Purple Melon - Melon Music [EP]

Unsigned

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! It’s not often I say this, but this record could actually not be more wrong. If you imagine their opening track: ‘Ready For Love’ which has a post-Queen pop edge that could be, not exactly positively compared to Scissor Sister’s then you’ve got an idea of what they’re going to sound like.

Not great.

Then you realise that it’s just been brought down a few more pegs with its smothering of crap TV show theme juice and the 80’s pop rock movement in America. This doesn’t bode well for where this record is going to go. If it weren’t for the necessity to alert others to this then I would have stopped listening at the heavy breathing and micro-waved the CD.

Although I’m not being overly harsh for the sake of it, I am truly failing to pick up on the merits of this record. The song structure is somewhat basic but modelled on old rock and roll numbers so not unforgivable. There’s plenty of huge tracks on the radio at the moment that cling to old song structu

  Army Of Freshmen - Above The Atmosphere [CD]

Third Eye Records

This is the 4th record from power-pop six-piece Army Of Freshmen.

Hailing from Ventura, California, Army Of Freshmen have played over 1,000 shows in 10 different countries, including this years Download Festival. If you can get past the cheesy space theme, uninspiring lyrics such as ‘welcome to your rescue mission, I am here to save you’ and the singers monotone drawl, Army Of Freshmen do have some catchy hooks. However, even the most bearable song on 'Above The Atmosphere' sounds like it should be playing over the end credits of ‘Not Another Teen Movie’ and if it were, there's no doubt it would clear the cinema out quicker than you can shout ‘there’s a bomb under my seat!'

www.myspace.com/armyoffreshmen

  oRSo - Ask Your Neighbor [CD]

Contraphonic

The sixth long player from (in their own words) “orchestrated folk weirdness” merchants oRSo is in short, a very welcome distraction from the world of radio friendly popular music. Sure, I like to listen to Girls Aloud and similar manufactured bullshit if it comes on the radio because I’m not pretentious and like it because I am a human being, and this music was after all, created for everyday people to like and to therefore consume.

Sometimes though, it can all get a bit too much. Too many ‘woah’s and excessive ‘baby’s in my day can really get to me and I just need to switch off and to escape this in-one-ear-and-out-of-the-other disposable music culture that we live in; and oRSo’s ‘Ask Your Neighbor’ is perfect for this. A very bleak, low-key and effortless sounding chill out masterpiece, this record is sure to entice those who happen to somehow hear it. I say ‘somehow’ because I can fairly confidently say that no track from this album will be getting considerable airplay

  Alicia Keys & Jack White - Another way To Die [Single]

Third Man Records

Being the biggest fan of Jack White that has probably ever walked the planet without crossing the line into stalker-weirdo who copies his haircuts and clothing and goes through his rubbish, I was excited to hear that he and American piano-molestering popstress Alicia Keys had been asked to write and to perform the new theme track for the latest release in the James Bond series - 'Quantum Of Solace'. Well, more excited about him doing it, perhaps sceptical about her.

A lot of people have a validated opinion of what a Bond theme should sound like, and this is fair enough because it is very much a British institution that is successful worldwide, but we here in soggy Blighty still get the feeling that other countries don't really 'get it' and what it is about. If you are one of these type of people, then the chances are that you HATE this track, and I see where you're coming from. As I said James Bond is along with sarcasm, as British as it gets, so to have two Americans perform t

  BRITNEY SPEARS - WOMANIZER (SINGLE)

JIVE/ZOMBA

BRITNEY SPEARS – WOMANIZER (SINGLE)
CIRCUS
JIVE/ZOMBA

Is Britney back? I give props to Britney for still trying to be the entertainer; clearly people have this Britney obsession. After her immaculate choke at the 2007 MTV Video Awards, people are either praying for her to fall off a cliff or rise out of the ashes like a phoenix (In her case growing out of the baldness.) The latest single ‘Womanizer’ is the first off her new record “Circus” due to drop December 2nd 2008 the same day as her birthday, Britney’s pulling a Beyonce! I will review the LP just for ya’ll, you know all of you want to know.

