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The Like – What I Say And What I Mean

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When looking at this band, my first thoughts were – sure they’ve got the look, and have a few positive reviews behind them, including one from the NME – but can they actually rock. My first thoughts when playing this single were no. Upon repeated listens to this single my opinion is yet to change, with what we have here seeming to be a girl band with plenty of potential, it’s just not being used.

There is all the promise of a decent Rock track here, the single just seems to be watered down and lacking in bite. The guitars lack aggression, the vocals far too friendly sounding even when shouted, and it all just seems far too sickly sweet. If The Spice Girls had instruments, then they probably would have sounded something like this, take that how you will.

Released: 15th May 2006
Label: Geffen

Rating:
Review Star

Graham Coxon – You & I

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‘You & I’ was the second single lifted from the album ‘Love travels at Illegal Speeds’ and could easily have been the feel good hit of the summer had it been released a couple of months later. This single seems to be a nostalgic look back at his Blur days on Coxon’s behalf as this single has an extremely Blur-esque sound to it, and could easily have been one of their early singles. This tune is definitely a dancefloor filler, and you can just picture it being dropped at rock nights the UK over with flailing bodies all around.

Since becoming a solo artist, Coxon has more than proven his musical credential and shown that despite the rather large ego of Damon Albarn, Coxon could have more than adequately taken his place as front man in the band. Sure, Graham Coxon hasn’t got the best voice ever and the lyrics are a tad cringeworthy, but his voice is nonetheless charming and evocative. This is a great single from the man and as I said earlier on – it could easily have been the feel good hit of the summer had it been released later, and could still become so if it is used tactfully on any sort of media promotion.

Released: 8th May 2006
Label: Parlophone

Rating:
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Hellogoodbye, Furthest Drive Home, and Forward Is The Farewell @ The Garage, London 28.05.06

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I had been looking forward to this gig for a long time as I am a big fan of hellogoodbye and was excited to hear the two support bands – Furthest Drive Home and Forward Is The Farewell as I had not heard them before, but The Garage idiotic policy of IDing everyone meant that I missed the first band Forward Is The Farewell, which I was quite annoyed about. Hopefully I will get a chance to see this band in the future, but as it stands I have no idea what they sound like so cant report back on what they were like on the night, but from the songs I’ve listened to since on their MySpace – they seem like a pretty decent band.

So, the first band I actually saw were Furthest Drive Home – a UK band with a smooth Pop Punk sound. They put in a good set and blasted through a number of their songs, seeming to impress their audience at The Garage. At one stage the singer got hit in the face with a beach ball which was being launched around this excitable crowd, the singer seemed to take this in good humour and carried on the set with a smile on his face. The band currently have an EP out which is available for download off of iTunes, so go and check it out if you like – at 79p a track, you cant go far wrong! Their performance at The Garage seemed pretty tight, and they were definitely a good support band, warming the crowd up nicely for hellogoodbye to come on stage and finish off the gig in style.

After what seemed like an eternity after Furthest Drive Home, hellogoodbye took to the stage with their usual fun time aura, getting the party well and truly started. They played a number of crowd pleasing favourites including the awesome ‘Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn,’ the epic ‘Dear Jamie…Sincerely Me,’ and the excellent ‘Bonnie Taylor Shakedown,’ closing their set with superbly with ‘Touchdown Turnaround’ – one of the most truly exciting set finishers I have ever seen. Everyone went absolutely mad to ‘Touchdown Turnaround,’ with everyone in attendance singing along and really getting into this final blast of hellogoodbye goodness. Hopefully the band will be back over these shores in the not too distant future, as their live show is something that is really not to be missed. I don’t think there was a single person at The Garage that didn’t leave with a smile on their face, or in fact leave without ‘Touchdown Turnaround’ stuck well and truly in their head, in fact most people left obliviously singing and humming it.

Rating:
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Fall Out Boy – Dance, Dance

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Hailed by some as Pop Punk saviours, and others as another whining Emo band – love them or hate them, there is no denying that Fall Out Boy are forever growing in popularity, and with a UK top 10 single already under their belts are sure to do it again with ‘Dance, Dance.’ Fall Out Boy are currently America’s finest export and are soon again to be gracing these shores as they tour the UK with The Academy Is… in late May, finishing up at the Wolverhampton Civic on the 30th.

‘Dance, Dance’ is an energetic slab of Pop Punk gold with an infectious backbeat, booming bass lines and awesome vocal styling. The ‘From Under The Cork Tree’ has been on rotation in my player for nearly a year now, and ‘Dance, Dance’ is probably my favourite track on the album. I was pleased when the band decided to chose this as the second single to be taken from the album as I really think that this track is one of the bands finest moments. If you’re a Pop Punk fan then I suggest that you go out and buy this single whether it be download, CD, or even limited edition vinyl as I promise you this; you will not be disappointed.

Label: Mercury
Release date: 17th April 2006

Rating:
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The Automatic – Raoul

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This is the second single from Welsh teenagers The Automatic, and although for me was not an instant classic, with repeated listens it is fast becoming my favourite song at the moment. The band have recently returned from this years NME tour, and this will surely have made the band a few new fans, as well as impressing old ones.

‘Raoul’ has a driving guitar riff which continues throughout the song with its remarkably catchy rhythm. The vocals compliment this and enhance the tracks addictive qualities. I really feel that The Automatic have produced a track that they can be proud of in ‘Raoul’ – and if they continue this fine form with their album which will surely be gracing the streets in the next couple of months, The Automatic will be well on their way to super stardom.

