The Wanted // The Wanted

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The hottest boy band at the moment release their self titled debut album this month. So does it live up to the hype?

The album opens with debut single All Time Low followed by second single Heart Vacancy. Lose My Mind has a very King's Of Leon feel to it (in particular, Need Somebody). Replace Your Heart keeps the pace but has too much of a boyband feel to it (sounds like something Westlife would do).

Hi And Low drops the tempo again and feels a little out of place on the album as it's feels a little bare. Let's Get Ugly samples the well known theme to the Clint Eastwood film, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (originally composed by Ennio Morricone) an the chorus lyrics could be seen as some kind of homage to it (Cause they're so good/I'm so bad/So lets get ugly).

Say It On The Radio could be a Lady Gaga track in disguise (they'd just have to have a video to that standard). Golden requires a translator to understand what's being said for the majority of it. Weakness is an appropriate title for the next song. Like The Saturday's Missing You, this just doesn't seem to go anywhere when you expect it to.

A very cliché left, left right left right and typical military drumming opens Personal Soldier. Sadly doesn't kind live up to what you'd expect. Behind Bars is a rocking little that in the opening misleads the listener thinking it's going to be something soppy with the strings on their own.
The next track up is Made (recently made available on iTunes as their Single of The Week) and isn't a bad sounding number. Wonder why it's as far down the list though... The last track is A Good Day For Love To Die leaves you wondering where the rest of the album is

Overall, while there are some great little numbers on the album, it has a feeling that they are attempting to sound like everyone else already out there and not trying to stand out from the crowd. Sadly not something that was expected from the newest band on the music scene

Rating: 3/5

Peter Andre // Defender

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It must be an Aussie thing this year to use the title Defender. Peter Andre returns with new track Defender, the first to be taken from forthcoming album, Accelerate.

It has a very military feel to the start of, and definitely grabs the attention of the listener from the outset. The military feeling continues with the lyrics too and how they're delivered. It's a nice upbeat, powerful song and certainly sets what could be a standard for the rest of the album.

Rating:4/5

KT Tunstall Live @ Barrowland Ballroom (23rd October 2010)

It's been a while since KT's last proper tour (she did do a small solo tour earlier this year performing tracks from the latest album, Tiger Suit) but tonight she arrives in at the infamous Barrowland Ballroom as part of her current UK tour.

First on stage in a duo from Sheffield called Snow Club. They’re a mixture of guitar, drums and vocals. They may have been more interesting if they could be understood (the loudness of the instruments drowned the vocals in some songs) and had made an attempt to show some enthusiasm up on the stage.

However, the general feeling was that they were just there (they openly admitted that they didn’t have a set list and even asked the crowd what time it was so they could, on the wing, decide how many songs they could perform). In honesty, had there been a decision of whether to give the support a miss, then this would have been one of those moments. Once they left the stage, it was a all hands on deck to get the stage ready for the main show. The lights dim and the show is ready to begin.

The band appear first followed by KT who apologises for being late but she’s been away ‘writing some new shit’ and she hopes we like it. From that, we’re straight into the first track of the night, Glamour Puss. This leads straight into Unmmannaq Song. She takes a break to speak to the crowd and introduce Come On, Get In, a song about get on with it after getting dumped. Funnyman, from the last album Drastic Fantastic is next.  Next she asks if there are any freaks in the venue, with many putting their hands up. She then adds what’s more worrying is those that didn’t answer. This leads into the first single from the new album, (Still A) Weirdo. At the end of this, she apologises for the beatboxing in the album version. People told it was a good idea and it wasn’t.

Another favourite Hold On follows but not before she introduces us to her band. After this, the band leaves KT on her own and she performs a new version of Other Side Of The World, which was brilliant. She then into the her debut song Black Horse & The Cherry Tree, which she sets up or, try to set up through the loop pedal. Unfortunately, the crowd are really into in and going a little too quickly. She tries speeding it up but admits it sounds a bit like a rap, so takes it down again. During the musical section, the band returns to help her finish the song off. Songs Lost and Golden Frames are next followed straight after by Difficulty. She brings the pace down a little with the last track on Tiger Suit, The Entertainer.

