Join with Us is the second album to be released by the poppy British fivepiece. I absolutely loved Twelve Stops and Home so I was really looking forward to getting to review this album.

Album opener and recent single I Thought It Was Over is a good start - a big cheesy slice of disco-esque pop, whilst upcoming single Without You is just as disco, but is a lot more thoughtful. It took a few listens to get into it, but it’s definitely a grower. Won’t Go Away is a bouncy tune with a catchy chorus whilst The Greatest Show on Earth is the album’s epic track which builds up over five minutes to soaring choruses and rocking guitars.

If you’re sat at home, twiddling your thumbs and waiting for the new Slipknot album to come out, you’re probably not going to like your album. Okay, the album had a few week links (I didn’t really rate Spare Me or I Did It For Everyone) If you like cheesy, cheery pop-rock though, you’ll really like this album.

The Feeling have had two albums - Twelve Stops and Home (2006) and Join with Us (2008).

The Feeling - Join with Us

Rating:

Get Cape Wear Cape Fly is the alias of British singer/songwriter Sam Duckworth. Searching for the Hows and Whys is his most recent album, and seeing as his influences range from Billy Bragg to Nitin Sawney to Blur, you can be guaranteed that this album is an eclectic mix of sounds.

Opening track Let The Journey Begin is a summery sounding tune with crisp lyrics and soaring violins whilst Young and Lovestruck is a pensive song with a bouncy chorus. Window of Your Mind mixes a dancey backing track with an acoustic guitar whilst I Could Build You a Tower is the album’s protest song - a tune about peace, love and understanding. Better Things features Cockney songtress Kate Nash, and although it isn’t the best song on the album, it’s still very pleasant. Closing tune Could’ve Seen It All rounds off the album perfectly and I could even see it as a future single.

All in all this album is awesome - each song is different to the others and somehow the album still flows really well. Sam Duckworth is definitely one to watch and I’ll be watching his musical career very closely from now on!

Get Cape Wear Cape Fly have had two albums - The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager (2006) and Searching for the Hows and Whys (2008).

Get Cape Wear Cape Fly - Searching For The Hows And Whys (By CD Now)

Rating:

Acclaimed Manchester band Elbow are back with their fourth album. Elbow have been one of those bands I’ve always wanted to get into but never got round to, so I was really keen to have a listen to this album.

Opening track Starlings admittedly didn’t work for me, it was a little boring and over the place, although Guy Garvey has a lovely, very emotive voice. The Bones of You is a much better tune, with a very Latin vibe to it. Current single Grounds for Divorce reminded me a bit of Beck, and with it’s Woaaaaahs and Aaaaaahs is extremely catchy. Weather to Fly is a very chilled out, relaxed track, although I couldn’t really get into The Fix. Closing track Friend Of Ours is a very ethereal tune, with plinky plonky pianos and whispered vocals.

This album is a mixed bag - some tracks work well, whilst some don’t. If you don’t want to buy the album though, definitely download Grounds For Divorce, as it’s a really good song!

Elbow have had four albums - Asleep in the Back (2001), Cast of Thousands (2003), Leaders of the Free World (2005) and The Seldom Seen Kid (2008)

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid (Buy CD Now)

Rating:

Yes, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Sound the trumpets, bang the drums, roll out the red carpet… Panic at the Disco have released their much anticipated second album! They’ve dropped the superfluous exclamation mark from their name, but is this all that has changed since the previous album?

Pretty Odd has a very sixties vibe to it - but as the band insist in opening track we’re so Starving - “We’re still the same”. Current single Nine in the Afternoon sounds like it could have been a hidden track on Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I have Friends in Holy Spaces sounds very vaudeville and sounds different to anything the band have ever done. Northern Downpour is a very pretty song with thoughtful lyrics whilst Pas De Cheval is rocky with a catchy drumbeat. Mad as Rabbits is probably the song most like “old” PATD whilst Folkin’ Around is surprisingly…. a tune with folk influences.

