Review: Songs of Innocence

Songs of Innocence

'Songs of Innocence' is the new album from the legendary Irish rock band who need no introduction U2.

Let's face it, everybody who hasn't been living under a rock has heard of U2. Especially more so after the controversial method of marketing this particular album. By putting it straight on people's itunes accounts, one of the biggest bands in the world set off a nightmare of criticism from celebrities and anybody who had a twitter account. The only real saving grace for them was if the album they had given to anybody was actually any good...

Then the song marketed with the album "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)" comes on and you're calmly reminded of the grounded rock music that U2 have earned a massive reputation from. Despite the fact that this song is typically the kind of music they normally make, U2 have somehow managed to make the track current and popular to people. Despite the safe nature of the opening track, 'Songs of Innocence' is an album that's anything but safe as it tackles a large variety of musical styles. This is particularly highlighted on 'Sleep Like a Baby Tonight' which wanders through three discernable genres in 5 minutes.

The album is called 'Songs of Innocence' but it should really be called 'Songs of Hope'. If the lyrics in every song hold one central theme, it's to keep on believing under all circumstances. In a sense, U2 may have promoted the album in the way they did because they wanted people to hear the messages behind these songs. There has been massive lyrical development from 'No Line on the Horizon' where none of the lyrics on the album made any sense. These are songs that the band really want be to hear properlly and this reviewer is certainly happy to oblige to that

So to recap... massive band, massive promotional mistake or was it? I am certainly ready to forgive the band for their bizarre giving away of the album in order to focus on the music. 'Songs of Innocence' is a well made, stellar piece of work from a band with a lot of experience. As a reviewer however, I missed the extraordinary factor from a band who should be experienced enough and have enough of a repertoire of amazing music (not to mention the 6 year wait) to make an album that's better than this. Nonetheless, it's good to finally hear music from these guys again.

8.5/10



Click here to watch the video for lead single "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)" 

Review: Black Star Elephant

Black Star Elephant

'Black Star Elephant' is the debut album from Norwegian-African pop/hip-hop duo Nico & Vinz.

It's important to start with a clear distinction, 'Black Star Elephant' is more than an album. 'Black Star Elephant' is a personal adventure of songs and vignettes from along the journey created by a duo whose focus was once old-style rap music. With a change of direction has come a groundbreaking change of sound and an album that delivers beyond what a typical album is supposed to.

Nico & Vinz are leading a revolution of African beats mixed with pop music. This album is a massive showcase of that with highlights for this being on 'Imagine' and 'My Melody'. This is not however what the album is limited to and lead single 'Am I Wrong' proves that the charts love this duo for their incredible ability with pop music. This music significantly contributes to the wandering journey nature of the album with dips into Asian sounds also present ('When the Day Comes').

The lyrics are the most striking part of the album. It's been a long time since an artist offered an album that was so full of motivational messages. Most of the songs on the album attempt to tap at our conscience whether that be regarding money ('People'), perseverance ('In Your Arms') or love ('Runnin') among so many others. Nico & Vinz are two people with beautiful voices who have chosen to use them to spread messages of hope and motivation through their music. It's a brave move, when they could've easily made a pop album full of #1 singles, but instead chose to create positive energy with their ideals on the state of the world.

'Black Star Elephant' is a piece of work unlike any other heard before. It is an experience that takes you on an exciting journey, it's music which is grounded and soulful and it's the right lyrics that make people think about the many issues the duo tackle with their songs. In a sense, they are modern prophets whose uplifting music makes us want to follow every word they say and to consider our own actions. This album is a masterpiece and should give the duo tons more attention than they've received up until now.   

10/10



Click here to watch the video for their global smash hit 'Am I Wrong'

Review: Listen

Listen
 
'Listen' is the new album from French EDM legend David Guetta.

