So, The Prodigy have announced a string of UK tour dates for January next year.

“We wanted to kick off 2010 in the UK so we are coming to some of the towns that we missed last year – sometimes these places can get forgotten so we wanted to bring the show to fans who don’t often get a chance to see us.”

Tickets go on sale at 9:30am on Friday morning (14th August 2009) Catch the guys at:

Thursday 21st January 2010 – Doncaster Dome
Friday 22nd January 2010 – Bridlington Spa Royal Hall
Saturday 23rd January 2010 – Blackpool Empress Ballroom
Monday 25th January 2010 – Plymouth Pavilions
Tuesday 26th January 2010 – Southend Cliffs Pavilion
Wednesday 27th January 2010 – Bournemouth International Centre

A quick note from Phil: We first introduced you to The Good Natured last summer, but times have changed and this is a much better write-up than the original one!

Sarah McIntosh is the lone member of The Good Natured and you can expect her to be a radio regular in a the not too distant future. A combination of electronic rhythms that would make MGMT proud and sublime vocals that sound like a mellow lily Allen or Kate Nash are the recipe to her success. The Berkshire bouncer certainly has a fresh sound that can be best described as electroacoustic with, of course, a little extra spice.

At times the keyboard playing sounds like The Prodigy playing on a church organ but it works and ear perplexing melodies add to the vibrant atmosphere that each track possesses. Although she’s not selling out stadiums, Sarah has a powerful voice which would sound great if she did a duet with Bloc Party.

Three always seems to be the magic number and their are three belters of tunes that stand out from The Good Natured back catalogue. “Rose” has to be the highlight. At first you’re certain that you’re listening to Kate Nash and then some inventive melodies and catchy beats begin and you know you’re dealing with a different kettle of fish. “Heart Of Stone” is my personal favourite. The track has a great injection of aggression and attitude and some of the the electronic bellows would not be out of place on a Daft Punk record. The last track that is in a different league is “How Can I Believe In You” which mixes organ and sonic drum beats but even better, it sounds good too and is more than just a musical experiment.

If you want a bargain, I’d go see a Good Natured gig right now as in a couple of years, you can expect tickets to sell out in minutes and prices to rocket due to all the hype that Sarah is sure to receive.

MP3: The Good Natured – Warriors

Earlier in the week we gave you a preview of Lovebox, a two day festival in London. However, whilst that’s all well and good for those of us who like our beds and a nice warm shower at the end of the day, some people like to get “back to nature”, and one of the best to do this at is the Isle of Wight Festival, which takes place on the 12th – 14th June in Seaclose Park, Isle of Wight.

Having just announced Neil Young as the last of their headliners for the main stage, this year’s festival looks set to continue to mix new rising talent with old-hands, with Neil heading up the rest of the as yet unannounced Sunday lineup. The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, The Ting Tings and Pendulum all open up the festival on Friday night, whilst Saturday is just as impressive with Stereophonics and Razorlight topping the bill.

The festival was only re-introduced in 2002 after a 32 year absence, after over 600,000 people attended the third festival in 1970, ending in chaos. Since coming back, the likes of David Bowie The Who, The Police and The Sex Pistols have all graced its stage, becoming one of the most successful festivals at combining young and old talent together.

In 2007 it was named “Best Major Festival” at the UK Festival awards, and looks set to go strength to strength over the coming years.

Tickets are on sale now, priced at £140 for a camping ticket and £120 for a non-camping ticket for the weekend.

To find tickets, we suggest you try using Needtickets Festival search. Needtickets.com offers you the most comprehensive ticket service in the UK. With one click you can search every nationwide online ticket agent and as a result you can find tickets for any live music event that can be booked online. Every ticket is 100% guaranteed as Needtickets.com only offers links to official agents.

Things are a bit crazy here at TGTF at the moment – for some reason this week our hits have gone through the roof (so hello if you’re new around these parts!), and we’ve been a tiny bit swamped with emails, so apologies if we’re slow to get back to you / write shiny new posts!

Now, onto the good stuff.

You’ve probably heard that the Isle of Wight festival’s announced its Friday lineup of big bands, with The Prodigy headlining, Basement Jaxx, Pendulum and the Ting Tings all playing the first day of the festival.

Crazy Germans Whitest Boy Alive (pictured top) have a new album, “Rules”, out on 30th March and have given us a preview of it (below). Think a slower Hot Chip, or a more German Royksopp, with some funky late night beats, quite chilled out but at the same time quite groovy… have a listen:

MP3: Whitest Boy Alive – Island

Now for a quick step back in time – Paul Carrack (yeah, the name range a bell for me too…), one time member of Roxy Music, Squeeze, Mike and The Mechanics (ooh, so that’s where we know him from) has a new album out, one of the 60 (yes, sixty!) that he’s featured on. Taken from ‘I Know That Name’, enjoy a free album track as a download below, or go out and buy current single, ‘I Don’t Want Your Love (I Need Your Love)’.

MP3: Paul Carrack – It Ain’t Easy (To Love Someone)

Favours for Sailors (pictured top right) sound like a crazy mix of the View and the Beachboys – chaotic yet melodic. Woo. There’s a great intro piece over on Drowned in Sound here, and a free MP3 below:

MP3: Favours for Sailors – I Dreamt That I Dreamt that I loved you

I’ve been reading a lot about Animal Collective of late – their new album seems to have the pro bloggers all in a tiz, so I thought I’d see what all the fuss about. Below is a video of “My Girls”, which sounds pretty darned amazing I think.

The Prodigy have announced a massive arena tour next April.

Support comes from Dizzee Rascal.

Tickets go on sale on Friday (7th November) at 9:30am.

Catch the Essex lads at:

Sunday 5th April 2009 – Cardiff International Arena
Monday 6th April 2009 – Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Tuesday 7th April 2009 – Glasgow SECC
Thursday 9th April 2009 – Birmingham NIA
Friday 10th April 2009 – Manchester MEN Arena
Saturday 11th April 2009 – Nottingham Trent FM Arena
Monday 13th April 2009 – Sheffield Arena
Tuesday 14th April 2009 – Brighton Centre
Friday 17th April 2009 – London Wembley Arena

The Prodigy have announced a string of dates for December. Tickets are going on sale next Thursday, 21st August at 10am.

Catch them at:

Sunday 7th December – Liverpool Carling Academy
Monday 8th December – Glasgow Carling Academy
Tuesday 9th December – Birmingham Carling Academy
Thursday 11th December - Sheffield Carling Academy
Friday 12th December – London Brixton Carling Academy
Saturday 13th December – London Brixton Carling Academy