This is truly a mixed bag of tunes and you’d think it wouldn’t work… but surprisingly it does, and really well at that. I’d even say that it’s even better than their first album. Definitely one to buy, borrow or steal off your mates.

Panic at the Disco have had two albums - A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (2005) and Pretty Odd (2008).

Panic at the Disco - Pretty Odd (Buy CD Now )

Rating:

Feel free to leave a comment with what you thought of this album and rate it out of 5.

The Ghosts Among us is the debut album from American Hardcore band Our Last Night. Admittedly I’m not a big fan of hardcore (I think I must be getting old!) but I tried to listen with an open mind, and speakers turned up to eleven.

This album is hardcore to the…um…well…the core. Shouty verses and melodic choruses, fast drums and guitars - it reminded me of a less poppy Linkin Park. I particularly liked the melodic Timing is Everything and the punk-tinged Recovery.

Did this album change my opinion of hardcore? Not particularly. But if you’re a big fan of the genre, I think this band would be a very good addition to your music collection.

Our Last Night have had one album, The Ghosts Among Us (2008).

Rating:

Seventh Tree is dance duo Goldfrapp’s fourth album and has already received many positive reviews. To be brutally honest - I’ve never been a big fan of Goldfrapp. They’ve had two good songs and that has been pretty much it. Therefore, I listened to this album with some trepidation.

This album is a lot different to anything the band have done before - it’s a lot quieter, a lot less ostentatious, a lot more chilled out - especially after the poppiness of Supernature. Tracks like Little Bird and Clowns even have a hint of folkiness to them. Current single A&E is very subdued but works very well, whilst Cologne Cerrone Houdini couldn’t be more retro if you stuck it in a pair of flares and a medallion.

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. If you were expecting something loud and lairy then this isn’t the album for you, but if you like dance music you can chill out with, you’ll be pleasantly surprised too.

Goldfrapp have released four albums: Felt Mountain (2000), Black Cherry (2003), Supernature (2005) and Seventh Tree (2008)

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree (Download Album Here)

Track listings:
1. Clowns
2. Little Bird
3. Happiness
4. Road To Somewhere
5. Eat Yourself
6. Some People
7. A&E
8. Cologne Cerrone Houdini
9. Caravan Girl
10. Monster Love

Rating:

American rock band Louis XIV are back with their third album - and it has a decidedly eclectic and retro twang to it.

Free Won’t be what it Used to Be is led by guitars and muffled vocals whilst There’s a Traitor in this room sounds very psychedelic. Guilt By Association smacks of electro whilst Hopesick is a lush nine-minute-long indie ballad with pianos and strings a-plenty.

If you’re not a big fan of sleazy rock then Louis XIV won’t be for you. However, if you like your music full of thumping basslines and your lyrics crammed full of double entendres then you might want to buy this album.

Louis XIV - Slick Dogs And Ponies

Track Listing:
1. Guilt By Association
2. Air Traffic Control
3. Misguided Sheep
4. There’s A Traitor In This Room
5. Sometimes You Just Want To
6. Tina
7. Stalker
8. Free Won’t Be What It Used To Be
9. Swarming Of The Bees
10. Hopesick
11. Slick Dogs And Ponies

Rating:

Started a Fire is the debut album from Yorkshire band One Night Only. Initially they used to make a living playing Blink-182 covers, although this isn’t really evident in the music they make today.

Opener Just for Tonight is an excellent start - a hybrid mix of the Editors and Fall Out Boy. You and Me starts out deceptively slow and speeds up into a chipper, keyboard-led tune. Time is a twinkly song, which lyrically sounds like something Coldplay could have written, whilst final tune Hide is an epic five minute track which musically changes so many times that it’s hard to know what is going on with it.

This is a really good album which shows so many influences on it. It’s not perfect, by any means of the imagination, but these guys are certainly ones to watch in 2008.

One Night Only - Started A Fire (click to download)

Track Listing:
1. Just For Tonight
2. It’s About Time
3. You And Me
4. He’s There
5. Start Over
6. Time
7. Stay At Home
8. It’s Alright
9. Sweet Sugar
10. Hide

Rating: