‘Listener friendly’ may be a cliché way of describing the homegrown songs by Fraser Gregory, folk-pop singer of London band Fraser. But it’s also one that certainly works. As a self-professed ponderer I think a lot of the themes are quite personal. The single, for example, talks about the need to be straight up in relationships, the times when you have to put your cards on the table and be upfront about things, even if it means losing the thing you love.

Gregory admits that a majority of the songs written for his band’s debut album, ‘A Garden At The Top Of The Tree’ are filled with a ’sense of contemplation’ – be it love, life and the universal mysteries that practically any human can relate to.

Perhaps that’s one of the best qualities about this 10-track album, the fact that anyone can understand it and come to love it. Pop fans will indulge its accessibility, indie fans will adore its originality, and folk fans will enjoy its melodies.

Let’s not forgot soul either. There’s plenty of that flowing throughout the album, too. For starters, the band’s first and radio-friendly single, ‘Lay It On The Line’, explores the importance of transparency – regardless of the outcome – when it comes to relationships.

If the electro-elements blended with the catchy melodies, don’t grab at you, then the following track, ‘Laughter’, definitely will. Another standout track, it’s is the type of song that stirs a double take, simply because it’s so good. Sure, that’s a pretty elementary way of describing it, but sometimes there are not enough adjectives to give a song the justice it deserves. Think of a less cheesy James Taylor on vocals, an infectious riff, layered on top of a glorious melody. See, I warned you it would be a lame description.

And just as in life, there are plenty of highs and lows echoing throughout the album, a teeter-tooter of emotion if you will. Songs like ‘Let It Rain’ and the string-laden, Snow Patrol-esque ‘Old Tree’ offer a sincere mellowness that is somber yet likeable.

The smoothness of the album continues with the rockier and edginess of ‘Bouboulina Sunshine’, which if you’re still living in the ‘60s, you may regard it as some obscure bside from the Liverpool Fab Four. Again, the recycled theme of ‘accessible’ is what highlights this track as an album standout.

Overall, Fraser is set to release a polished album that is filled with emotion and creativity that anyone with blood flowing in their veins will understand. Get ready, this band carries the goods to conquer the world.

I’ll admit it. I had never heard post-rock band Kyte before, but I’ll blame that on location more than anything else. Now that I’ve had the fine opportunity to review their upcoming album, Dead Waves, I’m just as curious to delve into their back catalog and discover even more of their ambiguous beauty. This four-piece band hailing from Leicestershire delivers an addictive dose of lush sounds and atmospheric pop that will leave you craving more.

Needless to say, Dead Waves isn’t the type of album you’d put on before hitting the town for a wild night out, although it certainly will come in handy if you’re feeling delicate the following the morning. Still, the album can also be enjoyed even if you’re not wallowing in post-hangover stooper.

The band have been compared to Sigur Ros and Snow Patrol for their sweeping, broad-ranging sounds and pure melodies, but there also tends to be a major parallel to fellow English band Athlete, especially with “You’re Alone Tonight” and “Designed For Damage”, which leans heavily on electro-pop and melodic bliss.

The twelve-song album may seem like a lengthy amount to the iTunes generation, yet the infectious pop and smooth mellowness ebbs and flows throughout the LP gives an impression you’re surfing upon an ocean with steady waves, rather than dead ones as the album title suggests.
As the album progresses, another striking aspect that the band does so seemingly well is balance earnest lyrics against a rising backdrop of percussion and building guitars. This kind of sober intensity is heard through standout tracks “Like She Said” and “Each Life Critical.”

Kyte is the type of band that can draw the most casual listener in with the first song and make them a mega fan by the end of the album. Or at least that’s what seems to have happened with me anyway. Immediately following the band’s 7 ½ minute closer and album title Dead Waves, I had the strong urge of listening to the album all over again. I have a feeling I’m not the only who will pine for another round of listening.

Kyte’s Dead Waves is released on KIDS on 19th April 2010 on CD and Download.

