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Wonder Villains: Ferrari Review

Jan 272012

Ferrari is the follow up to Wonder Villain’s debut Zola. Instead of tackling the world of soccer, this time WVs go for fast cars and this track has rapidly won me over, perhaps even more than Zola did.

The sickenly talented foursome from Derry have adapted a pop indie sound that is destined to win fans over. Uptempo with a driving synth bass line, this song will surely get the crowd going at many festivals this Summer. It’s catchy, quirky electro indie pop, glorious and delightful.. This is out on February 17th, I want to know when the album’s due.

The Saw Doctors: Hazard AKA The Country is Fcuked Review

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Oct 182011

Is Ireland turning a corner? Hazard from The Saw Doctors is one of two CDs that dropped in my inbox this week, documenting the current shit the country is in.

Hazard is taken from ‘The Further Adventures of…’, cleverly the uptempo beat of the track counteracts the lyrics telling of a current Ireland. It’s all about being back on the dole while somehow the instrumentation of the track almost implies that nothing will keep us down.

It’s a pity about radio restrictions and censoring some times, which the actual words ‘The Country is Fcuked’ don’t appear in the lyrics anywhere, it’s almost like I wished that just this once, they were in there.It’s not a bad track at all, it’s memorable and it’s catchy. Again, The Saw Doctors just have that knack for everyday real life lyrics and songs.

For me the really interesting thing will be radio play with these types of songs and how much they will actually get. Local stations shouldn’t have too much trouble playing these but what about the nationals? I look forward to the next few weeks to find out.

Hazard aka The Country is F**ked (Radio Edit) by sawdoctors

Kate Walsh: Peppermint Radio

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Aug 102010

Peppermint Radio is Kate Walsh’s fourth album and sees the British singer songwriter take on well known UK songs, break them down and give them a twist. Walsh takes on Blur, EMF and Eurythmics to name a few, in this piano led odyssey and features songs which have influenced Walsh’s musical life. The album has a delicate air, as Walsh’s vocals are interwoven with atmospheric harmonies and minimalist instrumentation.

Walsh has taken on a huge task to convert the listening public to her versions of these well known songs. Sometimes it works really well, sometimes not quite as well. Prefab Sprout’s ‘When Love Breaks Down’ starts with an airy vocal effect and gives Walsh another shot at being featured on Grey’s Anatomy. The track is not as well know as some of the others on the album, maybe that’s why it works.

Surprise number one has to be ‘Unbelievable’, EMF’s 1990 hit. Despite there being other versions of this, Walsh’s version takes the track reworks the overall arrangement so as only the lyrics are familiar. Very Clever.

Walsh’s whispery vocals on Lullaby try to echo Robert Smith’s on The Cure’s original but its not quite there. There are, though, some great wind up toy sounds throughout the track. Walsh’s tries to put her individual stamp on each track but Blur’s ‘Beetlebum’ is immediately recognisable and is although it builds up towards the end, lacks a killer punch.

The Saw Doctors: Takin' The Train EP Review

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Aug 032010

I’ve never been the biggest fan of The Saw Doctors, they always seemed a little too Irish for me. Saying that though, it’s twenty years since the mighty ‘I Useta Love her’ and they’re still going strong.

Taken from the album ‘The Saw Doctors…Further Adventures’, the ‘Takin’ The Train’ EP is a great reintroduction to the band. Lead single, ‘Takin’ The Train’ is a midtempo folk rock track and once the unmistakeable vocals of Davy Carton kick in, you know it’s The Saw Doctors. The band have always seemed to base their tracks on stories of Irish life. This is no different, as the song tells of the confines of living and loving in a small town.

It’s a melodic track with a muted lead guitar sound. They have definitely updated their distinct ‘Saw Doctors’ sound with clever production and a musical break and ‘oh oh’ refrain makes the track sound huge. You’ll hear loads of it on the radio.

The slower tempo-ed, ‘Be Yourself’ is bound to be a great singalong track while the ‘Hazard’ is an upbeat rock track. Although the band could be classed as a folk rock band there are moments throughout the EP where they veer into a more mainstream indie.

‘Last Call’ starts with a drum and piano intro and features thoughtful lyrics and tender vocals. The addition of Eímhín Craddock on drums seems to have given the band a new lease of life. Craddock has three co-writes on the EP and maybe its this new blood that seems to make The Saw Doctors still relevant on the Irish music scene. Either way we’ll be hearing a lot more of them going on these tracks.

TJ: Love Letters from Cyberspace Review

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Jul 272010

I better get this out of the way. Yes, TJ is German. Yes he makes electronic music. Yes he looks like a drummer in a metal band. No, he doesn’t sound like Kraftwerk.

TJ has been living in Ireland since 2000 and ‘Love letters from Cyberspace’ is his 12th album. It seems that TJ is influenced by 80′s electronic acts and has a definite euro feel to it but there’s nothing wrong with that.

The tracks are musically melodic and well produced for the genre. Overall the lyrics seems quite confessional and a little sad even. As the album title suggests ‘Love Letters from Cyberspace’ these seem like unwritten letters to a (ex)lover. Interesting concept.

The lyrics don’t take away from the music though, TJ good a good job but I’d love to hear what female vocals, an octave higher would sound like. The album veers towards the trance side of electronica at times and could quite easily go into soundtrack mode.

Its a good well paced album. Key Tracks: The melodic poppy ‘You’ve Come This Far’ and the pleaful of ‘Please Love Me’ and reminiscent ‘Nothing’.

http://www.tj-music.com/

This was written for MusicReviewUnsigned

Jody Has A Hitlist: Boy Caught Envy EP Review

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Jul 262010

Jody Has A Hitlist have come a long way in their relatively short existence with a Meteor nomination for ‘Most Promising New Artist 2010′ and numerous UK tours. Their three track EP ‘Boy Caught Envy’ is available from http://jodyhasahitlist.bandcamp.com/

The lead track ‘Boy Caught Envy’ shows the band developing and maturing their sound, not sounding as poppy as their previous releases. Its an uptempo track with a nice intro build up. Production is spot on for the genre and features a nice breakdown in the middle of the track. This gives the track a little more room to breathe and the inclusion of layers of vocal harmonies. Good musicianship, manic drumming!

‘See You Around’ immediately catches your attention. It’s melodic, great vocals, great structure good danceable tempo. Why isn’t this on the radio already? It should be, full stop. These guys know their sound and know what their potential audience want. Excellent.

The piano led ‘Remember The Forever’ shows Jody Has A Hitlist in what seems like a more thoughtful mood. The uptempo cleverly builds up and the addition of a second vocalist’s refrain adds to the track. Again, JHAH know their sound and are bloody good at what they do. If they have the legs to out run their competitors, the future will be bright.

http://www.myspace.com/jodyhasahitlist

This was written for MusicReviewUnsigned

Elvis Costello posts my review

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Jul 062010

Following on from Plan B using my review on his site a couple of weeks ago, Elvis Costello has used my review of his gig at Vicar Street on July 1st on his site. I reviewed his gig for Goldenplec.

Wow! I’m well chuffed!