off all of 30 seconds after not winning - mind you with the cringeworthy acceptance speech by the Klaxons - think grown men drunk, crying and swearing - you can't blame her).

Forget for a moment that Bat For Lashses should have won (and I put my money where my mouth was with a tenner at 7/1 for them - in the days before Fur & Gold became one of the favourites) and lets examine Myths of the Near Future. Months down the line I'm only the more convinced that the album is a handful of cracking singles surounded by filler.

And as for the statement that the Klaxons have "taken music forward" with the album...a cover version of Not Over Yet really is cutting edge for 2007 isn't it?

Still my friends it could have been worse; The View could have won.

Coolest Album Cover. Ever

Ok, so it'a slow news week...

But it is a pretty cool cover isn't it?

This US version comes with two new tracks, Dance and Boogie and Baby, Just Be Yourself. Neither are particularly my favourite Pipettes songs ever but I do have a sneaky liking for Dance and Boogie especially.

Some proper reviews of other stuff will follow soon.

Single Releases 03/08/07

Ok so first an apology. Yes, I did totally forget to review KT Tunstall's comeback single Hold On.
So better late than never...

It's good. I can't quite see why she keeps insisting it's got an "R'n'B" vibe to it, but maybe that's just me. My only criticism of it would be that it could do with a catchier chorus. It's not a bad chorus by any means but it drags the song down slightly. As for the "you've got to be drastic to be fantastic" thing, I'll hold judgement on that until the album.

Onto this week's stuff.

Girls Aloud slam back on the scene with Sexy! No No No. I'd prefer a question mark instead of an exclamation mark. But anyhoo, it's a decent effort. Not as catchy as their best stuff but it does have that tinge of maniacal genius that all their best stuff has. The opening is brilliant; the rest of the song doesn't quite match it. The "duh-duh-dirty mind" bit though is perfection.

Rhianna may be boring as a pop star, but she comes up with some cracking pop singles. Ok, so she's "presented" with them, but Shut Up & Drive is very good, although it's New Order recreation isn't as good as the Soft Cell driven SOS. But as I've said before; in pop terms what else is these days?

Bring out the Roast Chicken because James Blunt is back. 1973 is pretty awful though. And I'm speaking as someone who hasn't got sick of his album. He's come back with the kind of song the record company wanted him to come back with. It just doesn't have that soaring quality that his best singles have had. Ok, that High had.

Candie Payne's record company have finally decided that my tipping her for success in 2007 needn't mean the end of her career by getting Mark Ronson in to remix One More Chance. A good job he's done too. Now all I need is people to actually start buying her records.

Isn't this a "big name" single's week?

The Editors return with that one song they always do. Fair's fair though, they do do the one song very well. I'm growing less and less enamoured with his voice though every time I hear it. Watching them live may be a painful experience...only joking Gee man.

Is there a worse single this year knocking about than Plain White T's Hey There Delilah? There may be, but this is definitely on the short list. I particularly love how this song's success somehow is supposed to signify a good thing. It's not. They're rubbish, the song is rubbish and, in effect, this is naught but a novelty record.

Speaking of awful novelty records, we come to Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston. It's a close run thing over whether this is worse than even Plain White T.

Of course both of those will sell thousands more copies than Lucky Soul's One Kiss Don't Make a Summer but then life isn't fair. Why it's been released now, instead of the height of the summer is beyond me, but then I don't run a record company do I?

Paramore's Hallelujah is a nice little track. Nothing earth shattering, but good all the same.

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip are seemingly awesome. The Beat That My Heart Skipped is another winner.

As mentioned before, Bonde do Rolê don't quite have the killer single that would see them doing a "CSS" but Solta o Frango is a typically good track from them all the same.

Don't Look Away - Kate Voegele

One review of this album I read said that listening to Kate Voegele's debut album Don't Look Away was a lot like reading your big sister's diary; mostly boring but every once in a while there was something juicy to grab your attention.

Listening to this album I knew exactly what they meant.

It's would be easy to dismiss Voegele as your typical young empowered female singer-songwriter and given that this is released on Myspace Records you wouldn't be far wrong if you lumped this in with the likes of Colbie Caillat. Yes we're firmly in the "pleasant but we've heard it all before territory".

Of course because she writes her own songs and has, you know, guitars and stuff on her records many will give her the benefit of the doubt and it is fair to say that there are occasional signs on this record that Voegele has potential. A particular favourite of mine was I Won't Disagree. a lovely bluesy number with a real kick to it.

In the end though it falls between two stools; it's clear that we're supposed to think that Voegele has genuine "singer-songwriter" credentials, but then a lot of the time this is presented to us in the form of tunes that Kelly Clarkson might reject as unsubtle.

As ever, or so it seems with these things, what we have in the end with this is an artist with potential, but nothing really on this debut album that really sets her apart from the chasing pack.

This Record Is About Cars - The Debut

As far as I can tell, this isn't about cars, but don't let that put you off.

What it is, is a straight up rock 'n' roll record with a distinctly pop edge. Lyrically it's your usual "love and loss" theme but there is no denying that it is certainly catchy.

Indeed tracks like Hey!, So Far Away and Last Chance would sit comfortably on your modern radio stations, and could, in the right circumstances, provide decent hits for the band.

Occasionally it all drifts apart amidst clumsy songs titles (Calm Objective Opinion anyone?) but if the idea of "Weezer meets a less shit Maroon 5" appeals to you, you'll find plenty to enjoy on this, ahem, debut album.