Or Flashback Saturday, as it appears! I'll make it quick today!
I've been listening to a lot of pop music all week, and one of my favourite female pop artists is Robyn.
Robyn is a Swedish singer who was originally molded by her label for mainstream consumption, however, she began writing more alternative pop songs and started her own label, Konnichiwa Records, on which she released her 2005/07 album, Robyn, and 2010 series of albums entitled Body Talk.
The song that I'm going to put up today is taken from Robyn, and is one of the songs that broke her internationally. 'Be Mine' is a brilliant pop song that sounds surprisingly upbeat whilst discussing heartbreak in the end of a relationship and seeing that person move onto another. It wasn't as successful in the UK charts as her UK number 1 'With Every Heartbeat' (feat. Kleerup), however, in my opinion it is easily one of the standout tracks on the album.
This track from Sky Ferreira reminds me of upcoming UK singer, Charli XCX, and as the two share the skills of producer Ariel Reichtshaid and Blood Orange's Dev Hynes in their recent output, it is hardly surprising.
The addition of the production duo gives the track a chilled out electronic vibe that I'd previously thought Ferreira was straying away from with her previous rockier single, 'Red Lips', however I'm pleased that she has embraced electronic sounds once again, as in my opinion her voice suits such music far, far more! Her sullen vocal suits the understated vintage electro-pop of the song, and brings to mind a wistful insight into young love.
I can already tell that I will become addicted to this song! I was largely indifferent towards her debut single 'One' back in 2010, I didn't investigate further into her music, although I will definitely be paying more attention this time around!
As one of those people obsessed with manga, anime and all things Japanese in my early teens, I have maintained what I can only call a 'soft spot' for Asian music. I recall listening to (and still have on my iPod) Visual Kei bands such as the Gazette, Alice Nine, pop artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Aya Kamiki and epic punk/metal/funk bands such as Maximum the Hormone (CHECK THEM OUT!).
Somehow, at some point, I discovered Korean pop, or as it appears to be known on the global stage - K-Pop!
The first K-Pop songs that I can remember finding randomly on YouTube were by a boyband named BIG BANG. It was catchy, fun to listen to - despite the language barrier! - and visually grabbed my attention, a factor in common with all of the K-Pop acts that I've encountered.
In early 2011, I chanced a search of Taeyang's (BIG BANG member) solo album on iTunes, and to my great surprise, found it sitting there ready for purchase. In the past year, Korean music labels have been making their music more and more accessible for the western market, and this has - finally! - culminated in the worldwide craze that is 'GANGNAM STYLE'!
Perhaps it's been hinted at before with O-Zone's 'Dragostea din tei', but 'Gangnam Style' has swept the media and continues to snowball, help largely due to its funny and easy-to-learn dance moves!
The rapper responsible for the craze, PSY, is labelmates with BIG BANG on YG Entertainment (one of the 3 main labels, S.M. Entertainment and JYP Entertainment being the other 2), and the song, due to its funny and easy to replicate dance, has been parodied (Gandalf Style - LOL!) and much covered by the Western media. Who knows, this in turn may mean that you may be seeing and hearing more K-Pop music on our screens and airwaves in the near future!
A fair few of you may never have encountered the music of synth-pop duo, Diagram of the Heart, although quite recently millions - if not billions more of you will have seen their frontman perform on a worldwide platform.
'How did this happen??, I hear you cry, confusedly! Well DotH singer, Kye Sones recently auditioned on singing contest, The X Factor, and received a standing ovation for his rendition of a piano based mash-up of Swedish House Mafia's 'Save the World' and Rita Ora's 'R.I.P', and Ora, that day's guest judge, branded him a 'superstar'!
All this occurred due to Diagram of the Heart being dropped by their label before to the release of their debut album some time last year. Prior to this, the band released three singles, 'Dead Famous', 'Did I?' and 'If I Were You' and played the iTunes Festival. All of their songs were addictive pop, and my personal favourite happens to be 'Did I?'; you can find an (artistically edited) video of what appears to be a live performance, which is good quality and sounds only marginally different from the recorded version, showcasing how good Sones' voice is. It's a very strong song and it's a shame that the band didn't get wider coverage in their duration.
If you like it, download their singles and check out their cover of The Xx's 'Islands'.
Also, support Kye and his X Factor bid, especially if he makes it through to the live voting rounds! Hopefully he does!
Nice and heavy does it Biffy! A bit slow on my part on this one, but The Biff return with 'Stingin' Belle', the first track taken from their upcoming sixth album, Opposites. The intro is seriously epic, chunky and heavy, and the most appealing part of the song i.m.o, before filtering towards a (somewhat) more 'relaxing' chorus.
Oddly enough, Biffy embrace their Scottish heritage here, with a poigniant appearance of bagpipes nonetheless, towards the end of the song.
Opposites is a double album and is due to be released late 2012/early 2013.
'Stingin' Belle' will be released September 17th.
I like Kreayshawn. She had me from the witty lyrics of 'Gucci Gucci' and I spent many a day with the chorus revolving around my cranium. I gotta say, I was eager for more and it feels like, most likely due to the whirlwind that surrounded her and the track, that new material has been a long time coming.
'Twerkin!!!' is the second track taken from her forthcoming debut album, Somethin' 'Bout Kreay, following the previous single, 'Breakfast (Syrup)', and is a song entirely dedicated to the dance move, twerkin'. It's totally catchy and the beat is great; it's made for a club and you can't help but groove to it!
Surprisingly, master producer, Diplo, steps from behind the decks and holds down the track, providing the main bass vocal hook, with Sissy Nobby also contributing later on in the song.
Somethin' Bout' Kreay - which I'll most likely be getting! - is released September 18th.
I currently can't find a release date for 'Twerkin!!!'
I follow Ian Watkins on Twitter. Fact. Yes, the twee fangirl in me appears to be persisting even in my impending evolution into adulthood. I began to make the transition into 'alternative' music around the age of 10-11 and, along with other bands that flirted with the mainstream (eg. Linkin Park, Evanescence, MCR, etc) Lostprophets were one of the first bands that I could definitely say that I was an utter fan of!
But anyway! a few Watkins-Re-Tweets in my Twitter feed later and I found myself watching this video, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised! I regard the first two Lostprophets albums, The Fake Sound of Progress and Start Something, with a sense of nostalgia, and The Liberation Transmission was a good pop album however, I wasn't amazed by their fourth album, The Betrayed. I found the lead track 'It's Not the End of the World..' rather weak so I didn't really put any effort into The Betrayed, and as a result, Lostprophets just slipped off my radar. I vaguely recall fifth album, Weapons being released a few months ago, but that was all.
'Jesus Walks' on the other hand, is a pleasant and surprising return to form! It's pure pop, a late summer anthem, and containing the great euphoric sing-a-long's that Lostprophets are known for. Everything is working here - the melody, the lyrics, it's all good! The song talks of having the strength to stand on your own two feet and the solidarity of believing in yourself, and flicking through some song teasers on iTunes, there appears to be some other tracks on the album that are growers too, so I may write a review up soon, which will be somewhat interesting for me as Lostprophets developed their sound taking a variety of influences in their first three albums (FSOP - new metal and experimental, Start Something - differed from song to song, Liberation Transmission - pop rock anthems), although the singles that I have heard from The Betrayed and Weapons seems to show them settling more definitely on a signiature sound.
On the other hand, check out the vid! Lostprophets tour the UK starting November 1st at Wolves Civic (hometown gig for me, should I go, should I go?)!
Wolverhampton Civic Hall (November 1) Preston 53 Degrees (2) O2 Academy Sheffield (3) Edinburgh HMV Picture House (5) Inverness Ironworks (6) O2 Apollo Manchester (8) Portsmouth Guildhall (9) London Alexandra Palace (10) Norwich UEA (12) Lincoln Engine Shed (13) Newport Centre (14) http://lostprophets.com/ https://twitter.com/lostprophets http://www.facebook.com/lostprophets
This is the best quality video that I could find - sorry!
