Example, Playing in the shadows
This is the third album from Example, and it should see him established as a chart topper for some time to come. He mixes many different styles of music, from the title track which opens with an acoustic guitar, to the ballad like “lying to yourself”, and the clatter of “skies don’t lie” or the dubstep influenced “changed the way you kissed me”, this truly is an album with a song for anyone. He seems to have accepted that dubstep made his music popular, and has incorporated this into his new album, while also keeping the character of his songs which fans have come to love. He takes a darker view on modern day society, saying in “stay awake” that “if we don’t kill ourselves, we’ll be the leaders of a messed up generation”. A cracking third album from an artist with a bright future… just so long as he doesn’t disappear into the shadows. 8/10
Nero Welcome Reality
It’s commercial dubstep, not that that’s inherently a bad thing, but for the proper dubstep fans, this is not something they will be interested in. “crush on you” seems to have almost entirely arbitrary wob wobs in which don’t aid the track in any way, sense or form, and just makes for an uncomfortable listening expeience. All is not lost for Nero, with there being the makings of what could be a promising future, with the chart topping “promises” being the better of the songs on the album, and also the one that takes itself away from the dubstep genre of the other songs. Not bad for a first album attempt, but could have been much better. It is almost like listening to a poor mans Pendulum. 5/10
Ed Sheeran +
From a young man with such integrity and refusal to sell out comes an album that is highly anticipated by the fanbase that he has worked so hard to manufacture. After playing 312 gigs in 2009 and releasing numerous EP’s without any record label backing, Sheeran got his mainstream recognition this year, and released his debut album “+”. With songs that his fans will be familiar with from previous EP’s such as The A Team, a tale about a homeless, drug addicted prostitute that was inspired by a young girl he met at a homeless shelter, the album is sure to be a hit with his already huge fanbase. With a revamped version of his autobiographical “You need me, I don’t need you” Ed reminds us that he is going to stay true to his roots, and will always write his own songs – “don’t need another wordsmith to make my tunes sell” and that he won’t bow to the consumerist nature of the pop industry – “VO5 wax for my ginger hair”. If you are already a fan of the young singer songwriter, then you’ll like this album, and if you’re not a fan already then you may well be after hearing this album! 7/10
Kasabian – Velociraptor
When asked why they decided to name the album “Velociraptor”, the boys from kasabian replied that “velociraptors used to hunt in packs of four… they were the rock and roll band of the dinosaurs”. It is that sort of answer and mentality that makes them so popular, as you can feel the fun that the band has while making their songs, and this fun is obvious in their fourth studio album. although it is obvious that the group enjoyed making this album, it is slightly more orthodox than we have come to expect, with songs such as “lets roll like we used to” sounding like it could have come from the last shadow puppets, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it isn’t the unique sound that we have come to associate from Kasabian. 7/10
Rizzle Kicks – Stereo Typical
From a duo that spent their early days messing around with Ed Sheeran, remixing his songs and just generally having a laugh comes a debut album that is a barrel of fun. Considering they are both only 20, they are bound to appeal to a younger audience as they address topics that are popular with people their age. Talking about losing the desire to become a fireman after being old enough to buy a cider can, and loving “summer like Rachel bilson”. These are things that teenagers are able to relate to, and therefore the songs are likely to appeal to them. As with most albums there are a couple of tracks that could be lost without being missed too much, such as Demolition Man, but for the most part the album is full of songs that are enjoyable, which is some feat considering there are 14 songs on the album. although not groundbreaking music, this album will have you nodding your head and singing along, and sometimes that’s all you want. 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment