SIGH NO MORE – MUMFORD & SONS Marketed & Distributed by Universal Music SA
I can’t recall when last there’s been such hype about a band that started not within the ranks of a record company’s PR department, but through social media. This is the case with Mumford & Sons, a band I knew of before I ever heard any of their music. After receiving their debut album, Sigh No More, it’s also understandable. There’s a raw energy to the folksy music this English band makes that’s hard to shake. What I enjoyed even more is the literary influence in their music, which is not surprising considering that Marcus Mumford runs an online book club in his spare time. If you’ve read Steinbeck’s East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath, you’ll spot the references in Timshel and Dust Bowl Dance. Even Shakespeare is a muse, with the title track quoting lines from Much Ado About Nothing and Roll Away Your Stone clearly being influenced by Macbeth. Their biggest hit thus far, Little Lion Man, remains a highlight on the album, but it’s also not very easy to pinpoint exactly what makes the album so enjoyable. It was the soundtrack to one of my road trips and was on repeat for much of the trip, with each play merely clawing its way deeper under my skin. If you’ve not yet experienced the magic that is Mumford & Sons, you are missing out.
FREE WIRED – FAR EAST MOVEMENT Marketed & Distributed by Universal Music SA
With such a catchy band name, it’s no surprise that it’s third time lucky for Far East Movement, the American electro-hop band that became a household name with Like a G6. It’s the band’s third album, Free Wired, that has finally secured international fame for the group who first came to prominence in 2006 after one of their songs were featured on the soundtrack to The Fast and the Furios: Tokyo Drift. Like A G6, with its catchy beat and melody, went straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and the group is currently riding that wave with the feel-good Rocketeer, featuring One Republic’s Ryan Tedder on vocals. While there are one or two songs on the album I wasn’t fond of, the bulk of the album is highly enjoyable, dance-friendly pop-rap tunes. Keri Hilson lends her voice to Don’t Look Now while Snoop Dogg brings his trademark swag to If I Was You (OMG). Other songs worth a mention include She Owns The Night and Girls On The Dancefloor. As the first Asian-American group to have a Top 10 hit in the USA, Far East Movement’s success is warranted. I’d be very interested to see how their style and approach progress with time.
WE CRY OUT: THE WORSHIP PROJECT – JEREMY CAMP Marketed & Distributed by EMI Music SA
Christian music is not often reviewed through mainstream channels and especially not so if it’s a typical praise and worship album. For some reason, mainstream publications are cautious of giving exposure to one religion’s music and not to another’s, but considering how many Christian music albums have a crossover appeal – not to mention the sheer size of this market – it’s not surprising that these albums cross our desk every now and again. While this review will certainly not become a sermon on Christianity, it is noteworthy that Jeremy Camp’s latest album, We Cry Out, is in fact a praise and worship album. With a career that spans close to a decade and more than 14 Christian chart number ones, Jeremy Camp is one of Christian music’s better-known names. This latest album blends his typical rock and ballad style songs into a set that works wonderfully for praise and worship purposes, but many of the songs – in isolation – could very well cross over to mainstream charts. It’s mostly original music, although he covers Chris Tomlin and Hillsong once each, with limited success. I preferred the slower, more ballad-oriented worship songs like Overcame, but there’s a feel-good Daughtry-type vibe to the rock songs like Not Ashamed. It’s an album you can easily listen to from start to finish and I can highly recommend it to Christian music lovers.
THE BEGINNING – BLACK EYED PEAS Marketed & Distributed by Universal Music SA
The first time I listened to the Black Eyed Peas’ latest album, The Beginning, I was not impressed – perhaps because I wasn’t mad about the first single, The Time (Dirty Bit), but perhaps also because the electro sounds are more pronounced on most of the album. However, I had exactly the same reaction to The E.N.D, which turned out to be quite enjoyable in the end. Apart from a handful of irritating tracks (Love You Long Time, Xoxoxo, Do It Like This), the Peas deliver a solid collection of potential hits. Besides first single The Time (Dirty Bit) and second single Just Can’t Get Enough, these potential hits include the thumping Someday (probably the best song on the album) and Don’t Stop The Party, the melodic Light Up The Night, the sweet Whenever (the first track to really highlight Fergie’s voice), the retro Fashion Beats, The Best One Yet (The B.O.Y.) and the feel-good Play It Loud. The album’s title apparently refer to a new beginning for the band, but while there’s a more electro sound to their traditional pop-hop sound, it’s definitely not groundbreaking in any way. It’s good, old fashion fun and won’t disappoint fans.
LIVE (ON TEN LEGS) – PEARL JAM Marketed & Distributed by Universal Music SA
I was in high school when Pearl Jam was the only band worth listening to and as such I have quite notable sentiments towards their music. Live (On Ten Legs) is almost like a ‘greatest hits’ captured on stage and is made up of live recordings from their world tours between 2003 and 2010. It’s a supplementary album to their previous live album, Live On Two Legs. Most Pearl Jam fans would have their favourites and most of their best performances are present, including some of my favourites like Animal, I Am Mine, Nothing As It Seems and Alive. Rock and roll is often best enjoyed live and I loved hearing all my high school anthems in this way. Live (On Ten Legs) will be on repeat for quite a while.