From the opening track 'Dangerous', you can tell that something is up with Guetta's music. This is Guetta's new single to promote the album and it doesn't include one of the fundamental parts of EDM - the drop. As people soon realise from listening (pun slightly intended), this doesn't take away from how excellent the track is, and sure enough it's become popular everywhere as Guetta's singles typically do. As somebody who's so renowned in this field of music, Guetta must've been so brave to take the leap to try and do something different with his production work. The result is an album that marks a new era of EDM.

Just by looking at the guest stars on the tracklist alone, you know that this is a well-crated, well-thought through album. Guetta opts for some of his successful old collaborations (Sia, Nicki Minaj, Afrojack) but has mostly branched out to include artists not typically found in this genre of music (Emeli Sande, Birdy, The Script). The result of this is a fresh sound on every track that is delightful to hear. The production work on every track is stellar and Guetta knows when to bring in fellow producer Showtek to add something even more different to certain songs.

In short, there's something for everybody on Guetta's new album from the uplifting to the soulful to the ravey even to the revolutionary (try out 'Rise' with Skylar Grey). Guetta has knocked down the typical genre boundaries around EDM to give people music for every mood, lyrics that are just a tad shy of meaningful and excellently delivered vocals from guest stars who compliment the extraordinary production work. There are miles of positive progress between Guetta's last album 'Nothing But the Beat' and this, a fresh collection of unexpected songs that anybody who likes good music can enjoy. He may be over 40, but there's still a lot of life and good music left in David Guetta's creative capability to keep him going for years to come.

9/10



Click here to watch the music video for lead single 'Lovers on the Sun'

Review: Tough Love

Tough Love

'Tough Love' is the second album from English soulstress Jessie Ware.


Widespread critical acclaim, a Mercury Prize nomination and an endorsement from the queen of pop Katy Perry is not a bad reception for a debut album. Jessie Ware took music by storm when she came out of nowhere to release one of the hottest debut albums of 2012 with 'Devotion'. For everybody who has kept an eye on her though, the real question is, where does she go from that?

The question is answered firmly when you first hit play and are introduced to the title track of her newest effort, lead single 'Tough Love'. The track is the first of Ware's that experiments with the South London singer's incredible vocal range as she soars into the opening lyrics with notes that are miles higher than the big notes she hit on her first album. This is a risk that to great success is taken over and over again throughout the album on songs such as 'Say You Love Me', 'Champagne Kisses' and 'Desire'.

It's not just the singing that has undergone a thoroughly beneficial makeover either. In hiring a new producer, Ware opts not to play it safe and go for the sound that she knows has made her popular. She instead takes her sophomore effort as a chance to try out new directions. This doesn't mean she throws out the classy, understated soul from the first album ('Cruel', 'Sweetest Song'). It just means that she tries out her voice on many new beats (even a classical feel on 'Pieces'), and more often than not, it pays off ('Want Your Feeling', 'Keep on Lying')

In going for broke and working hard to make an album that is bigger than 'Devotion', Ware made the right decision. She pushed herself to try out new things, she's gotten the opportunity to collaborate with new people and she's still preserved the sweet tint in her vocals that keep her fans coming back for more. The result? An album where every song is memorable, two top 40 singles (a feat she didn't managed once on her last album) and surely a place among the successful female British singers of this decade. Jessie Ware still has room to progress and I'm sure that even with this album as an excellent checkpoint, Ware will continue to push herself to do even better and aim even higher because she knows the meaning and the benefits of tough love.

9/10



Click here to watch the video for the album's most successful single 'Say You Love Me'

Review: No Sound Without Silence

No Sound Without Silence

'No Sound Without Silence' is the fourth album from Irish pop-rock outfit The Script.

Having spent much of their last three albums establishing themselves as a household name, the Script have finally reached the status of filling stadiums such as the Aviva in home town Dublin. In doing so, they've built up an atmospheric, epic and powerful tone to their largely soppy catalogue of music.  It's that tone that is apparent throughout the album, and all of a sudden, the listener realises that 'No Sound Without Silence' is no ordinary Script effort.

