Jamie T – Trick Album Review (2016)

A few years ago, if you had said to anyone that Jamie T was releasing an album, bottom line is they wouldn’t have believed you, and then if you had said he was releasing two albums in two years, you would have been called a fool.

However, in 2016, we have exactly that, a second Jamie T album in two years. “Carry on the grudge” was released in 2014 and proved to be a really interesting record looking back. It wasn’t particularly the singles from the record that, for me, was what pushed it into the “really good” band of albums that year; it was the album tracks like “The Prophet” and “Mary Lee” that proved to be really impressive.

For “Trick” the big hit singles such as “Power over men”, “Tinfoil Boy” and “Tescoland” are highly commendable and all feature a new side to Jamie T we haven’t particularly heard before. A heavier, darker and more anarchic approach is seemed to have taken place here. “Tinfoil Boy” is the track for me, that is the darkest on the album and in “Drone Strike” you can hear a Kasabian type influence, especially in the chorus, which works really well.

But again, its the other album tracks from “Trick” that make this an album that I really really like. “Jone of Arc” and “Drone Strike” in particular are stand out tracks for me, their unique approach and Jamie’s lyrics set these aside from other album singles on this album.

Overall, Jamie T’s fourth studio album expands and develops on from where “Carry On The Grudge” left off, offering a new, diverse approach to songwriting I haven’t quite heard much of this year. More festival performances next year please.

Overall Rating: 8/10

The Heavy – Hurt and the Merciless Album Review (2016)

The Heavy have been one of those bands where I don’t really know why they haven’t got, as such, a massive fan base. Hits such as “How you like me now”, “Short Change Hero” and “Same Ol”have been often used for tv adverts, movie trailers and “Short Change Hero” was even used for the title sequence for the TV War Drama “Strike Back”. They have obviously got something about them, but they have just never seemed to hold themselves in the public eye for a long period.

The 2016 release, “Hurt and the Merciless” is album that, again, hasn’t really been subject to much in the way of publicity and attention from mainstream media. Possibly for good reason.
I have been a fan of The Heavy ever since I first heard “How you like me now” a few years ago, their hard hitting bluesy rock style they adopted worked really well with the impressive range of lead singers’, Kelvin Swaby’s, vocals.

The new record keeps some of the older stylistic choices the Heavy previously adopted, but it certainly comes with more funky rhythms with it, keeping with the orchestral on many of the tracks, it really helps add a new layer of depth to the Heavy’s funk blues approach.

This is clearly evident on the track “Turn Up”, without the orchestral background, this particular record would fall flat on its feet, and you could say this about the whole album to be honest.

The simple and safe choices the Heavy go for in this record, with the writing and guitar riffs, are really nothing new for this British quartet; but at the same time, the new, and very few additions they have acquired help the record become more listenable.

“The apology” is a track that sounds like it could be played by a band performing on centre stage at a 1920s London club. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily but it does epitomise the album in a sense, its good, but its not quite going to be blowing any minds.

Overall, I was previously surprised as to how The Heavy’s following is more of a cult one but this album isn’t really going to propel the quartet into arena shows, but is an adequate addition to a discography that for me, is still impressive; however this record doesn’t really add too much to it in terms of standout singles.

Rating: 6/10

The Strokes – Future Present Past EP Review

Even though Julian Casablancas has been off doing his own “side project” with The Voidz recently, this is the first time anyone’s really heard anything new from The Strokes since “Comedown Machine” in 2013.

I was expecting Julian to bring that more heavier, rock approach he took with The Voidz and carry that through into The Strokes’ latest EP. Did that happen?

Minimally. “Future Present Past” to me, is very confusing, and a bit all over the place. You can’t really identify which direction they’re heading for, and that’s confusing. All 3 tracks (not including the Oblivious remix) come with their own individual tone which isn’t what I have previously experienced with much that has come before.

(This EP takes elements of previous albums… and thats a bit too safe for me at this stage of The Strokes’ career.)

“OBLIVIUS” is a track where The Strokes definitely take their time. With this song leading to a climax of a cluster of modern indie guitar rifts crossed with a slight moody undertone, its definitely reminiscent of previous records on the “First Impressions of Earth” album.

“Drag Queen” takes a more darker tinge and here you can start to recognise that Voidz influence, very subtly, filtering through. There’s more electronic percussion going on which, along with Casblancas moody vocals, kept me entertained for the majority of the track, but it did start to get repetitive.

“Threat of Joy” is definitely the more modern sounding indie track.
Keeping that in mind, this track still isn’t really taking steps forward from what we know their great at, in this genre. This record just seems way too safe.
It’s more laid back than the other tracks and definitely draws influence from the “Is This It” album.
It’s easy listening that flows from start to finish without any change of pace, which is the easy route to go down if you’re a popular indie rock band that’s been around for donkeys years.

Overall, buy this EP if you like to hear experimental indie rock from a band who will still hold “national treasure” status after this has been received.
But for me, the experiment doesn’t pay off too well. I may listen to this on a grey, rainy day but it’s not an EP I would think of putting on in the car.

2.5/5

Header Photo Credit: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jEjdwhVuW74/maxresdefault.jpg

 

Ash Grunwald: Album Review – Now

Last week a New Zealand blogger (willnotfade) tweeted me suggesting that I should listen to this solo artists’ new album ‘Now‘. To be honest, I hadn’t really heard a lot about Ash Grunwald, but I thought ‘Why not?’. So I gave it a shot. Besides the fact that the tweet contained the phrase “I think you’ll like him” I didn’t really know what to expect. He could’ve just been a typical blues solo artist trying to break in to the music industry.

However, I was not disappointed, ‘Now‘ comes as Ash Grunwalds ninth album and it is very impressive. Its everything I look out for when Im listening to a solo artist. He’s confident, he lets the guitar do most of the work, and he isn’t afraid to f*ck sh*t up. No question, I would class Grunwald as Blues Rock; which automatically puts him up against names such as Jack White, Gary Clark JR and Jeff Beck, all of whom are big names within their own right. I seriously had to think whether or not I could take Grunwald seriously and put him in the same bracket as these guys. 8 previous albums does show that he has tried to make it before and it hasn’t really come off, which is probably why he’s not quite in the “Jack White” bracket just yet.

On the other hand, what I really like about this Australian born singer, is that to me, he has the ability to conjure up songs by playing the guitar like Gary Clark JR, that hard hitting, blues roots type of rock n roll, as well as having a voice that sounds like its come from the prohibition era (which is just f*ckin cool). This combination results in an album that just goes all gun ho’ and seems like Grunwald just wants to let the world know what he’s all about.

70% of this record is very upbeat and its almost as if you could really dance to some of these tracks. “In the middle” and “River” being prime examples of this. While, the other 30% of this album is there to really accompany the fast and upbeat tracks and bring listeners back down to earth with Grunwalds almost Grunge Blues sound, which sounds very dark. In other words, I wouldn’t have been surprised if “The Worst Crimes are Legal” was used as the theme tune to Sons Of Anarchy because that track in particular carries with it a very drawn out and grunge sound with it, which just sounds evil. And it sounds class.

The album goes straight through what is the essence of true blues rock and never looks back. From the first track “River” and the final track “The Least Among Us“, he never stops incorporating his own roots of heavy blues throughout.

Listen to the whole album here:

http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/exclusive-ash-grunwalds-now-lp-streaming-in-full-ahead-of-friday-release/

Album Rating: 8.5/10

Alternatives:

• Nick Cave 
• Gary Clark JR
• Jack White
• Queens of the Stone Age 

Header Photo Credit: theaureview.com

Alabama Shakes – Sound and Colour: Album Review

After the 2012 record “Boys and Girls” you would have probably guest that this four-piece may go down a slightly less rock road and concentrate more on an alternative spin from the roots of the first album. Pat yourself on the back if you thought so, because thats exactly what they’ve done. While they have still kept hold of elements from their own bluesy core, they have definitely tried to release a record that has a certain edge to it that you wouldn’t associate with a typical blues artist.