PINK FRIDAY – NICKY MINAJ Marketed & Distributed by Universal Music SA
For all the hoo-ha that has surrounded the Nicky Minaj phenomenon, it’s quite disappointing just how terrible her debut album, Pink Friday, is – and that’s putting it mildly. Yes, she has a very unique voice, especially in the world of rap, but most of the songs are about some bitch that did something to wrong Miss Minaj. It’s rather monotonous after the third song. I also have no qualms with swearing in lyrics if it adds to the mood or temperament of the song, but declaring how you’re a “bad bitch” and “a c*nt” – her words – is not only utterly irrelevant, but also downright classless. There’s a multitude of big name artists trying to lend a helping hand – Eminem, Rihanna, will.i.am, Drake, Natasha Bedingfield and Kanye West – but considering the nonsense they had to work with, it’s understandable that their contributions do not add any real value. Check It Out with will.i.am is fairly catchy and listenable (it even made it onto local radio), but the rest is fairly mediocre. What irks me most, however, is that Miss Minaj starts her thank-you notes with a thank you to God (note the capital ‘G’) for not forsaking her, “for answering when I called” and “for giving me wisdom, faith, power and peace”. While I don’t know who or what Nicky Minaj calls “god”, I’ve haven’t found a trace of wisdom on the entire album. I’ve also not yet come across any one of them, the real or so-called gods, who condones such utterly crude and offensive language. In fact, I doubt if there’s a god who would put his or her stamp of approval on Pink Friday. I’m pretty sure God, with a capital ‘G’, doesn’t approve. Pink Friday should never have been made.
KLANKE VAN DIE ANTIEKE KULTUUR – WINTERSTASIE Marketed & Distributed by EMI Music SA
It’s not often that an Afrikaans CD passes my desk, but the interesting packaging in which Winterstasie’s album arrived had me quite curious. I’m not entirely familiar with the band but rather enjoyed their music. I would classify it as rock, but at times there’s quite an industrial feel to it that gives it a nice edge. Some songs even have a dance feel to it, a quirk I quite enjoyed. The lead vocalist’s voice doesn’t always come through as sharply or as loudly as it could, which doesn’t help with conveying the strong message in their lyrics. Speaking of the lyrics, it’s solid and positive and doesn’t do an injustice to the bands’ (individual) thanks to their God and Saviour. It’s certainly more sincere than Nicky Minaj’s effort… While there’s only a handful of radio stations that would play this kind of music (alternative Afrikaans is not exactly the flavour of the day), I can imagine that Winterstasie would be quite entertaining in a live setup. If you like the occasional Afrikaans song and need some positive lyrics, you can certainly do worse than Klanke Van Die Antieke Kultuur.
ENDLESSLY – DUFFY Marketed & Distributed by Universal Music SA
Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy is one of those artists most people either love or hate. My personal feelings aren’t particularly strong to either side of that equation, although I must admit that I don’t mind her music at all. Her second album, Endlessly, has not done as well as her 2008 debut, Rockferry, which I don’t really understand. I found Endlessly to be much more listenable than Rockferry thanks to a wider variety of influences. Where Rockferry was one of those retro efforts inside and out, Endlessly retains the sound to some extent without being predictable. The slower tracks sound like they come straight from the fifties and sixties (Too Hurt To Dance, Breath Away, Don’t Forsake Me, Hard For The Heart) and are enjoyable in small portions. It’s however the songs that incorporate new influences that really stood out for me. Opening track, My Boy, is a live version that was scheduled to be the second single (subsequently cancelled but still sublime), while the first single, Well, Well, Well, includes a rhythm section by The Roots, giving it a completely new sound. Lovestruck breaks the Duffy mould in a million pieces with its funkier sound, while Keeping My Baby blends funk and soul to stand out. It’s easy listening for the most of the album and quite enjoyable – and soon to be a collector’s item, by the look of it…
NIKKI – NIKKI YANOFSKY Marketed & Distributed by Universal Music SA
You’ll be forgiven for not having heard of Nikki Yanofsky yet, unless you’re a keen follower of international jazz music. Nikki is seventeen-year old Nikki Yanofsky’s second album, believe it or not, and she’s performed all over the world since coming to prominence. She was the youngest artist ever to headline the Montreal International Jazz Festival (at age twelve in 2006) and the youngest artist ever to record for Verve Records (an Ella Fitzgerald cover at age 13 in 2007). She followed it up with her debut album of Ella Fitzgerald material in 2008. Quite a mouthful… Nikki follows in the jazzy footsteps of her previous works and introduces original compositions to her repertoire, many of them written with Jesse Harris of Norah Jones fame. Produced by the legendary Phil Ramone, it’s fun and playful for the most although many of the songs might be a tad too jazzy for novices to the genre. Some of the highlights on the album include Never Make It On Time, God Bless The Child, Cool My Heels and On The Sunny Side of the Street/Fool In The Rain. My favourite song is the more pop-sensible Grey Skies. It would certainly be a treat to see young Nikki live in South Africa, but until that happens, I’ll just pop in the CD.
II – QUEEN
SHEER HEART ATTACK – QUEEN
A DAY AT THE RACES – QUEEN
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA – QUEEN
DEEP CUTS VOLUME 1 (1973-1976) – QUEEN
Marketed & Distributed by Universal Music SA
Few people would argue the immense role Queen’s music has played in the rock and roll and well as pop genre. Their music is timeless in many ways and has received numerous accolades over the years. All five their albums have now been remastered and rereleased, including I (the first album), II, Sheer Heart Attack (their third album that featured Killer Queen and put them on the musical map), A Night at the Opera (featuring Bohemian Rhapsody – cited as the most expensive album ever recorded at the time) and A Day at the Races (featuring Somebody to Love). As part of the band’s 40th anniversary, Deep Cuts Volume 1 (1973-1976) was released as a compilation along with the five remastered albums, with songs from that period that are widely unknown as Queen songs. Brian May, Roger Taylor and Foo Fighters-drummer, Taylor Hawkins handpicked these tracks and together they provided a complete summary of Queen’s musical legacy. A must-have for fans.
- Christo Valentyn
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