Some bands don’t need to do a lot to be continually adored by their fans and critics alike. If their style is so good and catchy then why bother changing things dramatically as long as you can continue to write good songs? The Futureheads are a band who have been masters of the British post-punk tune for the last few years. Decent Days And Nights, The Beginning Of The Twist, Back To The Sea, Meantime, Man Ray and tons of other great songs that are not only catchy thanks to their almost barbershop-like backing vocals but also packed with a punch.

Heartbeat Song, the lead single from the band’s forth album (provisionally titled The Chaos), is another great song that you can add to the band’s back catalogue. Coming and going in about 125 seconds it is nigh on impossible to forget the hook in the chorus (“Your heartbeat song, is good but it’s not the one/We’re singing out of tune, but I still want to sing with you”), though to be honest I could just publish the lyrics in its entirety because they’re that good. It also feels a bit more anthemic than any of of their previous material and bodes well for another great album.

Posted on February 26th, 2010 by Max
Filed under: Song Analysis, Tracks | No Comments »

The world of pop music, which is ever-changing in trends and fashions every hour of every day it seems, is an incredibly fickle one. For one thing, there is the injustice of a songwriter who tries so long to break into the upper echelons,deserves to in fact, and is unrelenting in his/her attempt to breakthrough. However, when all eyes are on people like Ke$ha and N-Dumb, they just won’t get a look in.

You look at the current UK singles chart and amongst all the names that feature you wonder why people like Fyfe Dangerfield are not there. Who is Fyfe Dangerfield, you may ask? Dangerfield is one quarter of Guillemots, who in 2006 released the outstanding Through The Window Pane – a yearning, emotive and heartfelt pop record. Their follow up in 2008, Red, saw them try to pull off too many new tricks to impress their critics and in the process lost some of what made them so special in the first place. Either way, they were (and still are, since they’re working on a third album) a breath of fresh air.

For the time being though, Fyfe has released his first solo album, Fly Yellow Moon. A reality TV show contestant’s debut album this ain’t. Despite only spending under a week recording the ten songs that ultimately feature, they’re all love songs and the temptation to call this some sort of concept album would be, whilst entirely plausible, completely unfair. These are all songs that, in the end, are just a collection of songs that he wrote from over the past few years, although it’s unclear whether any of them are rejected Guillemots songs.

There’s also a lot of things to like on Fly Yellow Moon. Fans of Through The Window Pane will rejoice as these songs match the playfully ambitious pop and the tender balladry of that album, albeit a touch stripped down in sound. It also helps that whenever Fyfe opens his mouth to sing you get a sense of immediate conviction in what he is saying, one of his strongest traits as a songwriter. Lyrics like “Livewire, your life is in the fire/You got everything to play for/1-1, half time” on Livewire could be wrongfully treated by other singers but Fyfe makes them sound elegant sounding and, yes, soppily romantic.

There are plenty of other moments of soppy romanticism that work just as well. So Brand New and High On The Tide are both charmingly wistful and breezy and live long in the memory.

But enough about the beautiful soppiness, as there are plenty of other songs that sound big, majestic and euphoric and ones that Guillemots fans will immediately fall in love with. If you’re not toe-tapping to the immediate opening salvo of When You Walk In The Room then you are insane. Its groove is utterly relentless and infectious as Fyfe sings of lust and wonder amidst a backdrop of thundering piano chords. It might be not cutting-edge but it’s good fun. There’s even more songs of the uplifting variety to come. Faster Than The Setting Sun might just be one of the best songs that Fyfe has ever written and by the end you’ll be singing along to the chorus refrain like there was no tomorrow. Essentially, Fly Yellow Moon is a vibrant and exuberant pop album that will please the ears of anyone who’ll give the album a chance. Unlike most of the chart stars in the UK, Fyfe Dangerfield is the real deal.