The slow pace doesn’t last as she throws herself into Saving My Face, with the crowd joining in and generally have a great time. Madame Trudeaux comes next after a short explanation behind the song. Push That Knot Away, the first full studio version that fans were introduced to and forthcoming single Fade Like A Shadow (first single in the US) finishes off this little segment. The band and KT disappear from the stage and the crowd start chanting, clapping…generally making a grand noise until KT and a member of her band return to the stage.

As they’re starting the next song, KT announces that this song is back by popular demand and she does read what we write sometimes. The track turns out to be Heal Over. As the song progresses, the rest of the band returns and she tells us that a question gets asked frequently is what sort of music inspires her and her answer is the 80’s. She wants to sing The Voice, but doesn’t have a bagpipe player, so she opts for the Erasure track A Little Respect. The night ends on a high with the fantastic Suddenly I See. Once the stage is empty, the crowd once again try chanting but the house lights come up and everyone realises that it the end of the night.

Overall, it was a great night. The Barrowlands is a great little venue and has seen some great acts over the years. The support act didn’t live up to the main act and felt as if they just been picked 5 minutes before they went on stage. Of the main event, KT was fantastic and, compared to the last big gig (held in the SECC) this seemed much more impressive. The tracks sound perfect live, if not, slightly different but that’s what seeing an artist live is all about: experiencing the music how it should be: live.

Photos © Vhari Lannigan

Tiger Suit:
Standard
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Deluxe
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James Blunt // Stay The Night

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It's been a while since we've heard anything new from Mr. Blunt, but now he's back with a new single and album (following shortly)

Some people may be mistaken upon hearing the first few chords that it's a new version of Train's 'Hey Soul Sister' as it has the same sort of sound. Yes, gone (at present) is doom and gloom and it's hello sunshine. It's a nice upbeat and happy song just as we're heading into winter and is just what the doctor ordered. Lyrically, James doesn't disappoint and you'll soon find yourself singing along, even if it is just with the chorus.

It's nice to hear something different from James. But that's not to say that the whole album is going to be all rosy like this, but it is a good start. Only problem is the similarity to the afore mentioned song, so could be construed as trying to play off the back of that. Fun little number that fans probably aren't expecting and may well draw in some new fans.

Rating: 4.5/5

Amy Macdonald // Love Love UK & European Arena Tour : 19.10.10 O2 Apollo Manchester

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Amy Macdonald embarks on her latest and quite possibly her longest UK and European tour in support of her new album, A Curious Thing. This time around though, she's teamed up with concert specialist Concert Live to allow fans to get their hands on copies of the tour on CD straight after the show, but only at selected venues. The first in the series of 4 is from the first night of the UK tour at the O2 Apollo in Manchester on the 19^th October 2010.

Presented as a digipack, the concert is spread across 3 discs (9, 7 and what will be 2 tracks on the last track...more on this later) and the quality of the tracks is superb. The tracks are in performance order and also includes her chatting to the fans with her little anecdotes and tales, giving you over an hour of material to live or, in the case of people who were at the gig, relive.

There is only one thing wrong with this. You've paid your money (the album costs £20 on the night, £20 plus P+P if bought from the site) and expect the full concert. Only problem is that you only get 2 full CDs. The encore disc is blank. In order to get the tracks, you need to go to a specified site online, enter your email and the code that you find underneath the 3^rd disc in the pack to receive the links to the download and burn the tracks to the final disc. Now, here is the possible problem. Now downloading is fine if you just want to keep the tracks in mp3 format, but there is the issue that if you are going to burn them to disc, that you have to hope that it works first time as there is only one disc. While yes this is probably a time saving idea, it does feel like you've been cheated, especially if you aren't familiar or confident in burning discs.

