Kaiser Chiefs - Starts With Nothing

Kaiser Chiefs remain to this date one of the bands that did best out of the immense explosion of indie acts that began in 2004. Four albums in though, and they teeter on a precipice of what to do next. Sales of their third LP Off With Their Heads were disappointing compared to previous fare.

So, in one of the most inventive moves of this year, they released a kind of pic n mix version of their new album on their website - fans could choose their own selection of tracks, creating their own unique running own.

It grabbed the attention of the music press, and it seemed to please fans - certainly, the band looked to have gone down a treat at Glastonbury.

Lead single Little Shocks (if a record released in such a manner can even have a 'lead single') didn't hold much water with me though, it felt like rather a retread of previous material. No, if there's a real gem to be found in the Kaiser's latest effort then it is Starts With Nothing.

At five and a half minutes long, it sees the band breaking out into broader, bigger, more experimental territory. Indeed, the first time I heard the track I wasn't even sure if it was the Kaiser Chiefs. But my attention was piqued though, as Starts With Nothing is actually brilliant; by far the best thing the band have put out since their debut album.

Full of sprawling 80s sounds, it touches on vast swathes of guitar and electronics to deliver something akin to Duran Duran's classic Is There Something I Should Know? - The 'yes that is my final answer' refrain is particularly Duran. In short though, the whole track is brilliant.

The Lancashire Hotpots - Achtung Gravy

You just can't beat the British for their sense of humour - and The Lancashire Hotpots sees that wonderful comic capability in fine health as they deliver their 5th studio album Achtung Gravy.

The art of parody, as simple as it might seem at times, is a very precise thing. Looks pretty easy right? Just throw together a couple of witty reposts and make it slightly relevant to current affairs? The trick is of course finding those crucial ingredients to elicit that key reponse - those deep, rumbling belly laughs that show you've worked your magic yet again.

The Lancashire Hotpots are clear pros - a career this long and illustrious proof of that. At its heart, parody in this format still revolves around good, quality songwriting, and that's here on Achtung Gravy for sure. And to be honest, the band have got me right there - before the first track has even started - with that title.

You can just imagine Bono twitching in frustration at the wryness of it all. As the man himself and his merry group of musicians took to the Pyramid stage at Glasto, the Lancashire Hotpots were simultaneously playing the Croissant Neuf stage. A neat little bit of union if ever there was one.

With their folky charms and endearing Northern accents, I'd dare anyone with a full functioning sense of humour not to at the very least break into a smile at the likes of You Could Get Hit By A Bus Tomorrow.

My personal favourite has to be album opener Mek Us A Brew, an anthem to all things 'oop North', if you will. In a hilarious assault on 'creamy lattes', this track takes on a more Brit-pop inspired sound, harking back to the likes of Wonderstuff or The Charlatans at their most poppy.

The accents, the Lulz; it's all here. You feel like the album has been cooked up in some rural pub; glass of ale in one hand, guitar in the other, rather than being spawned from any traditional recording process - and in this instance, that bears countless dividends.

With The Guardian proclaiming the band 'masters of parody' and a whole heap of other lovely praise surrounding them, Achtung Gravy is the sound of a group riding the wave of success, feet standing steady on the finest of comedy boards. Only in Britain could you have something so cheerily funny as the Lancashire Hotpots, and you can chalk that up as another point on the list of what makes this country so great.

Achtung Gravy is available to download from iTunes now.

Three headliners at Glasto, one true winner...

What can be said about Beyonce's Glastonbury set that hasn't already been said? Sometimes the simplest of descriptions is all that's needed. Simply: WOW.

You need only have looked across Twitter to see the social networking site dissolve in an ecstacy of awe at Beyonce. Pop fans, rock fans, all were united in their appreciation of the veritable Godess that walked out on stage to play to 175,000 people that night. Fan or non-fan, the sheer spectacle of Beyonce's set won everyone over - a unifying feat like no other.

