ARTIST: Lily Allen
ALBUM: IT’S NOT ME, IT’S YOU
RATING: 4 out of 5
Lily Allen – the unconventional British diva responsible for catchy hits “Smile” and “LDN”, that hit big in 2006 – returns this month with the followup to her debut album Alright, Still.
ARTIST: The Mots
ALBUM: THE MOTS
RATING: 4 out of 5
When it comes to Kiwi rags-to-riches stories, it doesn’t come much more intriguing than The Mots.
ARTIST: Snow Patrol
ALBUM: A HUNDRED MILLION SUNS
RATING: 2 out of 5
I could tell from the unintelligible buzzing that kicks off opening track “If There’s a Rocket Tie Me To It” that I was going to end up feeling completely let down.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
Send Away The Tigers (2007)
In what might later be viewed as one of the biggest surprises of the year, the Manic Street Preachers return this month with Send Away The Tigers – a new record for the group, [almost] a new direction, and undoubtedly their best work since a mid-90s period that included the classic albums Everything Must Go and This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours.
4 out of 5 stars
Okay, I’ll ask: is this the missing link between The Strokes’ first and second albums? The difference, musically speaking, between 2001’s Is This It? and 2003’s Room on Fire is huge, but First Impressions of Earth seems to fill the gap quite nicely, fitting in perfectly as a step from one to the other, despite following them both.
3.5 out of 5 stars
I’ve never really had any interest in Australian bands, partly because of a bad experience as a teenager (don’t ask). So when Bondi-based trio Cog’s debut album The New Normal crossed my desk, expectations were understandably not very high. Boy do I love it when I’m proven wrong!
1.5 out of 5 stars
I’d like to think I’m fairly open-minded. So when I came across the debut album from a band called Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, I had to have a listen.
2.5 out of 5 stars
It would be easy to put Pete Murray in a box titled ‘Jack Johnson wannabes’ and let him hang out with Donovan Frankenreiter for the rest of his days, but unfortunately See The Sun, Murray’s second album, doesn’t allow us that luxury.
3.5 out of 5 stars
You may recognize James Blunt from your local radio station – currently, he’s the one they play 200 times a day, singing ‘You’re Beautiful’ to some unknown lady-friend he probably met during his days in the army.
4 out of 5 stars
Glasgow quartet Franz Ferdinand struck gold in late 2003 when they released their debut single Take Me Out, and followed it up with their debut self-titled album. Its fair to say that, if acts like White Stripes or The Strokes pioneered it, then Franz Ferdinand’s debut album perfected the dance-rock style.
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