George Ezra - Wanted On Voyage (Album Review)

When relatively unknown English singer George Ezra released his second single, Budapest, no one expected it to reach number three on the official chart, nor did anyone see it selling millions across the world. It’s not undeserved. The song is a wonderful, proper, introduction to the bluesy tones of Ezra and his apparent gift for songwriting. It’s gorgeous from start to finish, from the opening folksy riffs to the heartwarming climax, it wouldn’t go amiss on a Hipster Indie movie soundtrack. Budapest is just one beautiful song from Ezra’s 12 track debut album, Wanted On Voyage.

What’s clear on this album is that Ezra has a distinct, at times incredible, voice. It’s folksy yet bluesy, soulful yet rocky, strong, assertive and often vulnerable. His latest single and album opener Blame It On Me is just as wonderful as his biggest hit and has one of the most memorable hooks in recent memory as he pleads repeatedly “What you waiting for?”. Ezra cites the likes of Bob Dylan as an influence and that influence is obvious on Cassy O’, an uptempo folk track with a superb chorus and an arrangement begging for a live setting. 

Rated: John Newman - Love Me Again

John Newman. Not a name many are familiar with, not unless they are huge fans of the fantastic 'Feel the Love' by Rudimental, which features John's incredible vocals. So if you're not a fan of that song get the f*ck off my blog you tasteless imbecile! Only joking... sort of. 

Anyway, John is giving us a flash of his solo capabilities and I promise you're not going to be disappointed. His stunning rasps light up 'Love Me Again', an uplifting anthem of a track, with a booming chorus draped over a retro tinged arrangement and a mid section that threatens with a dub step growl. This is an impressive debut, perhaps not for the number 1 spot but certainly deserving of a place in the top 10.

4.5/5

Rated Icona Pop - I Love It

This is awesome.
5/5

Rated: Video roundup - Justin still smooth, Rihanna still naked and Charlie XCX is a white M.I.A.

I've been out of action for a while. Sometimes life gets in the way of things you actually enjoy and you forget how much you enjoy them. Now I have decided to stop being a twat and write again. However, 3+ weeks out of the game are probably going to mean my writing is a little sloppy shite for a while, forgive me. As a little gift to stop you all hating me for disappearing because I know how much your lives depend on me, here are 3 of the biggest music videos emerging at the moment:

Justin Timberlake ft. Jay Z - Suit & Tie

Ok so when I reviewed this song a few weeks back I gave it 5/5. Then I changed this to 3/5 because I got bored of it and thought I was just overexcited that trouser snake was still alive and kicking. Now I've crept back to a 4/5 just because it's so smooth, so different to everything else around right now, and now because the video's out and Justin looks damn fine in it. All valid reasons to increase one's rating. It's my blog anyway, I can do what I want with Justin Timberlake. He's on my turf now. Check out the video below. Like I said, it's smoother than a Gillette shave with a katana. 

Rated: Lulu James - Sweet Soul

If you haven't heard about Lulu James before, I'm sure you were going to soon enough, had I not just posted this. That was a mouthful. This North-East girl has one of the most intriguing voices I've heard this year, smooth, soulful and just damn gorgeous to behold. Check out her single 'Be Safe' below:

Rated Jessie Ware - Devotion

I won't lie, I didn't know anything about Jessie Ware other than hearing few short clips here and there that intrigued me enough to listen but not enough to seek more. Silly me, because Jessie Ware's debut Devotion is a gorgeous collection of songs echoing with haunting 80s inspired synths and brimming with vocal prowess. In short, it's bloody amazing.

From the opener/title track, with its cute twinkles and thumping XX beat, Jessie's hypnotising voice demonstrates its power to harness attention. More loveliness comes from 'Wildest Moments' and new single 'Night Lights', which showcases a remarkable soulful voice that can only be destined for great things. The latter track is, in one word, breathtaking.

