Artist: Il Divo

the promise : outstanding, 2008-12-10
I have been a fan of Il Divo from the very beginning. Each new album i thought they could not get any better, well they did and they have. The Promise is outstanding I love it. Their renditions of Amazing Grace and Hallelujah are beautifully and sympathetically covered. I also love Adagio I was not sure that they could pull this one off but they certainly did and did it very well. Angelina is fun, a real toe tapper. La Promesa is just lovely and in my opinion really shows how the guys voices have matured and grown. Seb has gone from having a pleasent voice to an outstanding voice that can certainly hold its own with the other three, opera trained or not. In my opinion the guys have totally delivered with The Promise so thanks guys.

Artist: Stereophonics

Decade in the sun, 2009-01-01
I love stereophonics, great band. This album hasn't got all the songs i would have liked, but when i went to see them live it didn't matter. Just looking, dakota and devil where my favourite songs live. If you love Stereophonics, you'll love this album :) Im addicted to this album now

Artist: James Morrison

So he's the acoustic-troubadour-James that isn't James Blunt. He's the other one--the one that looks a little like Chris Martin from a distance and who with those two vague affiliations was surely always pre-destined to sell an awful lot of records, even if he was equally condemned to relative anonymity by turning up too late to claim credit for his own image. And if he failed on debut album Undiscovered to distinguish himself all that much from The Other James, particularly with fluid lighter-waving singles "You Give Me Something" and "Wonderful World", then follow-up album Songs for You, Truths for Me is out to redress that. The underlying soul heritage that served as a reference point on Undiscovered but never really pushed to the fore is much more prominent, seen especially as the album blasts opens with groaning, piano-spanking, brass-heavy, Hammond-tinged "The Only Night", something like The Counting Crows do The Commitments, with unmistakable similarities to Aretha Franklin and George Michael's 1987 blockbuster hit "I Knew You Were Waiting". It's the kind of thing you can imagine him winning a Brit Award with, probably with a collaborative performance to...
A winner!, 2008-12-14
Bought this on the strength of You Make it Real and Broken Strings. Had bought Undiscovered and, aside from a handful of tracks, it didn't really stick with me. But this is a belter. Every track has a great melody that has grabbed me immediately, and his voice sounds great and is so suited to the songs. Have been playing it almost non-stop since I got it and i'll be putting it in a few stockings this christmas!!

Artist: Duffy

Rockferry, the Welsh singer's lovingly constructed debut album, has already succeeded beyond expectations, and although Duffy may not quite be the ingénue portrayed by a clever press campaign (she nearly won a local television talent show a few years back while a single credited to Aimee Duffy is still available on iTunes) she is surely the most appealing of the current flood of young soul sirens. The astonishing title track, co-written by Bernard Butler, sounded like a lost transmission that had taken decades to get through as soon as it hit radio last year. But the gently rolling soul ballad "Stepping Stone", that strapping, inescapable monster hit "Mercy", the ice cool "Serious" (the one time she really does channel the spirit of Dusty Springfield) and the wistful, elegant "Warwick Avenue" are similarly effective. Suggestions by some that Rockferry is little more than sixties pastiche are churlish. Butler's previous work with David McAlmont (featured here as a backing singer) showed his skill at writing and arranging the dramatic, while her other collaborators such as Steve Booker and the team of Jimmy Hogarth and Eg White are hardly lightweights. But despite some...
60s Revisited, 2008-12-27
Fantastic album really hits the spot,as a "child of the 60s" myself I can identify with this music, buy it,you won't be disappointed.

