The Maccabees - Marks To Prove It

After a dry spell of nearly 4 years, the Maccabees are finally back. Following their widely praised reappearance at Glastonbury, they are definitely, certainly, undeniably, back.

Marks To Prove It is a testament to what The Maccabees can do when they cut loose. The album was brought about after four years of creative stagnation, unsure of how to follow the ethereally layered Given To The Wild, and they've found the answer in unashamedly turning their backs from their previous work and embracing a more nocturnal, haunting quality that they've found.

It's a very self-contained album, kicking off with the rawness of the title track; every song, from the beautiful and heart-wrenching River Song to the unexpectedly tragic Something Like Happiness, ties and flows in to one another. The band relies on the stripped-back pianos in Spit It Out and Silence to provide a tenderness, although far from feeling worn or clichéd as a device, it adds the perfect amount of emotional sensitivity to the songs.

The album brings to light a darker, more thoughtful side of The Maccabees. Even the title of the song WW1 Portraits demonstrates a broadening of their material, which pays off. There's no pretending to be the nation's sweetheart band; there's a brutal candidness contained with the simplicity of the lyrics 'just so beautiful', repeated throughout the song and most notably at a point when you think the band are about to break down into their trademark guitar-heavy, high-flying vocals bridge, but which remains at the same volume level as singer Orlando Weeks' murmured intro.

Lead singer Orlando Weeks

The feel of the other tracks grounds the album in the band's native Elephant and Castle in its frankness: it doesn't pretend to be bubbly and upbeat, as Toothpaste Kisses was, because it isn't. Songs like Ribbon Road may, from the title, promise a certain amount of alliterative joy in the way it rolls of your tongue, but the rolling drums and darker, crunching chords undercut Weeks' soaring voice.

Yes, Marks To Prove It is absolutely nothing like Given To The Wild. Yes, it will be a disappointment to fans who were expecting it to be. No, this is not a bad thing. In fact, it couldn't be better.

Rating: 8/10

Recommended tracks:
River Song
Dawn Chorus
Spit It Out

Brick Lizard

Brick Lizard seem like yet another rock band trying to make it in the ever-changing music world, but there's something slightly different about them.They sound like when your little brother has just discovered rock and roll, and picks up a guitar for the first time. Although obviously their skills are far more advanced than that, they've managed to preserve an element of that essential raw passion for music that seeps through every pore of their tracks. For example, Jealous, a track from their new demo, is laden with references, musically and lyrically (the thinly veiled nod to the famous 'I drive my Chevy to the levy' from American Pie is a standout) that map their influences, giving a respectful round of applause to their roots, and then moving on, making something very new out of something as old as the hills. They play so effortlessly, and the sparse layering exudes a couldn't-really-care sort of attitude, which is enhanced by the unpolished, rough diamond vocals.

When talking about the song writing process, both Rowhan, the guitarist, and Uri, bassist and vocalist, are equally modest. "It's sort of 50-50", says Rowhan, looking for Uri's approval. The riff usually comes first, which is then perfected before Uri adds vocals and lyrics. "I've been in bands before," he says, "but I've never written lyrics for the kind of music we're playing now." No matter - the lyrics spurt out in a stream of consciousness manner, and are almost Turner-esque in their euphemistic provocativeness; in Broken Bricks, the line 'your back-door tricks for a minute on the lips won't conquer me' calls to mind the reluctant resistance of Crying Lightning.

On the subject of comparisons, the band recognises that they're hard to get away from as newcomers. When asked who they most aspire to be like, Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin and Arctic Monkeys are the first things out of their mouths. "I just wanna be Josh Homme, man", smiles Rowhan. "After a gig someone actually told me I reminded them of him. That was cool." Uri chips in, "we don't want to be a tribute band, though. It's nice for people to see our influences in our music, but we don't want to replicate them." That's what's so nice about Brick Lizard, though; they're clearly so passionate about the music they play and listen to that some of it can't help but bleed through into their own songs.

