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Viva Brother - Viva Brother - Famous First Words Sounding every second like the work of men whose formative records were Parklife and Definitely Maybe â€" and they’re quite possibly the only two records the Slough quartet have ever owned between them â€" Famous First Words isn’t a debut to hold the weakest of candle flames to either influential LP. The songs here are largely reminiscent of so many 90s Britpop also-rans â€" inoffensive, unmemorable, lacking any grit or bite â€" and producer Stephen Street (Blur, The Smiths, Kaiser Chiefs) brings his standard polish to proceedings. But after so much hype for Viva... Mann - Mann - Mann's World These days, one feels almost pathetically grateful for a new urban pop artist who doesn't default to the overdriven, Eurohouse chart template. When the first few tracks of Mann's debut album demonstrate the 20-year-old rapper's penchant for old-school G-funk and an actual light touch, it's enough to make you predisposed to look on it favourably. It's not a feeling that bears much scrutiny. The album is helmed by one JR Rotem, whose discography to date places him firmly into the ‘generic hack’ category of producers: Rihanna's SOS, Iyaz's Replay, so many Jason Derülo singles that you begin... Steely Dan - Steely Dan - Aja If ever a record knew its worth, it was Aja, the sixth album by Steely Dan. Released in late 1977 when half the world seemed to be down the disco and the other half were pogo-ing, here came an album that oozed detached sophistication, using every trick that keyboard player and vocalist Donald Fagen and guitarist Walter Becker had mastered over their first decade together. Following on from 1976's The Royal Scam, any notion of Steely Dan being ‘a band’ had gone, with a huge stream of well over 40 highly skilled session musicians creating textures to support... Young Guns - Young Guns - All Our Kings Are... Since exploding on to the UK rock scene back in 2009, Buckinghamshire quintet Young Guns appear to be growing and developing a sound that suits them perfectly. This was first heard through their Ep "Mirrors" and later their debut album "All Our Kings Are Dead", which was released just over a year ago through their own Live Forever label. After releasing such a tremendous batch of tracks, music admirers were wondering what was next in store for these young musicians. After spending the better part of last year touring and preparing to record their second album, the lads have decided... Jeff Buckley - Jeff Buckley - Grace While Jeff Buckley’s sole complete studio document has achieved two million sales worldwide since its mid-90s release, its impact at the time was far from impressive. And that’s from both critical and commercial perspectives, as although today it’s regularly held in high regard come top-albums lists, a mixed reception greeted it on its initial emergence. Listening today, almost 17 years to the day after that first release, it’s easy to hear why reviewers weren’t universally moved by Grace. Its best-known track isn’t even one penned by Buckley, Hallelujah being a cover of Leonard Cohen’s haunting masterpiece. Nor is Corpus... Gomez - Gomez - Whatever's on Your Mind It’s a long time since Gomez won the Mercury Music Prize. Thirteen years, to be precise, since they beat The Verve, Massive Attack and Pulp to the award back in 1998. And after one spin of this, their seventh studio album, you’ll think it was even longer ago. Perhaps in another life altogether. To be fair, Gomez have been sliding towards middle-of-the-road mediocrity for a while now. Those first three albums - Bring it On, Liquid Skin, and In Our Gun - were rife with a sense of raw, youthful experimentation, blending British and American folk... Def Leppard - Def Leppard - Mirror Ball So, hot on the heels of headlining Download, the Leps (Def Hoople, or Mott the Leppard as they now seem to be known) release this, a mix of live tracks recorded from their 'The Sparkle Lounge Tour' plus 3 new studio tracks and a bonus DVD containing live performances and backstage footage. There is no doubting the legacy of tracks on this album and what they have given the rock world. The first British band in the 80's and NWOBHM band to really have a go and crack the US and succeed big time, they are only one of five rock... Stevie Wonder - Stevie Wonder - Innervisions Remarkably, Innervisions is Stevie Wonder's 16th studio album. It is the album that best celebrates his musical maturity and completes the transition from Little Stevie Wonder to the grown-up artist with an active imagination and burning social conscience. Coming just nine months after Talking Book, Innervisions is Wonder at the absolute peak of his powers, a 23-year-old man with the world at his fingertips. After the release of Talking Book, Wonder said: "We as a people are not interested in ‘baby, baby’ songs any more, there’s more to life than that." As a result, Innervisions is like a snapshot... Stevie Wonder - Stevie Wonder - Innervisions Remarkably, Innervisions is Stevie Wonder's 16th studio album. It is the album that best celebrates his musical maturity and completes the transition from Little Stevie Wonder to the grown-up artist with an active imagination and burning social conscience. Coming just nine months after Talking Book, Innervisions is Wonder at the absolute peak of his powers, a 23-year-old man with the world at his fingertips. After the release of Talking Book, Wonder said: "We as a people are not interested in ‘baby, baby’ songs any more, there’s more to life than that." As a result, Innervisions is like a snapshot... Sum 41 - Sum 41 (Sonisphere 2011) I briefly stopped over at the Saturn Stage on my way through to watch Revoker at Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage. The band on next is one of the more unusual choices for Sonisphere. The organisers always seem to throw a wild card into the mix when putting Sonisphere together, 2009 it was Bjorn Again and 2010 we had Good Charlotte. This year Sonisphere went all out and headlined Biffy Clyro, but now we also had pop-punk sensations, Sum 41 playing their hits on the Saturn Stage. Normally I would have avoided this, but having to go past Saturn Stage to... |