All in all, this is a great little memento from the night and marks the first full concert to be available to purchase (the second disc of the deluxe version of A Curious Thing is purely the tracks, whereas this is everything). As for who will buy it, more than likely anyone who attended the concert and those that wish to hear Amy live. Of course, this is the first of four from this tour, so the decision of which one to actually own may be difficult.

Rating: 4.5/5

Red Hot Chilli Pipers // Music For The Kilted Generation

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The Bagrockers return with their third album, Music For The Kilted Generation, which once again brings the traditional and the modern together. So what have they got instore for us this time around

Long Way To The Top – If You Wanna Bagrock starts the album off as it means to go on: loud and rocking! It's quickly followed by Just For Willie, a track composed by members of the band for ex member, Willie Armstrong. Probably one of Snow Patrol's most well known tracks, Chasing Cars is given the Chilli Piper treatment and it actually isn't too bad. The arrangement works well even if it does have a little added section to it, that just adds to song making the Pipers own.

Hellbound Train starts very traditional but is soon joined by guitar and other instruments piece by piece building to the climax. The Hidden Gem is a little gem, kept a gentle pace and is a great little piece to lead into the next track, Amazing Grace, a track that once got to number one played on the bagpipes many years ago. For this version though, the Glasgow Gospel Truth Choir joins them.

Just as quickly as the pace slows, it's taken back up with Black Knight On The Crazy Train. The song they describe as you'll either love it or loathe it (due to the item that it was once used to advertise) is Low Rider, a great little track heard here and when performed live. Queen are once more given the Chilli treatment with a version of Radio GaGa.

Little Cascade has a sort of middle eastern feel to the beat and you can't help but sway along to it. The last three tracks to this album are somewhat more modern. There is a short song, Everybody Dance Now quickly followed by Robbie William's classic Let Me Entertain You. The album ends with The Who track Baba O'Riely, probably most commonly heard on CSI: New York

Overall, the album maintains what the band have been known for: mixing the traditional with the modern and bring the sound of the bagpipes to another generation. The line up might have changed slightly but the sound that the band bring hasn't. Well worth a listen if you're looking for just a tad different.

Rating:4/5

Amy Macdonald Live @ Glasgow O2 Academy (21st October 2010)

The Scottish weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of those that turned out to see Amy Macdonald at the O2 Academy in Glasgow as she tours the country on the aptly named Love Love Tour (which is also the name of her current single).

First stop, the merchandise stall. Yes merchandise. Available to purchase on the night were T-shirts, mugs, bags, song book, programmes and Live CD. Unfortunately, the CD was not of that night’s show but of the first night of the tour, recorded in Manchester.Still, a whole show across 3 CDs for £20…Now it’s time to  take up position for the rest of the night. 

First to enter the stage is not Alan Powell as for weeks have been touted both on the venue site and tickets. No. He’s no longer appearing. Instead, we’re introduced to Pete Lawrie, a singer/songwriter from Wales. To break the ice with the audience, he politely announces that  his mother is from Scotland and asks if that qualifies him as Scottish. He powers through a solid set including the tracks, How Could I Complain, Jimmy and the Birds On Fire (which is about falling out with friends and not getting back in contact) and current single In The End (also the name of his forthcoming EP, released at the end of the month).

No sooner is he off the stage than the stage crew are in prepping for the main event. A quick turnaround and the main lights go down, the crowd goes wild and it’s on with the show.

The show kicks off as many of her gigs have recently with An Ordinary Life. Although tonight there is something different in the sound of the music. Maybe it because it’s the usual foursome (Mark (Guitar), Sam (Drums), Ben (Bass) and Shannon (Keys)) are joined by an additional multi-instrumentalist Owen Parker. From this we go straight into the rocking Poison Prince. After this, Amy takes a moment to properly speak to the crowd and thank them for turning out and talks about how the home crowd is always the best. Continuing with tracks from This Is The Life, we’re treated to L.A. and the one of the first tracks Amy ever wrote Youth of Today. Next we’re onto current single and tour name Love Love which leads us into the ever popular Mr Rock & Roll, which in all fairness, does end up sounding like a giant singalong.