U2's set two nights before was excellent - choc-a-bloc with hits from their best album, Achtung Baby. The sound quality was top-notch and Bono gave an empassioned delivery that served as a firm reminder that the Irish rockers are still very much 'with-it'. It was exactly the kind of performance you expect and hope for from one of the most experienced bands out there.

Likewise, Coldplay were on fine form; like U2, delivering a reassured confident set. All the big hits, a smattering of customary new material - it went down a treat with the crowd, including a certain Jay-Z and Beyonce who we saw cutely dancing away in the pit between the stage and the audience. Even mega-stars need some time to kick back and rock out.

But Beyonce had to be the true winner. As the woman herself pointed out in her intro VT, she was the first solo female to headline the festival's main stage - an achievement that cannot be understated. And just like her partner Jay-Z had done before her, she proved that Glastonbury is not just the domain of 'rock'. Something as immense and all-inclusive as Glastonbury should be a place for performers of all kind, and Beyonce came to hammer that fact home like her life depended on it.

An all-female backing band, impossibly skilled dancers and a jaw-dropping powerhouse vocal from Beyonce herself, emotions were running high as she pulled her set to a close with the tear-jerking Halo. Stepping down from the stage to touch the hand's of the front row, here you saw the very definition of a modern star.

In a set which made every track an event, a 'moment' that you simply couldn't tear your eyes away from, it was this final, towering performance which summed up what a landmark this night stood as. Or put simply, just WOW.

(In a neat little feature for this year, iTunes has put some of the Glasto performances up for download - including the amazing Irreplaceable. Seeing every single one of that crowd shouting 'TO THE LEFT' at the top of their voices was rather special.)

New releases round-up - 27th June 2011

Beyonce - 4

After watching Beyonce's breathtaking Glastonbury set last night, I don't think anyone can deny the sheer formidable force of nature she represents as a pop artist. With her new album 4 containing such winners as Run The World (Girls) and my personal favourite 1+1, while it may not have received the best of critical receptions, it still stands as a firm considered chapter in Beyonce's musical career.

Download

Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

And now something from those other Glastonbury headliners, Coldplay. The single has attracted a fair bit of flac for it's apparent sampling of a classic dance track, but for me, it's little quirks like this that have kept Coldplay interesting through all these years. Well over a decade now since they went stratospheric with Yellow, it's reassuring to know they remain something we can forever still count on.

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Biffy Clyro - Revolutions: Live At Wembley

When it comes to consistency and solidarity, Biffy Clyro are another prime candidate - this year seeing their status boosted by a whole heap of 'Britain's Best Live Band' accolades sent their way. And now you can experience their fabled live experience for yourself with this package, a handy collection of the band's greatest hits sung from that most hallowed of venues. Fan or not, the success of the band's last two albums is undeniable.

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Snoop Dogg - Boom

A little guilty pleasure here, simply for the fact it reminds me so much of The Saturdays If This Is Love. In case you haven't guessed, yes, Snoop Dogg's new single also samples Yazoo's Situation. A surprisingly fizzy and sprightly move for the rapper, it nevertheless makes for a strong follow-up to dance-athon track Sweat.

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Dry The River - No Rest

There's been a lot of buzz surrounding Dry The River of late. Fans of the likes of Fleet Foxes and Noah & The Whale will love their folky, delicate charm - a real rapturous collection of softness and melody sewn together with proper tenderness.

Previous single Deadheads with a beautiful, languid ballad of emotions writ large in lush swathes of guitar and piano. From hushed beginnings it erupted into a sprawling, passionate creature that seemed to be bursting to be let loose on the summer festivals.

And it's there you'll find tha band as they take to Glastonbury this weekend, including a Saturday set on the esteemed John Peel stage.

New track No Rest follows much the same lines as Deadheads; again fuelled on a formula of incredibly fragile openings slowly building into a far more complex creation. What really strikes me most is the way lead singer Peter Liddle's voice can, at a moment, suddenly transform into this fully fledged soaring eagle of a thing as he cries 'I loved you in the best way possible', emploring the recipient of the song's message to just listen, to understand.