Anyway, I welcome you all to 'My Recovery Injection' by Biffy Clyro! This was the first Biffy song that I ever heard at the grand old age of 11! 'My Recovery Injection' was taken from the 2004 album, Infinity Land, before the band decided that they were both mountains and sea, and before the somewhat theatrical and more commercially received Only Revolutions.
This is a 'typical' Biffy track, in the same way that I could name you a track which totally captures the essence of Muse, and Biffy Clyro have an immediately identifiable signiature sound, a lot of which may be down to Simon Neil's voice; as is with all memorable frontmen and women, the more unique the voice the more memorable the band, and Biffy Clyro are definitely one of the definitive British bands this side of the year 2000.
Biffy Clyro are due to release their sixth album (and double album!) Opposites, later this year!
'Handsome Devil's Club' is the second single by Frank Carter's new outfit, Pure Love. This was released in late May (!) apparently but totally passed me by and I only found it about a week ago after my friend told me that their Reading festival set was pretty awesome!
As I said in a previous Pure Love post, this is the complete opposite of what was occurring in the original Gallows; this is Carter showing his versatility as a songwriter and performer, and I really cannot get over what a surprisingly good singer he is! 'Handsome Devil's Club' is as poppy and catchy, if not catchier than 'Bury My Bones' was. I know that even if I tried to dislike this song, I would still end up liking it, and when Pure Love's debut album is released before the year is out, I will definitely be getting it. The only thing that I'm not so keen on are lyrics such as "Give me a good girl / The kind that wants to please / Give me a good girl / Down on her knees" - I know, I know, cue the feminist in me, and cue much eye rolling from male readers over picky modern females. Sexism will always exist to some degree, and I suppose I'd rather have fun singing it in a good song, rather than in some semi-R'n'B derogatory chart hit rapping about 'bitchez' and 'hoes' and the like. Anyway, looking forward to both the Pure Love album, and the new Gallows stuff, and if my memory doesn't fail me then, as far as I'm aware, Pure love should be supporting Pulled Apart By Horses on their UK tour this autumn! The 'Handsome Devil's Club' single, including 'Bury My Bones' and the videos for both songs, can be purchased for £1.99 on iTunes! http://therealpurelove.com/ http://www.facebook.com/therealpurelove
'How to Be a Heartbreaker' was recently revealed to be the third single taken from Marina and the Diamonds' second album, Electra Heart. Don't worry, if, like myself, you were a tad confused as to this song's whereabouts within the album; the track was apparantly written a week after the UK edition of Electra Heart was finalised and was, therefore, included on the US version of the album.
The song is fresh and catchy, a perfect summer track (unfortunately, the weather doesn't seem to be complying as of late!), and is again keeping in with the Electra Heart theme of the rights and wrongs of love and relationships and female empowerment, and despite the song being very good, the theme feels a little tired.
It is a shame the song didn't exist before the Electra Heart UK was finished, as it would provide a bit more 'oomph' if placed strategically within the album. However, it is a much stronger song than 'Power and Control', which I was surprised to find chosen to be a single.
Marina is still on tour (!) and starts a UK jaunt in October; she's playing my hometown so hopefully I'll be able to cajole someone into joining me!
'How to Be a Heartbreaker' is due for release in September (unfortunately couldn't pin down the date) with a video to follow. Check my review of Electra Heart here :)
Leeds Metropolitan University (September 30) Dundee Fat Sam's (October 2) O2 Academy Liverpool (4) Preston 53 Degrees (5) Manchester Academy (6) O2 Academy Leicester (8) Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall (9) London HMV Forum (11) Lincoln Engine Shed (14) O2 Academy Oxford (15) Dublin Olympia Theatre (17)