 

Devotion is an album so affecting that it's impossible not to adore its smooth production, endless hooks and stunning lyricism. 'Taking In Water' is a track bursting with emotion, so much so it moved me (not to tears - nothing does that). 

Not only affective, the album is perfectly paced. No track is so different from the others that it overshadows, in fact the album is totally self complimenting. The tempo shifts ever so slightly from slow to slow-mid to mid, never cranking up to a level that disrupts the journey. 'Sweet Talk', '110%' and 'No To Love' are the most uptempo tracks here, all so ridiculously infectious there's got to be something illegal going on.

Devotion is the most accomplished debut I've heard this year. It gets right what so many get wrong, it never tries to outdo itself. Every track flows into the next effortlessly, never setting itself up to be better than its predecessor. When the album reaches its inevitable close, you'll be hitting the rewind button to ride it one more time.

5/5

Rated Rita - How We Do (Party)

You couldn't swing a cat now without slapping a female popster in the face, with the arse of said cat. They're everywhere, some of them popping up and dropping out after one flip flop single, others going on to become household names, idols and teenage boy fantasies. With the likes of Rihanna, Beyonce, GaGa and now Azealia Banks et al, someone like Rita Ora has a lot to prove if she's to stick out from the largely attractive female crowd. She's got the look nailed (she's fit) and she's got the pleasant singing voice, not to mention 2 number 1 singles, one with DJ Fresh on 'Hot Right Now' and more impressively her epic solo debut 'R.I.P' which featured the loin girding Tinie Tempah.

Second single 'How We Do (Party)' isn't as edgy as her first, but it's more fun. 'I get that drunk sex feeling yeah when I'm with you/So put your arms around me baby' she sings over some poppy beats so sweet and sticky they'd make Patisserie Valerie quiver. While it doesn't pack the slap that 'R.I.P' dishes out on every subsequent listen, it's fresh and hopefully a sign that her album ORA will be a dynamic debut. Oh and it samples Notorious BIG; how could you dislike it?

4/5

ORA is out 27 August - Reviewed here right away! 
See the review of 'R.I.P' here.

Rated Ruby Goe

A copious amount of alcohol and uneasy start to the day has ended in me being splayed across my bed by 11pm on a Friday night. However, everything happens for a reason and in a certain order, so I believe and thus I have discovered some new music to fluff out my recently played playlist for the coming months only because of said alcohol consumption.

East London entrepreneur and star in the making Ruby Goe caught my undivided attention with her distinct vocals this evening after reading a lovely wee interview with her in the latest issue of Dazed & Confused. A bit like a more vocally capable Santigold (no disrespect - I love Santi!), Ruby's single 'Badman' kicks off with some lovely electronic beats followed by thumping synths while her vocals evolve throughout the track from reserved to emotive, 'shot down those tiny daggers from your mouth' (bloody good line!). This has anthem written all over it.

She cranks up the tempo further with 'Get On It' which is basically about getting set for a night out and then getting on 'it'. It starts off with some heavy bass and rough synths only to burst into a marching band drum beat before the chorus belts you in the nuts. I've only listened to this through ear phones but I can only imagine how amazing it's going to feel when it's pounding out of my speakers tomorrow morning (sorry naybz). Check out the video too where she chunders black oil and then throws it at the wall. Standard.

Big things are coming this girl's way!

Rated Next to Me

There's so much excitement surrounding Emeli Sande (most of it from yours truly) that there's nothing that can stop her from hitting super stardom. Debut single 'Heaven' was an exhilarating 90s dance tinged delight and follow up 'Daddy' continued with this vibe. This is the theme I expected from all her debut album's material, however, new single 'Next To Me' couldn't be more different. 

With an Emeli Sande meets Sara Bareilles sound, this is one of the catchiest songs of January/February. The pounding drum beat, pumps its way alongside her gorgeous melodies as she soulfully sings, "when the end has come and buildings falling down fast/when we spoilt the land and dried up all the sea/when everyone has lost their heads around us/you will find him you'll find him next to me." With penmanship like this I have great expectations from her album.

