New Album: Kelly Clarkson – All I Ever Wanted

Uplifting power pop songs are exactly why we love Kelly Clarkson, right? So listening to the new fourth album All I Ever Wanted from the American pop sensation I am overjoyed to hear this record full of the same.

The first song is also her first single from the album; My Life Would Suck Without You. The very first guitar riff is awfully reminiscent of the intro to arguably her most famous hit Since U Been Gone. As the song continues it is clear that Clarkson is still able to write ridiculously catchy, memorable pop hits.

She is not just a one trick pony however as it includes a fair share of slower tempo songs too, ‘Save You’ being one in particular which stands out. Even these slow songs only need one listen before you’re ears are completely hooked by Clarkson’s beautiful voice.

After listening to the album once through, I was left with a sweet taste in my mouth leaving me wanting more, resulting in at least two more full listens.

Warning: this album is seriously addictive.


The CD gets its official release in the UK on 9th March 2009.

Interview with The Virgins

I caught up with up and coming band The Virgins to ask them their opinions on their current manager and how important thier roles are. This was research for a feature I am writing about artists who decide to split from their management.


Do you enjoy having a manager?

Nick: Yes, we certainly enjoy having a manager. He is amazing; he's incredibly intelligent and extremely hard-working.


In your opinion, does it feel like you have less freedom because you have a manager?

Nick: No. Having a manager takes a lot of the business work off of our shoulders so that we have the freedom to concentrate on making music.


Would you like more freedom? What would you do with it?

Nick: I'm happy with the amount of freedom we have. We get paid to do what we love and to be ourselves; what's more free than that?


Do you feel managers are a necessary for bands in this modern age?

Nick: It is certainly necessary for us. But every band is different. Lots of bands like to do it all themselves because that's the way they are as people. So, as long as you have the interest and the energy to manage yourself, I don't think you need someone else.

Band Reunions: Money VS Love

Millions of post-emo rockers could be heard jumping with glee in their old drainpipe jeans last week as the rumour of a potential reunion of their teenage heroes, Blink-182, hit the media. Having had an amazing career spanning from 1992 to 2004, it looks like it may almost be time for all those broken teen hearts to finally be fixed once and for all as Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge finally start to speak again. Certainly not willing to reform before good relationships are built first and determined, if they do reform, to make this the most mind-blowing tour anyone has ever seen. This, of course creating a ridiculous amount of excitement among all fans.

While every Blink fan is left wondering and hoping for a while longer, there are plenty of other bands who have recently reunited which they could perhaps get back into instead. It seems that band reunions is definitely the new black as countless ‘classic oldies’ from the past drag their former selves into the modern age hoping to re-capture the imaginations and hearts of the music listening audience with one last stab at fame. However are all their reasons as clean cut as they want us to see? Is every band reunion simply occurring because they genuinely miss what they used to do, or are there sometimes ulterior motives?

There is no doubt that Take That definitely made the biggest comeback of the century in 2006. Still managing to floor fan girls with just the mere mention of their name, be it new young fans or those who remember them the first time round. Both albums released during their comeback; ‘Beautiful World’ and ‘Circus’ have both smashed the charts at number one and it doesn’t look like they’re stopping anytime soon. This is a band who love what they do. You can never seem to stop them from touring for one thing. Recently however, rumours have been spiralling that Robbie now wants to join the foursome again. Funny, how only now his solo career has hit rock bottom, he makes this suggestion. We all know you’re definitely in it for the money, Robbie.

Robbie’s not the only one with money on the mind though. The 90s pop sensation the Spice Girls reformed with a tour and a ‘Greatest Hits’ album. All seemingly innocent you’d say? Well no, not when Melanie ‘Sporty Spice’ Chisholm was adamant they would never reform. Though in 2007, not giving a real explanation, she told said that ‘A girl is allowed to change her mind’ (contactmusic.com, 2007). Yes, of course they are, especially when it involves over 30 million pounds, hmm?