In defence of many critics, a good number of The Script's lyrical topic have remained the same. Many would argue that lead single 'Superheroes' is simply a younger sibling of 2012's 'Hall of Fame'. The difference is all in the musical direction. From the moment the electric guitars start blaring out on opening track 'No Good in Goodbye', it's clear to see that The Script have opted to shift towards the rock side of their pop-rock band status. This move will not only benefit their image, but also make their live shows that much more exciting, thrilling and compelling to watch.

There are eleven songs on the album and more than half of them are highlights in their own right. This is because each track is so uniquely crafted that it's almost impossible to compare each song to the others. Though '#3' only provided one top ten single, I think that somewhere between 'Man on a Wire', 'Paint the Town Green' and 'Hail, Rain or Sunshine', there is much more upcoming chart success for the band that has already scored a #2 with 'Superheroes' (see video below).

To conclude, there are many gems within The Script's music, but never have they released an album quite like this one. The album cuts straight to business with its atmospheric electric guitar set with Danny O' Donoghue's soaring vocals and across every track (as Danny promises on the fifth track) the energy never dies. For all those who have written this band off, it's time to take another look at them. There's more to these three Dubliners than even their most die hard fans could possibly imagine seeing, and there's even more room for them to keep growing and keep stunning everybody.

9.5/10



Click here to watch the incredible, inspirational video for the album's lead single 'Superheroes'

Review: x

x

'x' (pronounced 'multiply') is the second album by British superstar singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.

It's been a long road to the top for the man who released hit album '+' back in 2011. It's been a slow gradual rise to fame not only in the UK, but across the pond in the US. Nonetheless, Ed Sheeran has captured the world with his acoustic-based melodies that melt the hearts of many of his (largely female) fans. Now, he's back with a new album and while the sales records that he has produced with the album have been expected, people are held with bated breath as to if it will be anywhere near as good as his debut effort.

Ed Sheeran kicks off the album with 'One', a typical acoustic guitar ballad, the last about his ex-girlfriend who was the subject of most of the love songs on his previous album. In a way, he starts a new era by putting an end to the last one. It is one of only a handful of songs that sound anything like his previous material. The songs on the album that do play directly to his strengths however ('I'm a Mess', 'Photograph', 'Tenerife Sea') are nothing short of excellent and satisfies the wait of many anxious fans waiting for new music from the Suffolk crooner.

For the rest of the album though, Sheeran thinks outside the box, using advice from legendary American producers such as Rick Rubin and Pharrell Williams to create tracks like 'Sing', 'Don't' and 'Thinking Out Loud' that nobody would've seen Sheeran singing, but which work incredibly well. They capture the same emotions that Sheeran's trying to express whilst taking Ed Sheeran a step out of his comfort zone to see what else works, a bold move but one the pays off.

In all, 'x' has something for everybody. The die-hard fans will be able to get their fix of Sheeran's acoustic ballads while giving those that doubted his sound from the first album new perspective on the singer. Everybody should hear at least 3 tracks on the album before writing it off, and in doing so, they will find that Sheeran is not a one trick pony, nor is he catering to the masses. He is expanding his potential horizons with this album musically, commercially and personally with great success and who knows where he can go from here.

9.5/10



Click here to watch the video for the album's lead hit single 'Sing'

Review: New Eyes

New Eyes

'New Eyes' is the debut album from house-classical music fusion band from Cambridge, Clean Bandit.

It was almost a year ago today that we first heard what classical music combined with house beats sounds like when this unknown quartet released debut single 'Mozart's House'. It was accompanied from grumblings from many that this fusion just didn't work out. It was only in January of this year when people heard smash hit 'Rather Be' for the first time, that they realised that this quartet had a lot of potential. After months of nervous waiting, this is the final product.

To dispel any initial concerns that people may have, every track on the album does not sound the same. In fact, quite the opposite, Clean Bandit have used their debut album as a means of exploring all the different possibilities that their special classical music fusion formula can go. On the album, you can hear Drum and Bass, Reggae, Jazz sounds, Hip Hop, all with the comfortable energy of house beats flowing through. The album is an adventure into the unknown and the result is not what anybody would expect, though the album misses some structure that would've made the album flow better from song to song.

