The Vamps // Somebody To You Feat. Demi Lovato

 
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We keep coming back to this 4 piece boy band in hope of hearing something that originally made us love these guys. But to be honest, we think this is one of those times that we’re going to have to sit on the rather prickly fence.

We can’t help thinking that this would be the Pop child of The Lumineers Hey Ho and One Direction’s Story Of My Life but instead of the familiar Hey Ho they’ve replaced it with Yeah You. We’d really have loved if Lovato’s verse had been a solo effort instead of being joined in backing vocals by one of the guys and maybe even getting her to have the preceding chorus to herself as well.

Besides this small sticking point on vocals, it is one of those songs that we think is probably going to get stuck in your head from the first listen and be that one song you can help joining in the chorus no matter how hard you try to fight it. It’s possibly going to be filed under ‘Songs that will be played continuously over the coming months’ and possibly even ‘Guilty Pleasure’

Rating: 3/5

Charlotte Jaconelli // Solitaire

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Recognise the name? You’re probably more used to seeing it as part of Jonathan & Charlotte but late last year, the pair went their separate ways due to creative differences. So what is Charlotte’s debut album like?

Opening with the ballad Feels Like Love, we hear what sounds more like a pop vocal with a classical edge. Title track Solitaire is next and is more classical in feeling before we head straight into complete classical mode with Pie Jesu.

I know Him So Well (from the musical Chess) is next and comes in the form of a duet with West End star Kerry Ellis which, for the most part works well. Off to the movies now with When Somebody Loved Me (from the Disney Pixar classic, Toy Story 2) before the classic Richard Marx track Right Here Waiting For You, again delivered with that pop but classical edge voice.

Lascia ch’io pianga is another classical track that showcases Jaconelli’s voice before heading back to the musicals with another duet, this time Daniel Koek in the form of All I Ask Of You and this time works well for the entirety of the track.

Staying with the musicals, we head off to Les Miserables for On My Own but seems sang ‘too proper’ for it to sound natural, however this proper voice works for the next track in this list which is I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls and flows better. Finally the album closes with I Could Have Danced All Night but it leaves you feeling like there should be another track after this. Maybe swap the last two tracks for a more natural ending?

We had a feeling given the last release with Jonathan, Perhaps Love that there was a difference in direction with the pair, and while it’s sad to them split, this now give them the chance to flourish. It’s a mixed bag of songs which is obviously leaving Jaconelli open to experiment and find her niche. Our only complaint is something we picked up on the last time and that is the over pronunciation of words which makes the flow in certain songs feel unnatural. It feels as if at times she is trying too hard, almost like a need to say ‘I can do this on my own’.

Should there be a second solo album, we really hope that she can find a focus on what she’d rather be doing. This shows she can do a variety but we suspect that she also needs a variety of vocals to match the variety of tracks

Rating: 3/5

5 Seconds of Summer // Don’t Stop

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No, 5 Seconds of Summer is not a reference to the usual British Summer, but are in fact an group from Australia.

Don’t Stop is actually their second international release (She’s So Perfect was the first) and for the most part is a great little pop rock number. The issue is after a few listens there’s not much to hear and it starts to wear a little thin. It’s a shame too because we think that they’ve got potential. With their album due out at the end of the month, time will only tell.

Rating: 3/5

Gareth Malone // Voices

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We’d be surprised if anyone hadn’t heard of Gareth Malone. He’s already had a no.1 thanks to the Military Wives, has got workplaces singing together and now he brings a new choir of young talented people together to produce Voices.

This collection of songs bring a number of modern tracks (Alicia Key’s Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart, Bon Ivor’s Calgary & Lana Del Ray’s Video Games to name a few),some older tracks (Erasure’s A Little Respect, The Moody Blue’s Night’s In White Satin & Fleetwood Mac’s Go You Own Way) and some more choral tracks (Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal on the standard with the addition of O Magnum Mysterium & Passion Chorale on the deluxe version).

Many of these tracks do work well in a choral arrangement though the version of Death Grip’s Guillotine may lead to feelings of sea sickness while Go Your Own Way shows potential but seems to get lost along the way. It’s an interesting take on the genre but at the same time, it shows not everything works. It’s a shame too, as we were really taken with the live EP from the Supperclub last year (available on Amazon) but this doesn’t seem to capture what you hear live.

If it was a school report it would probably read, shows potential but could do better

Rating: 3/5

Cheryl Cole // Crazy Stupid Love

 
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Has it been 2 years since Cheryl’s last solo release? No matter how long it’s been, she’s back and previewing her latest single, Crazy Stupid Love featuring Tinie Tempah.

Now, we admit that her previous releases haven’t rated highly with us but we’re always willing to give another chance. Sadly though, this song is doing nothing for us.It feels like a mish mash of things in the hope that it works. We’re really struggling to understand the whole point of the Sax solo. It just feels sort of out of place. And Tinie’s rap section…it just about saves this from completely drowning.

That said, we do recommend checking out the WestFunk & Steve Smart remix of the track which, in our opinion, is the better of the two.

Is it likely to do anything? Maybe Maybe not. But with it not being released until next month, is it possible that people will be driven crazy stupid by the time it comes around?

Rating: 2/5

Peter Hollens // The Parting Glass

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We were always a little bit disappointed that the last song featured on Assasin’s Creed 4: Black Flag didn’t turn up on any of the soundtracks (some of the sea shanties turned up on their own collection!) and we never knew the name of the track either.

It seems that it’s quite common track actually. But now, thanks to the wonderful talent that is Peter Hollens, the song is brought to life once again with his multi layered vocal approach. This approach gives it a sort of haunting feeling before midway there’s a bit of a bounce. But don’t let this fool you as it soon returns to what we heard at the start.

A beautiful little number…there’s nothing else we can say!

Rating:5/5

Emmelie de Forest // Rainmaker

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Has it really been a year since Emmelie de Forest won the Eurovision with her song Only Teardrops? Apparently so. And Rainmaker, the first new music to be heard since the release of her album, last year, was made this year’s official Eurovision theme.

It carries a familiar celtic/tribal feel to it, so not a million miles away from what we’ve heard before and it won’t be long until the way oh way oh way gets stuck in your head and your singing along with it. It’s a fairly safe song and probably best given a) given the length of time and b) what the song was for. The song itself is likely to appeal to those already familiar with her work but will be interesting to see where she goes from here

Rating: 4/5