David Bowie: What We Can Expect From 'The Next Day'

Bowie's back and its excellent. His new song, 'Where Are We Now?' was released on his 66th Birthday and the video features himself and a woman in 'face in a hole' puppets in front of a black and white video montage of Berlin, a place where he spent a large amount of time making music, and an even larger amount of time taking cocaine and hanging out with Iggy Pop.

With the new album, 'The Next Day', due to be released in March, featuring a cover that can only be described as a very 'Bowie' take on the previous album cover of 'Heroes', it might be quite fun, though ultimately pointless, to have a quick guess as to what it will almost definitely sound like. All we have to go on, at the moment, are song titles.

The album is said to have been produced by Brian Cox-Eno, an artificially engineered part human part robot who only speaks the language of 'Synth', in a very purposeful, very slow Mancunian accent. Recording took place in the very small, one bedroom Spaceship Studio anchored to the International Space Station and there was said to have been a strict daily routine of listening to Roxy Music and watching Wonders of the Universe each morning before recording began.

Opener 'The Next Day' is an instrumental number with the only discernible sound being the harsh croaking of a set of Space Iguanas, obtained while Cox-Eno was on a family skiing holiday on Mars. An as-of-yet secret method of producing noise from a Space Iguana has been celebrated as a highly innovative musical breakthrough and Cox-Eno is said to be contemplating a full length concept album with the Iguana Chorus.

'Dirty Boys' tells the true story of the time the water went off in the spaceship studio and Bowie and Cox-Eno resorted to washing their clothes in the wind, to mixed results.

'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)' is a wistful, romantic ballad with Cox-Eno featuring heavily in the video. The song is said to an ode to the 'billions and billions' of stars and a sentimental thought to the fragility of human life and aesthetic beauty reflected in the solar system.

'Love is Lost' is a short, witty song that tells the story of the time Bowie and Cox-Eno lost their space dog, 'Love', on Mars during an expedition in search for life. The dog ran away and the pair spent hours chasing after him in a rather slapstick pursuit. According to onlookers, the sight of Bowie running around on Mars shouting 'Love?' was so Earth-shattering, it nearly shattered Earth.

There was, famously, only enough room for a bunk bed on board the Spaceship Studio. 'I'd Rather Be High', is an autobiographical song featuring both Bowie and Cox-Eno on vocals. A whimsical duet, the song is the story of the discussion which took place about sleeping arrangements while on the Spaceship Studio. It is also said to be a sentimental thought to the fragility of human life and aesthetic beauty reflected in the solar system.

The pair were isolated from Earth for a long time and as it may be expected, given such close proximity, there were the occasional fall outs. 'Boss of Me' is an angry song, in the style of Carly Simon's 'You're so Vain' and tells of a series of arguments over the direction of the album.

Bowie was said to be increasingly frustrated with the control Cox-Eno was having over Bowie's music. Thankfully, they became friends again, and that is where 'Dancing Out in Space', a saxophone-infused sentimental thought to the fragility of human life and aesthetic beauty reflected in the solar system, came from.

Only time will tell what exactly the new David Bowie album will sound like, but I think it's safe to say it will probably sound almost exactly like I've just described.

Faux-Folk: What is it so smug about?

Just recently I came across this video. There wasn't any sound so all I could see was a handful of people wandering round what seemed like an old wooden house with a group of people that looked as though they were having an excellent time (apparently without the need for drugs, alcohol or even 1950s Beat literature!).

What was disconcerting about this video however was that having fun didn't appear to be enough for them, they had that look on their faces that seemed to say: 'We're definitely having more fun than you. Look, look at how much fun we're having - I bet you're not having this much fun'.

I certainly thought they were having fun, so I watched the video properly, with sound this time, and realised it was that song: apparently very little to get very excited about. It's been out a while - I mean, technically there's nothing wrong with it, it is fine and just about carries a verse and chorus, but certainly not enough to get all self-righteous about.

It's the sheer smugness of it that riles me - it's even got a smug title: 'Ho Hey', by The Lumineers (named after a form of dental treatment) seems to follow in the line of other yawn-classics such as 'Hey Soul Sister' (oh Train, how far you've come since 'Drops of Jupiter') and 'Hey There Delilah' by the equally dull sounding 'Plain White T's', proving these days, if you really want to write a song to bore someone to the point of them leaving you permanently, throw a 'ho' or a 'hey' into it and watch them quickly retune onto something less mundane.

I understand that music can be happy, doesn't have to change the world and can just be, well,nice; but songs that are successful in doing so tend to know exactly what their purpose is, and don't try and pretend they are part of some kind of social revolution. 'Hey Ho''s pied-piper style video goes one step further, trying to preach to us about their perfect vision of the world (presumably one where The Lumineers plays on repeat) combined with their correct form of escapism, emancipation from the bitter 9-5 work day, troubles of finding a car parking space on a particularly busy high street or trying to soften that awful blow when you discover they've run out of Hoisin Duck Wraps in Tesco. But it shouldn't take a video to do it; for fear of sounding like a Gallagher, it should be the music that does it. Man.