Soulful singer-songwriter Pete Lawrie feels that his music is very hard to classify. He says, “If I had to give my current sound a name, I would call it Southern blues country rock skiffle hop tronica, whilst cringing at my own pretension.” But that explanation over-complicates things. When I listen to his EP, ‘How Could I Complain?,’  what I’m struck by is the simplicity and authenticity of his music. There are no gimmicks and there’s nothing over-thought, it’s just a man expressing himself beautifully through his music.

While there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about his music, there doesn’t have to be. His bruised, growling voice drips with the emotion behind the songs, and it’s this that really captivates the listener. In his biog, he explains that “the last few years have been without doubt the most amazing, eye-opening, terrifying, hilarious, devastating, glorious times in [his] life,” and it’s this emotion that resonates through the songs.

The four-track EP takes it’s name from the first track, ‘How Could I Complain?’. In it, Lawrie asks “So tell me how could I complain?” when he hasn’t experienced some horrible things like deaths in the family, and philosophizes, “you wouldn’t know joy if you didn’t have pain.” This mid-tempo track has a very rustic feel to it, which you really get a sense of in the video below. Second track, ‘Panic,’ has a raw, visceral feel to it. With Lawrie’s raspy voice over pounding piano, hand claps, cowbell and distorted guitars, you get the feeling your listening to an exposed nerve. The second half of the EP is a lot slower and more laid-back, but doesn’t lose any of it’s emotional intensity. ‘Paperthin’ uses strings and tinkling piano to great effect, and is very relaxing to listen to, and ‘Jimmy and the Birds on Fire’ is simple and beautiful, really showcasing Lawrie’s voice.

So if you’re tired of voices that have all the emotion auto-tuned out of them, then give Pete Lawrie a shot – his voice will make you feel emotions you never even knew you had.

‘How Could I Complain’ will be released on 5th April 2010. Pete Lawrie is on tour now with Turin Brakes. See our ticket alert for more information.

English piano rock outfit Keane have been known for their uplifting, piano-driven tracks (think ‘Somewhere Only We Know’) from their debut album ‘Hopes and Fears’ (2004) through their most recent release, ‘Perfect Symmetry’ (2008). While their use of piano as their primary instrument rather than guitar is certainly different than most other bands out there, they’ve never strayed far from this distinctive Keane sound. If the track ‘Stop for a Minute’ is anything to go by, then that’s all going to change with their upcoming EP, ‘Night Train.’

Seeking to experiment with their sound, last summer Keane collaborated with a number of people, most notably Kanye West, but their most fruitful collaboration was with Somali/Canadian rapper K’Naan. They recorded two songs for the EP with the socially conscious musician, including ‘Looking Back’ and ‘Stop for A Minute.’ Lead vocalist Tom Chaplin has said “I think those tracks show us in a completely different light,” and I have to agree.

But for any fans worried about their new direction, it’s still distinctly Keane. In fact, ‘Stop for A Minute’ sounds exactly like what you’d expect if you put a rapper on a Keane song. The track has a stronger, more hip-hop inspired beat than most Keane songs, but the piano and Tom’s powerful vocals are still there in full force. While Tom Chaplin and K’Naan trade off on vocals throughout the verses, they’re both singing – the only actual rapping happens in the bridge, and it’s integrated seamlessly. So take a deep breath, Keane fans, and enjoy this irrepressible track. As it says on their website, “It’s still Keane, and it’s still ace. Trufax.”

‘Night Train’ will be released on CD and available for download on 10 May, and you can pre-order a special numbered edition of the EP through the Keane Store right now by clicking here. They will be touring the UK in June, read our ticket alert for more information, and click below to purchase tickets for the remaining three dates that aren’t sold out.

The third album ‘Barbara’ from those loveable American pranksters We Are Scientists is on the horizon. However, we won’t be able to get our little hands on the album for a couple more months. In the meantime, we have a little teaser in the form of ‘Rules Don’t Stop’.

