Artist: Alicia Keys

Excellent CD, 2010-07-18
Alicia combines some well known songs with her others which are just as good. A good listen in the morning to work

Artist: The XX

Fab, 2010-07-29
Watched high lights of Glastonbury and heard XX for the first time. Ordered the cd and was really pleased with the rest of the cd. Great to drive the car to. realised the BBC 1 are using the music with previews. I hope they continue to become more well known.

Artist: Amy Macdonald

The Voice, 2010-07-19
I bought this album on the strength of hearing one track on the Radio.
Her voice is extraordinary and I would recommend this album to anyone.

Artist: Arcade Fire

Re-Ignite The Fires, 2010-07-26
Back in 2004 The Arcade Fire single handedly reinvigourated the stale Canadian music scene with their debut album 'Funeral'. That release opened the flood gates for countless other canadian acts to ride on their coat tails towards that hallowed place called 'Mainstream Success Coupled With Critical Acclaim'. There are way too many artists to begin listing them or singling out the best (oh go on then, I'll give a mention to The Dears 2005 release 'No Cities Left') but needless to say some have continued to garner critical success, whilst others have fallen by the wayside. This canadian hyperbole went someway to hamper the release of The Arcade Fire's (otherwise excellent) second release, 2007's 'Neon Bible'. The huge expectation coupled with an over-crowded market place led some critics & fans dissmissing the album as underwhelming and bloated. So it is with great relief that in 2010 The Arcade Fire are able to finally release an album which will go largely unnoticed by the general public and the radio playlists.

The Arcade Fire's music has often been compared to that of 80's/90's/00's (!) legends The Cure. Well, if 'Neon Bible' was The Arcade Fire's 'Disingtigration' (all anxiety and a tad on the histrionic side) then 'The Suburbs' feels somewhat like their very own 'The Head On The Door' (albeit with folk inteludes). The album starts with the triple shot of 'The Suburbs', 'Ready To Start' and 'Modern Man', this is as good a start as your likely to hear all year. The title track sounds like a jaunty, folk ballad replent with great 'piani', bubbling basslines, acoustic strumming and (yes) orchestral overtures (they just can't help themselves can they?), all the while Win Butler sings of a wanting to reach a state of ecstacy through the medium of family. This is a theme which continues throughout the release. Butler's lyrics continue down the road of obtuse & unreleated. He sings of cities, family, the financial crisis, age anxieties and various other troubles, yet he never manages to convey his actual feelings towards any given subject, instead choosing to sloganize everything into bite-size portions('If the business man drink my blood/ Like the kids in art school said they would). But, to be fair, he does manage to recruit you to his cause at every turn, so he must have something.

'Ready To Start' is Arcade Fire by numbers, but it is still so effective. The moment that the song swells & blossoms into it's finale is truly breath taking. 'Modern Man' is one of the albums true highlights. It holds a similarity to 'In Between Days' (there goes those Cure references again). Its nice to hear the band let loose a little and just play a simple, straight song with no over dubs or operatic inteludes, and (whisper it), it could just be a chart hit. Throughout the album the band seem to resemble any number of 80's music legends, 'Empty Room' (could easily have sat on any My Bloody Valentine record), 'Half Light' (surely the band have listened to a few New Order records in their time ?), whilst countless others seem to inhabit the ghost of Mike Scott's Waterboys. But at no point does it feel like the band are needlessly rehashing ideas, this is just the sound of a band taking stock of their influences and incorpating them into something fresh. And lets face it, countless other bands (yeah, Chris Martin, I'm looking your way) will be taking crib notes from this very record.

Any record which features 16 songs is always liable to accusations of overload, and this album certainly could have lost a couple of tracks ('Wasted Hours' would have made a decent B-side, but is an average album track), but the highlights are so numerous that it is easy to over look the occassional dud. The afore-mentioned 'Empty Room' is superb, sounding a little like an out-take from M83's last album (the wonderful 'Saturdays = Youth'), it is over-flowing with emotion and Butler & Régine Chassagne's strained vocals at it's climax truly get the heart pounding. 'Suburban War' is the sound of a mature band, no longer rushing for the payload and letting the song grow naturally. It starts with a plaintive guitar lick but steadily grows towards its thunderous end. The percussion reminded me a little of California's The Dodo's (check out their album 'VISITER', if you already have'nt). And the double-barrelled shot of 'The Sprawl' & 'The Sprawl 2' offer a fantastic note on which to end the album. Part 1 is very reminiscent of Scott Walker with it's beautiful, stately orchestral overtures, whilst part 2 goes all New Order on us. It is superb.

Overall the record feels like a continuation of what came before. This is not a 'Kid A' style overhaul of the bands original concept (although 'Month Of May' does do a good job of introducing punk to the Arcade Fire's musical cannon) and neither is it a 'Merriweather Post Pavilion' celebration of the band's sound. No, this is just another great Arcade Fire album which won't dissapoint any existing fans of the group or likely scare away any new comers. The experimentation can wait, this is how I want The Arcade Fire to sound in 2010 and although the initial teenage-like thrill of discovering the group can never be repeated, I'm enjoying seeing the group enter a middle age reliability.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Artist: Avenged Sevenfold

Outstanding, 2010-07-29
This album is simply the best they have ever done! Very multi dimensional from a musical stand point. I have been an Avenged Sevenfold fan now for a year or two, I have watched them grow as musicians and hear their music progress. Their music just continue's to get better as time goes buy. This album is quite different to all of their others, most of the songs on the album have quite a different contrast to each other. There are some heavy songs on this album and then you have the ballads and the softer songs, very versatile. This album is of musical brilliance! Honestly one of the best metal/hard rock bands of the lastest generation!