The truth is, you've probably heard this song off that Eon advert. And to tell the truth, The Lumineers' would have probably done better to have just used the advert as their video as the Eon version has a better storyline. And they're an electricity company, supposed to be as soulless as a man with no feet. The video, which revolves around a family making various cups of tea for each other does include a slightly smug man, but at least he's contributed something to his family, in cups of tea; all that bloke from The Lumineers has done is knock a basket of flowers off a cupboard, make everyone dress up as if they were some form of Amish paradise, destroy light bulbs (perhaps a nod to the Amish motif?) and frog march them to their own open mic night seemingly lit by a collection of tiles from the new Windows phone; a form of smarmy totalitarianism.

Louis Armstrong has been credited with the phrase: "There are only two types of music, good music and bad music" and while it would be rather nihilistic and arrogant, not to mention my lack of mandate or qualification, to make these decisions it just seems bands like The Lumineers, who, from New Jersey (Bruce Springsteen territory) should know better than to hijack the acoustic guitar to apparently cash in on the euphoria experience and that ultimate 'friendship moment' at the end of a night out.

The Lumineers are by no means the only band guilty of this, and there is a lot worse music out there, but at least it knows it.

And I bet he's probably that guy who plays Wonderwall on guitar at parties. Parties he probably throws himself, and probably forces everyone in the local area to attend.

2013: The Year of Peace

It's been a long time coming. At times it looked like it would never arrive. It seemed like it didn't matter how much it was desired, by how ever many people, we were all going to simply put up with it. However, the time seems to have come. At last, 2013 seems like the year we finally get Peace.

Forming in late 2011, one EP, two singles and many self-curated club nights later Peace are on course to be Birmingham's most substantial musical offering since the New Romantic days of Duran Duran and the Paranoid nights of Black Sabbath. Psychedelic guitar lines, catchy pop choruses and not sounding dissimilar to pop-mentors 'Mystery Jets' have helped this band remain both cool and, increasingly, critically successful. Bands have often found it hard to tread the thin line between being seen as 'selling out' and actually being able to afford lunch, but, so far, Peace have been managing to walk down this line with little confrontation.

It's hard being a 'cool' band these days. With the increased relevance of social media in entertainment, Twitter, Tumblr, the NME and, the ultimate authority on music these days, Fearne Cotton, are all ready to build you up and then, not so much knock you down but just become disinterested, leaving you like one of those uninhabited Spanish villas that seemed a great idea five years ago but no one wants to live in any more. Mediterranean metaphors aside, it's hard on your own; you need a 'scene'.

Enter 'B-Town'. Not, in fact, Birmingham's answer to, 'O-Town', MTV's less successful answer to N-SYNC, but the burgeoning music scene in Birmingham. Unfairly maligned for the past few years, B-Town is hoping to shake off the social shackles of Birmingham being often famous for little more than the Spaghetti Junction, Chris Tarrant and an accent that can make some locals sound more unfortunate than something very unfortunate, and help transform the West Midlands into a cultural metropolis. Sort of.

Peace, who claim their music 'makes you want to shake and makes you want to cry' (presumably both in good ways), are leading an army of Brummie bands all set to receive increased exposure in the coming months. From bands like Swim Deep and Jaws to other bands that don't necessarily harbour watery references, a 'scene' allows multiple bands to be put under the spotlight at one time, relaxing the strain on individual bands, ultimately allowing extra time for bands to develop, consolidate and release music in their own time, without the fear of suddenly becoming irrelevant or, something that is often more frequently fatal to a band, being hyped so hard that a band implodes through a hugely successful single and being cast off as a 'one hit wonder' or producing what is, by the label's inflated predictions, an under selling album.

It is vital to give bands time and space to grow and develop. It is important to remember that bands may not get it right first time; casing point being Blur, who's first album, clearly a rushed attempt at cashing in on current baggy musical trends, was hardly a classic and probably would result in them not be offered a second album these days (and where would we be without Parklife and celebrity cheese?). Music 'scenes' have been crucial in the development of British music. From Madchester to Brit Pop, once Camden now Digbeth, scenes encourage music companies to pay attention to a concentrated selection of bands, either by genre or geography, and with a bit of luck, may well just start to shift the plethora of wholly dispensable pop music roughly served up and force fed to the general public.

So Peace, after signing with Columbia early this year and subsequently making their label place a huge 'WHAT THE FCK BIRMINGHAM' poster in Birmingham, are due to release new single, 'Wraith', officially in January, with the video currently circulating on YouTube. And it's good, very good. With Peace set to do the rounds opening the NME Awards Tour, there's a big chance we could all be seeing a lot more of them in the coming months. Ultimately it's Fearne Cotton's decision how 'cool' they may well turn out to be, but here's hoping that they manage to hold on to their own future and help 'B-Town' help Birmingham produce the pop stars it deserves.

I wish you a very happy and, well, Peaceful New Year.