Released: 27th March 2006
Label: B-Unique

Rating:
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Orson – Bright Idea

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Hot on the heels of their number one single, Orson are kicking out another single like there’s no tomorrow. Unsubtle references to the aforementioned hit single aside, ‘Bright Idea’ kicks off where ‘No Tomorrow’ left off no? No. Far from it in fact, new single ‘Bright Idea’ gives the band a whole new persona and seen as it’s the title track of their album, may be it’s a sign of things to come.

This is an extremely soulful, laid back track with a chilled out vibe about it, however there’s nothing really particularly interesting which takes place over the course of the 4 minutes that the track runs for. I think that it may go down like a ton of bricks as a follow on single from ‘No Tomorrow’ as it is nothing like it – it’s nowhere near as catchy and I just don’t think that the band will be able to recapture the success which they enjoyed before. Maybe people will go for this, I somehow doubt however that this will be the case and feel that Orson could go down as being the latest one hit wonders.

Released: 15th May 2006
Label: Mercury

Rating:
Review Star

Brigade – Magneto

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Brigade are set to release their debut album ‘Lights’ on May 1st through Mighty Atom Records, with the first single to be taken from this album being this almighty single ‘Magneto.’ This is a storming rock track with a driving guitar riff which when it thunders out of your speakers, you know it means business.

Brigade pick up from where they left off in the ‘Made to Wreck’ EP which was released in September of last year, and continue with a fast paced frenetic anthem of which was a signature feature of the bands aforementioned EP. If you were a fan of the EP, then this single will not disappoint – it is everything that made up the EP and more. ‘Magneto’ is sure to secure the band Radio airplay and should be a popular choice on channels such as MTV2, Kerrang and Scuzz. The vocals are a key feature of this track, and when coupled with the driving guitars really make this song complete. This is most certainly a British rock band that we’ll be hearing plenty more of in the future – look out for when their album hits the shelves in May, it’s bound to be a classic.

Released: 17th April 2006
Label: Mighty Atom

Rating:
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Yellowcard – Lights and Sounds (Single)

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Yellowcard spent two years touring, however are back with a new album, and the first single to be released from their new album is title track ‘Lights and Sounds.’ This track is to be released on the 6th of March and should see the band race up the charts with its energetic pace, and exciting upbeat backbeat. This track is definitely the right one to release as a first single – it has such a driving guitar riff throughout, strong vocals, and the complimentary violin backing that we’ve come to expect of the band over the years.

With the album having been released over a month ago now, this new single should see the band return to some of their former glory, and hopefully with this the band can begin to claw back some of their fan base that they had a few years ago when they were all over the place with hit singles such as ‘Life of a Salesman,’ ‘Way Away’ and more recently ‘Ocean Avenue.’ This single definitely keeps up with the trend of previous singles with its driving pace and certainly has the charisma that the previous singles had. I’d say that this is possibly the bands best single to date, and should serve well as a set opener for their forthcoming tour in the next few weeks. Check this band out live if you can – the energy that is captured on record is sure to transfer to the live performance and I promise that you will not be left disappointed.

Label: EMI
Release Date: March 6th 2006

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Three Day Benda – Sounds Of The Suburbs

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If talent was judged on the quality of a bands name then lets be honest, Three Day Benda would be awful – however its not, so lets put judgements of the bands name aside shall we. Ok, so this is a 4 track sampler CD of the album that the band is to release later on in this year (May 2006 to be precise.) This CD shows promise from the band with 4 tracks that push the boundaries of Ska and Rock. Three Day Benda are an eight man strong band, and use this large number of members to their advantage in order to make a sound as full as possible.

This is a somewhat promising preview of the band as none of the tracks on display here are what I would consider bad, however how good the full album turns out to be depends on whether or not the band have the capacity to up their game so to speak. It could either be really good or these will be the best songs on the album, in which case it will probably be nothing more than average. For this bands sake, I hope they have some more quality songs written as although what is on this CD is pretty good – I have heard better, and if these are the bands strongest efforts then the chances of them getting bigger are fairly slim. This is a fairly sound offering from the band; however they definitely need some stronger tracks on the album to save it from mediocrity. With this four track effort, I find that although what I am listening to is not paining my ears, it’s not really gripping me either in the way I like my music to. I feel that a lot of bands with a horn section use their horn section in order to draw people in to the sound of the band, however I don’t think Three Day Benda are really making full use of their horn section and so their sound seems incomplete at the moment. Once the band iron out these creases, they should be set to blow people away.

Rating:
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Coldplay – Talk

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This is the third single to be taken from the bands amazing ‘X&Y’ album and I definitely think that this is a wise move by the band as it is probably one of my favourite tracks from the album. This is an excellently written track, borrowing the riff from Kraftwerk’s ‘Computer Love’ and in doing so creating a dreamy, truly atmospheric song that is hard not to appreciate. This song explicitly highlights the bands amazing song writing capabilities and shows that the band are still going strong as we enter into 2006.

I really enjoyed the bands ‘X&Y’ album and feel that although there are weaker songs on the album, this is a song that encapsulates Coldplay at their best and shows that they are still one of the greatest British bands of our time. ‘Talk’ is an extremely enigmatic song and is one that I am sure will become a classic given a few years. Although Coldplay are a band that will not be to everybody’s taste, there is no denying that there is significant talent in this band, and that over the years the band have written some truly inspirational material that will be sure to inspire musicians of the future.

Label: EMI
Release Date: December 19th 2005

Rating:
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