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Not a lot of Brits have the honor of populating my playlist, so I thought it may be time to try something out. McFly is still riding high in the British charts, so my curiosity was peeked what this was all about.
Upon listening to their easy rock tunes, with some 70-ties feeling to it, a few things became apparent instantly. Clearly a boyband with voices recorded roughly without digital touch-ups (which is good, were it not it that all of them don’t really have any vocal skills), singing lyrics that almost seem childish. I might be able forgive the ever present British accent, but the lisping really goes too far. I suspect the one responsible for their success, while listening to their demo tape, had a severe ear infection.
All the negative things aside, it does bring another positive side to light, and that’s that finally boybands aren’t hunkadory dancers in gay clothes anymore. They could be disguised as immature guitar wielding youngsters too. In any case, teenage girls have a sixth sense for this, and success is guaranteed. Dare I try the next one in line (which is Busted, same formula, hitting the same charts) ? 5-.

So Brandy’s back. This time with Kanye West at her side, the golden producer of this year (a title previously held by the likes of Keith Sweat, Babyface, Jay-Z and R. Kelly). Frankly, I can’t hear a musical genius at work, as this album is filled with songs having the same template, all with slightly different beats and samples. Sure, Brandy’s all grown up now, and her voice is still like velvet with a slight touch of sandpaper for rich texture, but music wise, this album is not impressive at all. It certainly can set a mood, but it will be a boring one. Even where Kanye West swoops in for his obligatory rap, it’s like he’s reading the numbers from his monthly paycheck (which is HUGE by the way). I wonder why he’s getting paid so well for re-inventing the use of voice sample distortion tricks that Sisqo and Aaliya already mastered a few years ago. 5+.

So there’s a track on the Spiderman 2 soundtrack, and it goes a bit like this:

Starting off with some heavy guitars, halfway through the intro the fiddle kicks in. A soothing line that keeps the harsh guitar violence in check. The lyrics are sung with a dramatic layer, and the meaning of the words finishes it off. After 2 verses it’s time to throw in the bridge, and the piano takes you in, with the violin taking the lower notes, guiding various other string instruments towards a musical climax that leaves an emotional mark no matter how you listen to it. So far for Yellowcard’s Gifts and Curses.

Now enter Ocean Avenue, last year’s album:

While no track on this album matches the ingenuity of Gifts and Curses, overall, it’s an upbeat rock album, that luckily combines more string based instruments to add an extra dimension to most of their songs. A few songs almost border punk rock, but the singer keeps to his normal voice, keeping it more down to earth. Most of the moody rock songs are carry simple straight forward lyrics, leaving no room for any deeper meaning. Nonetheless, every single song will stand out easily in any rock playlist you’ll put together, making it worthwile addition to any album collection, even though your speakers probably couldn’t sustain prolonged sessions of this music. And if it can, then it will be the neighbours complaining.8+.

Heart has been around longer than I am, and therefore have released more albums then a few pair of hands can count. It’s all that more amazing that while they’ve had a string of hits, I don’t like any of them, even though it’s the genre I like.
This new album has a whopping 18 tracks, but again, mysteriously, none of them evoke any emotion whatsoever. Somehow, the singing sounds more like talking to me. The typical 80-ties rockstyle is clearly discernable, but sounds a bit monotone. But judging from their previous albums, people who liked those will probably like this one too.2.

For a soundtrack, this one is surprisingly good. Mostly handpicked and approved by Sam Raimi results in a very balanced album of high quality. The uniform sound and feeling will attract you the moment you’ve listened to all the songs at least once. This albums contains a lot of songs specially written for the movie, and this is reflected in the lyrics. This adds another dramatic layer that makes the bonding process between the soundtrack and the listener all that much easier. As for the uniformity, most songs are leaning to the direction of the rougher rock scene. Train, for instance, picks up the heavier guitars, leaving their comfy ballad habitat on this special occasion. Others (mostly punkrockers, like Yellowcard, Hoobastank, Taking Back Sunday, Lostprophets, The Ataris) custom-tailored their style to be slightly more accessible. And last but not last, Sony as the company behind the movie and the soundtrack, has unique opportunity to highlight their own artists with a unique globally localised and customised soundtrack. Most of the world will get the We Are track from this young lady Ana (Johnsson), an upcoming Swedish/German pop/rock star .
So, although I may not like all the tracks, for the people who like the rougher rock albums, I’m most certain it’s a must-have. As for the others, if not for your own pleasure, and if you’re planning on throwing a party, I’m sure this soundtrack will get the mood up and swinging in no time.7-.

Hailed by the critics, sold by the hundred thousands. The line-up is indeed impressive, Scott Weiland, Slash, Duff McKagen, Matt Sorum. A singer from the Stone Temple Pilots, and the rest are Guns’N’Roses alumni. Can’t go wrong there you might think.
Well, mostly the senseless lyrics combined with heavy guitars don’t lend too well to subtlety. The best name I can give it would be in the direction of slightly organised noise. Definitely not enjoyable.3+.

New stuff and old habits. The old habit is, of course, the Irish folklore influence that touches all the songs in some degree. Then there’s Andrea’s silky voice that grows sweeter with the years. The new stuff is the various other musical influences they’ve put in the songs. It gives the whole album more variety. That said, while I can crack down a few songs already, the ones that are less sophisticated and therefore less likely to grapple the hook, I have enough favorites already to give this album a thumb up.7+.

