Review: Join The Club

Join The Club

'Join The Club' is the debut album by British singer/songwriter Lucy Spraggan.

The British public have been waiting for this album since Lucy Spraggan initially auditioned for the X Factor more than a year ago with her song 'Last Night (Beer Fear)'. Now, she has put out the album and it has soared above the expectations I had.

The winner on the album is the lyrics. Lucy Spraggan uses songs like 'Tea and Toast' and 'You're Too Young' to attempt to paint a picture and tell a story. The lyrics is so vivid and so realistic that you can picture everything that's happening almost as if it's a film. From listening to the words of the album, we get a really clear window into the musical mind of Lucy Spraggan, and I find references of road trips in the US, special somebodies being the lighthouses in the storm and "Photos on facebook of me doing the robot." The winner for best lyric on the whole album though comes from the title track of the album. You can see why she decided to name the album 'Join The Club', when she sings sweetly that "Life is just a gamble, so just enjoy the game."

The Lucy Spraggan image wouldn't be the same without a liberal drubbing of acoustic guitar music and she puts in a good amount of it without being too boring. Throughout the musical adventure of the album, she shakes everything up and tries different things, while staying true to who she is. Making an album littered with acoustic music and not making two songs sound the same is an extremely difficult balancing act. The music on the album is fun and uplifting, without being too hippy that it's not taken seriously.

Of all the music that has so far come out of last year's series of X Factor, this is most certainly the one that comes out tops. It is an album that takes the listener on an exciting adventure. It loses the opportunity of being perfect solely on the fact of not all the songs not being incredibly memorable. However, this is one flaw in what is otherwise a must-have album for lovers of singer-songwriter music. Good job Lucy!

 9.75/10



Click here to watch the video for her new single 'Last Night (Beer Fear)'

Review: The Fifth

The Fifth

'The Fifth' is the fifth studio album by the UK hip-hop legend from East London, Dizzee Rascal.

There is one main difference between UK hip-hop and US hip-hop. US hip-hop is much more of its own genre, whereas in the UK, it's cleverly mixed into pop music so that people will listen to it. This album consists of only pop/hip-hop music (with the exception of 'Baseline Junkie' at the end). People will have their tastes as to how they like their hip-hop, as for myself I really enjoy listening to Dizzee Rascal spitting sick rap phrases ("Life's a game of chess and all the girls wanna check me") alongside such artists as Jessie J, will.i.am and Angel. The album hasn't had a generally amazing critical reception, and I don't think that the quality is as good as it was on previous album 'Tongue N' Cheek', but nonetheless the album is a lot of fun to listen to.

The sound of the album is quite clear with it's steady electronic beats and lyrics like "Getting trippy under the strobe lights". This is clearly an album that Dizzee wanted to have fun with and his tone is very relaxed as he flows from song to song. Though the album has also not done commercially well as its predecessors, it's the only one I have bought because it's the only one that really connects with the universal theme of having a good time.

The album can be summed in one lyrics from the third track off the album, "I wanna show you what a good time looks like". This album is bound to give many exciting good times and is a must if you like reliable electronic pop beats, memorable guest appearances from many amazing musicians, and the slickest, most relaxed lyrics from the man who is the king of UK hip-hop.

8.75/10



Click here to watch the video for Dizzee Rascal's promotional single 'I Don't Need A Reason'

Review: Days Are Gone

Days Are Gone

'Days Are Gone' is the debut album by all-sister rock band 'HAIM'.

The first thing that knocks you right on the head about this album is the strange resemblance it has to the smooth, comfortable alternative rock that was so popular in the 80s. Listening to the album gave a strange throwback feel, and yet the band manage to make every song sound like a breath of fresh air. Though HAIM have quite a relaxed rock style, they manage to flex their musical variety across the board, from the mysterious feel of 'Falling' straight through to the almost peppy 'Forever' into exciting break up song 'The Wire'. Each song is something unique, but it is engraved with a trademark that includes comfortable electric guitar, echoed vocals and soft yet athletic baseline. There is a perfect balance between trying out many different musical ideas and giving the album a clear and precise direction.

Interestingly, the lyrics are particularly powerful in giving the album a direction/meaning. For the larger part, the songs contain lyrics of relationships between people, largely romantic("It's the hardest part that relationships can do through"-The Wire, "You know I'm nothing without your love"-Let Me Go). The voices of these three sisters are perfect and are excellent in displaying the strength of the lyrics. People will find it easy to compare with the emotions that are being expressed through these words, which are at times almost as wet (soppy) as a love letter (in a good way).

You may have heard about HAIM from the absolute shower of critical praise they have received. That praise is absolutely justified as the album gives off the feeling of a relaxed rock summer that is like lemonade on the front porch to some ears. I find it extremely difficult to punch a flaw in this album

10/10



Click here to watch the video for their new single 'The Wire'