Lemon Jelly – Stay with You

Here lie three great tracks that guarantee you a great time. This is my first experience with the band. They seem to be firmly into dance yet with some stabbing beats and a great loop. Here we get sampled on “Stay With You” uses stuff from Gallagher & Lyle’s “I Wanna Stay With You”. This one is a bright cut of summer in the heart of winter. This one came out of nowhere and I got my eyes on their forthcoming LP.

By John Siwicki

Mylo – In My Arms

Mylo is back with a new single from his”Destroy Rock And Roll’ LP. Mylo is a clever one. As he is still supporting the widely acclaimed and downright brilliant album he digs out a potential summer classic. This one will become a big hit over the festival season as the kids dance the hot nights away to this one.

By John Siwicki

Silversun Pickups – Pikul EP

Silversun Pickups are a four piece out of Las Angeles and are quite a hidden gem. “Kissing Families” kicks us off with the slow strum of an acoustic guitar and a very strong male vocal (Brian) that really sticks out. The female vocal (Nikki) also have a standout note, it’s a very soft and soothing vocal that really works together well with Brians voice. Musically they are not afraid to make a bit noise and show off. “Booksmart Devil” is a slow track that never really seems to get off the ground. “The Fuzz” is one of the real standouts here. It sees the band partake in a little sonic mischief and really mixes up the sounds here.
This is an solid collection of songs. They should have Nikki sing a bit more, but I can manage. They have a knack for writing a song with some great instrumentation and still manage to write a great hook over it. It’s a nice hybrid. “Kissing Families” and “The Fuzz” are real standout tracks and really should be heard.

By John Siwicki

Muse – Super Massive Black Hole

What do you think of when you think of Muse? Giant infectious riffs? Funky basslines? Unusual harmonies? Dark lyrics? Innovative? Annoying? Overproduced? Abstract? Well, whatever you’ve thought of Muse in the past, go into this song with an open mind.

You might be fooled into thinking this is just another space inspired piano cum guitar standard Muse song from the title of the song. You really couldn’t be any further from the truth. Supermassive Black Hole sees the three piece take a completely different musical direction than any of their past material and sees them delve almost into the world of electronica or dance in places. The vocals and ideas could be compared to Prince in places with the words “baby” thrown in for good measure.

The song itself grabs you and pulls you in from the first 5 seconds with heavy distorted guitars running throughout the entire song and the song has an intriguing experimental feel. The middle eight sounds completely out of this world, a fusion of powerful experimental rock and electronica which works in perfect harmony.

We are reminded that deep down the song is still Muse only by Bellamy’s trade mark falsetto voice and Wolstenholme’s funky bassline. However this time, the falsetto runs throughout the song and is weaker than we all know that Bellamy is capable of.

Really, Muse have created this piece of music which will just make people see them into a new light. It is very hard to give it an overall score because of many reasons. Muse’s fans might wonder where they have heard the bass before and listen to it for the first time feeling completely lost or just not understanding where it all went wrong. However this is Muse reaching out to an entirely new audience and attracting many new fans no doubt.

For the people the song captures, it will seem addictive for the first few listens and leave the listener starving for another fix. Supermassive Black Hole at the end of the day is like marmite, you’ll love it and can’t get enough or you’ll just simply hate it. But whatever you do, don’t ignore it.

By Helen Daw

Maximo Park – Going Missing

There is really something special about the Park. It would be easy to lump them into new Franz Ferdinand or Futureheads, territory. Their look is fantastic, singer Paul Smith always looks so good, and he has all the makings for a great front man. The band has something to them that separates them from the bunch. Also, the tunes are there as well.