Giving the band a chance to prep, Amy tells us about how she is constantly asked about what it’s like being a WAG, to which, she responds that she doesn’t see herself as one. This leads us onto Footballer’s Wife. After this she tells us about a performance that they made where the person responsible for booking them obviously hadn’t heard the song that they would be performing and how it seemed a little controversial seeing as the event was a beauty pageant and the song was This Pretty Face. From this we go into Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over which gets the crowd going from the very first note.

Announcing that she’s going to slow it down a little, we’re treated to the beautiful Troubled Soul and Give It All Up. Once again the crowd get going with Next Big Thing. Now we’re given a tale about how she gets to travel and do different things from singing the national anthem at Hampden before the Scotland/Spain game to performing in Luxembourg with an orchestra at the weekend. This of course leads to the song from which the current album’s title is taken from, No Roots. The next song is Run which, as Amy recalls seeing The Killers in this very venue and being inspired to write the song. Again this is another singalong for the crowd. From this, they go into Spark.

Now she tells about how Glasgow always gets a bad reputation for it’s binge drinking but how, if it hadn’t been for it, that the next track would never have been born. This track is the title track to the debut album, This Is The Life. She finishes with the track What Happiness Means To Me. Again the crowd sing their hearts out and at some points one would swear that Amy was about to start crying. At the end of this, she shouts goodnight and herself and the band leave the stage. It doesn’t take long before the chants of ‘Amy! Amy!” begin. Soon, she returns to the stage and performs her version of Bruce Spingsteen classic Born To Run. This once more has the crowd singing along with her at the top of their voices. The final song of the night is Let’s Start A Band which brings the night to close on a high.

Overall, the night was a complete success. The songs sounded different and this is more than likely down to the inclusion of the additional band member Owen. The live versions of the songs never sound the same and some are given a little change from the album or usual version. Her chat or ‘banter’ as would be said in Scotland, broke the night up so that it wasn’t just constant music. The little anecdotes give the fan an insight into what inspires Amy to write her songs.  With a good mixture from both her albums, the set list ensured that there was something for everyone. The crowd appeared to be really enthusiastic joining in with the songs and generally having a great time.  Hopefully the rest of the tour will go just as smoothly as this night did.

Photos © Vhari Lannigan

Pete Lawrie (Official Website)
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Amy Macdonald (Official Website)
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The Green Children // Encounter

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You may not be familiar with the duo of Tom 'Marlow' Bevan and Milla Sunde aka The Green Children, but they have been around for the last few years. Gradually, the pieces have come together and finally we have the first official album from the group (there was a limited self titled album released a few years ago).

The title track, Encounter, is a retelling of the English tale from which the duo take their name from leading into the current single Dragons, arguable the fastest paced track from the album. R U Out There? returns to the more mellow and slower pace of the rest of the album.
The opening guitar piece of Black Magic may lead you to believe that you are listening to another song whilst Skies On Fire has an otherworldly feel. Life Was Beautiful and Hear Me Now are both beautiful ballads (both previously released as singles). Price Of Fame could be seen a generic look at what fame does to someone's life. If Tell Me was the final track on the album, it would end on a darkish note. However, it ends with a beautiful acoustic version of Hear Me Now, heavily driven by the piano

The album is a welcomed change from what, over the past few years, has become the norm. Whilst the pop/electronic sound keeps them relevant, lyrically, their songs are more meaningful, almost giving you a feeling of a wisdom beyond their years. The songs provide a mythical/fantasy feeling and is an album that you can listen to for the purposes of relaxation and be taken to another place. Purely looking at the album on it's own and ignoring anything before it, it's a great little collection of songs. They're not trying to be like anyone else. They don't have to be. They won't be to everyone's taste however, they should be given a listen to.