Both Rowhan and Uri have been playing music for a long time, that when I ask them what made them want to play music, they take a while to consider their answer. For Uri, it was being raised on a staple diet of The Beatles, and he references classic bassist/singer Paul McCartney as an inspiration. Rowhan, on the other hand, grew up with 'Mariah Carey shit', until exposed to Led Zeppelin by his dad, and he's never looked back. Both of them are equally into Led Zeppelin, and Uri even names his favourite bass line as Ramble On, and his best vinyl album as Houses of the Holy. The opening of Another Life oddly sounds as if Stairway to Heaven had been recorded in a Dalston studio, plus a QOTSA-inspired guitar line. The mish-mash of classical rock and grunge is oddly refreshing; one could argue that they've both been done to death, but the pure enthusiasm of the band brings something new, something interesting to the combination.

I asked them what the ultimate sign of making it would be; silence pervaded for a good few seconds. Then Rowhan pipes up, "50 million albums sold!" As they both laugh, Uri just says "well, you never know, reach for the stars."

Rating: 8.5/10

Recommended tracks:
Another Life
Broken Bricks
Jealous

The Black Keys - Turn Blue

Source: Wikimedia

The Black Keys, the one and only dynamic due of awesomeness, are back. Their latest album Turn Blue landed today, with the run up being a couple of singles and a whole lot of hype. The pair played on Jools Holland, David Letterman and Zane Lowe a few days before the release of Turn Blue, and NME have been fangirling over it for at least a month, leaving the rest of the human race, fed only on tidbits, to wait with baited breath for more. There's no doubt that it's incredibly different to anything they've ever done before, but the brilliant thing about The Black Keys is that they retain the essence of Black Keys-ness, no matter what they do with their music. If you trace their albums from the heavy blues rock of The Big Come Up all the way to the catchy riffs of 2011's El Camino, they've undeniably made giant steps; however, there's definitely a connecting thread through all of their music: the defiance to not do things the way they're expected to. It's something that's so intrinsically attractive about their music, and it's what's gained them several million fans worldwide.

Every music journalist who got their hands on a press copy of the CD has been raving about how "daring" Weight of Love, the first track on the album, is. Sure, it's daring only in that it's the longest song they've ever done (clocking in at 6.50) but apart from that, it feels like an utterly natural start to the album. Time passes without you noticing, because everything is just so well timed so as to create a seamless transition from one section into another. At it's core, though, the epic guitar solos and blues allusions are full of anguish and pain. Considering that the album was written when guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach was going through an apparently quite messy and public divorce, this isn't very surprising. There's so much behind that fuzzy guitar solo at the beginning that us as mere listeners can't even begin to access until you see the passion with which they perform live. That's when a whole other dimension is added on to their music, and my suspicion is that they will most certainly not disappoint with respect to Turn Blue.

Source: Wikipedia

Where El Camino was daring in its dive into the world of commercially viable and universally accessible music, Turn Blue is daring in its exploration of those individual and fleeting touches that instantly make a song miles better. Take Bullet In the Brain. The deep "waaaah" (for want of a better description) of the post-chorus section is transporting, and the hint of synthesiser during the second verse is just genius. Just for that, it's one of my favourite songs on the album, because these touches exhibit the musical awareness of The Black Keys and Danger Mouse (the producer who's worked with them since their album Attack & Release) both as listeners and artists, that allows them to make the songs intensely interesting, not just good sing-along material. The same is true for 10 Lovers, which gets the balance between introducing new elements and maintaining the old Black Keys feel just right. It's also a skill that Auerbach can make heartbreak (and lyrics like "when I hear them use your name/I get all choked up inside") seem like the sexiest and most manly emotion on earth.