Artist: Various Artists

Say what you like about BBC Radio 1, its DJs or its playlists, they're definitely getting one thing right through their commitment to live music--particularly with regards to the often quirky fruits that tumble forth from its Live Lounge. Volume 3 of the double CD collections from these sessions arrives packed with more than enough in the way of gems to offset the few inevitable run-of-the-mill single performances. Those justifying the format when modifying their own tracks include Kasabian working "Sympathy for the Devil" into "LSF", Duffy bringing some grit to a stripped down "Mercy", absent as she's trotted it out endlessly elsewhere, and a bare, emotional "Daddy's Gone" from Glasvegas. The real value of the set though is found in amongst Girls Aloud's sensitive version of "With Every Heartbeat" (originally by Robyn), Ida Maria's feisty "Sweet About Me" (Gabriella Cilmi), REM sketching "Munich" (Editors) out with mandolin refinement, Kate Nash absolutely owning a cute, giddy "Fluorescent Adolescent" (Arctic Monkeys), Goldfrapp's haunting "It's Not Over Yet" (Grace--made famous again by Klaxons), Santogold's paranoid and chilling take on "Hometown Glory" (Adele) and Bat fo...
WELL DONE "INDIGOSTARFISH", 2008-12-03
Just received this album today from "Indigostarfish" & just wanted to say how pleased I am with the quality of it, the album is as advertised "BRAND NEW" the case is immaculate and the cd is in perfect condition Thanks A***********

Artist: MGMT

The term Oracular Spectacular might not mean much, if anything, at all--it's essentially nonsensical--but that doesn't stop it feeling exactly right. Here is a band that treats dizzy cross-eyed awe and a vast bounding sense of sonic weightlessness as their yardstick, jostling to surpass themselves on a track-by-track basis and aiming for the musical equivalent of performing somersaults in tye-dye t-shirts off the rings of Jupiter. MGMT seemingly submit this debut album as an application to acquire and even supersede The Flaming Lips' previously uncontested mantle as spiritual leaders of over-sized Technicolor psychedelic-indie with a soul, weird but not so weird that swelling crowds and even flirtations with the charts aren't a foregone conclusion. "Time to Pretend" opens and sets a tone for the record, producer David Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev) providing a familiar expanse for them to riff across with bull's-eye synths, massive drums and their twist on the template--retro 80s electro and abstract shapes, see Suicide and the Talking Heads for reference. "The Youth" is centred around a hypnotically looping refrain that recalls Pink Floyd and David Bowie, as interpret...
The Management have spoken, 2008-12-22
MGMT mix of psychedelia, electronica and playful indie pop shouldn't be a mainstream hit. But something about it just works. It is an highly ambitious album, experimental and highly intelligent. Mixing styles of Secret Machines, Goldrush, The Flaming Lips, Sparks with the psychedelia of Pink Floyd and 13th Floor Elevators should give you enough influences to get a taste of this album.

Starting with the rousing "Time To Pretend" the album begins on a high. The opener was released on a previous, same titled EP, and is one of the more accessible tracks on the album. I like the fact it is a challenge, forcing the listener to push through their normal limits and open up to a new sounds and styles. "Weekend Wars" morphs two or three times in the single track, becoming a Bowie soundtrack half way through before breaking into a catchy chorus before it fades away again. "The Youth" is a slower complex layered example and shows their softer chilled underbelly.

"Electric Feel" and "Kids" are my standout tracks in a very heavily stacked top end of the album. Both commercial successes, both highly catchy indie pop records that are highlights of the music this year.

What I love most about it apart from the fusion of styles and the complex set of influences which are credited with such aplomb, is the uncertainty of where it going to take you next. So unpredictable and magical that it truly deserves it's accolades it has received this year.

A prime example of this is the almost tribal "4th Dimensional Transition" with its jungle drums and synth sounds followed by the acoustically led "Pieces Of What" that sounds like Mick Jagger attempting to cry his heart out. Beautiful sounds arranged and mixed with cracking lyrics - on an almost magical level the album finishes as it begins, on a high.

*** Like: Secret Machines, Goldrush, The Flaming Lips, Sparks with the psychedelia of Pink Floyd and 13th Floor Elevators ***

Artist: Enya

I missed the album in the middle, 2009-01-04
Enya's album contains androids from inside a tape machine. WELL, let me explain. Firstly; yes, this is real. Horrible, nasty articulate word witch Enya has become pregnant with sound and is threatening to catapult her lifeless torso onto a moving spike that exists somewhere on track 5, she is helped by Wazzy Dave.

