Jessie Ware - Strangest Feeling Review

From being a backing singer for Jack Peñate to collaborating with SBTRKT, you could argue that Jessie Ware has been a success already. However she has no intention of settling for a supporting role and is embarking on a solo career with her debut single "Strangest Feeling".

From the first second of the song you feel immersed within it rather than listening to it from the outside. You feel as if you are the only person listening to it, in your own swimming pool of warm and subtle bass. For the first verse and chorus you feel like somebody has dropped some headphones into you pool and started playing a nominee for the world's smoothest voice competition.

"A single tear just dropped into the ocean of your heart." suddenly your pool of solitude has been breached and Miss Ware is singing right at you, telling you "You are the echo, you were here only yesterday.". She melts back away, leaving just you and the headphones once again. You seem to realise that the melody has more intent this time, it is more forceful, egging you on to move some part of yourself at a similar frequency. Then after 222 seconds you are back to reality, eyes a bit blurry but none the less better for the intimate experience.

Jessie Ware's single "Strangest Feeling" is released on November 28th 2011 via PMR Records using the mediums of special edition 10" vinyl and digital formats. I imagine she will also be touring at some point in the near future. 4.75/5.

Charli XCX - Nuclear Seasons Single Review

The first time I listened to Charli XCX was the ridiculously dirty and bitchy in only the way teenage girls can be '!Franchesckaar!'. A couple of years later and she has a must more grown up sound with a vocal which is reminiscent of Marina and the Diamonds, and that is definitely not a bad thing I'm sure you'll all agree.

Although she's only 19 (the same age as me) she's no novice, she's been playing in bands at the age of 7 and recorded her first album at 14. There are of course many comparisons to be made; Robyn (who she has supported) and MIA amongst others.

At first I thought 'Nuclear Seasons' was slightly too repetitive, however after listening to it a few times I found my head moving like Churchill, and after a couple more times of pressing repeat I found myself mumbling "We survived nuclear seasons" and my cat looking at me with a confused expression. Despite all the comparisons for me this still feels unique and certainly a varied offering from all of the other strong women of pop.

The song could quite easily be mistaken for dream like with the smooth and soothing voice Charli XCX possesses. The dream is often punctuated with "Ooo ooo oo ahhhh"'s and a driving and pulsating rhythm which your head uncontrollably ends up undulating to. I would like her to maybe consider going back to her dirtier roots, but that's just my personal enjoyment of things fast and deep (music that is!).

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Based upon this offering I would definitely enjoy the album entitled 'Stay Away' which was released earlier this year. And you can currently get your paws on 'Nuclear Seasons' for free on Charli XCX's website. If you want to witness her in action in the flesh her tour dates and how to get tickets are here. 3.5/5

South For Summer - Live Performance Review

I'll admit leaving two thirds of the way through a set you are going to write a review about is many things; unprofessional, disrespectful and stupid. Especially when it results in missing an emotional performance of an original song called Love in Silence. You are now probably wondering how I know about this if I left, well, South For Summer are friends of friends of mine so I had plenty of other opinions to draw upon.

I'd much rather discuss what I was able to see though, which overall was a delightfully gentle performance integrating a new member, Dean on bass. The general feeling for me was that this is a group with fantastic potential, who are starting for find their place and are improving with each performance.

Steph's vocals are delicate yet compassionate, and this was reflected best in the excellently executed cover of Dakota. Also included was a cover of the Bob Marley's classic Jammin', which was a joyful inclusion and really added some well placed variety to the exhibition. The one criticism would be the lack of original songs played, I missed the one original track and I feel the connection with the audience would have been greater had a more personal set been chosen.

Overall three technically excellent musicians managed to work efficiently with a set list which pleased the crowd but didn't necessarily connect with them all. I'm sure everybody cannot wait to hear what original songs are waiting around the corner for this captivating trio. 3.5/5

Atari Teenage Riot - Blood In My Eyes Review

Atari Teenage Riot are as old as me (18 if you were wondering), however I haven't had part of me suffer an unfortunate and untimely death. After 10 years of mourning and working on other projects Alec Empire is back, this time with Nic Endo and CX KiDTRONiK. 'Blood In My Eyes' is the 2nd single from the forthcoming album Is This Hyperreal? which is to be released some time in 2011.

One thing you can always be assured of getting with ATR is a blood curling intensity which makes you want to jump around like a mad salmon. Nic Endo's voice and energy would be a surprise to anybody who had only saw a picture of her, she is petite and oozes beauty. If you look closely however you will see an all-consuming concentrated stare, which only becomes more impassioned once the war paint is applied. Her voice also, is like a chainsaw through chocolate, scything through industrial sounding synthesisers with ease.

'Blood In My Eyes' sounds like it has been born out of some future world war. It tackles the issue of human trafficking and the exploitation of women by ineffectual western governments failing to act. There is always a message beyond just the music with ATR and it is a marvellous credit to them that they have always stuck by this regardless of who is in the line-up. I always look forward to the music the most however and that feeling is no different about about the new album based on this tantalising offering 4.5/5

As Always..

It has been a while since I last wrote anything on here, mainly because I'm not particularly angry about anything. Apart from having 3 jobs and none of them being paid. Oh and chavs who think it's awesome to headbutt my friend for absolutely no reason at all, thus simultaneously ruining not only my friend's nose with his thick head, but also the pub in question.