I would very much like to talk about It's Up To You Now. Very very much. There's not much to say except this: it's a fucking tune and why are more people not enthusing about it. This is where Patrick Carney's skills as a drummer are exhibited, not through technical brilliance, but in instinctively knowing what kind of beat will make people want to dance. The shift from the heavily driven first section into the insistent second section and then back again is unexpected and beautiful. This song has achieved what every song wishes it could achieve: when it finishes, the listener is left gasping for more and wishing it was longer. That, my friends, is the mark of what those in the know call a tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune.

I had a very strange experience going from the piano-led In Our Prime to Gotta Get Away. Bearing in mind that In Our Prime is one of the few Keys songs that places such a big emphasis on the piano (and is thus by implication the most soulful and meaningful of the lot, naturally yah) it's quite a shock to suddenly go from that to Gotta Get Away, which I thought was a Rolling Stones song coming up on shuffle on my iPod. Auerbach seems to be channeling his inner Jagger (don't pretend you don't have one) with this one, especially with the opening guitar solo, a sound so typical of a lot of the songs on Exile On Main Street. It's a good old 60s influenced toe-tapper (excuse the word, I instantly feel 40 years older for having used it) that aims to please. More please.

At the end of this, I really don't know what to say. Turn Blue is an album that wears the band's experiences on its sleeve, and is consequently dripping with heart ache and deep, irreparable pain. Through this, they've kept in line with their general tendency to top whatever the previous album was by about a million. Despite the album's individuality, I can't help but hear Iggy Pop's Turn Blue whenever I see the title, no matter how hard I try. The struggles of the musically cultured *sigh*. Still, the contents itself couldn't be anything but Black Keys. Thank the lord.

Rating: 9/10

Recommended Tracks:
10 Lovers
It's Up To You Now
Weight of Love

Peace - Live

Having been ranked 14th on NME's 50 Best Albums of 2013, nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2013 poll and doing several major headline tours both in the UK and USA, it's needless to say that 2013 seems to have been a pretty good year for Peace. Their debut album In Love, released in April this year, broke in at number 16 on the charts in its first week of release. Don't seem bad for a couple of rookies.

This may be why, on their first night of a double bill at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, the crowd outside are so keyed up and rearing to get in there. In fact, when they do, the lucky few were literally elbowing past each other, sprinting to get to the barriers. They seem to have attracted an unlikely bunch; obviously you've got your indie kids (only to be expected, it is a Peace gig after all) although there is a group of girls standing behind me, wearing nothing but crop tops, leggings and hoodies for warmth, enthusing over the greatness of helmet-haired You Me At Six. Brilliant. But no matter, everyone's equal in the fight for a front row view.

Superfood

This motley crew of fans started piling in very quickly, and even before Superfood, the first support act, came on they were piled at least 10 deep. By the time Peace actually do get on stage, all tiers of seating and all of the stalls were full to the brim with eager, sweaty fans, craning their necks to get a glimpse of the performance on stage.

Superfood acted as a sort of aperitif for the evening. Owing to their limited material, they lasted only half an hour, but it was everything you expect from them: awkward, brilliant, raw. Superfood preceded Drenge, the second support act for the evening. Drenge, two brothers from Derbyshire, were great. If the fervent nodding of Peace drummer Dom Boyce (who gave a cheeky look-in from the side of the stage) was anything to go by, it was going very well. As a band, their self-titled debut CD can't hold a candle to their live performance.

Drenge

As the stage is set for Peace, excitement gradually mounts. Then, the music drops, the lights go down and they swagger on stage with all the confidence their new-found success has given them. The opening number is Waste of Paint, which sets the tone nicely for the songs to come. Peace aren't very engaging as performers, preferring to shut their eyes, stare at their shoes and instruments and generally make as little eye contact with the screaming fans as possible. The between-song chatter is kept to a minimum, although as Harrison Koisser, lead singer and guitarist, attempts to throw a towel out to the crowd, he remarks in the most nonchalant way imaginable "I was born to throw. High." as said towel stops just short of the barrier.

However, all of that doesn't matter. The strength of their material makes up for their slightly self-conscious performance. As they bound through the tunes from the album (notably Follow Baby, Higher Than The Sun, Toxic, Float Forever, Lovesick and Wraith) they manage to stick in a few surprises as well: halfway through Harrison introduces one of their new songs, entitled Money; they end the main set on 10-minute trippy anthem 1998 and even stick in their recent cover of Wham!'s Last Christmas during the encore.

As the last notes of Bloodshake echo through the room, I can't help but think that they are truly a very, very, very good band. Not just good, but really rather brilliant. Well worth the sore feet and throbbing ears.

Check out this alternate review of the gig by my friend Georgia

Obituary for Lou Reed

Source: Allmusic

On Sunday 27th October, the world was greeted with the news that Lou Reed, frontman of The Velvet Underground and a brilliant solo artist in his own right, had died at the age of 71. Reed had had a liver transplant in May, and his literary agent confirmed his cause of death was "liver-related ailment". Having been a self-confessed drinker and drug user for many years, it may come as no surprise to some that this has happened. However, to the majority of the music world, it was a very sad day indeed.

Iggy Pop has said it was "devastating news". The Who tweeted "RIP Lou Reed. Walk on the peaceful side". John Cale, fellow member of The Velvet Underground, posted on his website that "the world has lost a fine songwriter and poet... I've lost my 'school-yard buddy'". David Bowie said of Reed, his old friend: "He was a master." For all of these musical legends to say such affectionate things about Reed shows his popular and widespread appeal to anyone and everyone who loved, and loves, music.

Indeed, Bowie, Pop and Reed became relatively close in the early 70s. The two American musicians met Bowie in 1971, when Bowie was just another British musician trying to make it in America. The friendship between the three musicians grew, and in 1972, Bowie ended up producing, along with his guitarist Mick Ronson, Lou Reed's epic first album Transformer. The collaboration of the two Brits on this album undoubtedly gave Reed's creative flow a new lease of life, and gave him a new direction in which to make pioneering tracks. From this album come Lou Reed's most famous singles: Perfect Day, Walk on the Wild Side and Satellite of Love.

Source: Allmusic

The Velvet Underground made headway into a difficult musical environment by producing guitar driven rock. It helped that they were the proteges of Andy Warhol, but even without his influence it's clear that The Velvet Underground would still have had the same lasting influence on music that they had at the time. In their heyday, the band never really had commercial success. Despite that, the impression they had on many people, musicians or otherwise, is evident and immortal. Their music is so accessible that you could come from any walk of life, pick up their self-titled third album and fall instantly in love. Brian Eno famously summed up their wide-reaching impact by saying "the first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band." Hard to beat that, really.

Although Lou Reed then went on to have a long-lived solo career, it's his first album that sticks in one's mind as particularly brilliant/epic/influential/beautiful (please delete as applicable). With the aforementioned Big 3 Tunes on it, how could it not be? These three songs, Perfect Day, Satellite of Love and Walk on the Wild Side, sum up Lou Reed's career in a relatively succinct and lovely way. Each of them are tragically beautiful, like many of Reed's songs and like Reed's life itself. Take Perfect Day, for example. It starts off with what you might think was typical love song lyrics ("you make me forget myself", "it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you") to then go into the hauntingly bitter repeated line of "you're going to reap just what you sow". That one line is enough to make me stop and think, any time and anywhere.

Source: Allmusic
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On the face of it, Lou Reed's music was, much like his life, rock and roll, baby. Delving deeper, it's plain to see that there's a whole other level of emotional intelligence that's lost upon the average listener. Like getting to know a person, it takes time to get to know Reed's music very, very well. Every time you re-listen to an album, you discover new things about it that you'd previously been unaware of. If you don't believe me, listen to Pale Blue Eyes over and over and I guarantee you'll find something each time.

 Discussing Lou Reed with a friend, we came upon the perfect way to describe him. It's like musical philosophy; one song is enough to make you ponder your entire existence.