If I was to mention every band which has reformed over the past five years I would be here for an age. It’s just a saddening sight to see the music industry, full of hard working musicians passionate about their songs, being plagued by money grabbing nobody’s of the 90s. Please, leave it to the people who care. Saying this though, I’m still holding out for an S Club 7 reunion…

YouTube Mashups

So there I was one night, innocently searching You Tube for my favourite new release from Katy Perry when something very interesting caught my eye. Under the ‘Related Videos’ section, I found myself faced with a bunch of mysterious looking videos. The first video I clicked on was someone attempting to mix Katy Perry’s ‘Hot N Cold’ together with Bloc Party’s ‘Banquet’. A ridiculous mix of songs you say? Well I’m afraid, in a strange, mashed up way, it definitely worked. Mixing together two songs I love, it created for me a new super tune, opening up my ears to a whole new form of music; the You Tube Mash Up.

Catching my imagination, I began to hunt down more of these mash-ups and to my surprise I found some truly amazing songs in the process. The best ones certainly seemed to emerge from two songs of completely different genres. There are so many amazing mash-ups floating about on there that I could listen to them all day, and probably will. It’s so hard to choose a favourite but one which certainly impressed me was Jay Z vs. The Verve ‘Bittersweet off Your Shoulder’. The strong rap from Jay Z somehow seemed less aggressive when played with The Verve’s ‘Bittersweet Symphony’, adding an extra dimension of emotion to the song, which together created a new, catchy pop song. Genius!

This juxtaposition of two clashing worlds creates something innovative and new, breaking the boundaries of music snobbery and sticks two fingers up at those who believe genres must remain separate and rigid. The idea of overlapping lyrics and beats merging together into one totally dazzling tune is truly inspiring. Who would have thought that a few simply bored people sitting at their computers could create such pieces of musical brilliance, which could potentially change the face of music dramatically in a great way. If nothing else, mash-ups are totally fun to listen to, whether they are completely amazing or completely rubbish. Being able to listen to two songs in one also saves a bit of time, right?

Meeting the Kaiser Chiefs Southampton Guildhall 15.10.08

As the five-piece finished their performance for the crowd of Southampton it was time to move on to their next destination, Reading, but not before stopping to meet and greet 20 or so avid fans, standing outside patiently waiting for them until 1am.
To our surprise, each band member (completely sober, I must add) made sure they greeted all their fans and fulfilled their requests; one man clutching a signed collage of the band which he had made himself. I asked Nick (Hodgeson – Drummer) if meeting their fans and constantly having their photos taken ever became tedious, to which he replied ‘not at all! It’s always great to meet the fans!’ Not much of a rock n roll answer, you say? Something which took us even more by surprise was the comment made by Ricky (Wilson – Lead vocals) that he was ‘so tired. I just want to go and sleep!’ Despite this, he still stuck around for at least half and hour chatting to fans.
It seemed strange, such a worldwide successful band playing a small venue like Southampton Guildhall. We asked Peanut (Keyboard) for a reason; ‘I really like small venues. We played here (Guildhall) three years ago on the NME tour. As soon as I walked into this place today the memories came rushing back. It felt like it was yesterday.’
The main aim of these pre-tour shows is for the band to perform their new material live for the first time. I asked Nick if he was excited about the third album’s release this coming Monday (20th Oct 08) and he simply replied ‘Yeah, it’s gonna be good.’
So perhaps a little vague at times, the Kaiser Chiefs appear to have their feet firmly on the ground. Perhaps a few of their fellow indie stars should take note. For me, they are the nicest guys in rock at the moment.

Wise Children & Luke Leighfield - Hamptons, Southampton.

Drawn into Southampton’s local indie pub by the offer of free mince pies, the anticipation of the live music wasn’t too great, being only five pounds. As soon as the first band, Wise Children, began their performance all the negative expectations were blown away. A simple set up; two men and their acoustic guitars and a cello player, unusual in bands these days. The soft guitar riffs made me sit up and take notice, along with the gentle and meaningful lyrics which rolled out of Robin Warren-Adamson’s mouth. His style is reminiscent of Damien Rice, though with his own distinct voice.
Luke Leighfield was just as impressive, standing there with just a microphone and a keyboard. Singing about love and simply everyday observations, his choruses were the catchiest, hanging in my head for hours after seeing him. An impressive night of music for five pounds.