I have just finished my review of James Blake's "The Whilhelm Scream" for Shout4Music. It is a fine piece of music and I believe Mr. Blake has big things ahead of him as the BBC's "Sound of 2011" poll would suggest where he finished 2nd to Jessie J.

That's really all there is for today, I promise I shall write again very shortly.

Malaga..

Was of course amazing, as any holiday would be with your girlfriend and 5 of your really good friends. It had everything; drinking, partying, strippers, in-jokes, out-jokes, ridiculous noises, ridiculous amounts of laughter and waking up with the person you love.

The main thing that I've noticed is living with people for 6 days causes you to be so much more comfortable around them. It has also made me even more close to my wonder girlfriend Steph, so much so that I think I now have my own little base camp inside her somewhere.

It has also inspired me to pursue my music career with renewed verve and passion. So let's get this show on the road again!

PReeMO, Concrete Dreams Review

Coming from Houston, Texas and having left home at 13, you’d assume that PReeMO would have plenty of issues and experiences with which to form lyrics about. His latest offering titled “Concrete Dreams” certainly confirms those suspicions. Due to having to fend for himself in gun-happy Texas of course there are gun based lyrics, for me this pushes “Concrete Dreams” from a nostalgic hip-hop masterpiece to grown up gangster rap album. This has it’s problems, mainly comparisons with extremely successful artists such as; 50 Cent, Nas and Lil Wayne. Although PReeMO lacks their unique delivery of lyrical content there is a certain complexity to the beats which is often lacking in more mainstream rap and you can hear this in the brass instrument inspired tracks “Lost Highway” and “No Goodbyes”. It is clear a whole heap of effort has been applied to every track on the album, and after a few listens you find your head gently nodding away with the beat without actually really listening to the lyrics. I have nothing bad to say of the lyrics, they are very competent, however at times they can be quite repetitive and lack a necessary hook to really engage a regular mainstream music listener the majority of the time. I also feel that it lacks the grit that you would expect from somebody who has had to look after themselves for so long. I was expecting a collection of songs which your brain would certainly remember as it would have been vibrated through your nose. Unfortunately, as I have discovered, listening to this whilst trying to do any other activity makes you wonder of the Pantheon, and causes the task to feel as long as it took to build. If you enjoy hip-hop it’s well worth your time, if not I doubt it will convert you unfortunately.

Andy Gray, Richard Keys, Sexism, Argh!

So the evil regime has finally been overthrown, no not North Korea or Iran but something far bigger and more important! Sky Sports football coverage's evil dictators Keys and Gray have finally be ousted, by who we do not know, yet everybody who works for sky sports seems to have some sort of motive. Anyway, that's enough of that sports fans!

Sadly readers at the time of me writing this I am horrifically ill, and the only safe why to communicate is indeed with the written word as my throat has been engulfed by a mass of bacteria hell bent on revenge after my throat beat them in an intense and lengthy game of poker. The prize of course was 72 virgins so it's swings and roundabouts really. Simultaneously the mass of bacteria hell bent on revenge is also occupying my nasal/sinus regions. This was after my nostrils beat them in the recent crown green bowling world championships. Once again, naturally the prize happened to be 72 virgins.

On a lighter note, in 17 days I will be travelling to Malaga with some of my close friends to partake in some penthouse based japes and tomfoolery. I'm not usually a fan of beach holidays, especially in February. However this has the potential to be a wonderful get away.

Solar Eclipse Anyone?..

Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters

So did anybody stay up, or wake up to the promised partial solar eclipse? Me either. Things always get built up far too much these days, thanks to the wonder that is online media. There are of course countless examples; the last 3 World Cups, Christmas, new year, student protests, the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war, US embassy cables, religion, basically everything.

Until recently, music was exempt from this. People then decided to release wild "facts" about how many people were "illegally" downloading music. The fact of the matter is musicians make very little money from album/single sales, they make money from touring and merchandise. For many artists giving their music away for free allows them to build up a fan base so people can actually attend their gigs and buy their t-shirt or mug. The only people who really make money from albums/singles are the big record companies, and this is precisely why most free downloads have now become illegal, it's simply a case of the best lawyers win, as always.

I think we should have some lawyer world championships where they all fight it out using wigs and and gavels. We could turn it into a weird TV show like The Apprentice/X Factor/BDO World Darts Championship. If you want to invest please email me at andy0089@hotmail.com. 

Bieber Jesus Weather Porn

Contrary to the wonderfully inventive (if I say so myself) title of this post it contains nothing to do with; Master Bieber, Mr Christ, the weather or materials of a pornographic nature.

Now nobody is reading any more I can pretty much write whatever I please and none of you can stop me! There are many things to discover as you get older, some of which I have only recently discovered. One of the things you are supposed get better at is not taking things for granted, too be honest this skill isn't going the best for me and I'm still piss-poor at it to be honest. Hopefully I'll become better at it in the future but for now certain people will have to be patient with me and stick it out.

Something else that helps is hindsight, I like this one because I like to think I rarely make the same mistakes twice, unless they are really far apart and I've forgotten the first time. So as everybody is rapidly failing their hastily made new year's resolutions mine is simple and something that I will never, ever give up trying to do. I want to be a better person.

Not many people know this about me but, I love my girlfriend, beyond even the most complex descriptive language.