Emmelie de Forest // Only Teardrops

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So the Eurovision song test is over for another year (our review of the night will be up shortly!) but the winner this year was Emmelie de Forest representing Denmark with her song Only Teardrops.

In a way it reminds us of an earlier Danish win (yes we refer to the Oslen Brothers Fly on The Wings of Love) with an interesting celtic folksy feel to it. And it doesn’t sound as if there is too much complicated instrumentation behind it either, which is probably why it you will find yourself singing/clapping/dancing along with it at some point.

Considering it outside of the fact it was involved with Eurovision, it’s a good tune in itself and an interesting introduction to the young singer songwriter. It will be interesting to see what her debut album produces…

Rating: 4/5

Hayley Westenra // Sleep On

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It’s been almost 2 years since we last had an album from this New Zealander, but now she returns with something a little bit different. Her new album, Hushabye, due to be released later this year, is an album of lullabies, and the first offering off of this album is Sleep On, a song dedicated to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge as yet unborn child.

Composed By Paul Mealor (who is also behind The Military Wives track Wherever You Are & who also composed for the Duke & Duchess’ wedding). It is short (but then so are most lullabies) but yet it’s a beautiful little number and Westenra’s voice is perfect for it and you could find yourself liking it even if you’re not a parent.

It’s an interesting single and an interesting concept of an album as it not something that you would probably expect. But we’re feeling….just a….little….zzzz….zzzz…..

Rating: 5/5

Gamu // Shake The Room

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You may recognise the name. Yes, it’s THAT Gamu who we last saw being kicked out at boot camp on the 2010 X Factor. But that was then and this is now and she’s gearing up to release her debut album but first we’ve got her debut single, Shake The Room.

Listening to the track, you can’t help but thinking that it’s a mash up of different genres, and maybe that’s why she' describes her sound as nu:vintage. But yet it works and it sounds much different to what is out there just now. And it sounds like something that she’s comfortable with. More the point, it track that will probably be stuck in you head but for good reasons.

It should be an interesting time ahead for this young singer and it will be interesting to see what else she has up her sleeve to offer.

Rating: 4/5

Little Mix // How Ya Doin’

 
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Ok, we admit it. We were wrong with what would be the forth single from the album…can’t blame us for trying though. But yes the 4th single to be lifted from the girls debut album is How Ya Doin’.

This isn’t a straight lift off the album release though. This version features Missy Elliott (albeit near endish & very short lived) and they’ve changed the chorus lyrics ever so slightly, which, if you’ve had the album and know the lyrics by heart, is a bit annoying (the words have gone from Sorry you can’t get through to Sorry we don’t mean to be rude though personally we prefer the former)

It is probably one of the better remaining tracks from the album but might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Rating: 3.5/5

KT Tunstall // Feel It All

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It’s been a while since we heard anything from Miss Tunstall (coming up on 3 years) but with a new album, Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon out in a couple of months, of course you need a lead single and that comes in the form of Feel It All.

Tunstall admits herself that this is a deeply personal track that arose from the ashes of things that happened in her own life during the recording of her new album. But it’s sadly not a track that probably many will take to straight away, probably due to the fact that the listening public are probably more used to hearing something a bit more upbeat from her rather than this little mellow offering.

It’s sort of hard to judge this given what we used to. Is it a true reflection of what is to come with the rest of the album? Maybe it’s too soon to say, but at the moment we have to say that we don’t feel it at all.

Rating: 3/5

Sandi Thom // The Covers Collection

Funded by fans through the Pledge Music website, Sandi Thom’s latest offering, if the title didn’t give it away, is a collection of cover tracks.

For some of the tracks, they’ve been previously heard via Thom’s YouTube channel when she used to do weekly cover tracks, whilst some of them have previously been released (Led Zepplin’s November Rain featured on her most recent album, Flesh & Blood and Foo Fighters Times Like These was previously released as an exclusive through promotion back in 2008)

There is no big fancy production here. It is just simply Thom performing these tracks and bringing her own interpretation of the ears of the listener. What shines here is through this bare bones approach, that we hear a Sandi normally reserved for live shows. A lovely addition for any fan to enjoy

Rating: 4/5