Her voice is, as it was on all other cuts, absolutely flawless. There's a substance in there that I've never quite heard before. I hope this song makes waves, but even if it doesn't her album will surely drown out the rest of the charts for months to come. 

Our Version of Events is out on Feb 13th.

Rated Daddy Daddy

The last half of 2011 will always be, for me, a time when my prospects were turned around and I gained a positive outlook on my life. Similarly, for Aberdeenshire born singer Emeli Sande, the latter half of the year has been insane and mesmerising. Her debut solo single 'Heaven' (perhaps my favourite song of the year) reached number 2 in the UK top 40 chart and she hit number 1 lending Professor Green a helping hand.

Back with her 2nd critically acclaimed single 'Daddy', Sande has cemented the fact that she is on route to big things. Destined to join the growing ranks of brilliant British female soloists (Adele, Ellie Goulding, Katy B) she is continuing with the retro 90s dance vibe that backed her debut. "You got your family back and you got your smile/And you promised your sister that you'd never go back again..." sings Sande with her distinct, silky vocals. Like 'Heaven', this song showcases just what an epic talent this young woman has/is and when the song hits its climax her vocals are on traffic stopping form.

There's something about this woman, something special. She can sing fantastically and she is a great live act. She's cool and unique, but there's something else. I just can't put my finger on it, but I can say that I smell immense success and worldwide stardom coming her way.

5/5

Rated Keisha

It's been a while since the Sugababes' much publicised and speculated refurbishment and just as long since we heard anything from Keisha Buchanan. The original member and her big pipes are now back, with debut solo material and a lovely set at Jacques Townhouse back in July. I have only just managed to find said video footage and I am hugely impressed. Not only does she have a great solo presence but her voice seems more powerful than ever.

Check out her cover of Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep' below and make up your own mind. I, however, am already sure that this woman is on the track to the top of the charts.

Rated Flashback - Spirit Room

There's one album that sticks with you from your teen years and showers you with nostalgia upon every listen. That one album for me (aside from the likes of Jagged Little Pill and Hotel Paper) is The Spirit Room by Canadian singer/songwriter Michelle Branch. She never took off over here, but she made a pretty big impact overseas, scoring a Grammy and 3 top 40 singles, not to mention the 2million+ sales of the album in the US alone.

This album sticks with me because it's, simply, catchy as hell. It's pretty standard acoustic pop/rock from the early 00s, but there's just something rather marvellous going on here that I've never been able to put my finger on. Whether it's Branch's distinguishable vocals, emotion driven performance, the brilliant melodies or the well constructed lyricism, I do not know. Maybe it's a combination of all the above? I was only 13 when this album came out and some pretty harrowing stuff was going on in my personal life at the time, thus the reason it's remained a pretty important part of my musical therapy collection. I felt down recently so I whipped it out and began soothing my soul once more.

With singles 'Everywhere', 'All You Wanted' and the superb 'Goodbye to You', the album couldn't really go wrong. There's not one filler, every song feels like it's been carved out of musical stone, and the non-singles are either equally as effective and fun as the released or they take things to another level. 'Sweet Misery' and 'Something to Sleep to' for example, are startlingly awesome pop songs. The former, probably my favourite from the album, features a lovely vocal performance and stunning choral melody, something that recurs throughout Branch's work (she's got a knack for cracking out hooks). A surprising moment on The Spirit Room is 'Drop in the Ocean', which goes from haunting love song to a trippy Tori Amos style dancey number. This is a bout as sonically experimental this album gets, but it is supposed to be a pop/rock album, not a 'Professional Widow' style collection.