Per my interview with Chris Cain and Keith Murray in February about the new material, it was written for a three-piece line-up, unlike the last album, 2008’s ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’, which featured synths (a change from their original sound I wholeheartedly embraced). They took a back to basics approach with this third album-length offering, so I’m expecting ‘Barbara’ to sound more like their debut, ‘With Love and Squalor’ – you remember the cover, don’t you? The one with the cats?

I disagreed with the sentiment, but some critics complained that ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’ was overthought and unnecessarily complicated. I think these detractors will be pleased with this first single from ‘Barbara’. ‘Rules Don’t Stop’ is a punchy, barely 2-minute affair. And when I say ‘affair’, it’s an all too brief one, with a poppy melody and lyrics sung by Keith Murray with usual We Are Scientists conviction. Hearing it live for the first time in January, well before it debuted as one of Zane Lowe’s ‘Hottest Records in the World’, was a total joy, so I’m expect great things from this new album. The promo video for ‘Rules Don’t Stop’ premiered yesterday, and you can check it out below.

By the way, I’m not entirely sure what’s the deal with the band’s current citrus fixation. But I’m guessing it has to do with a creature they dreamt up that has a mirrored tile exterior and is filled with 100% juice. Don’t believe me? Watch this video of the guys hamming it up with celebs at the NME Shockwaves Awards on 24 February. (Editor’s note: there’s a slightly off colour joke question proffered by Bombay Bicycle Club, so if you’re easily offended, you may want to stop playing the vid at the 4-minute mark.)

The single ‘Rules Don’t Stop’ will be released on CD and vinyl on 5 April in the UK. We Are Scientists’s third album ‘Barbara’ is scheduled to be released on 14 June.

One of the more unique songs to be reviewed recently on Steve Lamacq’s Roundtable on 6music is Friendly Fires’s reinterpretation of ‘Hold On’, the dancefloor hit by New York City electro duo Holy Ghost! It’s only one half of a split single to be released in early March: Holy Ghost! returned the favour by covering Friendly Fires’s singalong ‘On Board’. When asked about it previously by BBC 6music News, singer Ed Macfarlane said that they had definite desire to do a reinterpretation of the Holy Ghost! track rather than simply a remix like the painstaking one he did for Phoenix’s ‘Fences’.

This is no doubt unusual, having versions of big hits by two heavy hitters of the current electro dance scene on the same single, but what I like most about these reinterpretations is that these were recorded in mutual appreciation of each other’s music. That is, one band was fully aware that the other was going to put their personal loving stamp on one of their tracks and vice versa. Both acts also did instrumental versions of the the songs they covered; Holy Ghost! provided a dub mix of ‘On Board’ as well.

Speaking on Monday to Steve Lamacq by phone from his band’s East London recording digs, Macfarlane further explained that the idea came about when Friendly Fires ran into Holy Ghost! in Corsica last summer (presumedly at dance music festival Calvi on the Rocks). Macfarlane is a massive fan of the NYC duo’s work, so when Holy Ghost!’s Alex Frankel suggested the idea of doing covers of each other’s songs, he jumped at the chance. He considers both songs to be “really old” (released in 2007 – that’s old?) and is really happy that the project came to fruition. You can catch the interview on iPlayer until next Monday afternoon, the 22nd of February, here (fast forward about an hour and 19 minutes into the show).

Friendly Fires’s take of ‘Hold On’ starts shimmery as their own holiday anthem, ‘Paris’. With the pronounced bass lines, bouncy synths and in-your-face percussion (more agogô, more cowbell!), there’s no mistake that this is from the St. Albans trio. If it’s even possible, the chorus of “and hold tight, don’t make more plans / and don’t talk, don’t say no words / and be still, now move like this / and hold on, until the kiss…” seems even sexier than it was in the Holy Ghost! original. And the Fires’s version feels tighter, about a minute shorter than the original.

‘On Board’ has been made much more dancefloor friendly by Holy Ghost! Their track features backup singers credited as ‘the DFA Celestial Choir’; perhaps one of their members provided the female laugh when the song starts, reminscent of the laugh at the start of Duran Duran’s ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’. I’m really liking the echo effects on the vocals, the repeated “don’t stop!“s from the choir halfway through, and the wickedly funky underlying bass lines so much that I almost don’t miss the cowbell. It should also be noted here that this song marks one of the last songs !!! and LCD Soundsystem’s late drummer Jerry Fuchs played on before his untimely death in November 2009.

After the cut: If you’re unfamiliar with either original, we’ve got you covered. You can watch Friendly Fires’s humourous video for ‘On Board’, then listen to ‘Hold On’ (as Holy Ghost! apparently don’t have an official promo for it).
Read the rest of this entry »

So it took Wolfmother a whopping four years to release the follow up to their self-titled 2005 debut. Ok, ok, so I guess some kudos has to go towards frontman Andrew Stockdale, as every single band member did leave him pre-recording Cosmic Egg, which must have proven a little difficult to say the least. But hey, the drummer and bassist did decide to jump off the Wolfmother band-wagon due to those dreaded “irreconcilable personal and musical differences”. AKA, one does wonder, Andrew’s completely annoying inability to progress beyond his obsessively 70’s rock turn outs?

As that’s exactly what Cosmic Egg was. That same old wham-bam mixture of Sabbath riffs and Plant wails. Yeh, it’s freekin’ rock and roll – Guitar Hero come to life – but it’s also pretty out-dated, and alas, the new record has split fans and critics alike. Still, erm, putting all that aside, TGTF recently grabbed hold of Wolfmother’s third single from the new album to see how the track stood out on it’s own.

White Feather kicks off with a riff basically copied and pasted from Rolling Stones’ ‘Start Me Up’, just hidden by some cheeky distortion. Then we have the return of Stockdale’s trademark squall surprisingly being backed by not so crazy, crunchy chops, but instead squeaky guitar licks, which slide around like flying fireworks in the distance. The typically epic drums are similarly lightened by welcomed use of a cowbell. A super huge solo hits midway, which is cheesy but monstrous, before the chorus arrives back for one last time, by which time it’s hook has surprisingly embedded into the mind. The classic rock pastiche is still turned to full volume, but hey, White Feather has certainly proved to be one of Wolfmother’s more bearable tracks.

Check out the official video to White Feather, which is released February 15th, below.

After a 5 year stop gap, Essex quartet Gorillaz are finally back with a brand spanking new album this 2010. Titled ‘Plastic Beach’, the upcoming record is set to feature everyone from Snoop Dog, Lou Reed, Kano to Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of The Clash (no doubt Paul’s involvement with Damon’s side-project, The Good, The Bad and the Queen helped this little collaboration). TGTF recently got their mitts on the latest musical slice from 2D, Noodle, Murdoch and Russel, and have since given it a darn good listen or two…

Titled ‘Stylo’, the first Gorillaz single to be released in four years is certainly an electronica sensation, yielding intrigue and discomfort. The track features input from the legendary Bobby Womak, who’s rich, soulful vocals rub perfectly against Albarn’s (or should I say 2D’s..) glacier voice amid the verses. The chorus proves similarly spellbinding with it’s unrelenting drum machine, galvanising synths and Albarn’s dizzy vocals, subtly brainwashing the mind as they circulate mischievously in the distance.

The robotic ‘Stylo’ certainly emits a twisted, sinister atmosphere, almost making for uneasy listening. But that is exactly why I love this track, and why I love Gorillaz. Judging by this digital firework of a number, the cockney cartoons are still well-up for releasing music that’s fantastically curious and entertaining, and alas makes ‘Plastic Beach’ one of my most anticipated albums of 2010.

‘Stylo’ is available digitally now, and ‘Plastic Beach’ is released on March 8th. Pre-order at Amazon now.