Within the fusion tracks there is a clear sense of hit and miss. Certain things worked and these things were different for different people. One review I have read argues that 'Mozart's House' and 'Telephone Banking' are the flaws while another puts down 'A+E'. The part of the album that goes pear shaped for me is towards the end when after ten songs which are without a doubt stellar pieces of work, the title track includes a rap verse that is in no way catchy and singing which from my ear is off key. 'Birch' attempts to rescue the situation but fails to relight the spark that the first ten songs had ignited so well that they're ultimate dancing around the house like a crazy person classics.

To conclude, 'Clean Bandit' are an act that by all accounts shouldn't work on paper, and by all means this first album is not perfect. What the album shows is is that anything is possible, and when songs on this album work perfectly (and there are many of them), there is something truly original and spectacular about them. Clean Bandit have a long and exciting career ahead of them and this album is the first of many on a journey which should lead them to worldwide stardom.

8.5/10



Click here to watch the video for the hit single off the album, 'Rather Be'

Review: The New Classic

The New Classic

'The New Classic' is the debut album by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.

In a modern rap scene full of black men, a white Australian woman has somehow found her way into the charts and she's not backing down quickly. It takes more than a smile to get by as a female rapper and Iggy Azalea's debut effort has proved herself as a name to be taken seriously.

Iggy Azalea joins a list of female rappers in the mainstream music industry that includes Nicki Minaj, Angel Haze and Azealia Banks. Not one of the above had recently released music that is at the roots of what hip-hop really is and stands for, until now. There would've been a lot of money for the taking for Iggy to powder the album with radio-friendly, boppy, Kesha-like hits. Instead Iggy is going for rapping over simple and basic hip-hop tracks such as those in 'Fancy' and 'Black Widow'.

Iggy's verses are peppered with references to how she got to the point she's at. As she reminds the listeners on 'Work', she had "No money, no family, 16 in the middle of Miami". Other verses on 'Walk the Line' and 'Don't Need Y'all" paint a similar picture. Iggy Azalea is a fighter and not an act to be messed around with. In 'The New Classic' she has created a classic rap piece of work that is a foundation to build on. An album that proves that female rappers don't have to sell themselves to the radio in order to be popular, though 'Change Your Life' does do this to a small extent.

In summary however, rap lovers will not be let down by 'The New Classic'. It is not an album that is structurally flawless nor one that will win many awards, but it is an album that provides a classic rap sound that is refreshing to hear after the electro beats of Nicki Minaj and Azealia Banks. The female rapper genre is one that is not a joke nor one that is simply classified with pop, it is to be taken as seriously as acts like 2 Chainz, Drake and Schoolboy Q. Iggy, we salute you for a brave venture, a demonstration of what is really possible when "Impossible is Nothing".

8/10



Click here to watch the video for her new single, 'Fancy'

Review: Shakira

Shakira

'Shakira' is the self-titled new album from the Columbian superstar who needs no introduction.

As somebody who has grown up listening to Shakira and who has been very disappointed by the lack of material from her in the past four years, I was very much looking forward to seeing what was in store this time around. The results were extremely interesting

To be quite clear off the bat, the album lacks structure. This is not an album that flows perfectly from song to song or that tells a deep hidden message of a story. It is not one that will win many awards or that will seduce critics. What is true though is the one undeniable truth... Shakira never makes a bad song. In fact, Shakira with her new album has managed to push the boundaries of where her voice and music can go even though her career has spanned almost 15 years. On the new album can be heard dance-floor fillers, epic piano-filled ballads, reggae, country music, classic Shakira pop-rock. In short there is no style of music that Shakira is too cowardly to take on an experiment with.

On self-titling the album, Shakira said that she had found out a lot about herself from creating this album. As I do not know Shakira, I cannot be sure of this, but I do know that in the album she has taken many risks. There are no 'Hips Don't Lie' hits, nor any 'Whenever, Wherever's. What there is instead is the pure, honest gorgeous voice of a woman who has proved that it is possible to give yourself a musical rebirth even years into a glorious and legendary career. This alone deserves some credit.

