Neptune - The Duke Spirit

My only previous form with The Duke Spirit was rather foolishly going on the Duke Special forum and inadvertently proclaiming my love for them instead of the Irish singer-songwriter. To this day I've never been back.

Despite critical acclaim for the debut album, it pretty much sank without trace so in comes Queens of the Stone Age producer Chris Goss and delivers the garage rock album you would expect, but with some very interesting twists.

Lead single The Step And The Walk offers up an exciting introduction but the good news is that it's far from the standout track. Into The Fold is as good a mainstream "rock" tune as I've heard all year, Lassoo has trumpets, which are a good thing (assuming they are trumpets, but even if they're not, brass is good) and finishes in a storm of pure energy. Even better is Dog Roses, which brings a harmonica out of nowhere to enhance a moody and thrilling song.

Not everything works to such a high standard and there are one or two tracks where your thoughts wander to how much better they've pulled off the same tricks elsewhere on the album but overall this is a pulsating and vital album that, with any luck, will finally bring them the success that many people thought was due to them first time around.

And no, it doesn't exactly hurt that lead singer Liela Moss is a bit of alright either.

Dreams - The Whitest Boy Alive

Yes, I know it's an old album (released back in 2006) but no-one can expect me to be on the ball with everything that is popular music can they? And it was only released in the UK in November 2007, so it's relatively new.

The Whitest Boy Alive is Kings Of Convenience singer Erlend Øye's solo project (yes, I know there's a band behind him, but still...). And the slightly comedy name doesn't mean he's a white boy doing rap. One might call it Indie Pop or, heaven forbid, slightly "soft" rock. But whatever you would label it as, it's still really rather wonderful. So wonderful that you might question whether we need the Kings Of Convenience after hearing it.

Whether it's the lilting funk of Fireworks, the down and dirty Golden Cage or the staccato vibe of Figures, this is one of those albums that sounds innocuous at times but you soon realise that it's lodged firmly in your brain.

Granted, it's a little too slow tempo-ed as a cohesive whole to really reach out and grab your attention but at it's chilled out best its pretty irresistible.

Hard Candy - Madonna

Some might have been thrilled and excited about Madonna working with Timbaland (and by extension Justin Timberlake) and The Neptunes on her new album, Hard Candy. Me? Well despite recognising their talents, I felt it was a backwards step. For the majority of her career Madonna has led the agenda, not followed it and virtually every pop ingenue under the sun has already recorded with them. The transparent attempt to appeal to the American market once again (Confessions On A Dancefloor had the lowest percentage of American sales of her career) has led to to an unusual state of affairs. After leading the way for two decades, and changing the face of pop music more than once, Madonna is content to follow the path already trodden in the all consuming pursuit of a hit.

Lead single, 4 Minutes is a decent enough affair but bodes ill for the album at large. Whilst not expecting any genuine insight from Madonna lyrically these days its a song that has no real discernible personal traits at all. Indeed, its a song that any of Timbaland's pop beauties could polish off in their sleep.

As if to highlight this, next single Give It 2 Me is the kind of track that Britney Spears would have done rather well...about four years ago.

And its a problem that besets great swathes of the album. It's generic where once it would have been unique; its attempt to keep up with, or follow, trends, rather than setting them.

Of course, it's Madonna, so its far from a dull album and being as engineered towards the mainstream as it undoubtedly is it's bound to keep her in Top 10 singles until the next album comes along. But, and it's a big BUT, it's a frustratingly disappointing affair. Madonna can do better and her producers certainly can.

To put it into perspective, it's a notch below Britney Spears' 2007 album, Blackout and certainly a notch below Madonna's last effort Confessions On A Dancefloor. Let's hope she can get back to her best next time around.

Sounds So Good - Ashton Shepherd

It's easy to be cynical about yet another photogenic young female releasing her debut country album; it only takes a cursory glance at the CD booklet to change your mind however as, with a little help from her brother-in-law, Shepherd has written 10 of the 11 tracks here. This is not your typical Nashville affair where a label gets in a pretty face to record ready-written tracks.

And if this immediately sets Shepherd apart from the pack, its not long before other things have the same effect. Her voice is warm and one of the best of any of the recent newcomers and although occasionally her lyrics (some of which were written when she was just 15) are a little simple and childish, the majority of it is startlingly good.