Django Django - Album of the Year

Django Django - Album of the Year

Forming at Art College in Edinburgh, you’d be forgiven for writing Django Django off as another electro-indie cliché. While they may be admired by graphic designers and unnecessarily bespeckled teenagers nationwide, they bring a unique combination of critically acclaimed pop music, with more progressive electronic influences. It is great pop music; if we lived in a less of a fickle and feckless world cult-hit ‘Default’ would have almost definitely been number one for almost literally a year. There are obvious influences from Talking Heads and The Beta Band, of which the latter share family connections, but more than a newer version of these bands, Django Django have successfully crafted a superb album, only ‘out-indied’ by Alt-J at this year’s Mercury Music Prize.

New Order. Live at the Birmingham Ballroom. 29/04/2012

New Order. Live at the Birmingham Ballroom. 29/04/2012

With not exactly a shortage of bands reforming in the recent years you would be forgiven for thinking that recently reincarnated eighties ensemble New Order would be little more than a brief injection of euphoria for angst ridden forty-somethings desperate for that last dose of 1983. Instead, we are presented with a measured snapshot of a unique moment in British pop music history, in a fitting scenario that sees Bernard Sumner and co return to Birmingham, thirty two years after the University of Birmingham played host to the last ever Joy Division performance before singer Ian Curtis’s suicide forced Sumner to take to the microphone and lead New Order into a new era.

Considering this was clearly going to be a ‘greatest hits’ affair, any danger of passive nostalgia was quashed by an urgency to go out and enjoy the moment, both by band and fans alike. Classics such as True Faith and Temptation teased a vibrant reception as few seemed affected by the absence of founding bassist Peter Hook, currently touring the life out of the Joy Division back catalogue. Jubilation ensued at hearing debut single ‘Ceremony’ and the entire crowd, however balding, seemed to form a mutual connection for an upbeat version of Joy Division classic ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, a rendition that seemed to complete a night of simply exceptional music.

Despite Sumner’s niggling cold, (he had a little lean up a wall during Blue Monday – which could be forgiven given its longevity), the band forged on, with unrelenting vigour, ensuring a performance that never once felt laboured and gave the crowd, not just a flash back to their heady days of ‘then’, but a fresh performance for ‘now’, certifying synth-pop’s relevance in the 21^st Century.

Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires – There is a Bomb in Gilead

Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires – There is a Bomb in Gilead

In an age where genres of music can be cheaply copied, hijacked and manipulated (yes I’m looking at you Will.I.Am) it is an enormous relief to find a band who, not only know their genre, but loyally stick to it and produce a fine album that knows exactly what it wants to do, and goes off and does it.

‘Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires’, from Birmingham, Alabama, are technical masters of their art. Their art: out and out barnstorming Southern rock n roll. Sharing qualities and characteristics of every critic’s favourite new band, Alabama Shakes, whom they have also toured with, The Glory Fires are more powerful, more faithful to the southern sound of the USA and carry an unrivalled authenticity. Their debut album, ‘There is a Bomb in Gilead’ is an example of this. And it’s good too. It’s not as if you have to be devout worshipper of Americana roots music or already have a strong grasp of deep American rock music to appreciate and enjoy this little snapshot of America.

It’s a great feat to produce and album that is accessible as well as musically credible, and this is exactly what The Glory Fires have done. It would not feel out of place in a dusty hot summer in Birmingham, Alabama, nor would it be alien in a kitchen in a drizzly miserable summer in Birmingham, UK. With Bains’s distinctive smooth, soulful voice they may face a challenge to avoid becoming clichéd, thus preventing them from reaching a worldwide audience, through dismissal of the genre as a whole; however, Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires have made their first, distinctive step into what could be a very long and successful career.

The See See – Fountayne Mountain

The See See – Fountayne Mountain

With the British summer likely to fail us once again, we look to other methods to provide us with ‘That Summery Feeling’. ‘That-Summery-Feeling’ is, in fact, the main result of the London based band’s second album ‘Fountayne Mountain’. Packed with swirling guitars and iced with plenty of rock-organ, this album is the perfect antidote to seemingly endless poor British summers. There are distinct Beach Boys influences, particularly in their carefully crafted harmonies, but also a heavy Brit-Pop lead sound, mainly as a result of densely packed guitars and a rhythm section that lopes along merrily beside it.

‘Three More Days’ is a particular highlight, with a simple melody developing this into a perfect pop song. In fairer music world, a music world more interested in songs than Katy Perry’s latest haircut, this album would be more widely known and appreciated. Even fifteen years ago, at the height of the Brit-Pop era, this would have fitted right in. And that may be the only downfall of this album; an overreliance on sounds that have already been created, structures that have existed for a while, rather than developing their own, unique style. However, these are songs, created with precision, resulting in an album that is a pleasure to listen to. Besides, it’s the closest thing to a British Beach Boys we’re going to get – and you can’t ask for much more than that.

Tribes. Live at O2 Academy 2, Birmingham. 09/05/2012

Five months after their debut release, ‘Baby’, something has changed. Tribes have seen a significant shift in the demography of their audience; from the artsy festival goers’ thoughtful nods to teenage screams and handmade banners, the band now look out to a increasingly passionate teenage following (lead singer Johnny Lloyd dedicates the encore to two young girls who have attended every show of the tour). Maybe it’s the extensive touring of the album, maybe it’s the beginnings of Lloyds’s evolution into ‘rock front man’, or perhaps, with an increasing absence of guitar music in popular culture, Tribes are now an answer for those who don’t sign up to the general apathy and mass consecration to Cowell and the X-Factor machine.