Wet Paint - It Rots

Do we really need another samey indie band on the music scene? It seems the answer is yes, we do, as Wet Paint prepare to tour with Bloc Party after releasing their debut album. At first, the strong guitar sound and rugged voiced front man seemed a winning combination. If only it hadn’t been done so many times before, I would have been much more impressed. After listening to the whole album, I found myself less excited as each song played, sounding more and more like a poor man’s Cribs with very droned, similar note. Every song’s guitar riffs are so alike, it’s hard to distinguish one from another after a while. I think the answer is definitely no; we don’t need to hear another band like this on the music scene. Time for some originality, please.

The Cribs – Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever

As soon as the captivating opening track “Our Bovine Public” beings to play, it deems impossible to stop listening. It contains an extremely catchy guitar riff which is sure to linger in your head long after the song has finished. This seems to be the case for every single track on the album, each with its own individual hook, but still keeping the crisp cribs’ sound we have all come to know and love.

There is a chance for listeners to take a break from jumping around with their air guitars with down – tempo tracks like “Moving Pictures”, which show off their more mature side and prove that they can do more than just criticise the music scene, like in their previous material.

It was almost as if this album was written with live shows in mind, as each song contains killer, anthemic choruses which create the perfect recipe for a stunning performance where the audience can happily join in too.

Although this is already the band’s third album, they still are not as well known and appreciated as they should be. As this is their best material so far, let’s hope it signals the start of more recognition which they deserve.

The Mighty Boosh – London Wembley Arena

Although obviously a comedy tour, at times it felt like I was watching a cheesy (but very funny) musical instead. Classic characters such as The Hitcher performed a new, improved version of his infamous song. There was plenty of new material though including a solo from Howard, a rap from Naboo and an introduction of new, space age character ‘Sun Flash’ from Noel. Throughout each song it was clear Noel Fielding craved the attention of a rock star, taking his music performances quite seriously, dancing and all. The finale involved a medley of popular songs from the show, including ‘Charlie’ and Nanageddon’. As the audience poured forward to the front of the arena to catch a closer look at the Boosh Band, I began to feel the same buzz I would catch at a concert. The huge venue created an awesome, exciting atmosphere. The audience jumped and sang along in time with them, much to the Boosh’s excitement and surprise. Perhaps a Boosh Band tour will be next on the cards?

Sam Sparro – Brighton Corn Exchange

Listening to the soft melodies on Sam Sparro’s album, the last thing you expect is the star appearing on stage fashioning a nu-rave esq boiler suit, big retro glasses and a neon ‘SPARRO’ sign hanging from his neck. This bright exterior reflected into a lively performance, despite some early techinal difficulties. Blasting out his most popular tracks to a happy crowd, along with some less well known fillers, it was surprising to see the vast age group of the audience, from 14 year old girls who want to marry him, to 50 year old men who secretly want to be him. Though I’m not quite sure where I fit in between those two catagories, I was still pleasantly surprised by his performance. One moment which stood out most during the night was a duet he performed with one of his backing singers, who has featured in some Basement Jaxx songs and videos. Revealing the true scale of Sparro’s vocal talent, they sang in perfect harmony, creating amazing smooth sounds together and a definite hairs-standing-on-end moment. Hyping up the crowd, it made way for the final song of the night, ‘black and gold’, of course. Although quite a slow song to end on, it worked, leaving the crowd literally stomping for a Sparro encore.

Album: Motown 50

2009 sees the celebration of the 50th year of Motown; a music scene which changed the face of music ever since, influencing bands left right and centre. This CD created for the momentous occasion is jam packed full of all the classic songs you know and love. This CD really awakens the senses and makes it so clear why Motown was revolutionary and why it is still popular now. It kicks off with the energetic ‘Dancing in the Street’ by Martha Reeves. This sets the standard for the rest of the compilation with songs from the Jackson 5 and of course Stevie Wonder. It would be easy to listen to the smooth, soulful voices of Motown all day long. This is definitely a must have for anyone’s CD rack, anyone who appreciates great, legendary music anyway.