Whether it be the radio friendly Sounds So Good and The Bigger The Heart or the channelling of Loretta Lynn on I Ain't Dead Yet and Whiskey Won The Battle, Shepherd proves equally adept. Smart enough to know to ensure radio-play on the notoriously fickle Country radio, Shepherd never lets that become the over-riding point of the album and manages the trick of mixing the commercially friendly with the genuinely compelling.

An outstanding debut album.

Pocketful Of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield

It must have seemed to Natasha Bedingfield as if she had the world at her feet. And maybe she still does; but she's had to sacrifice most of her agreeable quirkiness to make it remain so.

Her "second album" NB may not have been brilliant, but it was an album that screamed out personality; indeed it was unmistakably a Natasha Bedingfield record. Admittedly that might not be everyone's idea of a good thing, but in the homogenised generic world that counts as the modern day pop industry it was certainly refreshing.

The American's didn't like it though, and it's Stateside release was quietly scrapped after the flop of lead single I Wanna Have Your Babies, conspicuous by it's absence here. What's more, after being postponed for some non-reason (which most certainly wasn't due to poor ticket sales), a UK tour was finally cancelled for some other non-reason (which again wasn't due to poor tickets sales at all) which suggested that things were looking decidedly sticky.

Hence Pocketful Of Sunshine, here second album for the USA. Half of it is rehashed from NB, the rest new tracks, all recorded simply through Bedingfield's high work-rate, and not because her American label insisted.

Yes, you might detect more than a smidgen of cynicism here, but anyone with a hint of common sense can work through the spin.

On balance, at least the better tracks from NB have been left intact but the new tracks are the typical, Americanised pap that you'd expect from an American/Pop Idol contestant. The success of this album so far, at least compared to it's European counterpart, may prove that Bedingfield has made the right choice. This listener, however, remains less than convinced that she did.

Backwood's Barbie - Dolly Parton

Apparently this is Dolly's first "mainstream" Country album in 17 years. But throughout all the Bluegrass and covers albums, you should never have really lost sight of the fact that Parton is one of Country's greatest ever songwriters (and 9 of the 12 tracks here are Parton originals). And whilst this album would by no means convince anyone unaware of her greatness, there is just about enough of the old Parton magic to make this a worthwhile listen.

Pick of the bunch are the delicate Only Dreaming and the vibrant Better Get To Livin' which prove that for all the wigs, cheap-looking expensive clothes and ample bosom, Parton is a genuine talent.

Just don't expect anything but pained amusement from her cover of the Fine Young Cannibals (She) Drives Me Crazy.

The Long Blondes LIVE

It's no secret that, second time around, the Long Blondes have left me a little cold. Therefore the prospect of a Long Blondes concert which would undoubtedly be heavily weighted towards their second album, Couples, wasn't the sure fire thing it would have been a couple of months ago in my mind.

What transpired was pretty much what my reordered thoughts expected.

Was it awful? Not by any means. Was it great? Not really.

Certain new tracks, particular examples being Round The Hairpin and I'm Going To Hell, did sound better than their recorded counterparts, but all too often the new songs fell flat in the greater scheme of things. And whether or not it was my imagination, but this all led to the tracks off the debut album falling flat too, lacking the vitality that made them such an appealing proposition first time around.

All in all, I couldn't wait for it to finish - not because I wasn't enjoying myself (to a degree it was still a good night out) but more the fact that it failed on almost every level to live up to what I've seen from them before.

Lessons To Be Learned - Gabriella Cilmi

I can imagine there was great delight in the Radio 2 playlist office when they first heard Sweet About Me; it ticks almost every MOR box you could wish for. Me, well I was more intrigued by the fact that this album was being "overseen" by Xenomania.

And in an essence, their presence is what sets this really rather good album apart from the chasing pack. Their eye for a catchy pop tune is undiminished and shines through like a beacon here and the fact that they're serious about pop, but not too-self serious, means that it immediately bypasses the Amy Winehouse clone argument.