Album opener, ‘Whenever’, is a particular highlight, and Tribes well rehearsed and tightly refined pop-grunge validates their popularity, showing just why they have been the recipients of high critical acclaim. Aside from a small dip in tempo in the middle, presumably to give the album tracks one last run out; Tribes’ show is excitably received, with main finale and indie ‘hit’, ‘We Were Children’, proving particularly rapturous.

Whilst there are signs of obvious enjoyment from the band, there is a sense that the episode of ‘Baby’ is about to finish, and a new album may be what Tribes need to continue growing up. This inevitably poses questions for both band and fans as to the direction of the next album. Whether a conscious decision to remain critically respected and resist the temptation to resign into a potentially dangerous zone of popular mass appeal, consequently ‘doing a Razorlight’, is as yet unknown, but here, on the last day of their UK tour, Tribes seem happy to roll out the album, and as well they might.

Chiddy Bang - Breakfast

How Chiddy Bang ever got to the stage of releasing an album is beyond me. Mildly famous due to their cover of MGMT’s ‘Kids’ entitled ‘Opposite of Adults’ (see what they did there?) they probably should have faded away by now. But still they hang on.

I wouldn’t worry too much though as their main demographic is probably pre-schoolers if title track ‘Breakfast’ is anything to go by. Helpfully instructing listeners to ‘get your plate, get your fork, get your spoon -Yeah, it's time to have breakfast!’ Fun and informative! It’s actually neither. Furthermore, if that wasn’t enough, we are even enlightened to the fact it ‘goes well with OJ’ – presumably the juice not the American football player.

Overall, this album seems to sort of exist without actually performing any function. Of course there is a place for fun music, not everything has to be groundbreaking, but unfortunately this is neither, to the extent where they sound like they’d rather just be doing something else. And so would I.

Their cry of: ‘I’m Ray Charles’, the lead single, apart from triggering an involuntary ‘no you’re not’ in a similarly repetitive tone, does little to further their cause. Nonetheless, it is undeniably catchy, but so are lots of things, like flu.

‘Does she love me?’ sees one of our little pop princes worried that a girl doesn’t love him because he has leprosy, no matter how many times he cries: ‘I aint got leprosy!’ – or something like that. My advice? Get yourself to a doctor and give her some proof!

This pattern of irritating pop continues, with ‘This Is Happening’ - imagine a Cher Lloyd song which even she rejected - unfortunately reminding me that I genuinely am listening to this.

Generally every song sounds almost exactly the same and follows the same format of: nauseating synth introduction, mildly inoffensive rap, instantly forgettable chorus, some more generally off putting keyboards, another chorus and then if you’re lucky, the end, which overall results in a shallow album that you probably wouldn’t want to listen to more than once.

The Civil Wars - Live at HMV Institute Birmingham 13/03/12

In their first gig of their first headlining tour outside of America, The Civil Wars are visibly struck by the reception they receive: a standing ovation before they even start; but one that is ultimately deserved. Fresh from the release of their excellent debut album, ‘Barton Hollow’, the sheer musicianship of vocalist Joy Williams and guitarist/vocalist John Paul White is genuinely astounding. In a world where a larger emphasis is placed upon the album itself, with touring acting as a sideshow, The Civil Wars really inject something extra special into the album, making it come alive, inviting everyone to enjoy a little taste of southern America.

This is helped extensively by the chemistry between the two performers; Joy, the ever excitable smiling face of the band; and John Paul, interjecting with the occasionally witty observation in a deep southern drawl. The set up of just one guitar and two voices is both fresh and completely successful, leading some audience members to raise their hands or rock as if in some spiritual environment, the emphatic lead single ‘Barton Hollow’ an example of this. There is a distinct delicacy to their music, both a necessity due to the instrumental set up, but also one utilised to maximum effect, resulting in a precision I consider to be unmatched by anything I have seen in a long time.

Thoroughly deserving of the two Grammys they won this year, an event in which they also performed, they remain criminally underrated, especially in this country, where indeed most forms of music influenced by ‘country’ are largely ignored, or left to stagnate in the doldrums of a Radio 2 playlist.

However, this is all set to change. Having recorded the soundtrack to the new film’ The Hunger Games’, featuring the highest earner in pop music for 2011, Taylor Swift, there is going to be a lot more attention given to this band, which may lead to a more deserved recognition. And with this new admiration and appreciation, surely The Civil Wars are on the brink of a musical revolution.

R U Mine - Arctic Monkeys

Fresh from trying to fool the American population into thinking he is in fact John Lennon, bequiffed Alex Turner and co have made their first cowboy boot-step away from 2011’s populist compromise ‘Suck it and See’. Borrowing a Black Keys’ shuffle and a Queen’s of the Stone Age sneer, ‘R U Mine’, is a full on rock and roll tune, bound to tease a ‘yee-ha’ from even the most reserved indie fan. This of course, despite the fact the title wouldn’t be out of place on the back of a Ke$ha album.