Fidlar

Source: Allmusic

Fidlar, or for those in the know "fuck it dog, life's a risk", are the type of band that could not suit their name more perfectly if they tried. They just exude the sort of "look at the number of fucks I could not and would never give" vibe in every song they produce. It's all very skater dude, badass, fun in the sun. Their self-titled debut album almost smells like a dingy garage that's recently been made into a hotbox.

It has to be, then, a testimony to their determination that despite their chilled attitude, there is absolutely no lapse in the energy of the album; every song is charged to the max with an
almost pre-adolescent level of testosterone. It is absolutely perfect headbanging material. Each song is structured cleverly so that you get a small break inbetween the relentless charges of guitar riffs - the large amount of guitar feedback at the end of each song allows for a bit of a breather before the beginning of the next song, when I can guarantee you'll be dancing like a fool.

The lyrical content is generally a defense of their right to be free Stoked And Broke ("I just wanna get really high, smoke weed until I die. I don't ever want to get a job. I fucked up, hey, nothing's wrong"), No Waves ("I feel, feel like a cokehead, I feel, feel like I can't get drunk no more") and Cheap Beer (the chorus is simply "I DRINK CHEAP BEER SO WHAT FUCK YOU". Need I say more.) That's what Fidlar are all about, though: the traditional, simple sex and drugs and rock and roll (mainly drugs with a bit of alcohol thrown in for good measure); it's suitably fitting that their lyrics aren't overly complicated or unnecessarily poetic. How much poetry can you realistically make out of smoking weed?

Source: Allmusic

What I really love about Fidlar, though, is their music. That is going to sound incredibly obvious and a little bit stupid, but let me explain myself further. Their riffs are really, really good. The drum parts are really, really good. Everything about the music is really, really good. It's not as though the music is particularly original or outstandingly game-changing, but there's something about it that's quite vibrant in the way that they piece the music together. The shrieks in Cheap Beer, for example, suit it perfectly, and Whore feels complete with its two verses and a bridge on repeat. They've got just the right amount of whatever it is that makes their music rebellious enough to be cool, but have held back just as it tips over into the verge of extreme. Balance is certainly everything.

On first sight, Fidlar appear to be reckless pothead skaters who exude the sort of fuck-it vibe you could only dream of. That's what they are. There are no hidden meanings or secrets to Fidlar. What you see is what you get. Sort of refreshing in a way.

Rating: 7/10

Recommended Tracks:
No Waves
5 to 9
Blackout Stout

Arctic Monkeys - AM

Arctic Monkeys broke radio history when their fifth studio album, following the pattern of the previous four, went straight to No 1 on the UK album charts, making them the first band to have all albums reach No 1 immediately. I think this must say something about the album itself. It does. It's fucking brilliant.

Source: Allmusic

The band have undergone a rather dramatic change of style over their 11 year career. They've gone from mod-y punk to QOTSA-esque dark, heavy rock, to this. An apparently hip hop-influenced album with an essence of seventies rock around it, AM wears its influences very obviously on its sleeve. It's all the better for it, it means you can trace the development of Arctic Monkeys, and even get inside their head by guessing what they were listening to whilst writing the album. At least that's how I imagine it.

Some of the songs are so different that it's hard to see how they fit onto the same album. For example, Mad Sounds has a very Lou Reed-esque sound to it, as though Alex Turner has listened to the entirety of Transformer and just summed it up in a singular song. It's about songs that make you love music, and it achieves exactly what it describes; it's not particularly technically difficult in any way, but the sheer brilliant timing of "then out of nowhere, somebody comes and hits you with an ooh la la la..." It could not describe any more perfectly the ability of certain songs to comfort you or cheer you up when you most need it. You can just picture Turner sitting in the corner of a room with some headphones on, listening to his favourite songs and having the time of his life. We've all been there, Alex.