Save The Lies might get a little too close to Anastacia for comfort, but it's a cracking start to the album and sets things up very nicely indeed. It's the more uptempo tracks that most grabbed my attention, the best of the bunch being Don't Wanna Go To Bed Now and Cigarettes and Lies, and even the cover version of Echo Beach works well, albeit in a camp way.

It's by no means perfect, perhaps being a little too reliant on ballads for my liking, but there is a definite sense that this could be the start of something special. Of course, Joss Stone seemed like a great talent on the back of her debut, so you'd be wise not to get too excited just yet; but on balance, Cilmi certainly looks as if she could have a bright future ahead of her.

Shine - Estelle

Imagine my surprise when I heard Estelle's new single American Boy; how in the hell did she drag Kanye West into the proceedings...? And then get him to rap about Ribena and WAGS? Little did I know that John Legend had taken a, ahem, shine to Estelle, signed her to his label and the rest is, as they say, history.

And it's a history few would have predicted given her first album's failure (it only scraped the top 40) and dare I say that Estelle herself might never have imagined the day where Mark Lamarr would be replaced by Kanye West in her video's...

You can't ignore the Kanye effect; last November, the single release of Wait A Minute failed to even trouble the Top 100, and it's difficult to imagine one of her non-collaborations would have fared any better. But credit where credit is due, American Boy is a great little pop song and if I'm being churlish it would be amazing if a record produced by ten of the finest producers John Legend's money can buy didn't come up with some sublime moments but even if nothing quite lives up to the single, there's more than enough to make this a worthwhile listen.

More Than Words is a lilting jazz-inspired track that Joss Stone would give up her year's supply of Flake's for, and the collaboration with Cee-Lo, the Mowtown-esque Pretty Please could conceivably follow American Boy to the upper reaches of the charts.

There are the duff moments for sure, and Estelle doesn't quite manage to carry off an entire album on her charismatic personality alone, but there are more than enough killer tracks and hooks here to please most pop fans.

Brain Thrust Mastery - We Are Scientists

I really liked Love & Squalor so it was with an immense disappointment that I got to grips with the lead single from the new We Are Scientists album, After Hours. Whilst not being offensive in any way, it wasn't really very good. And the video seemed to sum up the potential problem with their second album. Lyrically they clearly feel the need to get more serious but visually they were stuck in their "kooky" past.

And listening to the album there is, to me at least, a definite feeling of it being stuck between two different paymasters. In an attempt to "grow up" or mature their sound they've ended up sounding like perhaps the most terrible thing you could label a record; dull.

The odd moment of clarity aside (Impatience, Lethal Enforcer) you find yourself merely longing for the "old" We Are Scientists.

2008 Concerts

2008

4th February - Laura Veirs - Manchester Night & Day
10th February - Amy Macdonald - Carling Academy, Liverpool
19th February - The Von Bondies - Manchester Night & Day
1st March - Natasha Bedingfield - Manchester Apollo
4th March - Kate Nash - Manchester Apollo
14th March - Inspiral Carpets - Manchester Academy
16th March - Lucy Porter - Manchester Lowry (COMEDY)
25th March - Be Your Own Pet - Manchester Academy 3
29th March - Sugababes - King George's Hall, Blackburn
8th April - The Long Blondes, Manchester University
22nd May - Feist - Palace Theatre, Manchester
31st May - Girls Aloud - MEN Arena, Manchester
4th June - Bat For Lashes - Carling Academy, Liverpool
11th June - Cat Power - Manchester Academy 1

Couples - The Long Blondes

Someone To Drive You Home was my album of 2006, quite comfortably as it turned out. From start to finish it was a modern masterpiece. Notwithstanding the lack of an actual hit, it was an album packed full of singles, yet held together as it's own entity. And I'd think that even if Kate Jackson wasn't sex-on-legs.

Three tracks in, the follow up Couples seems to be heading for a similarly winning run. Century proves that adding synths to the mix (replacing the jangly guitars that were their trademark) was a good idea. Jackson has rarely sounded better and the insistent tune is soon lodged in your brain.

Guilt could have drowned in it's Disco beat, but lyrically it's classic Long Blondes and is one of those songs that gets better with every listen. The Couples is perhaps the song on the album that most could have fitted in on STDYH and as well as having a killer tune once again brings the biting wit of the Blondes to the fore.