The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar

Indie is dead they cry! It’s all about Dub-Step, Post-Dub and One Direction – the future!

Thankfully, that’s absolute rubbish, and incidentally, so are One Direction.

Indie is not dead; it has been resting, hibernating, dormant like a musical volcano. But it has been absent. Part of the reason I have not reviewed in a while is that there was only one Really Good album of last year, Foals’ Total Life Forever, and 99% of the rest turgid filler.

It seems you need one of two things in order to be successful at the moment; Simon Cowell, or a keyboard.

The Joy Formidable do not have a keyboard, and Simon Cowell does not feature on the album, although for legal reasons I cannot confirm that they have not met, abused, or generally associated with the man himself at all.

But The Joy Formidable are very good at playing the instruments they do have. One of the few good bands being promoted by NME at the moment – seriously Vaccines? – they finally bring back guitars and a certain sense of ‘rawrrrrrr’ back into Indie.

Opener, The Everchanging Spectrum of A Lie, creates a euphoric intention, stating it’s bold target from the start. Changing awkward rhythms in a not dissimilar way to pre-clarinet Biffy Clyro and delivering ‘rawrrrrrr’ aplenty, The Big Roar is set to be one of the best albums of the year, whether or not it will be widely received, which, as it does not feature Drake, does not seem likely.

Big singles, I Don’t Want To See You Like This, and, Austere, are fantastic songs in their own right with guitar lines that cut through wonderful rhythmic foundations. Bass lines become guitar lines in their own right.

But it is Whirring where the album really comes into its own. I hate to use the word ‘epic’ due to its recent linguistic dive thanks to the chavs, so I won’t, but imagine a word just like that. Its ‘massive’, and made for stadiums.

This is a truly fantastic album once you’ve got your head round the fact you’re hearing a female voice in a rock band - stop thinking The Cardigans, or Paramore, everyone knows they’re not a real band – and one that is surprisingly easy to listen to, considering the ‘rawrrrrrr’ nature of it. And she probably knows the offside rule.

Aqua - Bridges - Live at Snettisham - 16/06/10

I'll be honest, this is shameless self promotion My band, 'Bridges', with me on bass, performing our song, 'Aqua'. Cheeeers x

The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love

It's amazing what a hit single can do for you.

No, it's amazing what Microsoft advertising can do.

There's one positive point to come out of 'The Marketing Argument'. We now know of 'The Big Pink'. 'Dominoes', the lead single, was an instant hit, culminating in an NME Award for 'Best Track' at the recent awards. The single most catchy song of last year paved the way for the album: 'A Brief History of Love'.

Opening with the spectacular 'Crystal Visions', we are instantly hit with what this band are capable of; sweeping synths greet aggressive bass-lines and agitated drums to merge into a wholly encompassing sound. It's this repeating theme that makes this band stand out, with sound that can be compared to an electronic Exit Calm, or an angry Verve.

Follow up single, 'Velvet', is a more sensitive, beautiful turn, but still with the powerful drum beat we've become used to with this band. There is a distance vastness to this album, but still with an emotional edge, a sensitivity that makes this album more warming, more attractive. This album calls out to listeners, it wants you to relate to it, it wants to be consumed. And that's exactly what happens. Every song on this album wants to be loved; like a small, scruffy dog.

It may have not achieved great success, I picked it up off the floor in the HMV sale (other music outlets are available) on an whim. It turned out to be a good move, and restored my faith in 'indie'. I thoroughly look forward to hearing the next album and anticipate a more developed, perhaps restrained sound.

But for now, this album is the talisman for in-perfect pop. It's raw, it's dangerous and even gives off a whiff of invincibility. And, that is why The Big Pink were one of the greatest discoveries of the last year, and, A Brief History of Love, one of the best albums of 2009.

Album Rating: 9/10

3 Top Songs:

1. Crystal Visions

2. Count Backwards From Ten

3. A Brief History of Love

MGMT - Congratulations

Oh how they were confused when we were told of MGMT'S new 'freaky' album. Critics discussed possible outcomes. Was it going to work, or would they fall flat on their synthesized faces? There was only one way to find out. (Fight?) (No) Listen to the actual album.

It seems people were biased by pre-conceptions, even before they listen to the actual album itself. On hearing there was a twelve minute song in the middle, they cast it aside with rolling eyes, labeling it a commercial failure. But the band said themselves that they were not going for commercial success. Pretentious or not, it seems MGMT are not meant to be the arena band so many want them to be. But, if a band can still produce good music, surely it doesn't matter that they shy away from the commercial side of things? Because, without sounding like a subtle Tom Meighan/Liam Gallagher, it's all about the "tunes, tunes, tunes!"

Being a fan of 'albums' as an essence, I was pleased with the announcement MGMT released, saying that you have to listen to this as 'an album' rather than a collection of songs to get the full idea. In this day of random-single-buying, it's refreshing to see a band still doing their bit for the endangered format. So bearing that in mind, what better way to completely go against there plan than to analyse the songs separately! What strikes me as the biggest difference in this album and the last, 'Oracular Spectacular', is the sound. Songs like 'It's Working' have a distinct retro 'wall of sound'/'almost-beach-boys' feel. 'Someone's missing' provides a simple song, with an uplifting end, fit for any gospel church service. 'Flash Delirium', the most singe-like of any song on the album (despite them recently releasing it on free download, the cheek), is a great song, but still distinctly ..different.

'Congratulations' is yet another simple, but very effective song. Bundled in with a suitably modest applause at the end, we get a low key, low-fi, but satisfying ending to the album.

The main case with this album is the fact it is 'different' - without being completely 'out there'. It's not as crazy as it was set up to be, but it definitely steps away from the commercial side of things. It's how long the 'differentness' can last, and whether it has any substance. When the euphoria of strange sounds pass, i still feel we will look to 'Kids' and 'Time to Pretend, (the first being abandoned in recent live shows) when we think of MGMT.

There's nothing wrong with having a massive hit and writing new material. What I believe the band need to do now, if they want to move away from their 'main songs', but do it gracefully, is slip all the hits ('Kids', 'Time to Pretend, 'Electric Feel') early on in the set, so the fans are still pleased, and then get on with whatever they want to.

The truth is MGMT, we like 'Kids'.

Album Rating 6/10

Top Three Songs:

1. Congratulations

2. It's Working

3. Flash Delirium

Black Eyed Peas: LIVE

No I didn't see them.

I did, however, hear on the wireless today that they played a live show. Given they're last 'album' (collection-of-thrown-together-down-right-awful-excuses-for-remixes/b-side-material-let-alone-singles) was God-awful and with absolutely no chance of being played 'live', I can only imagine this is how a Black Eyed Peas 'Circus Act/Live Show' would go:

Welcome to Black Eyed Peas: Live

It's here, at the O2, in London, where this massacre is waiting to take place. The media have been building this one up for a while. Radio One are covering it and have been giving away tickets all day to excited teenagers and bamboozled unemployed twenty-somethings, who just wanted to enter 'This Morning's car competition, advertised by Chico. Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton are there. Anyone with any sense is at a hastily prepared Mumford & Sons gig in Camden, well away from the danger-zone. Zane Lowe is there. That's how cool it is there.

The tension is rising. Teenagers are buzzing in the arena, chaperoned by bored parents who had to accompany because of the 'only over 13s' age limit. The first support act comes on. 'Give Peas A Chance' receive a lukewarm reception to a half-empty O2 and are swiftly booed off before their planned 'firework finale'.

Next up, 'Tinie Tempah' appear to rapturous, pre-pubescent, barely adolescent, applause. Unfortunately for the teenagers, they have to wait a good twenty minutes to hear their 'hit'. Unfortunately for everyone else, they have to hear their 'hit'.

Now things are really exciting, the VIP is filling up with every 'A lister' you could ever imagine. From 'Kerry Katona', to 'Kerry Katona', 'they', seriously, are all here.

At last, the time has come. A mock explosion echoes through the stadium. We hear these words: "Gotta get get" "Gotta get get". The pretentious lot have even started with a hit. Everyone knows only Biffy can get away with that. Mind you, they probably didn't even choose their own set. 'The Mothership' of Black Eyed Peas probably chose it through one of its many cyber-computers, only comparable to 'Lancelot', the Lottery Machine.

Fergie enters the stage on a steel-plated camel, with laser beams for eyes. Unfortunately, she hasn't much skill in controlling it, and it blinds a few stewards who get too close. But thats show-business. Will.I.Am sidesteps onto the stage, holding his crotch, and a small picture of Cheryl Cole. The Rapping One just walks on, because no one really cares about him. And Backflip Man, backflips on.

A few songs in, teenagers are weeping with joy, mothers are weeping in pain, and dads are looking at Fergie, who has a mobile phone on her head. Hmm, unique.

Meanwhile, in Camden, Mumford & Sons have just finished a rather pleasant collaboratery act with Laura Marling.

Suddenly, back in the O2/The Death Star, all of the lights come on. And.. No... Surely not? An instrument is brought on, to gasps from all of the crowd. Dads are busy explaining what is happening, mothers just cant believe it. Will.I.Am is holding... A GUITAR.

It's alright though, he doesn't really play it, its only a prop. Well, PHEW.

They play 'Where Is The Love', to great cheers. Hoorah, a good knees up to all of the bad things in the world. The 'band'/'creation' love this song. The Rapping man gets to rap, and even Backflip Man gets to backflip. What joy.

In the distant, can i hear a faint guitar, playing a faint intro to 'the cave' ?

Black Eyed Peas end their show after that and Reggie Yates turns to the camera, beaming in a way only Reggie Yates can, and declares it the 'best night of his life'.

But what's this? Yes, because this is practically every audience members first 'concert', they have no idea about the concept of an encore. Again, the dads have to explain, and quote a late seventies' 'Floyd' gig, and mention something about a pig in the sky.