Artist: Script

Outsatnding, 2008-12-02
This album is absolutly amazing. The guys are sooooo talented and the album is sensational. Not many albums you can listen to over and over again in one go and not get bored, this is an exception! You must buy it!!

Artist: Beyonce

The latest outing from former Destiny's Child starlet Beyonce is an intentionally schizophrenic affair. Splitting herself into two separate characters--herself and alter ego Sasha Fierce--is the artist's way of presenting what she obviously sees as an artistic duality. The first set, I Am... is intended give a glimpse beneath the surface of her usual R&B-pop persona. Featuring recent single "If I Was a Boy," the soaring "Halo", and ballads like "Disappear", and "Ave Maria", it seems her "real" self is way more saccharine than the lady that brought us sassy pop moments like "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy". That side of her personality comes rushing back out on Sasha Fierce, a more rousing collection that kicks off with the infectious handclaps of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", ventures into Euro-dance territory with "Radio" and gets surprisingly risque with the voyeuristic "Video Phone". Which part of the album you enjoy most will depend on your musical proclivities, But the new, bifurcated Beyonce ensures there's enough diversity to satisfy the most demanding pop aficionado. --Danny McKenna
Absolutely fantastic!!, 2009-01-01
This is an absolutely sensational album in my opinion-I have never been a massive Beyonce fan and whilst I enjoyed Bday-it is not even in the same league as this collection.

The first CD is mainly made up of great ballads and mid-tempo songs:
1.If I Were A Boy-great pop song, justifiably high-charting! And her performance of it on X-factor was outstanding. 10/10
2.Halo-Repetetive chorus makes this song addictive and powerful. 10/10
3.Disappear-Great lower range showcased here. 8/10
4.Broken-Hearted Girl-Love the synth effects on this fantastic ballad. 9/10
5.Ave Maria-Verging on operatic, beautiful! 9/10
6.Smash Into You-A hypnotic song, brilliant again! 9/10
7.Satellites-In my opinion the weakest song on this CD, not bad though. 7/10
8.That's Why You're Beautiful-The powerful guitars make this song great. 8/10

The second CD is much more uptempo, although that's not to say there isn't a place for ballads here.
1.Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)-Growling Beyonce is back! This takes a second listen to get into it. 8/10
2.Radio-Slightly strained vocals, but I do like the song. 8/10
3.Diva-Not my kinda song really-tuneless. 5/10
4.Sweet Dreams-Love this song. 9/10
5.Video Phone-Very strange premise, not my favourite. 7/10
6.Hello-This is probably my favourite song on both CDs, a classy uptempo ballad. 10/10
7.Ego-This is such a different sound, with its blaring trumpets and it works. 9/10
8.Scared Of Lonely-The only song here that is a bit forgettable, not bad though. 7/10

If you want a representative sample listen to the two lead singles, plus Hello, Diva and Halo.

Artist: P!nk

Whilst easily one of the most distinctive female pop vocalists of the last ten years, with her hot-headed persona and torching rock vocals barrelling through empowered songs both infectious and tender, P!nk did step back into line somewhat for more one-size-fits-all last album I'm Not Dead. Her voice aside, there was little pull her apart from her peers or to suggest she'd ever again go on to release anything as definitive as her breakthrough album M!ssundaztood. But whether driven by young pretenders like Katy Perry making a grab for her crown or by that perennial emotional motivator--break-up (she was divorced between albums)--Funhouse utterly redeems P!nk. From the front cover through most tracks on the record she stokes the wild-child inside herself that made her famous in the first place, but in most examples there is also evidence of a fostering maturity, whether in the crystal beauty and depth of ballads "Glitter In the Air" or "I Don't Believe You" or the firm-handed command of more built-up tunes like the Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Joan Jett coarseness of "Sober" or sassy rocker "Boring" that somewhat improbably combines The Dandy Warhols' "Horse Pills"...
Brilliant CD, 2009-01-04
I purchased this album as a gift for my daughter for Christmas, and listened to it to make sure the CD played ok.
I have to say that I loved it straight away and is one of the best albums I have heard in a while.
I love it especially turned up really loud whilst doing the ironing, I must now listen to other Pink Albums....