Posted on February 25th, 2010 by Max
Filed under: Albums, Reviews | 1 Comment »

Woking is not a great place to live, truth be told. I live between there and Guildford and whilst the latter is quite pretty and full of wonderful things to look and at, the former isn’t really much of those things. The recession has, admittedly, wrecked a lot of business in the area and things are beginning to pick up again. I really can’t be too critical though because the town spawned perhaps the county of Surrey’s most influential musician, Paul Weller. In a career that includes in The Jam, The Style Council and his own solo work the Modfather will tonight get a Godlike Genius gong at the NME Awards. To celebrate, here are five songs from Paul Weller’s discography that you should all listen to:

1. A Town Called Malice by The Jam – It’s such an obvious choice but it is a classic. It’s a soulful, lively and energetic song that has become one of the most well-adored songs in The Jam’s back catalogue.

2.. In The City by The Jam – The title track from their debut album released in 1977 remains as vibrant and energetic in the present day as it did back then. At a time where The Sex Pistols were supposedly the bastions of the UK punk scene, The Jam easily had one up on them with this combination of punk aggression and melodies with pop sensibilities.

3. That’s Entertainment by The Jam – Clever and catchy pop with perhaps some of Weller’s finest lyrics, full of vivid imagery (e.g. “Reading graffiti about slashed-seat affairs” and “A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls”) against a minimalist backdrop.

4. Wild Wood by Paul Weller – This was the first Paul Weller song I ever heard and it couldn’t be more different to any of his Jam material. It’s an incredibly folksy number that sees Weller trying to escape from the clutches of confusion. It’s possibly his finest solo song.

5. From The Floorboards Up by Paul Weller – A song that has many of the dynamics and features that would make you think it should sound like a Jam song, but Weller had established himself so much before then that he managed to turn this short rock’n’ roll stomp into his own thing.

Posted on February 24th, 2010 by Max
Filed under: Five Songs, Tracks | No Comments »

So here I was, ready to type a post about why Abbey Road studios, a building that was reportedly under threat and rumoured to be sold by EMI, should be saved. As it turned out, the reports were completely untrue. EMI published a statement on Sunday saying that the building will remain under their ownership, though they have received new capital from third-party individuals, which will be used to ‘revitalise’ the building. So yes, a nice little feature post ruined by EMI. Thanks a lot guys! Anyway, it’s a mighty relief that it won’t be sold, since this building is such an important one in the history of UK culture. So, to make this post worthwhile, here’s a video of Elbow at Abbey Road in recent times with the BBC Orchestra performing The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver. Enjoy.

Posted on February 23rd, 2010 by Max
Filed under: News | No Comments »

Marina Diamandis, aka Marina And The Diamonds and part-Welsh/part-Greek, is definitely a person who quite likes to mix honest and blunt songwriting with pop music that is just a bit OTT and a bit dramatic in nature. That is what brings us to The Family Jewels, her debut LP following a string of successful EPs and singles this past year. Is it a badly timed release? After all, last year was dominated by emerging female pop stars like Little Boots, La Roux, Florence And The Machine and Lady Gaga and you therefore run the risk of releasing a good record at the wrong time. Had this record been released a whole year earlier, it would have escaped the lazy comparisons to people like Florence.

Those who might be expecting the ’same old’ might be surprised though when they hear The Family Jewels. Hell, there is even a great chance that they’ll be almost completely thrown by Marina’s vocal gymnastics. Her vocals go through several tones, emotions, pitches and styles – sometimes even in the space of four minutes. It is certainly a case of love it/hate it with her vocals and I tend to fall on the side of the former, because they give some added oomph and theatrics that some tracks desperately need. She can also, whilst not experimenting with her own vocal chords, sing very well.

As for the songs, they are a very mixed bag and, whilst none of the songs are terrible, it makes for a very inconsistent listen. However, the high points include Shampain, which starts with a throbbing synth bass that reminds me a bit of Radio Gaga by Queen for some peculiar reason, I Am Not A Robot, and the recently released single Hollywood, which has an excellent example of what a euphoric pop chorus should sound like. The production values are incredibly slick and glossy, yet perhaps not as inventive or as adventurous as they could be.

So, The Family Jewels, whilst delightfully brilliant in some parts and definitely hinting at great potential, isn’t consistent in quality and in general feels a bit too safe. However, one senses that her second album might be even more thrilling.

Posted on February 22nd, 2010 by Max
Filed under: Albums, Reviews | No Comments »