I've always been a bit intrigued by Caro Emerald since I first came across her music via some TV advert for her 2010 debut album, Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor. Her retro jazz appealed to the unpursued penchant for the genre, however I failed to indulge once again.
However, the fact that her second album - The Shocking Miss Emerald - managed to crashland at the top of the UK charts earlier this year did not pass my notice, and after catching her appearance on Jools Holland, I snapped up the chance to review her latest single, 'Liquid Lunch' for Renowned For Sound.
It really is a treat, combining sassy jazz and swing with surprisingly witty lyrics, I was hooked from the get go. Read what else I had to say here :)
I'm alive! Returned to the real world; I seriously feel as if I've been living in an alternate universe this past week (holiday). No internet! Sporadic phone signal! A house in the woods! It was oddly strained to say the least, but at the same time nice to detach myself from the almost constant bombardment of instant information we have access to these days. It was like life before smart phones - when we all actually had lives!
Whilst one holiday, I managed to honour my reviewing commitments, dedicated lass that I am! That said, I sort of feel that this blog has been a little neglected as of late, especially as I was doing so well with posting (almost) every day - BOO.
Here's the first of my reviews this week for Renowned For Sound.com, my album of choice being The Lonely Island's latest offspring. You know The Lonely Island - just think 'Motherlover', 'The Creep', 'I'm On A Boat' or - my personal fave - 'Jack Sparrow'. I was so excited to get this album, entirely based on their previous hits, I hadn't heard a single thing from their new album. Unfortunately, I was a tad disappointed, read my review to find out why :)
Most may recall Brazilian band CSS from their neon 'Nu-Rave' circa 2007. Come 2013 and they've had a bit of a musical makeover, with a far more mature and experimental album. If nothing else were to peak your interest, they even co-wrote with Rancid's Tim Armstrong, something that I myself certainly was not expecting.
The band are certainly as quirky as ever, (though with far less neon) incorporating bizarre sounds and questionable lyrics to create an interesting album. Click here to read the full review on Renowned For Sound.
In case you're wondering where this long(ish) sabbatical has come from, it's because I've gone on holiday and appear to have neglected my blog without scheduling posts for the week to come. In fact, I hadn't even done my bloggy maintenance from the week before! SO here we are, with another Renowned For Sound review. You'll be seeing many of these in the future, as it's hard for me to juggle album reviews specifically for this blog whilst writing for a website, and working amongst other things.
Anyway, this week I reviewed the 13th anniversary 2 disc re-release of The Dandy Warhols album Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia. It's a bit of a classic, something of which I was unaware when I approached it. Yes, it's the 'Bohemian Like You' album, but don't let that put you off, for it is a surprisingly good listen, and I've even found myself voluntarily returning to tracks such as 'Mohammed', 'Nietzsche' and 'Big Indian', which aren't necessarily what you'd expect from the band, with psychedelic elements and 'Nietzsche' especially sounding like a cleaner My Bloody Valentine.
Anyway, as always click the pictures or here to be redirected to the article, and be sure to give the album a listen,, it's better than you think!
Almost a month a go I found a preview of this video and wanted to write a post, but to my utter frustration it was only available in America, grr! Anyway, the fact that you're now reading this means that this is is obviously no longer the case, therefore I present you with 'OMYGOD!' by Kate Nash!
Over the past year, my opinion of Kate Nash has undergone a bit of a renovation, along with her sound. Gone are the days of plinky plonk piano of 'Mouthwash' and in is the gritty sound first displayed in 2012's surprise release of 'Under-Estimate The Girl', however - despite the change in direction - the acerbic wit of 'Foundations' era Nash is most definitely still present. Her current album, Girl Talk, carries a lot of new wave influences and is easily her best effort yet, and 'OMYGOD!' follows suit.
As the second single taken from Girl Talk, 'OMYGOD!' is an accessible radio friendly hit, which is by no means a bad thing. The song appears to discuss missing someone even though the relationship has ended, with the tempo of the song swinging like a pendulum between the plodding verse and energetic chorus. An unfortunate and often aggravating side-effect of the internet press for me is the invasion of privacy of notable relationships of musicians given coverage by the press. One such relationship was that of Nash and The Cribs' Ryan Jarman, and as a result I can't help but read into the lyrics of songs such as this, ultimately presuming that this was written about said ex. Such invasions of privacy are highly frustrating in the listening of subsequent music, though by no means as frustrating as for the people involved. Damn the Internet!
Anyway, if you've yet to hear Nash's new album, give 'OMYGOD!' a listen. I currently can't find a release date for the single, however the album is available in different mediums and downloadable via iTunes, Amazon and GooglePlay.
Nash is touring the UK in the autumn (click here for tickets) , with dates in Norwich, Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow and Manchester.
Well, didn't this past month just fly by? I seriously don't know where it's gone! Some things have changed for me since we had the first edition of the monthly BUZZ; I can report that I've got a job and that I am now also writing reviews for RenownedForSound.com! Good times! Next week I go on (a UK) holiday, so hopefully summer is here to stay for a while instead of this unpredictable weather we're having.
Anyway, less dillydallying!
Marina And The Diamonds & Charli XCX - 'Just Desserts' Yes guys, THIS happened. Two of my current favourite female singers joined to collaborate on a Marina penned track; it was heaven. I could barely believe my eyes when this appeared on my Twitter feed (courtesy of Diamandis), and best of all? FREE DOWNLOAD! Wins all round! (Read my full post here) Superfood - 'TV' (Demo) Birmingham band Superfood dropped a new demo, therefore there is a grand total of two songs available online for your listening pleasure. This band are certainly growing on me, with their '90's influence and catchy lyrics. Similarly to the song 'Superfood', 'TV' is definitely a grower, and I'm looking forward to hearing a higher quality version and hopefully more demos in the near future.
Bjork - 'Army Of Me'
As I said on the post relating to this article, I find Bjork fascinating. She is truly one of the few individuals whose artistic vision is largely untampered by the barrage of the internet and a world that grows ever smaller, yet she somehow remains innovative (she created the first app album, yes - app!). 'Army Of Me' is easily my favourite Bjork song, the aggressive industrial stomp and her haunting voice are mesmirising. Laura Marling - 'Once I Was An Eagle'
The standout album for this month has to be Laura Marling's fourth effort, Once I Was An Eagle. If you've not listened to it yet, I can't recommend you do enough; it was stellar, and unexpectedly so on my part. Whilst I was aware of Marling and her brand of folk, I had never seeked out her music however, after reviewing it for RenownedForSound (please read it here) I was blown away by her effort. The video above is from her session on Jools Holland, and is identical to the recorded track. Savages - 'City's Full'
I recently gained possession of Savages album, Silence Yourself. I fully intended to write a review of it, however I just haven't had the opportunity to give it enough dedicated time and effort to articulate such; I hadn't even managed to listen to it until Wednesday! Savages, however, are a really good band, and definitely one I would love to catch live in the near future. Here's one of my fave's, 'City's Full'. God Damn - 'God Damn'
I've been listening to a lot of Black Country band God Damn recently. And I mean a. lot. At the moment they encapsulate everything I'm looking for in music: heavy, catchy, interesting, fun! God Damn have it in spades. Above is the song which encapsulates what the band are about, however you should also check out the epic video for their newest release, 'Heavy Money'. My boyfriend also did a review of the Heavy Money EP, which is currently streaming in full on God Damn's Soundcloud. ................................................................................................................................................. And that's it for May BUZZ! I'm really enjoying writing these posts, short, snappy and packed full of good stuff! I'm considering making a monthly playlist to accompany these posts. So, tell me, what have you been loving this May?