Caitlin Rose is a 22 year old country-folk star hailing all the way from Nashville, who chooses to cite Buddy Holly and Bob Dylan as just two of many influences upon her dreamily nostalgic music. Armed with a beautiful voice and an acoustic to go with it, TGTF were terribly excited to be handed Rose’s brand new EP, ‘Dead Flowers’, earlier on this week.

The EP kicks off with ‘Shotgun Wedding’. Said track proves to be a perfect foot-stomper of an opener, led by excitably picked acoustics and Rose’s falsetto twang which often echoes the wide-eyed vocals of Joanna Newsom. ‘Answer In One of These Bottles’, meanwhile, is a catchy Carter Family-esque ditty – the lyrics taking on a noticeably darker demeanour to the Virginia band, however, as it tells tales of alcohol and it’s ability to temporarily pass the pain.

Rose chooses to showcase her inner Patsy Cline while covering the legend’s ‘Three Cigarettes in an Astray’. Admittedly, Cline’s voice will be forever unbeatable, but you truly hear the power of Rose’s lungs here, as she belts out this woozy track with an equal amount of passion as Patsy did back in the 50s.

‘Docket’ is perhaps one of the more light hearted tracks on the EP, especially with it’s unexpected lyrics ala “The surgeon general can suck on my dick”. Intriguing! ‘Gorilla Man’, meanwhile, is similarly playful, with Caitlin’s hick vox jumping joyfully over a tap-tapping tambourine. Still these two tracks are perhaps the least compelling-bodied among the EP, proving that Rose still has time to grow in strength as an artist.

Caitlin drops a second cover among the EP as she takes on The Rolling Stones’ ‘Dead Flowers’. The rock is stripped from the country, with Rose taking the upbeat pace of the original track down a significant notch. This is not to say she doesn’t do the song justice, far beyond it. Rose in fact recites the poignant lyrics near perfectly, her rounded voice buttering over the acoustic calypso wails with pure ease. It’s a truly stunning homage, one which I’m sure Jagger and Richards would be beyond proud of.

The EP ultimately draws to a close, however, with ‘T-Shirt’, the second track on ‘Dead Flowers’ to feature Rose merely reciting over a clapping tambourine. Spouting lyrics of lost love, it’s a whole lot more emotional than ‘Gorilla Man’, and, as she drops the tambourine to the floor at the last breath of the track, ‘T-Shirt’ closes the EP on a stripped back, restrained note, certainly leaving the listener craving more from the wonderful upcoming star that is Caitlin Rose.

Lucky for us, Caitlin is set to release a full-length album later this 2010, so keep your eyes peeled for more music from Miss. Rose very soon.

MP3: Caitlin Rose – Shotgun Wedding

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Glaswegian alt-rockers Twin Atlantic have had quite a meteoric rise since forming in 2007, having in the space of just a few years gone from practicing in drummer Craig Kneale’s dining room to supporting bands like Biffy Clyro, the Subways and the Smashing Pumpkins. Their fans are so dedicated, they’ve even been known to get tattoos of the band’s lyrics and logo. When you listen to their new single, ‘Lightspeed,’ their continued success and their fans’ adoration seems completely natural.

The song throbs with energy and there’s so much passion behind singer Sam McTrusty’s vocals that it gives the song a defiant edge. What really strikes me about this song is how authentic it feels, due in large part to the “vocals dripping with gorgeous Scottish vowels.” McTrusty says on their website that the song is about “a kind of togetherness, and us being determined not to give up.”  The way each of the parts, from the drums to the vocals to the guitar, is so powerful while at the same time perfectly in balance really adds to this sense of togetherness. It almost feels like a rallying cry for the band. If they were a football club, this is the song they’d blast before heading out onto the pitch. “Together [they] might just move as fast as light,” so consider yourself lucky that you heard of them before they became massive.

Check out the video for ‘Lightspeed’ below:

‘Vivarium,’ the mini-album from which ‘Lightspeed’ is taken, is available now. The ‘Lightspeed’ single will be released on 1st March 2010. Twin Atlantic will be playing a series of dates in the UK (see their website) before embarking on a North American tour in March and April 2010.