Thursday 31 July 2008

Get Get The Blessing

• JAZZ pioneers Get The Blessing have scooped the prestigious Best Album award at the 2008 BBC Jazz Awards.
The album, All Is Yes, by the group, formed by former Portishead members Clive Deamer and Jim Barr, is an exciting, energetic post-jazz mix of riff-based saxophone grooves and rock influences.
• Stump up for Cut Off Your Hands’ debut single, Expectations.
The indie pop single, released on August 18, and produced by former Suede axeman Bernard Butler, is the first to come from the forthcoming album You And I.
• Eighties pop sensation Hue And Cry are to release a new album on September 8, following a 16 year absence from the charts.
As well as the Scottish brother’s usual crafted fare, the album also features a cover of Beyonce’s hit Crazy In Love.
• Alaskan metal band Avenged Sevenfold have released a new song, Dear God.
The track, taken from their self-titled fourth album, sees a dark country twang added to their furious metal oeuvre.
• High flying pop group The B-52s have a new single out on July 21.
Juliet Of The Spirits, taken from their current album Funplex, is backed up by live cuts of favourites Roam and Rock Lobster.
• Mark Ruebery will release a new album, Because Of You, on August 18.
The singer’s debut, which features current single It Goes Around And Comes Around, is a heartfelt mixture of classic anthemic rock and ballad showcasing Mark’s rich vocal tones.
• Silky-voiced singer and musical experimentalist Milosh releases his third album, iii, on August 25.
The Canadian, who has been compared to everyone from Radiohead to D’Angelo, makes music that mashes the boundaries between soul, classical, electronica, jazz and the traditional singer-songwriter.
• X-Factor’s finest Maria Lawson is back with a new single, taken from her second album Emotional Rollercoaster.
Breaking Me Down is a soulful pop track that showcases Maria’s vocal abilities.
• The bittersweet Sugar Mouse is the new single from folk pop duo Oh, Atoms.
The track, out on September 22 but available online from mid-August, also features in the new film Angus Thongs And Perfect Snogging.
• Leftfield guitar pop group Flipron release a double A-side single, Book Of Lies/Mess It Up, on September 15.
Both tracks will also feature on the band’s third album, Gravity Calling, which is out in October.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Thursday 24 July 2008

Bonham's blues is back

• KEEPING in in the family, Led Zeppelin drummer Jon Bonham’s sister Deborah Bonham has released a gutsy album of blues-soaked rock.
Titled Duchess, the 13-track collection is Deborah Bonham’s third offering, and is a real belter to boot, featuring contributions from her cousin, Jon’s son Jason Bonham, Fairport Convention mandolinist Dave Pegg and Free, Bad Company and Queen frontman Paul Rodgers.
• Having been going for four years, the music world is on pins for Phantom Limb’s long-awaited debut single, Don’t Say A Word.
The track, out on August 11, is a superb warm, acoustic track mashing together soul, blues and gospel featuring Yolanda Quarty on vocals, and will be a taster for their forthcoming eponymous album.
• Norwegian rocker Ida Maria’s debut album, Fortress Round My Heart, is released on July 28.
Featuring 10 tracks – half of which are already singles – the album is a perfect showcase of the Scandinavian singer songwriter’s edgy pop talent, and features Oh My God and new single I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked.
• NME pleaser Joe Lean and his backing band The Jing Jang Jong release their self-titled album on August 4.
With expectation at fever pitch, it’s no surprise that the 13-track LP is a winning collection of infectious chart-troubling indie rock.
• Up-and-coming pop talent Natalia releases a new single, Perfect Day, on September 15.
The single, featuring a Florida-based rapper, coincides with tour dates supporting Girls Aloud, the Sugababes and Kano.
• Eclectic Los Angeles-based five-piece Iglu & Hartly release their debut single and album this September.
Expect big things from the band, who mix hook-laden indie with trademark synth work and distinctive rapping.
• Promising power punk peddlers Go:Audio release their sophomore single on August 11.
The track, taken from forthcoming debut Made Up Stories, is a tasty slice of the band’s melodious rock pie.
• Wahey! It’s Ray J. The American R&B sensation releases his new album, All I Feel, on July 28, which features guest spots from Styles P, The Game and Shorty Mack.
The heart-trobbing teen smoothie also releases a download only single Sexy Can I on the same day.
• If you like your music with a kick, then Cansei de Ser Sexy – better known as CSS – have released a new album of indie disco classics, Donkey.
The album features the Brazilian band’s latest single, Left Behind.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Thursday 17 July 2008