McFly - Manchester M.E.N Arena

Being the band’s sixth tour, you would expect much of same now as they run out of ideas. This is definitely not the case however as this, the band's first tour on thier own record label sees more creativity, surprises and explosions than ever before, ‘The Radio:Active Tour’ being a very fitting name. Storming on stage after a 2 minute intro video is played on the huge screens to hype up the crowd into hysteria, the fierce foursome begin with their first single from Radio:Active; ‘One For The Radio’. The band bounced, jumped and ran their way through their set, seeming never to tire of performing, even though the two front men, Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones do complain of illness. Vocally, the boys are flawless with their smooth, untouched voices filling the huge arena, along with their loud and feisty guitar based rhythms to create a really buzzing atmosphere. This time round they are accompanied by backing singers with an incredible range, one of them being Anthony Brant from the not so successful boy band V. Not one trick ponies though, slowing the tempo down at times. They played their classic ‘Room On The Third Floor’ acoustically, without the aid from drums until the very last chorus, building to a truly hairs-standing-on-end crescendo, fire and all.

With the whole set full of surprises, there’s never a dull moment when the boys are performing. The ingenious ‘floating’ stage being the moment everyone remembers most clearly, as the band travel from the front to the middle of the huge arena on a massive see-through ledge, giving fans a real close up of the boys for a few songs. After this came another shock; a solo from Danny Jones, as he throws away his guitar for one song to belt out a totally energetic Micheal Jackson cover of ‘Black or White.’ Worryingly, not looking the slightest bit lost without his guitar, the true extent of his perfectly pitched, slightly husky voice is heard as he entertains the crowd with his ‘rock star’ dance moves, much to his own amusement.

As the tradition goes, ending the show with ‘5 Colours In Her Hair’ gives the boys one last time to show off their talent. Still full of energy the band give it their all, singing the infamous ‘Do do do do dos.’ An impressive improvised twanging guitar ‘solo’ after the bridge comes from Fletcher and Jones, along with some pink and gold fireworks to end the night with a bang. Apologising for only putting on an average performance due to illness, the arena fills with cheers; if McFly can perform that amazingly whilst ill, you should see them when they’re on top form. Bring on next year.

I Have No Kind Words To Say: The Maccabees Free Download

At 7.30pm on Monday evening I arrived at The Maccabees official website, so very eager to download and hear ‘No Kind Words’, the very first exciting glimpse of new material from the band. As the record starts, you hear the familiar drum beat which appear in most of The Maccabees songs. Expecting a sudden thrash of guitars and a contagious riff to follow, I was sadly faced with something much plainer. As Orlando Weeks begins to sing, another major difference is clear. His voice, much more sombre and deep than before sounds ever so upset about something, perhaps about how disappointing this record is. The song never picks up any more speed or enthusiasm, leaving me bitterly let down by a band whose first album is one of my favourites of all time.

Perhaps, and I’m hoping because this was free, that this is not the best of their new material. I hate writing negatively about the band but ‘No Kind Words’ just doesn’t have the same pizzazz or the same in your face, memorable qualities that every song on ‘Colour It In’ possesses. Though as the song says, if I’ve got no kind words to say, maybe I should say nothing at all.

Lily Allen – It’s Not Me It’s You

Although it’s been almost three years since Lily’s debut smash hit album Alright, Still, it feels like she hasn’t even been away. This is probably because she appears in gossip and fashion magazines most weeks, though her music remains the most important part of the style icon’s life. From the outside it is clear Lily has matured, leaving her trainers behind. However her new material seems to have changed much less.

Authentic London accent, check. Cheeky lyrics, check. Repetitive choruses, check. Sound familiar? Don’t get me wrong though, just because she has used the same winning formula again, doesn’t mean it is a bad album. The album starts off strong with ‘Everyone’s At It’, a very upbeat song which controversially discusses the use of drugs in society today, stating that apparently ‘everyone’s on it.’ The next song is her bouncy first single from the album ‘The Fear’ which is just as catchy as the previous song. The next song, ‘Not Fair’ really stands out for me. It is definitely one of the strongest on the album with its ridiculously catchy chorus and pumping beat, along with funny lyrics about her bedroom activities.

After this strong album opening, the tempo starts to slow down slightly. There seems to be a lot more slow songs compared to on her debut. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, though they are much less catchy on a first listen. This eagerly anticipated second album is definitely a grower in parts, but the same Lily Allen we all grew to know and love from the first is still very much here. Let’s just hope she doesn’t reuse the same formula again in the future.

New Single: Ladyhawke - Paris is Burning

After being captivated by the Lady’s first electro-pop single ‘Delirium’, I was excited to hear the next offering from the blonde haired indie chick. ‘Paris is Burning’ definitely doesn’t disappoint. Her edgy voice sings lyrics full of stories about young people drinking and dancing into the night. The fast, catchy beats capture the dream-like idea of the song brilliantly. The rather retro sounding song rolls into a truly memorable chorus that you won’t be able to stop humming, no matter how hard you try. Being the main support for the Ting Tings during February and March, the future is looking extremely bright for Ladyhawke.

‘Paris is Burning’ gets its full release on 2nd March. Head to www.myspace.com/ladyhawke for more information and tour dates.

Kings Of Leon - London Wembley Arena

Caleb’s amazingly powerful and smooth voice echoes so prominently across the arena, filling the room with such emotion. With each faultless twang of their guitars yet another goose bump appears, each song so thought provoking and poignant. Highlights include the classic ‘Milk’ and ‘Charmer’, showing off the true versatility of the band. Though new songs like ‘Sex on Fire’ and ‘Use Somebody’ do not fail to impress, creating an almost anthemic feel to them. The Kings are exactly that, kings of indie rock and roll; truly one of the most impressive bands to see live. It feels like something unexplainably amazing is happening when they perform, like the performance is going to change the world in some way, and for that hour and a half you truly believe you are watching something so mind blowing and influential.

Kaiser Chiefs - London Earls Court

As the lights began to dim, an almost deafening roar filled every corner of Earls Court, the band’s largest gig venue to date. After a few moments the huge ‘Kaiser Chiefs’curtain fell to reveal all five members as they opened the show with the boisterous Everything Is Average Nowadays. Ricky Wilson the lead singer commented that the crowd were “much louder than last night’s”, keeping them happy and even louder than before.

It felt as though both of the Chief’s albums were written with live shows in mind as each song sparked a huge sing along, at one point leaving the crowd to sing a whole verse by themselves. As well as singing all the classics like I predict a Riot and Ruby the band played a couple of new songs called Never Miss a Beat and You Want History, showing promisingly that the Kaiser Chiefs have plenty more up their sleeves before they call it a day.

Unfortunately I had to leave before the end of the gig and before they sang their famous closing song Oh My God, but from what I’ve heard from other people it was something special. I hope I get to see them again and stay to the end next time.

Enter Shikari - Leas Cliff Hall

“This is the first show in two years I havn’t worn shorts for” Shikari’s front man, Rou, announces as the band enter fashioning suits, each with a different Halloween mask on. Already making this feel like a special show, the band waste no time in blasting out album favourites to an extremely excitable crowd with the average age of about 15. I was surprised at how many new tracks they revealed, though for the first time at a gig I’ve been to, they went down just as well as the old classics, proving they’re definitely not one-album ponies. The energy conveyed from the band members was electric, the passion they have for their songs was clear.

After a very energetic performance, the obligatory encore was a definite highlight, as they stormed the stage with their two most popular songs ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner’ and ‘Ok, Time For Plan B’, definitely saving their best until last. It seemed like they had connected with the entire audience as every single person clapped their hands in time and sung the lyrics back to an appreciative Rou, coming to an explosive climax of noise, but it was great noise. This band bring so much to their live shows, creating a night to remember and leaving the crowd wanting to see them again and again. This was my second time seeing them live and I still want to go again, I was that impressed.