ALBUM: THE STROKES - COMEDOWN MACHINE

Album Review by David Beech

Listen Up Manchester Album Rating: 7/10

New York-based band The Strokes really need no introduction. They've been making their garage-enthused rock 'n' roll since 2001, with their debut EP sparking one of the largest bidding wars amongst labels in recent history. Their first full length entitled Is This It has received global critical acclaim and earned the band numerous awards. Now 12 years, four albums and countless airmiles later, the band release their fifth studio album Comedown Machine. Not only is it a milestone album for the band, but it marks the end of the bands contract with RCA marking the end of an era, and the start of something new.

Going off the strength of album opener 'Tap Out' you could be forgiven for thinking The Strokes have fallen back in to the trappings of their ill-fated 4^th album Angles. However there is something sufficiently more salient about 'Tap Out' than any of the songs featured on the aforementioned. However it is a departure from their garage-rock roots. Something that's upheld by the eclectic and unusually understated 'One Way Trigger' which features an erratic synth pattern and almost falsetto vocals. It's certainly different and a far cry from the Television-esque Is This It but there's still something about the track which remains particularly Strokes-like.

'Made in Japan' is particularly evocative of pre-First Impressions of Earth recordings. Casablancas' signature arrogant swagger is back in almost-full force, although there's a distinct lacking of confidence when compared to their earlier albums. The last minute of the track is easily the highlight as the song picks up and features some chunky bass work courtesy of Nikolai Fraiture.

If 'Made in Japan' is the band almost back to their roots then the track that follows '80s Comedown Machine' is certainly The Strokes we've all come to know and love. The chorus even dares to get heavier than most of their repertoire with a particularly lo-fi vocal making this easily one of the stand-out tracks from the album and a contender for a further single while '50-50- is a chance of pace and at a second under five minutes is also the longest track on Comedown Machine. It's understated vocals coupled with the excellently produced drums throughout make this a personal highlight and possibility of a classic in the making. Halfway through the song soars to unexpected highs and shines with an atypical aesthetic.

Without dissecting and analysing every single track on the album, it's difficult to convey just what this album sounds like. It's all at once undeniably The Strokes, but it's not The Strokes as you know them. Given their contract is up; this could be the band foreshadowing the road their planning on taking now they're free of the constrains of a label. There's still elements of the ballsy garage rock there, but there's also a newer, shinier veneer that the band have encased themselves in. The inclusion of a synth might well deter people who have buried their heads in the sands of the first two albums, certainly on their initial listens, but Comedown Machine is an album that will grow on you. From the preprogrammed Casio-beats to Casablanca's atypical vocal parts across the majority of the album, it's certainly a bold move for a band who's last album didn't fair nearly as well as those that preceded it, but if it's the music they want to make, who are we to stop them. Eclectic and erratic, different and dance-y, there's surely something for even the most stringent of fans.

ALBUM: PEACE - IN LOVE

Review by John Cooper

Listen Up Manchester album rating 6/10

A couple of listens in and the new Peace album already feels very familiar – yes the songs are memorable, catchy and at times anthemic all of which help draw you into a new album, and with this being a debut album, a new band. However, a big part of Peace’s familiarity comes from the fact that their influences are heavily stamped all over “In Love”.  Making notes for this review, my notepad reads like a list of bands that certain tracks soundlike – Oasis, the Cure, Stone Roses,  My Bloody Valentine, Happy Mondays, Blur, Charlatans, Smashing Pumpkins & even the Beatles (just listen to California Daze) are all scribbled down.  Don’t get me wrong this doesn’t make it a bad album and with a touch of that math-rock sound it brings it a bit more into this century, it’s just a shame they don’t really bring anything new to the table, considering their hype as being one of the new bands for 2013. It does have a lot of well written upbeat songs that will keep you going back for one more listen though, the highlights of the album being “Lovesick”, “Wraith”, “Delicious” & “Toxic”, so if you want to go and have an enjoyable (just over) half hour full of good melodies and more than a touch of nostalgia then…… all we are saying is give Peace a chance. (sorry couldn’t resist that line!)   