Interested in hearing what her new material would sound like, her last LP ‘Blackout’ didn’t even grab my attention; it was better than some extreme garbage pop floating but still wasn’t worth my time or yours. When I heard ‘Womanizer’ I couldn’t help but think I’ve heard this before, indeed I have! Britney’s ‘Blackout’ album has a tune titled ‘Ooh Ooh Baby’ it has the exact same beat a

  The Paddingtons - What's The Point In Anything New

Mama Bear Records

Hey, you! ...what IS the point in anything new?

Because I often feel like it’s destined to be a man’s world. Musically, as a female I feel like I’m fed an awful lot of testosterone – don’t you agree, ladies? Young lads (and old lads) intent on making a racket, and only, it would seem, so they are able to clamber backstage and pick up their bird and their fee in Fosters afterwards. Thankfully, recently these kinds of bandwagon man-bands may have woken up to the fact that real good tunes and occasional (ONLY occasional) sobriety go a long way. As a result the charts are now littered with quality records from blokes with a few brains – think the Enemy. Think Arctic Monkeys. Think... The Paddingtons. I’m disappointed with the need for Doherty Trilbys, boys, but the single seems worth a good going-over!

I cannot deny that the Paddington’s latest release is full of bouncy guitar and general man-band energy, and so is likely to go down well at their live shows. The songwriting is hard

  Various - Pastepunk 10th Anniversary Compiklation [CD]

Pastepunk.com

So, it’s that time of the year again – I have fitted mud flaps on my car, invested in a good quality anti-freeze and ice scraper, put my Converse at the back of the wardrobe, taken a sudden interest in vegetable soup and am on the look out for a good pair of gloves. Welcome to winter. It has taken me a while to come to terms with it, but I am now finally prepared to accept that we have quite possibly vaulted from Spring straight into Winter landing feet first in a freezing cold puddle of crappy brown water. All that keeps a smile on my face is the prospect of chocolate in tubes now being on sale in supermarkets in the run up to Christmas and the avalanche of new music that usually falls upon us in the chilly months. An example of which, is Pastepunk’s (a website pretty similar to this, but not quite as good) release of ‘Compiklation’ which is um, a compilation.

This release marks and celebrates the 10th anniversary of the sites existence and is basically an exhibition of what it do

  Boogaloo Stu - Magnetic Heart [2 versions of Single]

Telefunc Records

By the onstage name of this man and the above picture of him, you may not be expecting much of this single. Boogaloo Stu (however comical the name) claims to play “glam-rock and sparkly 80s electro.

On the two CDs I was given to review of this single, there is the original song and 6 other re-mixes. In general, most of the re-mixes sound the same during the chorus. The differences between the original and the re-vamped versions are negligible.

“Magnetic Heart” is well produced. At times it’s ambient, but when it needs to be its clear and concise. However, good production can’t save a poor song, and to be honest this song just isn’t that great. It really is hard to say anything good or bad about a song when it is this middle-of-the-road. But that said, my perceived mediocrity of this single should give away that “Magnetic Heart” isn’t a classic, nor even a top 100 breaking single.

All in all, when a fully-grown adult male dresses like a “lazy town” character, it is impossible for

  Hoodoo Scoundrels - The Real Hot Sauce [EP]

The Witch Song

Often, when listening to a new record, although I try not to, I find it hard not to pigeon hole bands into a genre before I’ve given it a fair chance. ‘The Real Hot Sauce’ by Hoodoo Scoundrels however made me stop in my tracks and although after listening to it over and over I can distinguish the influences, they maintain a certain special element that stops me just binning it with the huge amount of quasi indie-ska records that have been floating about for the last how many years. This London based quartet come from a rock background citing bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival as major influences on them which is evident from their rock and roll leanings yet they have given the rock a complete and much needed makeover. They go from slow ska breaks to punchy, classic rock style, stab sections with call and response guitar runs and even the odd country-ish lick tucked in behind the vocalist who unlike many vocalists, seems to actually merit the space between his vocal lines.