The album contains some brilliant singles. I don't think I could forgive myself if I wrote a review of AM and didn't mention Do I Wanna Know? as it would be a heinous crime indeed. Fuelled by a riff penned by Jamie Cook, the song feels as though it could go on forever, and as a listener, it's all you want it to do. Suffice to say, it's a little bit bloody brilliant. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? has pretty much every female up and down the country screaming "YOU CAN CALL ME ANYTIME ALEX". Notice I'm not excepting myself in this description. R U Mine? pretty much has the same effect; it's very similar to Do I Wanna Know? in it's driven by a brilliant riff, but eases off into a relatively chilled chorus. Snap Out Of It is your typical rock single that has an amazing beat, a catchy chorus, and a great melody. If you haven't pretended that Mr Turner isn't singing this to or about you, then you're lying.

Source: Allmusic

That said, the softer side of Arctic Monkeys peeks through on occasion. No. 1 Party Anthem slightly draws on the figure portrayed in You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights... - the "certified mind blower" to whom you can't quite muster up the courage to speak. Apparently it's based on a real person (ooh, cheeky Alex) and the genuine emotions are brought to the forefront in this song; it's not written about a caricature or a stereotype, it's based on a real experience, allowing the song to reach a different level of emotional intelligence. I Wanna Be Yours has lyrics taken from a John Cooper Clarke song, written in around 1983. The extreme British banality of the lyrics (for example, "I wanna be your vacuum cleaner... I wanna be your leccy meter") only make it all the more romantic; the translation from the commonplace to the tender is given by the next line, detailing what Clarke would be able to do for the object of these desires. "I wanna be your setting lotion, hold your hair in deep devotion, at least as deep as the Pacific ocean" suddenly becomes poetry, because it perfectly describes every girl's dream without the need for poetic language.

There are some typical Turner lyrical gems in there, as well, showing he hasn't lost his flair in the slightest. Arabella: "I helter skelter round her little finger and I ride it endlessly". Do I Wanna Know?: "I've been wondering if you're heart's still open and if so I want to know what time it shuts". One For The Road: "from the bottom of your heart, a relegation zone". I could go on for a very long time. Like somebody once said of David Bowie, Turner writes the cosmos in the bus stop.

I don't quite know how to finish this. It's amazing and I love it. Perhaps I ought to leave it there, because I could go on for an inhuman amount of time about this album. It's a fucking good 'un.

Rating: 10/10 (note: if you're an Arctics purist, you will most definitely disagree with this)

Recommended Tracks:
Mad Sounds
Arabella
Do I Wanna Know?

Superfood

Part of the new wave of bands coming out of Birmingham, Superfood have never released an album, and only have one official song released. They are currently touring with Peace, a fellow B-Town band, and are gradually building up a loyal fan base all over the UK. Considering the amount of songs they've released, this has been done purely on the strength of their live shows and word of mouth, which, when you think about it, is pretty damn impressive.

Superfood only have one sound on Soundcloud, and it's their self-titled debut track. The quality of the voice is slightly gritty and unclean, and the shouting in the background gives you the impression it was recorded in someone's spare room - it's by no means a bad thing. All of that compliments the raw quality of the song. The bass in particular, played by the awesome Emily Baker, holds the whole thing together; the rest of the song is built around the ever-present slides and pangs of the bass. But it's not all unwashed and somewhat slightly dazed: the clean kick of the drums and the backing vocals that croon "superfoooood" add the tiny bit of polish needed so they don't sound like they recorded it in the back of a moving tour bus. However, the fact that the majority of it is very much guitar-based allows the song to do Rolling Stones with a bit of Foo Fighters. The one thing that I don't like about the song is the tendency of the lead singer to sound a bit Top of the Pops during the verses, by which I mean a bit boy band-y in the way he pronounces some words - however, that's all gone by the time you get to "YOU'RE ALWAYS HUNGRY!!" Crowd-pleaser if ever there was one.