ALBUM: DAVID BOWIE - THE NEXT DAY

Review by David Beech

Listen Up Manchester album rating 8/10

David Robert Jones, better known as David Bowie has been gracing the British public with various blends of his music since 1962. After a multiplicity of failed releases with several ill-fated blues bands, Bowie struck out on his own in 1967 and never looked back. His albums have spanned both genres and generations, garnering him legions of fans across the world. From his flamboyant androgyny through the 1970s and his involvement with the new romantics in the 1980s right down to his production of soundtracks and even starring in films himself there's not much that Bowie hasn't done over the course of his 50 year career. Now, 45 years after his self titled début, he releases his 20^th studio album, The Next Day.

Fans awaited this album with baited breath, given that it's been a decade since he had last released album and even longer since he last released one worthy of his own legacy. After quietly leaking 'Where Are We Know?' on his 66^th birthday, many thought The Next Day would be a continuation of the single. The truth is, the majority of tracks featured across the album are nothing at all like the single. Whereas 'Where Are We Know?' is perhaps meant to be Bowie's very own 'Perfect Day' minus the heroin, the rest of the album is an eclectic mish-mash of varying genres; much like his career.

Fourth track 'Love is Lost' is synth heavy and emphatic, a crunchy guitar perpetuates the intro while the verses are unmistakeably Bowie. The whole song is a dark and broody affair which encapsulates the alienation ultimately felt by Bowie himself throughout the course of his career. The song reaches a crashing climax featuring multi-layered vocals and impressive harmonising that adds to the overall aesthetic. Track 8, on the other hand, 'I'd Rather Be High' is brilliantly upbeat and is one of the best vocal performances on the album. A dreamy chorus springs to mind some of Bowie's earlier work and would be perfectly suited to a Summer's evening in a beer garden. The guitar leaves behind the chunky riffs that populate a lot of the tracks on The Next Day and is melodic and harmonious, taking a cue from some of the more contemporary indie-pop bands.

'Dancing Out In Space' features some fantastic brass work, even if the drumming falls a little flat as it rarely changes. Uplifting and melodic, the silky smooth jazz-fused veneer is given an edge in the form of Bowie's vocals which are somewhat abrasive, keeping in fitting with a song that's disconcerting and different, but one which is sure to grow on you.

'(You Will) Set the World on Fire' is just all out classic rock. A chunky guitar riff drives the song forward throughout the first half and hears the vocals sounding particularly sleazy. The second half of the album however, takes a change as he's joined on vocals by Gail Ann Dorsey and Janice Pendarvis, and though the driving guitars are still there, particularly in the solo, the male/female dichotomy gives further edge to a song that would have come off as formulaic and filler without it.

'You Feel So Lonely You Could Die' is perhaps the song on the album most similar to first single 'Where Are We Now?'with a higher degree of optimism and much more uplifting. The song closes spectacularly with further appearances from Dorsey and Pendarvis.

Long time fans of Bowie, who felt somewhat slighted by the single take from The Next Day will be pleased to know that this album is a veritable orgy of different influences and moods, rarely starying in to the slow and mournful realms exhibited by 'Where Are We Know?' In fact, unlike many of Bowie's contemporaries, whom try and capture the sounds of their heyday and rehash the same old formula, here Bowie has branched out and incorporated a multitude of styles across the 14 tracks. While not quite reaching the same levels of avant-garde of some of his 1990s outings, The Next Day is still quite an experimental album, particularly with last track 'Heat' which needs to be heard to understood; words won't do it justice. This album earned Bowie his first number one since 1993's Black Tie White Noise and it's easy to see why. This whole album is something that needs to be listened to in it's entirety several times to allow the almost bipolar nature of it to fully sink in. This isn't Bowie at his best, but it's bloody close and a damn fine comeback album.

ALBUM STREAM: THE STROKES - COMEDOWN MACHINE

It seems to be THE thing to do lately - to live stream your new album a week or 2 before its released for free, and that is what the Strokes have done too! So have a listen now to the brand new Strokes album "Comedown Machine" - let us know what you think of it either here or on our facebook page.
Enjoy: http://pitchfork.com/advance/48-comedown-machine

ALBUM: JOHNNY MARR - THE MESSENGER

Review by David Beech

Listen Up Manchester album rating: 6/10

Johnny Marr is a man who really needs no introduction. He's played in a myriad of bands spanning his thirty year career including Modest Mouse and The Cribs as well as a little-known Manchester band called The Smiths. He has an impressive total of 18 studio albums already under his belt with forthcoming album The  Messenger, his first outing as a solo performer, making it 19.