Royksopp – The Understanding

Royksopp’s surprising debut album “Melody AM” was hailed and a good hit pretty much everywhere. I still listen to Poor Leno too much three years on. The follow up of course was going to be a bit challenging. The boys provide vocals on most of the tracks here. Except on a few where Karin Dreijer from The Knife (“What Else Is There?”), Kate Havnevik (“Only This Moment” and “Circuit Breaker”) and Chelonis R Jones(“49 Percent”).
“Triumphant” starts off with a simple piano bit which slowly builds into more a downbeat tune. The beat would be perfect for a type of hip-hop ballad. “Only This Moment” is a big slice of sunshine. The vocals are soothing and it really incites dancing it’s hard to sit still. “Boys” is a bit of a rough and tumble song. It’s a bit different to the previous tracks and a nice change of pace. “49 Percent” would be an excellent song if there were no vocals, what are they singing about? “Beautiful Day Without You” is a nice big tune with a 80s feel to it. It sounds like Daft Punk and Air collided to make a track. It’s got a nice soft tones and a good vibe to it. “What Else Is There” features Karin of The Knife and is a beautiful and haunting tune.Karins vocals are stunning and the beats behind here just fit it so well. You never really want this one to end. Its easily one of the albums highlights. “Circuit Breaker” starts off a little weak, but really picks up when the angelic vocals of Kate Havenevik kick in and really round off the song. “Dead To The Wood” is slow soothing track very downbeat and minimalist but still a gorgeous track. A nice way to finish up and take a nap.
“The Understanding” was a very enjoyable album. There is a nice variety of tunes from the pop of “Only This Moment” to the downbeat “Dead to the Wood.” It’s a great step on from their debut and a nice way to really widen their sound and appeal.

By John Siwicki

The Kooks – Eddie’s Gun

After Edie Argos’ honest confession of erectile dysfunction in

M.I.A – Bucky Done Gun

MIA was always destined for great things. Her story is just to perfect to be ignored, but she is the rare case were her music backs up all the talk. “Bucky Done Gun” is one of the most dance friendly track on “Arular.” Instantly its call to arm intro ” ‘ London , quiet’n down, I need to make a sound / New York , quiet down, I need to make a sound’ this track just demands your attention. The track then launches into a thrilling bass line and some rather delightful horns pop up all to drive this track into amazing things, which not many could ever touch.

By John Siwicki

The Paddingtons – 50 to a Pound

I couldn’t type the pound symbol there but hey. After the blinder of “Panic Attack,” here we get “50 to a Pound.” It’s got a much poppier overall feel here. Also, the production has stepped up,a wee bit. They sound a bit more polished than their previous efforts. It does have a nice feel and a fun vibe to it. They still maintain those raw riffs and vocals. The song is a bit of good fun I must say and must be a great live track as well. . Another great track to add to an already great arsenal

By John Siwicki

The Subways – Young For Eternity

The Subways are of course the band that won the Glastonbury 2004 unsigned competition which lifted them into the spotlight. This three piece which features born to be front man Billy, the very fit bassist Charlotte and the good looking drummer in Josh. All the pieces are there. The band seemed to divide opinions that you really love them or hate them. I seem to go for the first. Their sound reminds me of The Von Bondies a bit.
“I Want to Hear What You Got to Say” starts off with a slow bit for awhile, (it almost fooled me) then it builds into a solid rock and roll tune and really gets good when Charlotte sings. She sounds brilliant on this track. ” Holiday ” is a bit of a punk like song. It’s nice to hear them getting a bit loud. “Rock And Roll Queen” I think is a better live track it seems to be missing something. But it’s still a fun song. “Mary,” see things strip down for an acoustic number. “Young For Eternity” could only of course be a loud ballsy rock and roll tune. “Oh Yeah” follows, and it is a bouncy and poppy number. It’s a got a solid hook, and a bit of an anthemic feel to it. “No Goodbyes” is another acoustic led track, which does have some delicious harmonies. “Somewhere” and “At 1AM” closing us out on quite a high note. “Somewhere” is a big epic song and quite long for the bands stands. “At 1AM” of course the bands debut single, the one that got us all giddy. It still holds up incredibly well.
This album is full of passion, youthful excitement, its good to hear band that seems really full of life. At times a record like this is perfect. Easy, to sing a long with full of some good tunes, but of course its all just begun.

By John Siwicki