Britney Spears - How I Roll

Of all the tracks on the new Britney album, it's not the best track that has most gripped me, but the gloriously filthy How I Roll. There's something about it that demands I listen to it again and again, to somehow get a grip on what is surely Britney's quirkiest musical moment to date.

Its cheery, hand-claps and music-box melody style reminds me a lot of The Cure's classic Close To Me, but that's as far as the similarities go really. The rest is all about the lyrics - I mean, with lines like 'You can be my fuck tonight...' and 'Go down-town where my posse's at...' we can hardly accuse Britney of being shy at coming forwards. It's this comic, wink-and-a-grin attitude that injects this song with so much fun - it's irresistible, infectious - like those jokes we all know; utter toilet humour on the most basic of levels, but we can't help but chuckle away.

And the realt strength of the track is that, coming from Britney, this song is utterly believable. From anyone else, we'd shake our heads and go 'Huh?!' But from Britney, we can understand it. She's allowed to do this. In the wonderful, magical world of Britney Spears, this kind of track can be pushed, become the highlight on a brilliant album.

Which just leaves us all imagining what kind of dance routine will accompany the song when she comes to tour the album...

Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip

Consistency. It’s a rare thing for an album to achieve. Even harder is maintaining that consistency while showcasing a variety of sounds. To create that truly versatile, gripping, wonderful album... well, it takes a lot of talent. Enter Ringo Deathstarr, who make a rather good go of doing just that with their album Colour Trip.

There’s touches of The Cure all over the album, that same keen balance between  jovial, light-heartedness and the melancholy. Tracks like the brilliant single So High represent the band at their most cheery, delicate nursery-rhyme-like melodies swirling over a jumble or sonic delights. There’s a swirl of energy at the heart of this song - and most of the album for that matter - that sucks you in.

Kaleidoscope is even more infected with the sound of the 80s, smeared in the sounds of grim urban streets. There’s something of The Stone Roses masterpiece of a debut in the vocals and gritty, scratchy guitar-work as well as dashes of The Chameleons. This vibe continues onto Day Dreamy, all post-punk and echoey. It’s funny as hailing from Texas, Ringo Deathstarr are as about as far from the American deep-south as you can get. If it wasn’t for the accents, they’d sound almost unmistakeably British. And if you ever feel the whimsical edges are getting too much, tracks like Chloe brings a strong rock core back to the album with big, epic guitar solos.

The album Colour Trip seems particularly apt. This is an artistic sort of album. The whole female/male vocal duo works very well and it’s something I always think we should hear more of in music. Colour Trip feels like a painting, each part carefully applied to another, building and building until the entire creation presents itself. Perhaps that’s the secret to its consistency. Either way, this is an album that will keep you coming back for more, chiefly because it offers so much. It’s an album that wants you to explore deeper and deeper into it. Taken at face value, this is an extremely strong rock album with lots of lovely retro touches. But zooming in, picking the various pieces apart, it holds so much more.

Colour Trip is available to download on iTunes now.

Love Amongst Ruin - Love Amongst Ruin

Love Amongst Ruin, AKA Steve Hewitt from Placebo’s new band.  We all remember Placebo; those dark, angsty rockers that delighted us in the late 90s with gems like Nancy Boy and Pure Morning.  Amongst their tracks there was always a slick, modern gloss of cool lacquered over a beating heart that hinted at something much more grim and mysterious.  And so it’s only natural that Hewitt’s new efforts channel many of the same feelings and sounds.

The band’s self-titled debut album has a gritty dirtiness to it, the foreboding wash of a grey rainy day, perhaps showcased best on the sprawling seven minute long Come On Say It.  Fans of bands like The XX and The Cure will find plenty to love in the expansive and, at times, frightening soundscapes on offer here.  Whispered vocals and delicate, trembling guitar work echoes into the listener’s ears, beckoning you in - a crooked finger of promise that hints at the pleasure repeat listens will reward you with.  It’s a call you are powerless to resist.

Love Amongst Ruin are more than just another rock band, they represent a vision; a portrait of raw feeling captured in a collection of songs that as you explore further into the album manifests itself as a dramatic mix of textures and flavours.  The aforementioned down-tempo tracks stand side by side with frantic, energetic numbers.  There’s a keen sense of melody too, really shining across on the single Home in particular as a throbbing bassline builds into a snarled, anthemic chorus.  Album opener So Sad(Fade) is another definite highlight.  It’s moments like these where the band really hit their stride; coming across like a smart, polished, yet utterly sinister cousin of Nine Inch Nails or 30 Seconds to Mars.

This is not a happy album; it is one of desolation, passion and anger. But through all these emotions there always comes the consistency of excellent production values and the sound of a band that is utterly sure in themselves about what they want to create.  The result is highly refreshing in that nothing feels rushed – there are no songs here that feel like they’ve been shoved on the LP just to make up the running time.  There is none of that stagnant quality that can plague so many rock albums. Instead we have pure quality, a band with a vision and the skills to achieve it.

Out now