The album opens with 'The Right Thing Right'. A Pete Townshend sounding guitar fills this song from start to finish and is easily the highlight of this song. Marr's vocals are perfectly adequate but there is obviously a reason he plays guitar more than he sings. Despite the punchy guitar riffs and an effective solo the song seems to fall short. The first track on every album needs a sense of immediacy, something that grabs you; draws you in. Ironically, lacking that, 'The Right Thing Right' just feels wrong.

The first single taken from the album is 'Upstarts' and thankfully it fairs better than some of the tracks on this album. There is more energy and urgency here. Drawing comparisons with the likes of fellow Mancunians Buzzcocks. Marr's vocals are an improvement here, sounding almost Ramones like, especially in the chorus. Following track 'Lockdown' is again another impressive effort and features an incredibly nostalgic guitar, however, you can't help but feel that the song wouldn't benefit from Morrisey's warbles if not his lyricism.

'Sun and Moon' is another stand out song on the album. A ballsy bass riff rumbles along propelling forward a track which is all out sleaze. The abrasive solo is a particular highlight, as well as Marr's vocals, surprisingly enough.

This isn't strictly a bad first effort from the former Smiths' guitarist, there's some solid songs featured across the course of the 12  tracks. However, maybe it's because of the buzz surrounding the album and it fell victim to it's own hype, but it just feels a little flat. Marr's guitar playing is obviously on top form. It's a nostalgic return, in most part, to his jangly roots, and that is something for which we can be thankful.

Unfortunately there just seems to something missing from The Messenger. Like 'The Right Thing Right' there's nothing here that particularly grabs your attention; there's nothing you've not heard before. It was a case of starting as you mean to go on for Marr which is a shame given the average nature of the song which set the standard. At least he's consistent if nothing else.

ALBUM: HEED THE THUNDER - ALL THOSE BLACK YEARS

Review by Jon Birch

Listen Up Manchester album rating 7/10

Hailing from deepest Herefordshire, Heed The Thunder are perhaps the antidote to the pseudo pop-folk middle-classery of Mumford and Sons. The four piece band (with occasional additional collaborators), led by singer and lyricist Alex Gordon deliver an album of 12 well-crafted songs that prove it takes more than a neckerchief and a banjo to play folk inspired sounds full of soul and passion.

They dub their style, ruralcore; a mix of skiffle, Americana and traditional English Folk music. All of these influences, plus many more, are evident across the debut album, All Those Black Years, which was recorded in two days in a friend’s kitchen. The majority of what you hear on the record are full band, live recordings and, whether an artistic decision or a monetary based one, it proves to be the right one. By recording this this way, none of the chemistry in the band is lost. The final recording includes all those delicate interplays and slight imperfections that make live music so appealing.

The album starts slowly with Walking Blues and the Sadness In Me, both of which are gentle and reflective ballads. However, it really starts to come alive on Precious One. It’s the stand out track on the record with a foot tapping beat, lively trumpets and a huge sing-a-long chorus.

Other highlights include Baby Got To Run, which is the most up-tempo track on the album, the oddly named Donkey Blood and Easter Tree. Written by English folkie, Dave Goulder, it’s a modern take on the traditional folk song, ‘The Gallows Tree’, a haunting ballad about a tree used to hang poor unfortunate souls.

There are of course weaker moments to be found. The final two tracks, ‘All Those Black Years’ and Scottish’, go beyond mournful and start to head toward dreary. It’s a shame to have the record finish like this but the strong moments along the way do stick in your head and will bring you back for repeated listens. Every track here is well written, both in terms of lyrics and musical composition with a deep vein of strings and brass adding many layers to the mix.  Alex Gordon’s voice is splendid as well. Effortless and rich but, most importantly, not perfect. It sums up everything that Heed The Thunder offer and everything good music should be; full of passion, spirit and feeling.

ALBUM STREAM: DAVID BOWIE - THE NEXT DAY

Yes - you can listen to the new album from David Bowie - The Next Day - in its entirety for free!!! Thanks to the nice people at iTunes!!! Listen Up Manchester are having our first listen as we type up this blog post and can confirm that it sounds amazing (only at 3 tracks in so far)
Enjoy!
click here for: David Bowie - The Next Day