Sounding mildly like Alanis Morissette in her earliest years, Branch's vocal style reaches a similar sound at her higher pitches. However, Morissette's material was beyond her years at Branch's age and was as intricate and metaphorical as lyrics can possibly get. The Spirit Room certainly is not Jagged Little Pill, the main reason being a lack of maturity. Branch's age shows with her coolly named book of love songs and angst. However, as young as these love songs are they're written masterfully. Song writing is Branch's main forte, proven with the release of second album Hotel Paper, which had more love songs but more maturity, making for a slightly darker sound (emphasis on slightly). This is an album that will always stick with me, kind of like a child hood teddy bear that keeps reappearing every time you start to feel a little low.

Rated Yasmin!

There's a new girl knocking about the charts right now and I absolutely love her. Her name is Yasmin and she's fit, like really fit. The (almost) sexuality conversion aside, this girl also writes and sings some damn good rnb songs. Loaded with soft echoing synths and buffed up with a superb Freemason's remix, her new single 'Finish Line' is brilliant and currently picking up substantial airplay as well as a decent chart debut of #13. Her previous single, 'On My Own' was a great way to unleash her talent on the country, with a stunning sounding chorus and an unescapable hook. Her voice is refreshingly smooth and understated. Strafing away from the roaring of other female singers out there (Beyonce and GaGa) and staying strong sounding enough to avoid the weaker, whiny sound of other rnb singers like Alesha Dixon, she lands in the perfect spot.

She first popped up on the Devlin track 'Runaway' and since then she's been garnering popularity, fast. Check out the videos below, I challenge you not to be impressed or fall instantly in love.

PS: Love the hat.

Rated Hafdis Huld - Synchronised Swimmers

The last artist to make me “omg” to myself was Sia Furler, back in 2008 when I first heard her second studio album ‘Some People Have Real Problems’. It was refreshing to find a singer who presents a collection of down tempo love songs and fills them till they overflow with passion and sincerity. Three years on and it’s happening to me again, this time with Icelandic star Hafdis Huld and her second studio release Synchronised Swimmers. This album will revolutionize your ideas of ‘chill-out’, ‘background’ and ‘cutesy’ music. Hafdis’ unique, soft tones are as easily consumed as cotton candy and her brand of female folk pop is brimming with charm.

Far from her days in electro-pop outfit GusGus, where she sounded a bit like Moloko star Roisin Murphy, Hafdis sings her newer material in such a relaxed manner that it tingles the spine. Opener ‘Action Man’ is, potentially, the cutest song you’ll ever have the pleasure of hearing. “Wishing, wishing and wishing away, by my window everyday, while he’s on a mission…” sings Hafdis on a track about a heroic lover and his absence from home. It’s the perfect introduction to an almost purely folk inspired album. ‘Oldest Friend’ continues the nostalgia theme that seems rife here, before the tempo picks up on lead single and Icelandic chart number one ‘Kongulo’ (Icelandic for Spider), which is about the human spider Alain Robert. This quirky source of musical inspiration is reminiscent of Icelandic superstar Bjork’s often odd-sounds and subject matter.

Synchronised Swimmers’ folk charm is continued with the minimalist ‘Boys & Perfume’ and on the mid-tempo title track, which is one of the album’s highlights. A darker moment is ‘I Almost Know a Criminal’, but this step down from chirpy nostalgic moments is minor and short lived, as ‘Robot Robot’ kicks in and Hafdis sings about building herself a lover. Album closer ‘Winter Sun’ is a gorgeous end to an intelligent, interesting and delightful album.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Hafdis Huld has big things coming her way on an international scale. With the recent rush of folk females (Ellie Goulding and Laura Marling are just two examples) on the commercial music scene, the door is already open for Hafdis to stick a toe over the threshold and bring some much-needed luminescence into our lives. 

Rated 10 Day Song Challenge - Day 4

Oops, got side tracked yesterday and failed to keep the flow going with this post. 

