The Elementalists‘ fusion as a group is really apparent in their album ‘Crazed Maniac’, the beautiful blend of hip hop grime, rock, with a sweet synthesis of electronic extras and a set of decks thrown in for good measure does beautiful things to one’s senses. From the outset the listener’s attention is captured, starting with the tongue in cheek ‘Talk to the hand’ all the way through to the dark gothic sounds of ‘Reel 68′ the group are able to maintain not only their hunger for the right fusion of each member’s efforts but do the same for their audience.
One literally sits on the edge of their seat with ears pricked, eagerly anticipating the next guitar solo from the more than capable Stu Brew. And when their not being tickled by his fingering of his instrument, Brew’s sweet delectable strumming compliment the lyrical delivery of the lead vocalist Elmo to form a musical marriage to be proud of. The mêlée of musical moment makers sets this album up as well as the group for hopefully a wonderful future.
The soft rock style of their second song ‘Bad Times’, shows another dimension to Elmo’s vocal capabilities, highlighting to their audience that he is more than your run of the mill UK mc trying to ‘make a difference’ with his lyrical ability. He caresses the track with raspy chords and choruses until he is ready to hand the baton over to KRL on the decks, who handles them well for a brief minute before inviting the whole group to join in the jam session. In an instant you are thrust into a jazz infused bar, and your foot starts a tapping and soon after you notice your head is nodding hard to the beat that speeds and slows until it reaches its final crescendo.
I love the line in ‘Crazed Maniac’ – “wearing corduroy even though a new style of jeans is in”. possibly sums up the approach of the group as a whole, they are far from conventional, streets away from the nearest, grime, meets soft rock, greets jazz, says hi to blues and please don’t forget the introduction of synthesised sounds concoction out there. The list of sounds included on this album is a testament that there really are no conventional boxes to squish this group into, the minute you get comfortable with an approach, take the soft infusion of jazz and blues on ‘Pills’ and before you know it your senses are being rocketed out of their comfort zone and catapulted into the dark grime and gothic sounds of ‘Reel 68′.
Within this song, you are left not quite knowing what to do with your listening faculties, do you allow the guitar bass and swishing drum beats soothe your person or are you chilled to the bone by the manic laughter that manages to crawl all over your senses. Just as you are about to decide an infusion of blues style guitar strumming is introduced to the track and your body is jolted up by the concerto of dramatic yet directed drumming, accompanied by some serious deck manipulation. There is no opportunity to rest on your laurels with this track, your senses are forever being manipulated, your preconceptions challenged and by the end of the listening experience, all you can do is sit back, exhale and then start again.
Very few albums can be listened all the way through, let alone be put on repeat just to catch what you missed the first time around. Their hunger resonates throughout each track, the question in anticipation of their next album is; whether they plan to iron out these kinks that are somewhat reminiscent of the classic crackle you hear on an old school LP. Rather than hold on to their hunger and harness its energy will they favour for a smoother sound?
With their quiffs, red lipstick and vintage shirts, you’d be forgiven for thinking this rockabilly trio had just stepped out of the 1950’s. Meet 
Recently I’ve had a bit of a thing for lo-fi pop. You know, basic, raw pop tunes that sound like somebody’s scrabbled them together in about ½ an hour, but still have the power to draw vivid pictures. Fresh from supporting Los Campesinos! And Tokyo Police Club, 
It seems that Scandanavians currently have one of the best music scenes around at the moment, managing to have some of the most diverse, and interesting, acts around at the moment. Denmark’s 
He may just be one man with a funny swirl over his name, but his album turned out to be one of the most consistent of the year. Many of the tracks are single-worthy, fun, danceable and just the sort of thing that goes down a storm at many end-of term parties.
Who couldn’t have heard Mika’s first single, Grace Kelly, which bothered the top 10 for a few months at the start of the year. Fun, simple pop tunes that live are just quality party tunes.
I only really got into this a couple of weeks ago after the release of “Let’s Dance To Joy Division”, but it was on repeat all the way home from the US, with their amusing tales of urban English life. Songs like “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” celebrate English irony brilliantly, tunes that just have everyone dancing for the hills.
I’ll admit it, I didn’t think I’d like this album. 29 people on a record sounds like a recipe for destruction if you ask me, but somehow they pull it off without sounding as chaotic as the Polyphonic Spree do at times.
Opening song, “Is there a Ghost” is enough for Band of Horses to deserve their 6th place position on this list. A quality, haunting tune that just captures the whole vibe of the album – musically capable, listener – accessible.
A suprise release, Radiohead seemed to garner more headlines for their “Music Industry ruining” way of release and letting people choose the price they wanted to pay for the download of the tracks as an MP3 file.
I bought this one on a whim – I didn’t know much about Stars, but quickly grew to love them. Songs like the haunting “Barricade”, the danceable “The Night Starts Here” and the yearning “Bitches in Tokyo” make for a collection that builds on their previous albums (which I’ve since acquired), and makes a strong and consistent collection that I’ll be listening to for months to come no doubt.
The National’s fourth album, Boxer is a very consistent record, though unfortunately not quite as good as their break-through “Alligator”.
I’ll admit it here. I wasn’t a big fan of their debut, Silent Alarm. I thought it was crap. However, once I listened to A Weekend in the City I “got” Bloc Party, and fell in love with both albums at once.
Whilst I’m pushing the boundaries of acceptability by including the 
Having won the 
Quite a few medium-profile releases this week, including Queens of the Stone Age’s new effort, “Era Vulgaris”, “Tally Of The Yes Men” by Goldspot (I can’t stand it, but has some big record company backing, so could be one to watch), Calvin Harris’ “I Created A Disco”, Tiny Dancers’ “Free School Milk” and finally Bon Jovi’s “Lost Highway”. However, the one I’m going to focus on for this week’s “Band of the week” feature is 
By Onome Okwuosa on Tuesday, 19th August 2008 at 5:33 pm
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