In short, the album isn't perfect, there's a lot she could've done to make the album a critical success. However if Shakira wanted to make that album, she would've. Shakira has made a piece of work that isn't thinking about awards or sales or chart placements but instead is a reflective and diverse piece of art. 'Shakira' will satisfy all Shakira fans as they take a new look at the superstar's personality, and there may even be some tracks that the neutrals can connect to depending on their taste. In any case, given that this goddess of a woman gave birth to a child in the past 12 months, this is excellent music that should be given a chance to prove its worth to all music fans.

8.5/10



Click here to watch the video for the album's lead single 'Can't Remember To Forget You'

Review: Supermodel

Supermodel

'Supermodel' is the second album from American alternative rock band 'Foster the People'.

Having enjoyed listening to 'Torches' on countless occasions over the past couple of years, I realised that in creating a second album, Foster the People were setting the bar high for themselves. This album had to pull out all the stops to  create a top class, high-end, award-winning album and that's exactly what they managed to do.

From the opening track 'Are You What You Want To Be', it is clear that the techno, synth-based pop of 'Torches' is out the window. In it's place is a more organic, down to earth sound that still manages to capture the enthusiasm and energy that was bottled up in their debut effort. 'Supermodel' is an album that seems to use every instrument under the sun, but still manages to bring everything together into songs that flow exceedingly well into each other. The album's vocals are also stellar and are more than adequately able to demonstrate the range of Mark Foster's voice, something that was missed in the first album.

In creating this album, these three men from LA have done more than just correct that which was missing in the first album, they build upon their successes whilst trying out new stuff. The lead single 'Coming of Age' is a rock track unlike anything on the first album, and is a track that will surely close many live sets to come. The album with also have you dancing around to tracks such as 'Best Friends', but also admiring the acoustic style of tracks such as 'Goats in Trees' or chilling to the folkish sound of end track 'Fire Escape'.

To summarise, this album is a masterpiece that exceeds any expectations even the biggest fans might have set. It's an album that will surely make this band a household name across the world and I will be extremely surprised to not see it up for many awards next year. Buy this album, even in March I will make the prediction that nobody will manage to create a better album than this, it is flawless, it is perfect, it is genius.

10/10



Click here to watch the video for the album's lead single 'Coming of Age'

Review: High Hopes

Happy 2014 to any readers out there. This is my first review of the year...

High Hopes

High Hopes is the latest studio album from American rock legend Bruce Springsteen.


The album is a collection of previously unreleased material and covers and so many people may think that Bruce doesn't put much effort into the creation of this album. They couldn't be proved more wrong. Similarly to the work on 'Wrecking Ball', Springsteen has painstakingly tried to make sure that the material despite being different tracks could be brought into a structure whereby he could tell a story through his lyrics. 'High Hopes' acts almost as a sequel to 2012's hit album 'Wrecking Ball' in that it manages to collect together the feelings of many people in the world a
t the moment with songs such as 'American Skin (41 Shots)' and 'Dream Baby Dream'. It's an album of the people, although  differently to 'Wrecking Ball' the songs are largely full of excitement with uplifting rock beats that are a joy to listen to while still managing to capture a certain poignancy always needed on an album.

In the album, there is a classic Bruce Springsteen blend of rock music, strings and folk sounds that infuse the album with an Americana that you would typically find on a Bruce Springsteen album. It makes the album fun to listen to the whole way through and will have people young and old jumping up and dancing to the rhythms.

The one thing that the album lacks however which would otherwise make it perfect is something to hold all the songs together. A spine that can hold the songs together not just through the lyrics but also the various musical style which Bruce uses but struggles to bring together. Note however, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent album. Recommended to anybody ready for a twist of some good rock music.

9.5/10



Click here to listen to the title track off the album 'High Hopes'