  Tommy Ludgate - Sweet Release [Single]

Noodlehead Music

This single, “Sweet Release” by Tommy Ludgate is so slick, laidback and cool. It is smugness in sonic form. Even people who aren’t fond of soul music will find themselves toe-tapping along to this track in no time.

A sweet talk-box guitar solo kicks the song off in a proficient jazz/soul styling. Then a minimalist brass section rears its head underneath the solo, adding a new texture and making it sound even better.

The lyrics could be better though. The chorus consists simply of “Sweet Release” then scat singing and the occasional “Yeah”. Although the lyrical creativity may be lacking, I can’t fault the vocals themselves. The melodies sing high above the music thanks to Tommy Ludgate’s first-rate voice.

There is no B-side to this single, but when the music is this good, who the hell needs a b-side? Even when “Sweet Release” doesn’t fit in to my favoured genre, I cannot fault the song. Look out for Tommy Ludgate taking over the soul/jazz genre in the future. Being only 19, t

  Sharks and Sailors - Builds Brand New [Album]

Looking for a cure for insomnia? Look no further than this “Sharks and Sailors” album. “Builds Brand New” starts off unconvincingly with “Thrill”. The song is far from what the title suggests. Next came the title track “Builds Brand New” which is more bearable. The interplay between two vocalists, unique to this track on the album, brings more colour and a different edge to “Sharks and Sailors” sound.

There are 3 instrumental tracks on the album altogether. The one that stand out as being the best is “Hello Sister”. There is a progressive/experimental sounds to it while still keeping its indie tag. I only say it stands out as the best because the other two, “Rickshaw” and “Condor” are so monotonous and seemingly pointless (Condor clocking in at a mammoth 7:41).

On the non-instrumental songs there are on this album, the vocalist struggles to cut through the mix. This helps to make the songs just ramble on with no identifiable hooks. This is self-indulgent music at its most idle.

  Noise Control at The Gibson Rooms 21/10/08

You wanna get dirty???

I didn’t really know what to expect when going to see Irish outfit Noise Control at the Gibson rooms; I had a quick look at Noise Controls' MySpace earlier and had read a little press about how Noise Control had been personally picked by Liam Howlett of the Prodigy as support acts. I hadn’t realised until I arrived that actually that is precisely what happened; Noise Control had innocently sent him some of their music, not imagining much to come of it, and in true fashion of what you would never expect to happen, Liam had actually listened to it and further more, selected Noise Control to support. Pretty impressive stuff, considering it was based on their music alone.

Drink in hand (free booze, woo hoo!), Noise Control came to the stage. A slightly older band than I was expecting (with exception to front man Mark Kid – hence the name, presumably), they did however look like your typical Does It Offend You Yeah/Pendulum type ban

  SINGLE REVIEW: FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND – KICKING AND SCREAMING

Join Us Records – 29th Sept 2008 – CD, 7” & Download

For Funeral for a Friends early fans yearning for a return to their screaming post hardcore roots the title of the Welsh Rockers next single may be a little misleading. So let’s get this straight from the start. Although the guitars of Roberts and Smith have certainly rediscovered some of their beef since the overtly mainstream offerings that came from 2007’s Tales Don’t Tell Themselves there’s none of that trademark screaming present here. Instead Matt Davies’ vocals appear flattened by a one dimensional melody, as he struggles bravely to deliver lyrical platitudes such as “the grass is greener on the other side” with enough vigour to pass them off as actual sentiment.

What there is however, is a reasonably gruff riff, that virtually survives the mauling thrown at it by the tracks edgeless production, a rolling toe-tapper of a bassline, and a vaguely Foo Fighter-esque aura that presumably goes some way to signifying the bands intended direction on the fourth LP, from which th