Review: The Message, Moon Landing & Prism

On 22nd October 2013, a new record in my music purchasing career was set. Three amazing albums coming out on the same day by three different artists at three very different stages of their careers. Andrea Begley, James Blunt and Katy Perry are about as different musically as you can get and so I am going to compare these three albums. This is the first ever Media Wizard triple header!

The Message

'The Message' is the debut album by the winner of the UK edition of 'The Voice', Andrea Begley.

For many - myself included - Andrea was a surprise winner of a commercially huge show. No doubt, she has an excellent voice and an excellent arrangement of 'Ho Hey', however many doubters including judge will.i.am didn't think she would be able to sell records as well as the other contestants. Man were they wrong.

Though the album is largely covers, you can hear the work that Andrea has put into the arrangements which sound nothing like their originals. In the case of her version of 'Dancing in the Dark', she has even beaten Bruce Springsteen as to how to portray the lyrics the best. Her country music take on 'Lightning Bolt' or her jazzed up version of Disclosure's 'Latch' are other excellent examples of how to create an album largely of covers. These are versions that are not only unique and original but surprisingly catchy and really easy on the ears (perfect for relaxing).

That said, she also compliments her own music into the tracklist to great effect. The title track is one of the finest on the album and works very nicely with the vibe she is trying to set.

In conclusion, I'd like to point out that it's so easy to create a debut album of mediocre covers. Andrea has worked extremely hard to make this music sound original and she succeeds. The album is an excellent start and already I am looking forward to hearing a second album of more of her own music, because if this debut album is anything to go by, good times are ahead for this young, partially blind girl from Northern Ireland.


Click here to watch the video for her debut single 'Dancing in the Dark'    

Moon Landing

'Moon Landing' is the fourth studio album from Wiltshire crooner James Blunt.

James Blunt has had a pretty up-down progress line ever since the singer's debut album 'Back to Bedlam' came out in 2004. Here we are nine years later and a lot has happened to Blunt's image. In any case, 'Moon Landing' feels like a side of James Blunt that we've never seen before. On this album, he seems like more of a relaxed guy. Not worried about a record label or what the public would think, Blunt wrote and recorded in a year, without being concerned about any of that stuff. The result is a) jovial songs from a guy once known as the whiny British guy in popular music and b) a feeling of honest and original emotion which shows up in the songs.

The lyrics and the music represent this and the result is an album that is stripped away from the usual fanfare that one might find in a famous singer's album. Songs like the single 'Bonfire Heart' are a fresh and different perspective of the kind of music one might typically find in the charts and it works extremely well. Though the album is by no means entirely perfect, it is nice to see what Blunt has done with his music in giving it a fresh feeling.

While some songs are quite dull, there are also brightly shining stars on James Blunt's newest work. Listening to the album can be an invigorating experience, but if you don't have time, 'Bonfire Heart', 'Heart to Heart', 'Miss America' and 'Postcards' are all very good listens.






 Click here to watch the video for the lead single off the album, 'Bonfire Heart'

Prism

'Prism' is the much anticipated third studio album from global pop star Katy Perry.

Unless you have been living under some kind of rock for the past fiver years, the name Katy Perry will probably have crossed you at some point. Whether it be one of her outrageously silly music videos or a cameo on your favorite TV show, you will have heard from her at some point. Add in the fact that 'Prism' marks a change in the type of music that she has been making and you have one of the most anticipated albums of the year.

Amazingly however, despite the amount of hype around Katy Perry, the album doesn't quite match it. There are brightly shining gems of songs on the album that are light years ahead of her last album. 'By the Grace of God' is the song I use to talk about this because this is the first song I have ever heard by her that isn't drowning her voice out in pop synths. It is for the larger part, just her and her piano and her soulful lyrics about the end of a relationship (obviously written about her divorce from Russel Brand)

In songs like 'Walking On Air' and 'Dark Horse', we get another chance to see how much Katy Perry's music has matured since the previous collection. The lyrics are well written, the music takes good influence from the days of disco and Juicy J's guest appearance on the latter track, truly makes the song something special. This said, there are still many fillers on the album that will prevent it from being up for any major awards (e.g. album of the year), 'This is How We Do' and 'International Smile' are ones to look at avoiding if ever you find yourself listening to the album.