It's powerful stuff, and quite rightly, has been driving up much praise for the band from the likes of the NME. These guys are definitely ones to keep an eye out for.

No Rest is available to download from iTunes now.

Beyonce - Girls (Who Run The World)

In the immediate aftermath of Lady Gaga premiering Judas, everything else seems a little overshadowed - but the wheels of pop music must keep moving ever onward, and so today we have the demo version of Beyonce's new single Girls (Who Run The World). Sampling Major Lazer's Pon De Floor, details about the song and photos from its accompanying video have slowly leaked out over the past weaks, gradually raising excitement levels to breaking point.

I have to say though, on first listen to the demo, I'm not convinced. The song just doesn't gel with me. "That love we can devour" bit is very nice though. Beyonce is at her best when she strikes that perfect balance between fierce and incredibly sexy and this bit is bang on the money. The song then launches into the frantic, chanty chorus - but you can't help but feel it falls short in comparison to the likes of Single Ladies.

Also, with the Major Lazer sample, the best bit of the song isn't even used! Anyone who has been out clubbing in the past year or so will have heard the Major Lazer track played to death, and they will instantly be able to recognise the iconic hook, but it's not here! I hear it is absent only in this demo version however and the proper single release will see the hook restored. Phew!

The thing is, Beyonce has always been a pro in crafting tracks that sneak up on you sideways. For Girls (Who Run The World) is not a straight pop track - but regardless, it remains great for radio, great for clubs. Beyonce covers all bases, and as proved by her Glastonbury headline slot, commands immense credibility. Her I Am Sasha Fierce phase catapulted her into fully fledged dance diva superstar and Girls represents the next step in that progression.

This demo version is tantalisingly incomplete - in this format it disappoints, but the touches of greatness are definitely in here somewhere, shining seams of gold buried just below the surface. Fingers crossed that the final version is every inch the pop stormer we might expect from a Beyonce lead single.


Girls (Who Run the World) - Beyoncé by HDMI44

Urban Myth Club - Open Up

Open Up has been a long time in the making. Dance music collective Urban Myth Club released their last record Helium all the way back in 2006 and received mass critical acclaim for it, some even hailing it amongst the best downtempo albums ever released. They then took to the stage at Glastonbury, The Big Chill and an assortment of other festivals. And now, come 2011, they’re back – and one listen to their new album shows that the wait has been well worth it. Prepare to lose yourself in one of the most hypnotic, relaxing, entrancing albums you have ever experienced.

The music here is equally at home sound-tracking winter chills or summer bliss, and that perhaps is its strongest asset; how universal it is. Innovative but never so much as to alienate listeners... ambient, but with some real rhythm and groove interspersed without, particularly on opener Wake Up. As an album of contrasts, Open Up flows exceedingly well; each track sitting perfectly at home side by side with its neighbour. Vocal-led tracks give way to expansive, instrumental moments. The album has it all.

Trippy little acid house bleeps fizz away while the beats click and rustle; the sound of grass blowing in a warm breeze. Urban Myth Club’s music is evocative to the max. They have a keen sense for melody too. Take a listen to the Bjork-esque Surrender and dissolve in the sheer bliss of that chorus. Then there’s the Moby vibes on Coming Home, all futuristic and hyper-modern; the vocals crystalline and perfectly at one with the swelling synthetic strings in the background. It quite literally transports you away to another world, and the sheer power of some of these tracks can only be marvelled at.

Even more impressive though, is the fact that just when you think you’ve heard it all, the album turns itself on its head and pulls out an entrancing slice of acoustic heaven in the form of We Have Landed. Piano and delicately picked guitar; the charm is in the simplicity. And these touches seep out into the rest of the album, little pieces you pick up on more and more with repeat listens. Fragile harp strings, or the funky basslines on display in Fragile. This is an album that gives and gives. Pure magic.

Open Up is released February 28^th.