Paddy's review page

[Paddy]

Axwell, Ingrosso, Angello And Laidback Luke feat. Deborah Cox AKA Swedish House Mafia - Leave The World Behind

Right, time for this weeks house track from me and it is a cracker. The Swedish House Mafia are back with this latest offering. With classic vocals and great back beats its a guarantee for every club you may visit for the next few months, as well maybe a hit in the mainstream.

8/10

[Paddy]

Agnes - Release Me

The latest from Sweden arrives to our small shores in the form of Agnes. A catchy tune with great vocals and good lyrics which won't be leaving your head for a while after hearing it.

8/10

[Paddy]

Kasabian - Fire

Kasabian are due to release their new album very shortly, but before that comes a new single. I for one found their last album pretty good, but this "Fire" sounds like it needs putting out. The vocals are very wishy washy, and just sounds like he's been down the local for the last 5 hours and decided to sing for his supper!

4/10

[Paddy]

Empire Of The Sun - We Are The People

The second single from the Australian band from their début album Walking On A Dream. The album is amazingly good, so can this single sum that up? The answer, yes, definitely, it would seem to be the best track on the album and well worth its release. It has the energy found on Walking On A Dream with some extra presence.

9/10

[Paddy]

The Fray - Never Say Never

The Fray return (again... so it seems) with another single from their second album. The first album went down extremely well all across the world including Britain but the second album seems to have flopped. It has to be said that The Fray do not divert from their normal sound, therefore after one album the interest has dissipated.
Never Say Never is another ballad style song which in the end goes no where. A damp squid unfortunately.

2/10

[Paddy]

Maxïmo Park - Quicken The Heart

So the Geordies return with their third album titled Quicken The Heart. Music experts had already put this album into the flop category before it had been released due to the downturn in popularity to alternative and “Indie” artists as seen by the poor charting of Franz Ferdinand, Starsailor and Doves. Will this suppress the downturn or just keep the fashion going?

Quicken The Heart starts with the pre-release download of Wraithlike, this is a quicker paced, more guitar based track, a good opener but in all fairness nothing out the ordinary. This is followed by The Penultimate Clinch which is the first of a deeper and mature sounding Maximo Park stance. The lyrics, in Maximo Park's style, are of real class, nothing shoddy like you can find in some generic bands. The use of vocabulary is fully functional to bring real depth to each and every song. This is a real forte that was used in Our Earthly Pleasures.

The third track is the début single from the album named The Kids Are Sick Again; a very catchy and characteristic single. The fourth track, A Cloud Of Mystery brings back the newer Maximo theme of maturing, which is continued by Calm. A real feature is the maturity of the lyrics, instrument use and lead singer; Paul Smith. When compared from the first album A Certain Trigger it is a real contrast. As time has passed away the band have learnt more then basic music to more complex techniques, especially when you consider Paul Smith wasn’t auditioned for the lead singer role, but was actually spotted by the rest of the band on a karaoke machine!
The rest of the album follows a similar suite, so if you don’t like similarity in an album this is not one to focus on, but it is still top quality music. It would be nice if a little bit of A Certain Trigger had been re-introduced into this album, but a band cannot stand still, and that for sure is one thing Maximo Park does not do, always changing little features.

On last point is that it is one album which grows on you like a rash, but this rash is one you love, like a lovebite rash!

Pick of the pops is Let's Get Clinical.

Quicken The Heart as a whole album is shaded out by the older material, but still receives a:

8/10

[Paddy]

Passion Pit - Manners

So 2008 brought us MGMT, 2009 brings us Passion Pit. After the success of The Reeling, the album Manners is brought out with fiery vocals and a bagful of energy.

The first track is Make Light, an energetic start to the album although maybe missing something. This something comes in the way of Little Secrets, with the use of catchy lyrics and a unique sound. As well as this the use of a choir on the chorus just has that different aspect.

After such an energetic start, track 3; Moth's Wings brings you back to serenity with a bump. A very calm and relatively quiet song, with more focus on lyrics. A beautiful tune which I think deserved to be called Butterfly's wings instead.

The Reeling follows. Little needs to be said as many will have already heard this single. A very catchy track with real comparisons to MGMT can be made here.