But who's this? Yes, joining Black Eyed Peas for one more song its.. Courtney Love. "I've always loved you guys" she declares, before they all dance, sing, rap and backflip to 'Hole's latest B-Side. Surprisingly, this is the most normal thing that has happened this evening. Everyone leaves, confused, bedazzled and Reggie Yates is now talking about the next show Radio One are covering. YES! It's JLS. But every Black Eyed Peas fans leaves with a smile, and an overpriced accompanying program and tee-shirt.

Anyway, in general,there's not much good about Black Eyed Peas, or Black Eyed Peas' music, other than Black Eyed Peas 'baiting'.

In fact, the only good thing about Black Eyed Peas are the fact that their latest album is called 'The E.N.D', so there's always a slim chance that this could be it for them.

I hope you had a nice evening.

I think i see Marcus Mumford dancing with Kerry Katona.

Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History

When at school, you are taught to write 'correctly'. You are told to use appropriate adjectives to describe whatever you are describing. You are told to avoiding 'describing words' such as 'alright', 'fine', 'nice' and even 'lovely'. You are taught to write more deeply, to be more eloquent. You see, thats the problem..

Any music fan claiming to be 'indie' or 'cool' will have been myspace-ing 'Two Door Cinema Club' for a while now. Any music fan not claiming to be part of the afore mentioned trends may have myspaced them, but have probably been shouting about them less loudly, and less often.

As far as albums go, 'Tourist History' hasn't been the most eagerly awaited. It was thrown out into the music world, surfing an indie guitar wave. Unfortunately, that wave died down a few years ago, along with 'One Night Only', 'Kooks (who?)' and 'We play guitars and have fringes, can we come in please?'.

The few singles that have been released have met mediocre reception, and are... 'alright'. 'I Can Talk', 'Something Good Can Work' and, the latest one, 'Undercover Martyn' have all come and gone with little impact made. I'll be honest, the only reason i bought this album was because it was a fiver on iTunes and I had some spare credit to use up. Financially, this was the better value album. (I'm not recommending you buy all of your albums this way, you might end up with Robbie's new album.) Ok, it wasn't the only reason..

Cast your, probable teenage, minds back a few years. The years before keyboards were cool again. The years keyboards were really uncool. Circa 2005. La Roux hadn't even thought about a quiff, Lady Gaga was wondering that if she put a telephone on her head people would notice her more, and Justin Bieber wasn't even born. We had guitars. And it was great. No keyboards, just guitars. Obviously thats all changed now, and unless your voice has been mechanically altered by Kanye West, no one wants to hear you.

Thats why, to a certain extent, TDCC are fresh. A renaissance of indie-guitar. And thats...urghh.. 'fine'. But the problem is, they're not very interesting. We've forgotten why we don't have indie guitar anymore. Its because Franz killed it with their first couple of albums. It's boring now, and so are TDCC (incidentally, Franz are not).

Tourist History is nice. There's no other way of describing it. The songs are nice. They are entertaining to listen to (a couple of times), might even have you dancing (briefly) and it gives us a simple break from the god-awful indie-keyboard shite that's getting thrown around at the moment. It doesn't do an awful lot, and it won't affect you deeply, but you might just have an enjoyable time listening to it. Umm... Lovely.

Rating: 5/10

Top Three Songs:

1. 'Undercover Martyn'

2. 'What You Know'

3. You'll probably be getting a bit fed up with them by now.

The Courteeners - Falcon

He's been away, he's been working. But now he's back and he needs to know if you're still there. He needs to know if you still care. Of course you do. Of course you do. You were made for him, and he was made for you.

It was looking all rather promising and platonic there, until the last sentence where it all got a bit personal. Although, I'm sure Liam Fray, lead singer, wasn't claiming that everyone revolves around him. He's not that arrogant, is he?

Two years on from their debut, 'St. Jude', The Courteeners are back, and just in time. With the demise of Oasis (RIP), it is clear that the British music scene needs a band to fill that hole. Now, that is the last time i will refer to Oasis within the same breath as The Courteeners. Because, despite several reviewers claiming an immediate connection between the two bands, i believe there to be little more connection than the fact they are from Manchester, the lead singer's mother decided to call her son 'Liam', and sunsequently decided to bring him up to be a confident little so-and-so. And it would be lovely to hear about The Courteeners without hearing about Oasis and Morrissey, wouldn't it? No, that wouldn't be possible.

A hefty amount of money was poured into this, Fray determined to keep pushing boundaries, to keep his band going, and to not die a tepid 'second-album' death (Kooks who?). This is definitely seen, as a full and rather majestic sounding album is the result, providing a solid enjoyment throughout.

Solid is definitely a key word here. This album does not push boundaries. While it might apply pressure to them, they pretty much remain in the same position we found them in before. This album is.. good. It is enjoyable. Much like a second album, it is nothing new (running theme Vampire Weekend anyone?).

Fray's continuing wit is on display and his famous 'couplets' are thrown in and around to good effect: "All I can do is flip the Mac and gently touch the screen". He sings about how he'll be "minding your drink as you go to the RBS cash machine" and how he hasn't "felt this alone since his art GCSE". He still provides a very personal outlook within his songs, directing a lyrical story, with full effect.

