Paolo Nutini New Album Sunny Side Up £7.98 Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery From Amazon.co.uk

Review
Fans of Paolo Nutini’s debut album, These Streets might raise an eyebrow or two at this sophomore release. Produced by Ethan Johns (Kings Of Leon), Sunny Side Up features an eclectic and “rougher” range of songs that set it somewhat apart from its slick predecessor. Recorded in Ireland, Wales, New York, LA and the UK, Nutini–backed by his band The Vipers–tackles folk, reggae, soul and rock, with varying results. The Motown-esque “Coming Up Easy”, the ballad “Worried Man” and the sea-shanty “Growing Up Beside You” are shining examples of Nutini’s erudite songwriting skills, as is the charming, Dylan-esque “Tricks Of The Trade”. But songs like “Pencil Full Of Lead” and “No Other Way”, as well as his forays into reggae-lite and ersatz ragtime are less convincing, often sounding more like sketches than full songs. Whether Sunny Side Up is bravely eclectic or an incoherent disaster depends ultimately on the loyalty–and the patience–of the listener. –D (more…)

Track list

1. 10 /10
2. Coming up easy
3. Growing up beside you
4. Candy
5. Tricks of the trade
6. Pencil full of lead
7. No other way
8. High Hopes
9. Chamber Music
10. Simple Things
11. Worried Man
12. Keep Rolling

£5.97 Hands Little Boots Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery From Amazon.co.uk

Description
Electropop songstress Little Boots had the pleasure of working with experienced producer Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen, Kylie Minogue) for her debut album ‘Hands’. With catchy vocal melodies and strong synth lines, Little Boots, who hails from Blackpool, England, provides the listener with a record suitable for any party. Includes the infectious single ‘New In Town’.

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West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

£8.98 West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery From Amazon.co.uk

Review
Kasabian arrived with a bang and a half early this century, brandishing a slew of ever more dynamite singles and a rigorously assembled debut album that straddled dancefloors and festival fields with monumental ease and a glint in its bloodshot eyes. It was all very post-Xtrmntr, whilst avoiding much of the seriousness that could have entailed. Whether anyone expected them to chase Oasis’ coat-tails with such keenness is by the by now; they have since been ordained as an anthemic rock colossus of the UK rock scene. That has almost certainly gone to their heads and as years and albums pass they move further away from their original chemical reaction and into attempting to elbow their way onto the table of some of the greats–early Pink Floyd (the well meaning, but slightly aimless “Swarfiga”), The Kinks (the blatant “Thick As Thieves”, though it doesn’t take much to imagine Noel Gallgher bashing it out either) and The Rolling Stones (”Happiness”, see also Primal Scream). West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum finds them in an exploratory mood even if it struggles to lift off like either their own early material or the greats they aspire to emulate. Still, “Fast Fuse” is a rabid burst of tinny psychedelic punk and “Vlad The Impaler” intriguingly dark and electric. Not as weird or as wired as they purport to be, but given the kind of brain-numbing predictability normally peddled by bands at their level, we should be grateful for the ambition of this album. –James Berry

CD Description
Kasabian have always had an electronic element to their sounds, but their tongue-twisting third album showcases this part of their sound, with one track being described as sounding like ‘Daft Punk and The Clash together’. The album is alsomore psychedelic than previous efforts, mirroring close friends and touring partners Oasis’ most recent record, Dig OutYour Soul. Produced by American hip-hop producer Dan The Automatic, who is best known for his work on the Gorillaz’ first album.

Track List

La Roux – La Roux

£8.98 la Roux - la-Roux Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery From Amazon.co.uk

Review
With commercially successful singles “Quicksand” and “In For The Kill” (latterly remixed by dubstep luminary Skream), red-headed, pale-skinned Brixton girl Elly Jackson and her “invisible” co-producer Ben Langmaid irrevocably established their love of 80s pop. This debut album from La Roux continues the duo’s foray into euphoric retro-dance, nodding non-ironically to the likes of The Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, Heaven 17 and The Human League while remaining impressively contemporary. Opening with a string of sassy tunes–the buzzing “Tigerlily”, the synth-heavy “Quicksand” and the slick and fiery “Bulletproof”–it’s apparent that La Roux have colour, class and confidence in spades. The album tapers off a little during the second half–failed experiments like “Cover My Eyes” which features the London Community Gospel Choir don’t help–but it still boasts way more in the shape of dynamic killers than sappy fillers. First class. –Danny McKennaCD Description
Ladies (more…)

Track List

Florence and the machine – Lungs

£8.98 Florence and the machine debut album Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery From Amazon.co.uk

Review

Already the year’s most hyped new artist–not only first in the BBC’s famously unreliable poll of new talent & recipient of a special Brit award devised just for her–Florence Welsh has a lot to live up to, and thankfully the artfully titled & sleeved Lungs album justifies the investment. The singles are undeniably the standouts. The impressive “Dog Days Are Over”, neurotic & fierce, and the slightly more reserved follow-up “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” lead her debut album collection, sometimes overshadowing her other material. Yet the extremes of “Kiss With A Fist”, a jokey celebration of mutual domestic violence & noisy guitars that shamelessly steals its melody from the White Stripes’ charming “We Are Gonna Be Friends”, & the showstopping, almost unashamedly stagy “Girl With One Eye” show off both her development & an already instantly recognisable voice. The gallows humour of songs like “Between Two Lungs”, the daft “My Boy Builds Coffins” and the ferocious “Hurricane Drunk” where she threatens “I’m gonna drink myself to death” backed by a spirited choir of Florences, save her from accusations of self-absorption. The concluding, & hugely loud “Blinding” is all Kate Bush tics over bruising drum patterns. So a straightforward & affectionate cover of the classic Candi Staton & Source club banger “You’ve Got The Love”, previously only available online, comes as a welcome chance to get one’s breath back. Much better than an apparent plan to position her as some kind of missing link between PJ Harvey & Avril Lavigne suggested, the Lungs album is a clever, catchy set, yet unresolved enough to sustain curiosity.–Steve Jelbert

CD Description
Florence Welch, better known alongside her band as Florence And The Machine, confidently announces her arrival with the Lungs album. With several strong singles taking up a fair portion of this debut release, it’s clear that Welch is as much a pop writer as she is a left-field artist, despite the early influence of punk & grunge on her life. Musically, these influences are tempered by an admiration for soul & contemporary indie. Welch also received the Critics’ Choice award at the Brits in 2009, usually a sign of big things to come. Includes the singles “You’ve Got The Love” and “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)”.

Track List

Florence and the machine album…