Rating: 4.5/5

The Wanted // Heart Vacancy

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The boy band of the moment are back with their second single, and this time round, the boys are taking things down for a lovely little ballad number.

Heart Vacancy is a world away from the debut All Time Low but shows that, so far, the boys aren't one genre performers. Melodically, the song is great with beautiful acoustic guitar and a smooth baseline to boot. Lyrically, it questionable. It leaves you feeling as if there is another song that should be listening to rather than this one.

Overall, it's good that the boys are showing different genre, but it could be that, because of the success of All Time Low, that any follow up is probably going to be difficult. But with a self titled album on the way, hopefully what they've already offered us in these two helpings is likely to be continued. On a report card, it may read: nice attempt but needs more work.

Rating:3.5/5

ETERNITY ∞ // Eternity (Asian Version)

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When the Korean version of ETERNITY ∞'s debut album came out, Taiwan and Hong Kong were expected to follow. Well one year on and, thanks to Avex Taiwan Inc., that has happened.

As with the Out Of The Box release, this album features the Korean artwork and track listing...well, almost the Korean track listing. The new tracks that had been given to Korea are replaced by the tracks originally bonus tracks of the Japanese which, allows it to flow a little better than it's Korean counterpart

As said, this album features the Korean artwork but sadly, this also includes the information on the back regarding the song My Style (bonus track for Korea) which of course, doesn't feature on this release. A bit more time and attention to detail wouldn't go a miss. There is also a little booklet in Taiwanese/Chinese (not sure which) which uses photos that were from the Bittersweet Symphony photoshoot, so not just a completely different shoot, but different project (although the same people behind it)

Once again, maybe not one for the collector (unless purely for the error on the back of the CD). There's two types of people who would probably go for this: either they don't own any of the other releases (Japan or Korea) or they prefer the artwork and track list to that of the other releases. Other than that, nice to see her music reach other sections of Asia

Rating: 4/5

Jade Valerie // Out Of The Box (2 CD Asian Version)

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It's been a few years since the original release back in Japan, but now, in 2010, Jade Valerie's debuts are available together for the rest of Asia to enjoy thanks to Avex Taiwan Inc.

Although titled Out Of The Box it actually brings the mini-album (Out Of The Box) and the full album (Bittersweet Symphony) together, originally released in Japan. The release uses the artwork from the Korean version of Out Of The Box (a mash up of both albums) but the original track listings for the CDs.

There's nothing new here for the collector (unless you're looking to add it to a collection as a new release) but if you don't have either of the original Japanese versions and don't fancy tracking them done (they are rare now), then this little set is just the ticket for you

Rating: 4/5

Amy Macdonald // Love Love (Metropolis ‘On Track’ Session) EP

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Love Love is the next single to be lifted from the album, 'A Curious Thing' and whilst this would look like the official single, this is in fact a collection of songs recently recorded straight to vinyl as part of a Channel 4 show 'On Track with Seat'.

The first track is the forthcoming single 'Love Love', which is sounding better everytime that she performs it. This is followed by the title track to her debut album, 'This Is The Life'. A favourite cover of Amy's seems to be Bruce Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark, here performed simply with vocals and guitar, making it a more intimate performance. Finally we have the first song to be released from A Curious Thing, Don't Tell Me That It's Over.

These songs could be considered as live versions rather than finished polished produced versions. But that doesn't draw away from it as Amy always sounds better live than what is heard from CD. It's obvious that the more that Amy and band play the songs, the more familiar they become with it, that each live version is unique. Maybe it's because there is a pressure here that any error that is made can't be rectified as it's 'straight to vinyl'. A lovely little addition to any fans collection.

Rating:5/5

P.s. You can see Amy performing the songs and discussing bits and bobs on Channel 4 on the 11^th October @ 12.20am