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.

I owe this to myself

Ok, i give in. Ill regret it if, in a few years time, i didn't do an end of decade top something-or-other. So heres a brief one of 2009 at least...

10. Discover - LP

The talented one out of Vampire Weekend, the keyboardist - naturally, and a mate wrote this just to prove they were not just preppy college kids just playing barre chords. So, inbetween barre chording, in the mean streets of NY, they created this. Just imagine a brand of 'poppy' RnB, but good?

9. Graham Coxon - The Spinning Top

While the others were busy writing songs for animated asian-looking characters, trying to be politicians, or simply making cheese, Coxon owed it to himself and Blur to remain a little bit sensible and write something genuinely good. Telling the life story of a man, birth through to death, its an interesting concept and he pulls it off well. I also have to write a composition on 'birth, life and death' so thanks for the inspiration 'Gra'.

8. Jamie T - Kings 'n' Queens

Woah, Jamie T - he's cool isn't he? He's probably the kind of guy who stands up on buses and doesn't hold on. Yeah, Jamie T - he's cool. The album? - Yeah, it's cool.

7. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight

Come on, write something with a bit more energy next time - do something new, in the meantime, 'Ulysses' is an excellent song. Not as good as the previous albums but still 'alright'. They could do with being a bit more cooler though. Mr Treays?

6. Noah and The Whale - The First Days of Spring

The title track simply encapsulates this. Written after splitting up with Laura Marling, his girlfriend, Charlie Fink takes all of that emotion and writes a fantastic, string-saturated album filled with feeling. Thus proving that the 'difficult' second album doesn't have to be so difficult with the right material, and a band that will do anything you say..

5. The Cribs - Ignore The Ignorant

Crap title, good album. I prefer it that way. All of Razorlight's have good album titles... I digress. Bringing in a new, non-related, member of the band in Johnny Marr proved not to be a krass, pathetic attempt at being 'mainstream' but was quite worthwhile after all. It was a splendid attempt, and, although too many of the songs have blatant 'The Smiths' intros, an extra guitar seems to have come in handy.

4. Calvin Harris - Ready For The Weekend

Oh Lord, its not a band with guitars. Crucify him from a generally indie-laden list. He's bloody awesome. Fantastic live, he brings it all together for this album. Yes, he's a complete idiot, but at least he writes good music as well (I hope you're reading, Ian Brown).

3. Bombay Bicycle Club- I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose

That took too much effort to write out the title, let alone a review. They hate their band name but probably like their music, otherwise they should probably reconsider doing what they're doing. Not to be confused with bike riding Indians, the band take a step forward, after finishing school, and string together some wholesome-sounding songs. Bright things to come.

2. Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

Frankly, they deserve this for the album name alone. Already writing album number four, Kasabian proved they are now the biggest band in Britain with a psychedelic trip filled with arrogance, a retro-feel, and quality songwriting from Pizzorno. And a brief appearance of Noel the Impaler.

1. Humbug - Arctic Monkeys

I don't need to go into too much detail here, I've already got a review of this. But its good, very good, and Turner's grown up - which is condescendingly patronising, i know, coming from a student. Had it been released a few years ago it could make it's way into my top albums of the decade, but it's release being so close to the end of the decade would make it's appearance less outstanding.

Top Five Artists of 2010

Caught you out a teeny tiny bit there didn't i? Yes, after reading many "Top Ten Albums of 2009" (some of which are good, yes) I thought I'd snazz it up a tad.

Now I'm no 'Indie Kid' - I look rediculous wearing sunglasses and I'd probably make Phil Jupitus look good wearing skinny jeans - but here's my top five for two thousand and ten:

5. Wolf Gang
I first heard "King and All of His Men" on NME and thought he was a cross between Ewan McGregor and a modest Robbie Williams (the latter of which I'm aware is an oxymoron). A strong pop act with solid songs to match, if he gets the air play then he's there..

4. Soft Toy Emergency
These guys have got it all: the look, the tunes and the performance. With sessions at the BBC and an album in the making, we can expect to see these break through any time soon

3. The Drums
Who hasn't tipped these for big things? But it's true, the snowball of followers is getting bigger and bigger, and moving faster and faster, and if they keep writing sounds like 'Let's Go Surfing' then they're sure to hit the big time

2. Kasabian
Kasabian? - i hear you question - but they've already released their album? - i hear you answer. Yes, but you wait until they headline everything going next summer and properly replace Oasis as the biggest band in Britain

1. Noel Gallgher
Forget Liam's attempt at Oasis Part Two, Oasis's main songwriter is due an album next year and, given over 15 years experience writing top quality tunes for Oasis, we can expect nothing less than top quality tunes for himself. With this, Noel will earn himself a place with the true British greats of songwriting: Lennon & McCartney, David Bowie, Elton John, and, the great, Andy Abrahams.

Intuition Onlineee

Good news!
My first proper I've-not-published-this-myself post took to the internet this month (December) courtesy of intuition-online.co.uk. Nothing spectacular but a teeny tiny review on Yves Klein Blue.

i need more followers, invite your friends and their friends and their friends.

cheers.

Why are bluebells decreasing in Britain?

No reason for the title. No, there is a reason. I typed "W" into the box and that came up. I thought i'd keep it.
Right. Its been a while hasnt it? - Been writing for an actual website - will link once its up - so thats where i've been currently channeling my energy into (without sounding too much like Most Haunted)
Planning on doing a top songs/albums of the decade so to keep the interest here's what I've been listening to recently at this very cold, winter moment:

"Julie & The Moth Man" - Kasabian
B-Side for Underdog and opener in their current arena tour. This is a fantastic song and even better live. Almost better than Underdog. Not quite, but the unlikeliness of the situation makes it more exciting to proclaim.

A Certain Romance - Arctic Monkeys
With ...Dancefloor being a contender for song of the decade I've been listening to/playing along with this an awful lot. Good tune.

Crazy In Love - Snow Patrol
Ahh its a good'un. It should be terrible but just isn't. Ok, Gary Lightbody hasn't got the thighs or the bootyshaking just yet - but thats, quite frankly, reassuring. The original definitely is not top song of the deacade (NME)

The Universal - Blur
After releasing a mini Live album in The Sunday Times I had to get it. It includes the Hyde Park version of this, which i was at, and i still get tingly when i hear Damon shout "Londaaaan" before the last chorus. Classic song.

There you have it, and I've also discovered the bold button

Do you like it?