Eyes As Candles returns to a more ballad style track followed by Swimming In The Flood which has a very oriental intro which throughout the track keeps reappearing. The song itself is a very tranquil one which from time to time picks up. Having never swam in a flood I wouldn't know but maybe this is to symbolise the affects of swimming in a flood?
This doesn't matter too much as it is the calm before the storm as Folds In Your Hands follows with a more upbeat and quicker tempo song.

All in all the album has a totally unique sound, even different to that of MGMT or Empire Of The Sun. It may not be to everyone's taste but it is a good light listening to album.

7/10

[Paddy]

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

Bloc Party sprung onto the music scene back in the early part of 2005 with this; Silent Alarm, their début album.
2004 and 2005 were the years of alternative and so called indie music's best times. We'd seen the break through of Kaiser Chiefs, Keane, Franz Ferdinand and so on, and now it was Bloc Party's turn.

The album had a few singles come from it, Banquet for one, which like all the rest of the album had enthusiasm and a very different sound, to even then a crowded market. It sounded so refreshing and to cap it all off they could pull it off live even better. The whole concept was so simply basic. Guitar, drums and singer. It all worked.

So why may I ask is this still their best album? From this brilliant start they have not been able to improve.

For this back to basics album I award it with a rather not basic figure of:

9/10

[Paddy]

The Yeah You's - 15 Minutes


This is the first single to be released by The Yeah You's.
This single is very much a Take That track, with very similar vocals and the yeah yeah yeahs fitting right into the Take That feature. So with such a compliment, is this single actually that good? Well, yes, it is nice and catchy, so much you can't help to sing along to it.

8/10

[Paddy]

Vagabond - Sweat (Until The Morning)

This rather soothing rock ballad is from the Norwegian band Vagabond, now not many may have heard of them, but they are well worth a listen. He really has lost has accent and sings beautifully on this track. It has a little similarity to such an artist as Damien Rice.

8/10

[Paddy]

Ash - Return Of WHite Rabbit

A comeback from Ash is here with the release of this single: Return Of White Rabbit. Now with releases of this type lately they have flopped rather massively, but with this single there is real energy. I really think this would have made it very large back a couple of years ago but in the climate the music charts are in at the moment, I don't see more then top 10.

9/10

[Paddy]

Katy Perry - Waking Up In Vegas

Another single from Katy Perry and this is following the lines of many others. It has plenty of enthusiasm but just doesn't have that fine edge that I Kissed A Girl had to start off her fame.

7/10

[Paddy]

Jonas Brothers - Paranoid

Another single from the American brothers and another mush of noise. This just really does not go anywhere and I don't make out what they are on about! It's so subdued; there is no life in it.

2/10

[Paddy]

Bassment jazz - Raindrops

This comeback for Basement Jaxx is an absolute tune. With great lyrics and magnificent tune to back it up, this could be one of the best dance tracks of the year.

10/10

[Paddy]

La Roux - Bulletproof

So In For The Kill managed number 2 in the charts a couple of weeks back, and Bulletproof has made it to Number 1. There must be something about La Roux that the British public like.
Bulletproof doesn't have quite the screechy vocals In For The Kill had, making it a much calmer song but still having that unique edge.

8/10

[Paddy]

Florence and the Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

Florence and the Machine make a breakthrough with this single, a really catchy track with really light vocals. Quite a summer song, so aptly this is the correct time to bring it out.

9/10

[Paddy]

Jack Peñate - Be The One

Now, normally I am not a fan of Jack Peñate but with this new song I may change my mind. With a very catchy chorus, it makes the song worth listening too. And even the versus' aren't that bad.

6/10

[Paddy]

Moby - Pale Horses


Moby returns before the album is released later in the month with Pale Horses.
Moby is well known for his upbeat electronica like Alice or Go, but this is the other side of his sound with a very meaningful and deep track. The storyline is very tragic.

8/10

[Paddy]

Take That - Said It All


Another single from one of Britian's Best loved boy bands. No longer in their youth, no longer with Robbie, but blimey they are a lot better for it.
With a packed out stadium tour happening, with 1.2 millions people going to see them, Said It All is released. With deep and heartfelt lyrics it is a return to good male ballads. Please say more is to come.

9/10

[Paddy]

Bat For Lashes - Pearl's Dream

Bat For Lashes have been around for a wee while now, but with no mega success and with this latest offering, I am afraid to say the same will happen. I just find that the lead singer is always fighting against the backing instruments to be heard, always with that ghostly vocals.


5/10