Day 4

Rihanna - Man Down

It's no secret that I love a bit of the Bajan bogle queen. 'Man Down' from Ri's latest album Loud is an original moment for the new queen of dance-hall inspired pop. It's mid-tempo reggae ramblings allow her Bajan accent to slip through at its thickest to date, easily heard when she sings "Pull the trigga pull the trigga BOOM". With its Bob Marley inspired 'Rom papapom', 'Man Down' is an interesting, intelligent and damn charming moment for the pop-tart. 

Rated Songs of 2010.

So 2010 was a bit of a bitch, but the crap aside, there was a mass of immense music on the circuit. Here's my top 5 from last year.

1. Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)
2. Sunday Girl - Four Floors
3. Robyn - Dancing On My Own
4. Ellie Goulding - Your Song
5. Kele - Tenderoni
   

1: After the dark romp of Rated R, good ol' RiRi launched what has been labeled a 'comeback' (since selling millions is now considered a flop) with the immense dance floor euphoria roller-coaster that is 'Only Girl'. A slice of dance pop from her latest LP Loud, this song is the most exhilarating ride of 2010.

2: Her debut album is still locked up, but I can't contain my excitement for much longer. The gorgeous Jade tweeted me saying it would be out in March, which is too long if you ask me. Never mind, we at least have the beautifully produced 'Four Floors' to dig our claws into. Produced by Diplo, the song has stacked up over 30,000 plays on Last.Fm and nearly 100 on my itunes, unsurprising considering its intoxicating melodies and Sunday Girl's soft, unique vocals.

3: It's no secret that I love the Body Talk series, even if the third 'part' is a bit of a daft conception. The highlight of the entire collection is the epic 'Dancing On My Own', which has one of the most identifiable openings of a song for years. The rumbling riff that hooks you in is followed by an array of electronic synths and Robyn's lovely voice, which infiltrates the psyche like some kind of Blonde haired, Swedish X-Man.

4: Covering an Elton John song is a brave move, but, cut straight from the British crop, Ellie Goulding takes the challenge with gusto. Her understated version of his classic 'Your Song' is an absolute stunner and a well deserved success.

5:When Kele from Bloc Party made the move to the solo sphere I was pretty unsure. Now, I've had a thorough dressing down from his ass kicking debut 'Tenderoni'. It's pretty standard Bloc Party Intimacy stuff, but it's got a climax like no other.

Rated Capitals.

The first time I heard Capitals I instantly thought of The XX, Beirut and some other, folksier sounding bands/artists. They are, however, not in the slightest bit folksy. Capitals are an electronic-pop outfit that veers just far enough away from mainstream to beam with originality. With Angus Carbarns on vocals and Keir MacCulloch twiddling the knobs, this two-piece is as fitted as a fine Armani suit.  

The tracks that are available on their official Myspace page are quite startling. “Hello World” is a fitting introduction, with its up-tempo, pulsing beat and electronic-dance vibe. It’s on ‘A Specter is Haunting Europe’ that we’re really indulged. Sounding like a new-age Soft Cell production, this is where the duo really glistens. “Where are we? We’re lost at sea, we’ve lost our war, we’ve lost our life...” sings Carbarns, his vocals intensely ‘haunting’. The build up to the first chorus is spine tingling and quite unexpected, as the track bursts into a luminescent electro euphoria (due to MacCulloch’s expertise, no doubt). Other highlights from the band’s catalogue are ‘The Grace’, ‘Walking Life’ and ‘Hands Divided’. ‘Walking Life’ is a dream of a song, with violins playing softly in the background, amidst an array of synths. It has a playful chorus, and at times Carbarns sounds like a less shaky Marcus Mumford. ‘Hands Divided’ begins sounding like an XX album cut, but swiftly maneuvers to being (by this point) an identifiable Capitals record.

With the combined effort of these two, clearly, gifted and aspiring men, there’s no doubt in my mind that they will go far. There’s plenty space for them in the industry right now, what with the orgasm of female vocals that is dominating air time. Maybe Capitals can be the ones to break through this and subsequently take some truly brilliant music across the country.