Sometimes this album, and Fray's lyrics in general, can get quite boring and irritating, because, as he is usually describing his life in and around Manchester, he has a tendency to spell events out and 'story-tell'. And while he is being hailed as the new 'Morrissey', this technique provides very little room for imagination, and, as listeners, we don't want everything to be spelt out for us. We want to speculate, we want to argue, and we'd quite like The Courteeners to be a bit more adventurous thank you very much.

Songs that stand out are: audacious, sometimes in danger of being too grand, 'The Opener', singlong 'Sycophant', mid-tempo 'Cameo Brooch' and, again quoting simple young Manchester life, 'Will It Be This Way Forever?'

A good solid second album, securing their indefinite future in the iTunes libraries of teenagers throughout Britain, not just Manchester, where locals are almost definitely fed up of Fray running around, scribing events, with an old notebook, for future songs! The third album will decide if they can push themselves up into the upper reaches of 'Post-Oasis' musical Britain.

See, told you it wasn't possible to not quote them.

7/10

1. The Opener

2. Cameo Brooch

3. Sycophant

4. You Overdid It Doll

Vampire Weekend - Contra

There's a mood for Vampire Weekend. A 'VW Mood'. You have to be in the zone, or just With It. For instance, you can't listen to them while you're feeling terribly serious. The wood blocks, silly guitar lines and the occasional xylophone would probably push you to madness. But, and its a big but, if you are in the mood for VW, then it will work for you. I'm not suggesting you have to be daft or have a session of Alphabeat before, because it is crucial to have a certain level-headedness in order to appreciate certain subtleties.

VW (i hope the 'VW' acronym isn't causing too many issues within car lovers) have been a way a while . A long while. An almost unforgivingly long while, were it not for the results of 'Contra'. Streaming their album on long-forgotten MySpace probably wasn't a wonderful idea, for me personally anyway. Taking one listen, i initially dismissed it. The inclusion of more synths and quirky beats put me off. (I'd been listening to Arctic Monkeys constantly since August. I was not feeling in a 'VW Mood'. I was very much in a serious guitar driven mood.)

But, what was clear was that, with Batmanglij taking time off to polish off his own synth-based record, he learned how to compose, properly. And it is no secret that without Batmanglij's stringed arrangements, VW wouldn't have half the sound they have.

'Contra' takes a while to listen to, to get to grips with. That is no bad thing, all of the best albums are. It takes a while to get into a 'VW Mood'. But, once you are in, you are in. All of these songs have character, and while they may not jump out at the beginning, they develop and become very like-able.

Single 'Cousins' is the new 'A-Punk', with little more than Guitar, Bass and Drums. And, although it is a crowd-pleaser/radio cert, it is the other songs that add more substance to 'Contra'.

I assume most VW fans are now fed up with 'Horcharta'. Personally, it is not a strong song, and is very annoying right from the start, especially as they gave it away free long ago and we have overplayed it so very much.

Next single, 'Giving Up The Gun' and 'Diplomat's Son' are both strong songs, but my favourite is 'White Sky', which was actually written at the same time as the first album. So, after hearing this at the Blur gig at Hyde Park in the summer, it was great to hear a polished version.

For me, the most disappointing song is the closer, 'I Think Ur A Contra', not least because of the clear grammatical errors. More musically, it is a typical slow closer, and i don't think VW like slow songs. They don't seem comfortable with them unless they have a deep African beat combined with a couple of cheeky bongos.

Bearing all of this in mind, 'Contra' is full of similar VW trends, just with more keyboards. Not as clear/genre defining as the first, but it was never going to be.

Besides, no-ones favourite album of a band is their second, everyone knows it's their third album where we really decide if we like them, right?

7/10

1. White Sky

2. Giving Up The Gun

3. Diplomat's Son

It's been a good year for...

It's been a good year for...

Candi Staton

(The one who sang You Got The Love)

Who hasn't covered this? With Kasabin, The xx and, most notably, Florence covering this in one way or another, i can imagine its going to be a pleasant christmas in the Staton household, as she goes skipping down to her local building society with a lovely royalty cheque.

The Other One from Pet Shop Boys

A Brit award, a Brit performance, a comeback album and a christmas song. Not bad considering all he does is stand behind a keyboard and flap.

Calvin Harris

Since he was a young boy, he's always wanted to appear on television, with a fruit.

Josh Homme

He just wants to do everything, doesn't he? Produced a hit record, formed a geriatric supergroup and i hear he is now just putting the finishing touches to "Queens of the Stone Age the Musical" (Starring Josh Home).

Kurt Cobain

Considering he's been dead for over 10 years, he's not done bad by bringing out a new DVD. A live performance at that. Celebs, they'll do anything for fame.

HOWEVER, it has not been a good year for all.

It's been a bad year for...

Beardy-Keyboardist from Oasis

Someone took his band away from him and he's not sure where it is.

and...

Simon Cowell

NOW EVERYONE KNOWS YOU ARE THE SPAWN OF SATAN.

Merry Christmas.