Category: Pop rock
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Johnny Marr: Adrenalin Baby Live
Live albums can be a bit hit and miss: usually the studio versions are better (though not always — Neil Young live and in the studio is equally interesting). In this case, Marr live is better than in the studio, at least for his solo work. His debut solo album (The Messenger) was a little…
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David Guetta: Listen Again
For many a long year, we thought The Associates’ Party Fears Two was the worst record ever made but we now know this is not correct. The honour goes to Mr Guetta for the abysmal Clap Your Hands. An irritating dance beat opens the track before an annoying man intones: “If you’re happy and you…
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Neil Young: Neil Young and Bluenote Café
This live two-CD set offers up an unexpected side of Young, his blues and (almost) big band sound. It’s an intimate set that features seven unreleased songs. Standouts include the closing tracks on each CD, a smoky, jazz blues Twilight and a 20-minute version of Tonight’s The Night. The recordings are from the Bluenotes tour…
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Enya: Dark Sky Island
We struggle with Enya; we like ambient and New Age music, but Enya seems content (who wouldn’t be, given her sales?) to churn out albums that are aimed more at the garden centre than the record store. It’s as diffuse (and about as interesting) as a damp autumn mist. Dark Sky Island is her first…
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CeeLo Green: Heart Blanche
This has received a few mixed reviews so we were surprised how good it was. While it’s not original, it hits a consistently high standard and it’s an upbeat, positive album. Younger listeners will appreciate the slick tunes and dance/soul that’s a cut above most music around, older folk will like the references to past…
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Chorusgirl: Chorusgirl
The Press release calls this band a “noise pop” quartet, that description being the one of choice when you can’t think of anything else to say. As opposed to the “silent pop” bands, maybe. We played this through several times before it caught; if you don’t pay attention it’s easy to dismiss, but it’s got…
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Meat Wave: Delusion Moon
We’ve had this playing for several weeks, but each week have been unable to say much about it. We started dropping classical CDs in the Review Corner for the challenge of listening to music we knew nothing about, but if all albums were like this we’d be doing nothing but punk. If there was entry…
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The London Souls: Here Come the Girls
This is one of those glorious albums that you stick on expecting nothing much, and half an hour later you’re staring in shock at the speakers, eyes wide, hair windswept and the pictures on the wall all knocked askew. Ok, we exaggerate, but you get the idea. The London Souls are Led Zeppelin reincarnated (ok,…
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Spook School: Try To Be Hopeful
The first album proper by Ash was 1977, released in 1996 and so called partly because two of the band members were born in 1977, which made them 19 at its release. It’s now another 19 years on but Spook School show that the Ash influence is still strong. Older Review Cornerers say that Ash…
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