With their main hit from the album coming as early as the second track on the album, it was hard to see them really keeping that same pace throughout. A tad slower in places but ultimately Alabama Shakes maintain that folky blues sound throughout the core of the record. Does it work? Well, it certainly works for the first 3-4 tracks but it does start to get very repetitive when you reach halfway. Their breezy percussion and soft sounding guitar strings fail to really add anything new to the album. Listeners of Alabama Shakes are aware that they can deliver good tunes but its now time to see if they can mix it up a little bit.

Listening to this album, I get the impression that they haven’t really bothered to try and attract more fans, they’ve just tried to keep their current fans happy. That can be seen as a good thing but it does mean that the record may end up being too much like the previous record. I wanted to like this record because I loved their 2012 hit, but this time around, as a whole album, its very mediocre at best. Its not a must buy, but its a nice album to have in your library.

Album Rating: 5/10

Alternatives:

• Kings of Leon
• Alt-J
• Of Monsters and Men

Header Photo Credit: extras.mnginteractive.com

Jimi Hendrix: The Cry of Love – Re-released album (Review)

In 1971, after Hendrixs’ death, the album ‘The Cry of Love’ was released. Upon its release in ’71 it sold 500,000 copies in the US by April, and went to number 2 on the UK album chart. It has now been re-released, and because I wasn’t around in ’71, I’ve decided to review it now, in 2015.

The hitch I initially had with this record was that, by the looks of things, there didn’t seem to be any of Hendrixs’ top hitters on the album; the top hitters that certainly I would instantly think of when someone mentions the name “Jimi Hendrix”.

However, listening to it back over, “Freedom” is classic Hendrix, a 4 minute guitar rift reminiscent of “Purple Haze“. With smooth lyrics over the top, this helped create a classic 60’s rock and roll sound that is necessary to start any Hendrix album. This particular single flows into what is probably THE track of this album with the third song “Ezy Ryder“. This provides the album with a cutting edge and shows that this record may well be rather different to previous Hendrix albums. Bongos at the start and a slight grunge sound fading into a more bluesy tone helps solidify this track as this albums best song.

Progressing through, the guitar rifts on the eighth track “Angel” does sound a tad ‘rock ballady’, and with deep, meaningful lyrics, this single does feel a bit out of place; however many listeners may think its a nice change of pace from an album that is just Hendrix doing what he does best.
“Astro man” comes towards the end of the record and provides a fantastically upbeat conclusion to the album and sounds like Hendrix didn’t worry about the need to live up to any expectations when writing it. This track tells me that he allowed himself to really break free from the rest of the album and it does help epitomise everything this record is essentially based around and what is wanted from a great Hendrix track.

Throughout, Hendrix doesn’t slip away from his roots too often, with light blues chords subtly dominating most of the album.

Overall then, this album is far from his best but it is a subtle reminder that this great musician could consistently provide die hard fans with cracking rifts from an entire album.

Album Rating: 7/10

Alternatives:

• Gary Clark JR
• Eric Clapton
• Bob Dylan
• Led Zeppelin

Header Photo Credit: blog.promotion-us.com

The Stone Foxes: Twelve Spells – Album Review

Carry on reading if you’ve listened to:

• Cage the Elephant 
• The Enemy
• Buffalo Killers
• Black Pistol Fire

After releasing the cover of a Slim Harpo track called “Im a king bee” a little while ago now, I had in mind that this particular quartet may well just a be a one hit wonder.

This new album is rather hit and miss to me. The albums’ saviours come towards the end with “Jericho” and “Greasing up the door man” but you have to wait through 8 other tracks before these, and they are all below par. These other tracks are not awful, but they are definitely ‘middle of the road’ and thats not what I was expecting. I was anticipating a record that would be loud, fast and in your face which was what their previous singles were all about. Instead, it just feels as if this whole record needs a kick up the ass and to not worry too much about their own credibility. I was encouraged  by the second half of the album as I mentioned before but it isn’t really enough to class this record as a ‘must-buy’.

“Eyes for Love” and “This Town” are two tracks in particular that are just too misty eyed, cautious and very conservative, which simply doesn’t work. It has Radio 2 written all over this record, and personally, thats just not right for this lot.

