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10:39 - 07-August-2008
1) The Script - The Script: Currently riding high in the itunes chart with their second single The Man Who Can't Be Moved, Irish trio The Script have unleashed a debut album which oozes a maturity way beyond their years.
From the uber-funky We Cry to The Police - inspired by Rusty Halo - this is how you would imagine Maroon 5 to sound if they had put more effort into being cool than writing songs about Jane. That's not to say there isn't any heartbreak on here - check out Before The Walk, or the excellent If You See Kay - and you'll see these guys do it just a little better.
Great song writing coupled with slick production, The Script are going to be huge, and rightfully so. Rating: 8/10
(Review by Nick Howes)
2) Levellers - Letters From The Underground: Yes, they're still going. And as you might expect from a band who were never exactly shy of politics, they've got plenty to say about the current wars, and the sorry state of a nation "living in restricted zones as the heart of the country grows cold".
It was never hard to mock the Levellers, and if you want a nuanced take on the state we're in you'd be better off with an Indelicates album - or maybe even a book. But for all their sixth-form bluntness, the Levellers retain a certain undeniable gift for battered yearning and rabble-rousing stomps. Rating: 6/10
(Review by Alex Sarll)
3) Late Of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel: The teen quartet are veterans of many an all-age show and having had single releases on indie scenester labels Moshi Moshi and Way Out West, now release their debut album on Parlophone.
Eastern mantras segue into trash-noise disco beats with funky guitar breaks and strong echoes of 1980s chart hit sound and style. Tribal drum rhythms merge with yelping vocals and burbling, bouncy electro-dance keyboards into dancefloor agitators.
It's an aural picaresque journey through prog-rock, synth-pop and even metal-guitar monster mashes (well - they do come from Castle Donnington) with the final destination being a sublime pop album. Rating: 9/10
(Review by Delia Barnard)
4) Green Peppers - Adventures In The Slipstream: The Soup Dragons were an indie band in the late 80s and early 90s, who's Madchester-esque hit I'm Free forever eclipsed the rest of their output. The band's guitarist Jim McCulloch has gone onto more interesting things, working with Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan among other artists.
He's also the brains behind this collective, and has roped fellow influential Scot Emma Pollock of The Delgados for vocal duties, as well as Melanie Whittle and Sandra Belda, who sing on a number of tracks.
Musically, think of a slightly more whimsical Zero 7 crossed with the twee guitar pop of Teenage Fanclub and you'll be somewhere near the mark. Pollock's voice is the stand-out as you might expect, but while certain songs shimmer in the sunlight, other more pedestrian efforts never really get going. Patchy then, but huge potential. Rating: 5/10
(Review by Andy Welch)
5) Elvis Presley - Complete '68 Comeback Special (4CD): The most well-known singer in the Western world is possibly most favourably remembered in his black leather suit as worn in the recordings for the 60-minute-long TV show these CDs are culled from. This is the complete version of those sessions including rehearsal versions, alternate takes and the most rocking of medleys.
This is undoubtedly for hardcore fans only, unless you have an obsessive desire to hear six versions of Trouble and Blue Christmas in ever-so-slightly different takes - but then again Elvis' rejects are a lot easier on the ear than most artistes top hits. Rating: 7/10
(Review by Delia Barnard)
6) Grantura - In Dreams And Other Stories: If you heard this with no prior knowledge of the band, it'd be pretty easy to think you were listening to a band from the 60s and 70s. It also comes of a surprise that the band are from London not California, such is their surf-rock style.
This is particularly noticeable on opening songs Waves and In Dreams. As the album continues with songs like Lazarus and House Of Cards it develops into a Country and Americana album. It's packed with well thought out harmonies but lacking the creative edge, which will make the band stand out from others.
Likewise there doesn't seem to be any standout tracks. You'd probably be better off buying a Monkees album. Rating: 5/10
(Review by Polly Weeks)
7) Fightstar - Alternate Endings: Whisper it warily among serious heavy metallers, but ex-Busted boy Charlie Simpson's rockband Fightstar are really rather good. After two albums of intriguing post-hardcore, here they strive to expand their sonic oeuvre with a collection of rare and unreleased tracks.
Chief among the latter category is the breathtaking Where's The Money Lebowski? Acoustic versions of Flood and 99, from a Radio 1 session, showcase an emotive reawakening but maybe covering The Flaming Lips' sublime Waitin For A Superman was a bridge too far. The Cure are also covered, to greater effect, and this CD will be regarded as a pretty impressive stopgap until Fightstar come up with their next proper album. Rating: 7/10
(Review by Patrick Gates)
8) Gotye - Like Drawing Blood: Twenty-seven year-old Belgium-born, Australian-raised Gotye has been described as a musical magpie - and this, his debut release outside of Australia, is a real birds nest. Electronic beats, sweeping violins, crackly samples, Motown stomp - you name it, Gotye weaves it into his mad musical landscape.
There's a lot going on in this album - and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, a little more editing might have made it stronger. The title track is much more upbeat than the name suggests, but the haunting Hearts A Mess is the song that stays in your head.
Other standouts include the Motown-esque Learnalilgivinandlovin, the weirdly amusing Seven Hours With A Backseat Driver and the moody Puzzle With A Piece Missing. It's not clear what Gotye's on, but this album's definitely worth your listening attention. Rating: 7/10
(Review by Lucy Corry)
9) Cyndi Lauper - Bring Ya To The Brink: On hearing this album expect your first response to be one of 'Crikey this is actually Cyndi Lauper and not Santogold or remixes of Nelly Furtado'. If Cyndi was worrying that people would only associate her with her pop heyday of Girls Just Want To Have Fun, she need not worry.
Working alongside a host of credible artists and producers - including Basement Jaxx, Kleer Up and Dragonette, it's as if she's been given the ingredients to make the most contemporary pop record and off she's headed to mix them all together. The only problem is that at times you doubt the authenticity and wonder if it's just about the formula. Rating: 7/10
(Review by Polly Weeks)
10) Jane McDonald - Jane: It's been 10 years since Jane McDonald came into the public eye thanks to early reality TV series The Cruise. The show, which lifted the lid on life on board a luxury liner, uncovered the Wakefield-born crooner, and a matter of weeks later, her debut album was at the top of the UK album chart.
Now, three years since her last album inexplicably hit No 21 in the same chart, it's time for Jane's new collection of songs, imaginatively titled Jane. Fans will surely lap up the schmaltzy arrangements, the expensive-sounding 65-piece orchestra and the choice selection of cover versions, which include Neil Sedaka's The Hungry Years, Dusty Springfield's Song For You and Barry Manilow's Even Now.
Anyone else unlucky enough to hear this atrocity will baulk at the sheer mediocrity of what's on offer. Shockingly bad. Rating: 1/10
(Review by Andy Welch)
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