Superfood sound like the illegitimate lovechild of Alex Turner and Dave Grohl. Which makes me love them. A lot. Jump on the Superfood bandwagon now, before their Facebook likes and Twitter followers get above 5,000! It'll happen soon, trust me. Especially if they keep on going like this.

Rating 8/10

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

Just listening to this album as I'm writing this makes me want to be in the middle of a crowd of sweaty people, with four stick-thin, guitar-playing, British weirdos up onstage, waving my hands in the air and jumping up and down, standing on peoples' toes and really not giving a toss. Ok, reading all of that back makes me sound oh-so-very pretentious (and a little bit creepy) but hey ho.

The CD starts off with the incredible Brianstorm, which throws you straight in at the deep end with incredible drum beats and bass lines. The guitar is introduced only a few seconds later, and with it comes a change of rhythm, but the original tone of insistence isn't lost at all. In fact, it's only heightened when Alex Turner (swoon) comes in with "Brian, top marks for not trying...". Turner has the sort of voice that on first listen is the standard British-accented indie kind, but it gets more and more individual as the albums go on. By the time you get to Only Ones Who Know, you see that Alex Turner is in fact able to do melancholy and thoughtful; the particularly poignant line is "I hope you're holding hands by New Year's Eve. They made it far too easy to believe that true romance can't be achieved these days".

Arctic Monkeys really are masters of the tongue-in-cheek lyric: Brianstorm -  "we can't take our eyes off the t-shirt and tie combination": This House Is A Circus - "We're forever unfulfilled and don't know why, like a search for murder clues in dead mens' eyes": Teddy Picker - "Des
pair to the point where they provoke the punchline before they have told the joke". I could go on forever. Point being, their lyrics are pithy, thought-provoking and just a bit of a laugh.

The gorgeous Alex Turner

This is the perfect album for any self-respecting angsty teenager who feels as though they need to let their feelings out by headbanging and playing air guitar like a pro in their bedroom. Because trust me, it sure helps. A lot.

Recommended Tracks:
Fluorescent Adolescent
Balaclava
The Bad Thing

The Doors - LA Woman

I know this album is from quite a while ago, but that really doesn't mean that it's outdated. In fact, it's miles better than the majority of the Top 40. Sorry, make that all of the Top 40 tracks.

Whenever this album comes up on my iPod, I immediately have to start doing hair dancing. You know the kind I mean: head down, knees bent, swooshing your head back and forth so that your hair goes flying around your face. Almost all of the songs on this album use the typical blues structure, but the magic (and utter egoism) of Jim Morrison makes them all seem wholly different. For example, you compare Cars Hiss By My Window and then The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat), and they both have totally different styles and moods. That makes me sounds really pretentious, but there is really no other way to describe them.

And how could you listen to Riders On The Storm and not love it? It begins with the sound of falling rain, and when Jim Morrison enters, there's a ghostly echo repeating every lyric after him. Every time I hear it I get shivers, because it's just so eerie.

Hope you enjoy this one, and I'll get back to you lot as soon as I can! xx

Marnie Stern

I've slightly, ever so weensily, got a bit of a girl crush on Marnie Stern. How could you not?! She's kinda gorgeous and plays guitar like a bad ass. And to top it off, she's awesomely cool. One of the songs on her second album, self-titled Marnie Stern, is called Female Guitarists Are The New Black. And her new album (which is coming out in March!!) is called The Chronicles of Marnia. The gal's pretty cool.

And she can play guitar as well as any man, too. The epic, raging guitar riffs are so cool, every time I hear them I feel like playing air-guitar. Like the proper, jumping-off-beds-and-screaming-to-the-audience-at-Wembley kind of air-guitar. Just listen to her song Nothing Left and you'll see what I mean.

Sorry, this hasn't been a great post, it's just that I'm afraid of rambling on about how cool she is, and I might bore the lot of you. Laters then, guys, and keep checking for updates! xx