A wail of a time with Primal Scream

• HERE’S something to shout about – Primal Scream are back with a brand new album, Beautiful Future.
The album, which contains the single Can’t Go Back, hits the shelves on July 21, and features collaborations with CSS’s Lovefoxxx, Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme and folk singer Linda Thompson.
• Don’t let Nine Inch Nail’s new album, The Slip, slip past you.
The physical CD is available in shops from July 28, but you can also download the entire album – which is a real belter – free of charge from their website, www.nineinchnails.com
• James Yorkston’s fourth studio album, When The Haar Rolls In, is released on September 1.
The album is another stunning collectiom of lush, beautifully crafted songwriting from the criminally-underrated Yorkston.
• Iconic singer Chaka Khan is back with her first new album in a decade, Funk This.
The funking brilliant album, out on August 25, is preceeded by the single Disrespectful, a duet with Mary J Blige.
• Wish you were hear? German contemporary classical composer Max Richter has a new album, 24 Postcards In Full Colour.
• Pivot’s new album, O Soundtrack My Heart, is out on August 18.
For more information on the eclectic electro indie band, and to grab a free track, log on to www.pivotpivot.net
• An album of Biblical proportions is set to be released by Noah And The Whale on August 11.
The fin-tastic LP, titled Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, features the forthcoming single 5 Years Time.
• Drum and bass pioneers Pendulum have a new single out on July 28.
The Other Side is the latest to be taken from the earth-shattering album In Silico.
• Producer Quantic – real name Will Holland – has a new album out.
Flowering Inferno, Death Of The Revolution, is a laid back pairing of hip hop beats and Cuban music.
• Nu-metal’s finest Linkin Park have released their new track, Leave Out All the Rest.
An epic ballad, the track is likely to put the band in the charts on two tracks at once – as the band also feature on Busta Rhymes's We Made It.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Thursday 10 July 2008

Death Cab For Cutie a fare bet

• ALL hail Death Cab For Cutie, whose new single, the brilliant Cath, is out on July 21.
The track is the second to be lifted from the American group’s outstanding sixth album Narrow Stairs, a US number one.
The group are also currently treating UK audiences to a tour taking in Birmingham Academy on July 15.
• Predatory pop band Scouting For Girls are set to bag themselves another hit with their new single It’s Not About You.
The song, an indie pop track catchier than bird flu, will no doubt feature in the group’s current UK tour, which lasts until November.
• Folk experimentalist Jim Moray released a new album Low Culture, on July 14.
The glorious ten-track album is a mixture of traditional English folk music and modern influences, and features collaborations with grime rapper Bubbz, folk legend Roy Bailey and Art brut lead singer Jasper Future.
• Melodic pop rockers Melee are having a brawl with their latest album and UK debut Devils And Angels.
The album, preceeded by single Built To Last, hits stores on July 21.
• Get down with the musical underground that is The Subways new album, the brilliant All Or Nothing.
With Butch Vig, the man who produced Nirvana’s Nevermind, at the helm, the British trio have produced some of their most engaging work to date – incuding singles Alright and Kalifornia.
• Don’t be in the dark – Santogold’s new single Lights Out will be lining the shelves on August 4.
The track, taken from her epeonymous debut, mixes a heavy bassline with a chorus poppier than a bottle of Willy Wonka’s fizzy lifting drink.
• Singing sensation Phil Campbell’s new single No Love Songs has hit the streets.
The single, taken from his hotly-tipped album After The Garden, is the precurser to a tour taking in dates in Birmingham and Derby.
• Brighton based band Gloria Cycles are pedalling towards the big time with a new release, Vegas.
Already a big name in their hometown, the group are gambling on breaking out with the release and a swath of summer tour dates across the UK.
• It must be hard to swallow for the group, but Noah And The Whale aren’t yet a band of Biblical proportions.
However with a few more dreamy good time folk-indie-pop tracks like new single Five Years Time, featuring Laura Marling, it can only be a matter of time.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Thursday 3 July 2008

Best seller Estelle

• CHART-topping soul sensation Estelle has followed up the Kanye West, Will.i.am collaboration American Boy with a new single No Substitute Love.
The single is taken from her debut album Shine, which includes work with Swizz Beats, Will.i.am, Cee Lo, Kanye West and John Legend.
• Legendary indie experimentalists Primal Scream are back with a new sound and a new album, Beautiful Future, featuring work with Lovefoxxx, Josh Homme and Linda Thompson.
You can hear their new sound from July 14 when new single, Can’t Go Back Out, hits the shelves.
• Dreamy singer songwriter James Blunt is again tugging on the heart strings with a new single I Really Want You.
The track is taken from his album All The Lost Souls, and will be among tracks played on tour around the UK this October.
• Fresh from a top three finish in Hell’s Kitchen, Paul Young is again set to bother the charts with a 25th anniversary edition of his number one album No Parlez.
The popstar’s classic album features tracks such as Wherever I Lay My Hat, Iron Out The Rough Spots and Love Will Tear Us Apart.
• The folk and pop fusion of Sidewinder is set to hit the shops in the form of single Shooting Stars.
The song about a rescue dog is taken from Shooting Stars’ forthcoming eponymous debut album.
• Chester-born reggae sensation Ava Leigh is releasing a new single Mad About The Boy this month.
The hotly-tipped single, described as "bottled Summer", is taken from her as-yet untitled debut album, expected later this year.
• Hook-laden rockers Cute Is What We Aim For have released a new single, Practice Makes Perfect, and a new album, Rotation.
The new output is the follow-up to 2006’s critically-acclaimed The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch.
• Four-piece avant-pop band Pope Joan are releasing their debut album, Hot Water, Lines And Rickety Machines later this year.
The debut LP from the Brighton-based band mixes angular rock in the vein if The Futureheads with unashamedly poppy sensibilities.
• Stepping out of the shadows of support slots with the likes of Sam Sparro, The Cribs and One Nigt Only, four-piece Sukie are set for the big time with their new single Pink-A-Pade.
The track, already in shops, is a Kinks-esque stomper of a track.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.