Nonetheless, Katy Perry has to be give some credit. Her 'Teenage Dream' days brought her much glory and fame and making another album full of that same kind of music would have been so easy. However, she decided to branch out and make her album a more grown-up affair, something more people would be able to connect with. At this, I think she succeeds, a brave decision on her part. She's "got the eye of the tiger" and on this album you are going to "hear her roar". 'Prism' isn't the best album ever, but it's a step in the right direction for Katy Perry making really good music. I look forward to seeing what the present day Princess of pop comes up with next.







Click here to watch the video for the lead single off the album, 'Roar'

Of all these albums, the winner is...

Andrea Begley. For me this is because Andrea Begley was the person that put the most thought into the tracklisting and sound of the album. It was full of covers, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the album is unique and original.

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'

Review: True

True

'True' is the debut album from Swedish EDM Producer Avicii.

No matter where you are in the world you would have heard 'Wake Me Up' at some point or another. The soaring vocals of Aloe Blacc combined with the country guitar chords and then hardcore EDM segments blew everybody's minds. This album continues in the same vein of taking every boundary that existed and tearing them down violently. True demonstrates that you can take any kind of music form and stir in with a sizable amount of electronic dance beats to make it work. True succeeds in doing this for 12 songs.

For Avicii, managing to do the job is only a small part of the work. Unfortunately, True doesn't succeed at being able to construct everything into one amazing album. The first eight songs go very well together and flow nice into each other despite being very different songs. However, after that, there's a certain sense of not caring that goes into the music and isn't quite so nice to listen to as the first two thirds.

For lovers of EDM, the album is of course a must have. Avicii has knocked down boundaries and shaped horizons with new album 'True'. While he hasn't done a perfect job, I hope to see many albums like this in the future from many different artists. Good pioneering job!

8/10



Click here to watch the music video for the first single off the album 'Wake Me Up'

Review: AM

AM

'AM' is the fifth studio by Sheffield rock band, the 'Arctic Monkeys'.

Arctic Monkeys have been around since their sudden rise to recognition in 2005 with singles such as 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' that went straight to number one. Despite this, none of their music has really caught my attention until now. The album is clearly recorded with a different perspective in mind than the last albums. Almost like a dream, Alex Turner slips from the epic electric guitar chords of 'Do I Wanna Know' to the hardcore rock sound of 'R U Mine' to the chill drum vibes of 'One For The Road'.

Most importantly, 'AM' is the first album when people can really hear the Arctic Monkeys experimenting with their sound to great effect. In this album we hear the acoustic guitar of 'Fireside' turn into the 2002 hip hop feel of second single 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High'. The result is an album that is really able to flex its muscle and despite taking the sound and feel all over the place, manages to drag everything back into a clear album that has its own body. No wonder it got nominated for the Mercury Prize only two days after it had been released.

'AM' is a work of art album from a band that absolutely knows what they're doing. Despite being an album that's clearly a rock album, it goes everywhere and can be enjoyed by many. Namely, I would recommend this album to people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are looking for love (I won't give away why). BUY THIS ALBUM!

10/10



Click here to watch the video for the new single off the album 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High'.

Review: Roaring 20s

Roaring 20s

'Roaring 20s' is the second album by male hip-hop duo 'Rizzle Kicks' from Brighton.

There are two things that makes this album stand out from debut album 'Stereo Typical'. The first is their collaborations, Rizzle Kicks reign in musical talents such as Damian Marley, Fatboy Slim and Jamie Cullum, to create songs that have a lot more depth to them. The second is that there's certainly a more mature sound to the second album, Rizzle Kicks would've felt they had the opportunity to let go and play around with sounds a bit more than with the first album. This change in tone and musical direction has really helped Rizzle Kicks, where they went "Let's get down with the trumpets" on their first album, they're now rapping "Jeremy Kyle got the nation laughing at other people's expense."

The secret sauce of the Rizzle Kicks formula is the frugal use of trumpets in their music. One man is rapping, the other is singing and trumpets are constantly backing them up. It is the almost jazzy, vintage sound of their music they makes them an oasis in a sea of similar sounding hip hop music. Short of cutting it out, Rizzle Kicks embrace it and in this album they have hit that button again and again to great effect.

In short, 'Roaring 20s' is an upgraded Rizzle Kicks album worth buying and enjoying. The album is a lot of funm full of catchy punchlines and a joy to listen to. It makes you excited about what's potentially to come from these two.

9/10




Click here to watch the video for their first single off the album, 'Lost Generation' (video made entirely by youths)