Back in early 2001, when they were still unknown, all it took was a few seconds to get my attention (Wherever Will You Go was attached to the Enterprise series announcement trailers, a publicity stunt that worked out for both parties). Catchy as that was, it was never recaptured with their mildly entertaining following singles. The album was just about the same.
After 3 years, their sophomore album is out, and called Two. Not only signifying it’s the second album, but also to make clear they were a duo to start with (a pushing record company and some clever PR management will definitely make you believe otherwise).
With 11 songs, again, their first single Our Lives, seems the most catchy. The rest seems to build on the same template as their previous songs. Luckily, they’re upbeat enough to leave a twitching finger off the “next” button. Lyric wise, it’s still the same heartbreaking love songs that always go well with me. Singer Alex Band isn’t a vocal wonder, but he is making progress, and it’s mixed well together with the guitars, which consists of mostly mellow riffs. Not too special, but not too bad either.6½.

As a sophomore album, after a considerably successful debut two years ago, the main clear thing is the heavy guitars that made an entrance, and they’ll keep buzzing in your head long after you’ve turned off your stereo set. That said, the variety of the more poppy Let Go album is also gone. With the first single already sounds like an old song from the previous album, the rest is similar as well, with the same guitar and chorus motif. Lyrics wise, it’s mostly the guy bashing kind, again. So after the 45 minute long playlist, you’ll feel like you’ve only heard two or three songs. After long term usage though, 3 or 4 songs definitely stand out, while the others will fade in the background forever.7-.

Either she changed too much, or I did (actually, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me). Over the years, less and less of her songs landed on my permanent playlist, all the way down to only one or two from Under Rug Swept. With the chances of me liking a song so low, she also only put 10 songs on her new album. As you could have heard, her new single Everything wasn’t that much too ogle about. The other song all seem to sound alike to0, with the talkative-like verses, and a few choruses that are indistinguishable from each other. Ofcourse, I could have seen this coming, but somehow, it still feels like a disappointment.5.

I never quite liked her style. From the first hits on till the last few. There seemed to be some degree of improvement in the last two songs though, so I thought it might be time to try a whole album of her. A powerful voice notwithstanding, I still can’t bear to listen to a whole album of her songs, so it seems. Even the most catchy one, Left Outside Alone, has a chorus that sounds like an unfinished bridge. There are a few more up-tempo songs to be found, but it’s all too damn generic and simplistic. The slow ones don’t even register with me, sounding like a 72 rpm vinyl LP on a 33 rpm turntable. But that’s what you get with a powerful contrived voice, you’d better not go ballad. I can predict fans will like this album. But for me, I’ll let this cup of tea be, and take a coffee instead.5.

It was obvious from the start (early 1997) they weren’t the normal kind of boyband. They shouldn’t have been called that in the first place, as they’ve outlived a few generations of those. Heck, one of the brothers is now married and a father. No, it obvious they were a real rock band (though slinging a few poppy tunes our way) when they delivered their first album, all written and performed by themselves. They went on to prove themselves with an extensive live tour, and took on producer duties on the following albums. The release of This Time Around (2000) already marked a rougher type of rock, while still sharpening the lyrics.
With this long awaited album, they’ve shown they’ve grown able to produce a full-blown mature rock album. Not only that, they’ve set up their own record label through which this album is released, as one of the reasons of the delays (they were already in the studios recording in 2001) is the Polygram and Universal merger, where they jumped from Mercury to the Def Jam label, not exactly a place a rock band wants to be. As a result, their first single, has hit the number 2 spot of the Billboard’s singles charts already, being the first independent distributed release to reach the top.
The album rocks from top to bottom, with several rock styles to be savored. The whole album radiates a happy atmosphere (as opposed to the somewhat darker This Time Around), with an upbeat rhythm and a range of acoustic and electric compositions. The jump from pop to rock doesn’t mean the songs aren’t as catchy as their previous range of songs. More than half of them are picked out easily, while the other ones clearly have the potential to grow on you. Keeping the lyrics diverse and the vocals sharp and harmonious, it’s quality all over. That alone would be enough, where it not they threw in quantity as well (15 tracks !).9-.

As their single Here Without You hits the airwaves, I thought I might still be in time to review their already 2 year old album.
The single itself isn’t of super high standard, lyrically very simple, and musically just above standard. So, hoping there would be higher quality songs to be found, I was met with heavier guitar sets and a few more electric ones and then some. Hard to distinguish any one song through the loud noises, it gets tiresome within minutes. I can only finish with a grade that marks the F of failed.4.

With only 10 songs on this album, you’d better make every single one count. Imagine my toes curling when at least half of them are the dreaded boring kind of lullabies. I bet my neighbours, who have the same type of wireless headphones as me, wouldn’t mind me playing this album every night around 11 or 12 (I can hear theirs when their base station is on and mine is off, so they can hear mine the same way too).
The other half of the bulk does have the power to make my head sway a bit, but that’s as far as it goes. Sure, she can sing, with a Dido-like voice (or maybe Dido has Sarah-like voice), but she’s definitely singing without soul. And without that, you can’t stay longer than a week on my permanent playlist. So, without the burning light in the first place, you can’t really say this has been an afterglow.4½.

Having released SEVERAL “Best of” albums in the past few years (just to name a few: Millennium Collection, Truly: The Love Songs, The Definitive Collection, Encore), here it finally is. A new album. Just like you’ve expected. The same kind of sound you’ve become accustomed to. Very easy listening, sometimes a bit poppy. Added to that are a few overly themic contemporary beats (the ones I don’t like).
So, if it’s all the same, is this really new ? I guess not. With no surprises at all to be found, it doesn’t really make a dent, with the risk of being totally forgotten before it has time to grow on you (with over a week of listening, I can assure you that’s exactly what is going to happen).6-.