They have had some recognition with one or two tracks from their previous records, “Beneath Mt. Sinai” was played on Sons Of Anarchy and “Im a King Bee” was used in a Jack Daniels advert. So it’s not as if these guys don’t know what it takes to produce and write a record that can make an impression and get some air time.
This California bred band have also opened for some big names in their time, Cage the Elephant and The Black Keys being two of those. But can they make an impact off their own back and really kick-on to be a success? This album doesn’t go to show, for me, that they can do that. Their just isn’t enough substance there to really catch on and become a hit.

My overall feeling is that The Stone Foxes are capable of creating true gritty blues music but this particular album is a step in the wrong direction and is definitely not one that you will rush online to buy any time soon.
Its a shame. Oh well, going back to the older stuff I think.

Overall Album Rating: 5/10

Header Photo Credit: theaudioperv.com

A Must Have Album: The White Stripes – White Blood Cells

The White Stripes.
The “White Blood Cells” album. This is definitely a must have for any rock music enthusiast. Initially released in 2001, this record defined who The White Stripes were in the eyes of the general public.

With the album centred around ‘Fell in Love with a Girl‘, Jack White is continuously up close and personal with both his lexical choices and his hard-hitting guitar rifts throughout.
This fourth track is a short blast of true blues rock’n’roll at its finest. From start to finish, this single is really a metaphor for the album; the killer heavy guitar intro, accompanied with the subtle backing of Meg Whites‘ drumming makes this track an absolute killer and a true great in the eyes of any rock fan.

This 15 track album is finely controlled with feature singles such as “Little Room” and “Im Finding It Harder To Be A Gentlemen” helping to balance the fast paced raucous of the first three tracks, proving that even at a slightly slower pace, The Whites’ could still produce tracks that had listeners calmly ‘head-banging’ (I use that term lightly here) to the tone of the guitar rifts and incisive beats for the whole duration.
Even as an intro to the whole album, “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” lets us all know what we’re in for straight from the get go.

Anyone whose read some of my previous posts may have gathered that I am a big Jack White fan; I’m not hiding that fact. But this record is where I believe it all started. The evolution of Jack White, (from his White Stripes days, to his time with The Raconteurs, then his continuation with his solo career and recent releases by The Dead Weather,) all began with this classic.
This album will always be the seed by which Jack White started to grow his successful career and cement his place as a legend within Blues Rock and modern Rock’n’Roll.

SIDE NOTE: And yes I know this isn’t the album that features “Seven Nation Army“. Oh well. Just please move on from the exhausted cliche that yobos and sports fans have to sing at every f*cking event nowadays.

Album Rating: 8.5/10

Header Photo Credit:images.upvenue.com

Black Pistol Fire (No more Artic Monkeys!!!)

I only discovered this Canadian duo recently and initially thought they were just an Artic Monkeys copycat group. However, after listening to their album Hush Or Howl, I have come to the conclusion that they are more bluesy, more modest and more creative within the boundaries of blues rock. Hipster shakes was the first track that had me thinking here we go, just another indie rock duo from the land of the colonials, but after drinking in suffocation blues and Beelzebub from their two previous albums respectively, it turns out that they have so much more to offer than just a few rift chords and a swanky accent.

The Artic Monkeys are idolised in this country and are hailed as a national treasure, and honestly, for the life of me can’t understand why. They would be such a normal and mundane group if Alex Turner was born in any other part of the Country besides Sheffield. The reason why I bring this up is because I believe that Black Pistol Fire are possibly the closest America have been for a long time, in creating a band that can overshadow the takeover of the Artic Monkeys.

I keep having to repeat myself throughout most of these blog posts but they are top class another duo. After The Black Keys, The White Stripes, Royal Blood, Drenge and Slaves, you would have thought that it couldn’t really get much better than that really (I’m not saying Black Pistol Fire are currently better than the artists mentioned previously),but because Black Pistol Fire have shown us that they have the ability to replicate their swagger from their first album back in 2011, and carry it right through to Hush Or Howl, then whose to say they won’t go on to succeed in the near future and become an international success?