So far so good then? Sadly it's pretty much a downhill ride from here, or at least you've got as good as your going to get in the first three tracks.

I Liked The Boys and Here Comes The Serious Bit basically forget to pack a tune in alongside the other ingredients, and Nostalgia may well achieve it's probable aim of reminding you of the early 80's but that doesn't stop it being a terrible song. Things reach a possible nadir with Too Clever By Half. I still can't make my mind up if it's so bad it's good, or whether it's just plain awful. I'm half tempted to think it's someone's bad idea of a joke.

At least Round The Hairpin and Erin O'Connor mean that the last two thirds of the album isn't a complete wash out but, especially after the blinding opening, it's all too much of a disappointment.

There are signs that they still have more to offer, and at the least they should be commended for resisting the temptation to record another STDYH and waiting for the money to roll in. Still that doesn't change the fact that, for this listener at least, Couples is very much a let-down.

Diamond Hoo Hah - Supergrass

After Road To Rouen, which was a decent album without justifying the complete change of tone is signified for the Supergrass boys, it was perhaps inevitable that they should then come up with something more akin to 1995's I Should Coco.

Experimentation can only last so long with a diminishing fan-base.

And that's not to have a knock at the boys. The very fact they are here in 2008 releasing a brand new album shows that there is still a lot of love for them. Sadly, I don't have a lot of love for this album.

Quite frankly, I found it boring and plodding for the most part. To be honest it's only by the time I got to the final track, Butterfly, that I found anything I would want to add to a homemade Supergrass compilation. That's not to say that the rest is completely without merit, but it just doesn't excite me in the slightest.

But to put it into context, it's still a thousand times better than The Hoosiers.

Sugababes LIVE

Amusing at it was to be sat in the middle of teenage girls for the Sugababes night at Blackburn's King George's Hall, it was even more amusing to not be the oldest men there without kids. Seriously, if I'm still doing this when I'm 60 you might want to shoot me.

Still, who am I to mock? They certainly seemed to enjoy the evening along with everyone a quarter of their age. And in fairness there was much to enjoy.

I was a little worried prior to the show that the 'Babes would once again be at pains to prove that they were "serious artists" which would mean ballad after ballad and the obligatory acoustic interlude. Thankfully there was none of that bollocks.

The pace of the set was kept up throughout, with only a handful of the slower songs tossed in throughout. And whilst I still say it's ridiculous to see them sing Overload with only one of the people who actually sang on that record, the current line up can certainly belt out the tunes.

All the big hits were played (as far as I can remember anyway - Dave was disappointed that they didn't do Easy, but I think that was more to do with the fact he wanted to see them act out the risque lyrics) and it's difficult to imagine that anyone went away disappointed.

Still it wasn't all perfect. If musically they got it spot on (including a thrilling cover of En Vogue's Don't Let Go) visually it was a bit of a mess. Obviously the budget wasn't the biggest and this led to some tacky outfits which had me laughing if I'm being honest. Still the ramshackle nature of that side of things couldn't really detract from a great night out.

That said though, roll on Girls Aloud ;-D

Red - Guillemots

If there was a problem with the Guillemots, and in my book there most certainly was, it was that for all their willful quirkiness and "we're not like a normal band" posturing, there was a problem with their tunes. They were ok, but not the most memorable in a strict pop sense. Hence my opinion that I could take them or leave them.

It's nothing to do with me of course, unless one of the three people who read this blog is releated to them, but the one thing you cannot throw against them this time around is any complaint that they aren't catering to the mainstream.

Pop may still be a dirty word, but it's what the Guillemots are aiming for. Which makes the album all the more frustrating as a result.

When it's "on" it's really quite magical; Cockateels and Kriss Kross provide two of the most sublime pop moments of the year so far and lead single Get Over It was good enough to make me reconsider my opinion of the band.

Still, the same problems remain. In an attempt to prove they are nothing like anyone else there is a definate "throw everything against the wall and see what sticks" mentality. Sadly, too little of it does stick. Last Kiss, for instance, is particularly muddled to little apparent effect.

It's not a terrible listen, but for me it falls into thumbs down territory more than it rises into the thumbs up. Proof that individual and quirky isn't always 100% a good thing.