It is a must buy for a hard rock/metal fan.

R.I.P The Rev, good to hear his voice on fiction! Massively talented guy!

Artist: Florence + The Machine

Already the year’s most hyped new artist--not only first in the BBC’s famously unreliable poll of new talent and recipient of a special Brit award devised just for her--Florence Welsh has a lot to live up to, and thankfully the artfully titled and sleeved Lungs justifies the investment. The singles are undeniably the standouts. The impressive "Dog Days Are Over", neurotic and fierce, and the slightly more reserved follow-up "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" lead her debut collection, sometimes overshadowing her other material. Yet the extremes of "Kiss With A Fist", a jokey celebration of mutual domestic violence and noisy guitars that shamelessly steals its melody from the White Stripes’ charming "We Are Gonna Be Friends", and the showstopping, almost unashamedly stagy "Girl With One Eye" show off both her development and an already instantly recognisable voice. The gallows humour of songs like "Between Two Lungs", the daft "My Boy Builds Coffins" and the ferocious "Hurricane Drunk" where she threatens "I’m gonna drink myself to death" backed by a spirited choir of Florences, save her from accusations of self-absorption. The concluding, and hugely loud "Blinding" is al...
Lovely Lungs!, 2010-07-22
How anybody gave this one star (or two or three or four) I do not know! I cannot describe how fantastic this CD is. It is my very favourite album in the world and I adore every single song on it.I don't think Florence's voice is not at all screechy, on the contrary I think it is great. The harp is beautiful and all the music in it is super too. I listen to this CD over and over again, I love it! It make me feel happy, even though the songs are based on'guilty' things, as Florence said herself. Perfect - a must buy!

Artist: Paolo Nutini

Fans of Paolo Nutini’s debut album, These Streets might raise an eyebrow or two at this sophomore release. Produced by Ethan Johns (Kings Of Leon), Sunny Side Up features an eclectic and "rougher" range of songs that set it somewhat apart from its slick predecessor. Recorded in Ireland, Wales, New York, LA and the UK, Nutini--backed by his band The Vipers--tackles folk, reggae, soul and rock, with varying results. The Motown-esque "Coming Up Easy", the ballad "Worried Man" and the sea-shanty "Growing Up Beside You" are shining examples of Nutini's erudite songwriting skills, as is the charming, Dylan-esque "Tricks Of The Trade". But songs like "Pencil Full Of Lead" and "No Other Way", as well as his forays into reggae-lite and ersatz ragtime are less convincing, often sounding more like sketches than full songs. Whether Sunny Side Up is bravely eclectic or an incoherent disaster depends ultimately on the loyalty--and the patience--of the listener. --Danny McKenna
Paole Nutini, Sunny Side Up, 2010-07-21
Love to be able to review this cd, however it was for my wife, she loves it. And by the way at the present an ear problem renders me pretty deaf. Rubbish review, but it saves all the technical stuff we all read on albums sometimes!

Artist: Michael Buble

For his fourth studio album Canadian crooner Michael Bublé has headed into the studio with his live band to create an album of…autobiographical love songs. The outcome, according to Bublé, is the "ultimate record about the inevitable roller coaster ride of relationships". It’s true that from the dramatic opening--a great cover of Julie London’s "Cry Me a River"--the album swings like a pendulum between introspective balladry and exuberant pop. As is to be expected with Bublé, he has revamped plenty of classics along the way, tackling evergreens like "Georgia On My Mind", Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" and the Eagles' "Heartache Tonight" with typical aplomb. He also joins contemporary soulsters like diva Sharon Jones (of Dap Kings fame) on "Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes)" and singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith to recreate one of Sexmith’s tunes, the sultry "Whatever It Takes". Bublé’s two self-penned songs fit in well with the overall high standard. The poppy single “Haven’t Met You Yet” is catchy and the folky “Hold On” also helps make Crazy Love yet another quintessential Michael Bublé experience. --Danny McKenna
Crazzy Love, 2010-07-27
I wasn't really a buble fan,my friend is really into him and had made comments on the album so I decided to buy it and find out. I had music in my life from a very yound age and have heard a lot, most whom have come and gone. Micheal Buble is brilliant I love his voice and the guy has lots of talent and I would definitely advise buying this album if your not into him yet. I am a diva fan, I can't wait to see him live with my friend. Enjoy! Its Brilliant!

Artist: Various Artists

Artist: Bombay Bicycle Club

Flaws? - Not Many Here!, 2010-07-28
BBC - the young Crouch Enders that is - have been on the radar for a couple of years with their previous works showing a great deal of promise. That promise is realised with "Flaws", although in a rather unexpected way! Flaws has echoes of sixties folk artists like Dyon Parker, Jackson C Frank and early Paul Simon but remains as contemporary as the likes of Damian Rice and Fleet Foxes and yet still manages to sound quite original! They also include a John Martyn song - Fairytale Lullaby - as a tribute to one of our late great talents.

I enjoyed "I Had the Blues......." But I have played "Flaws" much more! I know a lot of fans won't agree that "Flaws" is better, but it is just different - in fact it is VERY different. Maybe BBC will loose some fans - but may gain some new ones along the way. So if you didn't like the early work please give "Flaws" a listen - Amazon have audio samples for all tracks and the single "Ivy & Gold" is particularly infectious!

BBC have a MacColl on board to give some folk continuity, and a very talented front man in Jack Steadman. Where the band will go with the "difficult third album" we will just have to wait and see!