Latest music releases.
Elliot Minor
After an incredible 2008/09 so far, which has included a début top 10 album, 2 full headline UK and European tours, Elliot Minor are now set to release their 2nd album 'Solaris' on November 16th.
'Solaris' signifies a growth and a more mature step for the band. There is considerable maturity in the playing, song-writing, production and ambition.
The album seamlessly flows from track to track, showcasing the bands development over the past year.
As well as their growth in production and writing, bringing in their experiences and allowing more depth into the songs, vocally the band have also developed.
Their most recent single showcases a lot of their development and holds a very memorable chorus, which will no doubt be a stand out sing-a-long with the fans when they tour.
The follow up album to a début can be a difficult one to write and to create, and on occasion it is difficult to create something better than the first, however Elliot Minor have succeeded in the latter.
'Solaris' is definitely better than their début Both musically and vocally.
Stand out tracks include the single 'Electric High', 'Carry On', 'Shiver' and 'Lets Turn Back Around'.
With more depth and maturity 'Solaris' could take Elliot Minor to the next level. And will have you wondering what the band can do next.
Bowling For Soup
Not ones to fade into the background, Bowling For Soup are back with their new album 'Sorry For Partyin''
Sorry For Partyin' is the bands tenth release and is no stranger to the punchy, powerful and fun pop-punk strains that we have all come to know and enjoy from the Texan quartet.
Kicking off this 14-track party with the very appropriately named 'A Really Cool Dance Song' which encapsulates in just under 4 minutes today's mainstream music scene, in the usual tongue-in-cheek style we know the band for.
From the get go we are thrust into the humorous world of the jokey-style lyrics that make Bowling For Soup who they are. Proving that no matter what trends are lurking outside their creative bubble they know what works and keep the fun coming.
Double-entendres a plenty such as the fun love song 'My Wena' which is filled with references about Jaret's girlfriend Wena.
From school boy humour, through to references to girls, beer and breaking wind through to a seeming refusal to grow up (Only Young) and some outright man love (BFFF) its easy to why Bowling For Soup are still going strong.
Musically it is still the same Bowling For Soup everyone knows, however like many bands they have progressed and incorporated different sounds into this record, giving it it's own stand-out persona. Be it the short bluesy intro on 'I Don't Wish You Were Dead Any More' or the more summery and soulful guitar strains on 'I Gotchoo' it's evident that Bowling For Soup are constantly taking their music to the next level, while always remaining true to their roots.
Lyrically 'Sorry For Partyin'' gives us some of the strongest and most confident song writing in the band's catalogue, which only further proves that the band are masters of their craft.
A fun and punchy record with all the right ingredients, no apologies for partying necessary.
Ian Brown
Ian Brown is back with a new album. His sixth studio album, which débuts almost 2 years to the day after his last LP.
'My Way' sees him moving from social commentary to a more personal commentary, drawing from his own personal experiences to create his most intensely emotional record in years.
The opening track and first single 'Stellify' sets the tone; euphoric brass and pounding bass mixing effortlessly with staccato rhythms as Brown addresses his “angel fallen from the sky”.
The next stand-out track 'Crowning Of The Poor' quickly follows and tells the tale of the “son of a poor boy”, of aspirations and dreams, and of where things went right and wrong.
'My Way' is a record that will not only have the ability to stand up on its own in today's flooded market, but it will no doubt prove to stand the test of time and still fit in years down the line. While the record is a modern release, you will find some of the tracks hint at past decades pulling influence from the 60's right through to modern day. Diverse, yet not so diverse as to alienate or to fluctuate too much, the record has a sense of fit and a steady almost near perfect transition from one track into the next, with none of the songs failing to smoothly move on to the next.
Lyrically the record finds Brown in a reflective mood, the instrumentation is resolutely forward-thinking, led by propulsive synths, hip-hop beats and bass-lines. By the time 'So High' brings the album to a close, Brown has covered more than four decades, including 12 years of Stone Roses and more than 10 as a solo performer, while assembling an album that is arguably his finest work.
Era Of The Exposed EP
Ceesau
Many may pass this EP off without giving it the chance it deserves, even more so when they hear that it is a record made by an actor and his friends. But that level of superficiality means that you will be missing out on a very surprising find.
Era Of The Exposed is like a breath of fresh air in the over-done smog of pop-punk that has enveloped the music world in recent times.
Sounding like no one else out their the band have managed to create an old yet new sound, you think you've heard something similar, but when you look into it you realise that you can't place or find anyone that has done or is doing what they do.
The EP consists of 5 tracks, which from start to end have your mind thinking about your place in the world and the world itself.
From the opening track 'How Do You Feel' through our own favourite 'Wrote The Longest Word' to album closer the slower paced 'Sunshine', it shows you who the band are and gives you a feel of what's to come from them.
The most surprising aspect is not the fact that this record, despite its raw sound, is a good solid record, nor is it the unique and fitting vocals of front-man Carmine Giovinazzo. It's the overall impact the record has when you listen to it. It has a certain familiarity and almost a seemingly established sound, despite being a début, that usually doesn't present itself so early in a bands recording career. The fact that the band - which consists of Michael Brasic, John Amedori, Steven Tecci and Carmine Giovinazzo - are such good friends gives the record the finesse of those that have been together for much longer.
A record of this calibre which not only has uniqueness, familiarity and finesse that also gets your mind working and thinking may not be fore everyone, but regardless of this everyone should give the record a try.
It may just surprise you.
Mark Read
You may remember the name Mark Read as one quarter of early 2000's top selling bands - a1. But having squirrelled himself away since their disbanding back in 2003, he's back with a fresh sound and a début album that could put most of today's artists to some kind of shame.
'Peace At Last' is a summery smorgasbord of 14 well written and well composed songs. From the opening song (and first single) album title track 'Peace At Last' and its carefree ambience through the self-explanatory slow number 'Cold' to Cult-Followings favourite track off the album 'Your World Moves Faster', it is a record that shows a diverse artist while maintaining a continuous feel to it.
Showcasing Mark's skill and ability to craft amazing pieces of music based on his own experiences and bring them together to create something as smooth as this record overall, is a skill that not many have. This being said, when you listen to the album you can't help but realise that he is an artist that can write songs that will touch a chord with you. Be it one of the more upbeat songs, or one of the slow ballad's you can find something within the 14 songs that will grab you.
For a début album 'Peace At Last' is one of those that you will never tire of hearing. If this is what he can do with a début, we're looking forward to the next. So here's to that and many more, as we think that only good things can come to him from this point onwards.