Slow Motion Addict - Carina Round

This has been around for ages I think but A) it's getting a re-release somewhere and B) I've only just got around to getting it anyway. So I think that more than justifies reviewing it here.

Whether or not you're that excited about Glenn "Alanis Morisette" Ballard is at the production helm is a matter of personal taste but he can have a tendency to smother some artists and for a while it seems like he's going to chalk up another victim in the shape of Round; but fear not. Round is far too wilful and self-minded to allow this for too long.

This does make for a somewhat hit and miss experience. Whilst the likes of Stolen Car (with its hugely radio-friendly rock guitar riff) and Take The Money (which gives you everything you'd want from Round based on her previous output) there are the likes of Ready To Confess (where, sadly, it could be anyone delivering the lines given how the production smothers any individuality out of the proceedings).

Thankfully, most of the "duff" songs are done with early and by the time you hit the aforementioned Take The Money, the ride to the end of the album is a thrilling and exhilarating one. Any attempts to homogenise Round have obviously failed. She's as individual as ever. And in this form she's well worth a listen.

Be Your Own Pet LIVE

Get Awkward, the new album from BYOP, is one of my favourite of the year so far so it was with a certain sense of anticipation that I looked forward to this concert, back at my favourite venue of Manchester Academy 3.

Sad to say, it didn't really come close to living up to expectations.

It wasn't awful, but any nuances visible on record had virtually disappeared. If I'm being kind, the best way to describe the night would be unremarkable noise.

Not even the delectable Jemima Pearl could save the evening and I can't exactly say I'll be rushing to get tickets for their next UK tour.

The Baroness - Sarah Slean

Female singer-songwriters are ten a penny in 2008 so it would be tempting to dismiss Sarah Slean merely on this point. Slean, however, has been plying her trade for over 10 years and this is her fifth studio album.

One listen to The Baroness is enough to both tell you why she's lasted so long and why you've probably never heard of her.

Her voice is pretty wonderful and she's more than a decent songwriter and on occasions, like on the really rather good Please Be Good To Me, she soars to beautiful heights. The sad thing is that a lot of the album doesn't come close to matching that emotion.

Lyrically there is a lot to admire on the album (and certainly enough to suggest that there is some cruel force at work which leaves fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan feted worldwide and Slean herself virtually ignored) but the tunes just don't match up.

What's more, the album ignores the upbeat perky pop that I most enjoy about her (the superlative Day One) in favour of more contemplative melodies.

All in all it's not a terrible album, but neither is it the great one that I believe Slean could deliver. Maybe next time hey?

Just A Little Lovin - Shelby Lynne

2000's I Am Shelby Lynne may well have successfully drawn her away from her previous incarnation as straight down the middle country but it's cast a pale shadow on her subsequent career. That's not to say that recent efforts such as 2003's Identity Crisis have been poor, just that she's never really lived up to the promise of the I Am album on a consistent basis.

Just A Little Lovin' carries on that trend. Some might say that the attempt to channel Dusty Springfield was ill-advised and upon listening to the album I wouldn't neccesarily disagree. If you're going to record an album with four tracks off the seminal Dusty In Memphis album you are going to have to come up with something pretty special to make your make. Lynne doesn't really come close.

The attempt to provide a paired-down, almost simple, version of Dusty doesn't work, the biggest culprit being I Only Want To Be With You. If there's a person alive that would rather hear Lynne's cover version than Dusty's then I trust their padded cell is comfortable.

And therein lies the rub. There's nothing on the album that even comes close to matching the majesty of it's inspiration. For Dusty fans it's an interesting curiosity but not one that ever reaches "must-have" levels. Sometimes it seems, creative freedom doesn't always lead to the best ideas.

Best Of Both Worlds - Hanna Montana/Miley Cirus

The next time you feel the need to criticise Girls Aloud, please remember that there is absolute tosh like this polluting our airwaves.

I bear no grudge against "manufactured" pop in the slightest. What I do bear a grudge against is soulless dirge like this.

This may not be the worst album I've ever heard, but it's not far off. Still as it's genetically engineered to appeal to your pre-teen daughter, she'll love it I'm sure.