I apologise, I'm really trying to write something that is worthwhile but irritatingly I seem to have hit a bit of a block waxing lyrically so I'm gonna keep writing crap stuff and not posting it and in the meantime, I'll keep on my last.fm playlist and just do a little bit about what's new on here. I hit a similar block like this a couple of months back and then exploded out of it so I'm sure a similar activity will happen this time around. At least I hope so, I enjoy writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Normal service will, hopefully, be resumed soon.

I think I'm a little bit...

So this has been a long time coming. Reviewing new music. Who'd have thought? The only problem is that the album's not really new and I've been listening to it for months now but I kind of lost direction with my blog again, it's harder writing this than you imagine. I went through my stage of saying what I wanted to write about but never got around to it, then writing about music I talked about a year ago and then writing sporadically about nothing again. But with an imminent move, the last in a few giant steps I've taken recently, hopefully I'll settle back into my old rhythm and normal service will be resumed.

Lykke Li, born Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson is a Swedish pop singer and despite her relatively young music career, has produced my favourite album of 2008 so far. After passing through my radar at the end of 2007 thanks to her incredible Little Bit EP, Lykke Li hit the studio again with Bjorn Yttling (of Peter, Bjorn and John fame) to record her debut album Youth Novels. Though the album was released in Sweden on January 30th, it took until June for the album to see a release elsewhere, reaching #12 in the UK charts thanks to her relentless touring and blogger promotion.

Lykke Li can most easily be described as sugar-coated indie pop. Li's voice is calm and soulful and rarely ventures from her comfortable intimate nature. The album keeps to this theme with sparse electronic instrumentation soaked in reverb and delay but it is this atmosphere that suits Li's voice and song topics so well that it is rarely obvious how similar the songs are. Instead you are taken through poetic descriptions of personal strength and love with constant connection to both her audience and the target of her songs. The album does gather pace in songs such as Breaking It Up, Dance Dance Dance and I'm Good I'm Gone but it does so in the Lykke Li way - calm, unnoticeably and delicately.

As is normally the way, my first and favourite Lykke Li track is the aforementioned Little Bit. With a range of electronic percussion, smooth vocal lines and the bare minimum in instrumentation, it is in this forum that Li's lyrics are most powerful and most personal. The song breaches the necessity to tell someone how you feel but also the fear that these feelings will not be reciprocated and the struggle to make sure that you come across strong and independent whilst your heart slowly melts. The song also approaches the effects of past relationships and the continuing personality traits that affect every little decision in a new ones. Its hard to pick lyrics that best demonstrate this song as they're all perfect but these are some of my favourites

"Hands down, I'm too proud for love

But with eyes shut, it's you I'm thinking of,

Cause how we move from A to B it can't be up to me
Cause I don't know.

Eye to eye, thigh to thigh

I let go"

Lykke Li herself describes the song as "tragic" in that it is a true story that still affects her. However, the album is anything but dreary as "every song is a chapter in my life - I'm young (22). I don't have the most intense parts of my life because I've not been through Rehab and divorce and blah blah blah; it's about my teenage years." This refreshing approach to lyric writing ensures the album does not lose the intimate nature in which Lykke Li performs through alienating audience members that cant relate.

Having recently witnessed Lykke Li perform on a stage in the woods at Latitude, it is clear that the relaxed album is not the only string to her bow. Within a live arena, Lykke Li performs with energy and finesse and more importantly a proper backing band, adding a new dimension to songs that seemed clear and settled in their direction. "Live, I just want to run over everybody". Indeed.

I would say listen to Lykke Li on the playlist on the left but as last fm updates its service it seems that its become increasingly unreliable so my charts and playlist are almost redundant, I'll keep trying and see what happens. In the meantime, the video for Little Bit is below.

And by a small miracle, you're available to download Dance Dance Dance for free from her lastfm website here: http://www.last.fm/music/Lykke+Li/_/Dance+Dance+Dance

Latitude photo courtesy of: http://www.hockwold.info/nigesphotobox/Latitude2008/index.htm

I've been struck by a realisation. I'm reviewing music I liked a year ago. Why? Odds are I told you about it a year ago and am therefore missing on telling you about the great new music I'm listening to you. The ultimate in futile exercises. So call a halt on that review thing and I'll get back on to writing about music Im discovering now and loving now. But give me a few days to recover from tonight, its gonna be a big one. The lady's away sadly so I'm off drinking with the work people, messy messy. I'll do my best to review latitude for you this weekend, was ace. In the meantime, enjoy this video. My language seems really stuttered for which I apologise, normal service shall be resumed when I finally get out of the office!


Revamped Graphic Equalizer from Marcelo Costa on Vimeo.

Latitude 2008

So I'm back from what was an amazing weekend in the gorgeous Suffolk countryside at Latitude 2008. I'll try and do a proper review but they're proving more and more difficult these days as I float around all over the place so just a quick preview of what you may read about... Sigur Ros headlining on saturday night, Tom Baxter, the journalist Travis Elborough, a floating flautist, disappearing coloured sheep, disco shed and a multitude of other experiences. It was ace.

In the meantime, I'll be listening to the fantastic Ida Maria album, a touch of Sigur Ros and hopefully some new music to inspire me after the dreadful experience that was listening to the new Subways album. Just don't get me started.

August 2007: Various

Was possibly one of the most important months of my life. And consequently, is pretty hard to remember what I was listening to, what I was looking forward to and what was meaning a lot to me. It was a month of tracks as opposed to albums, where my attention needed to be constantly engaged and my appreciation was more of songs than of the effort put into the complete package of an album. So, I'll review a couple of tracks instead of having to pick one album over another.

1) Kate Nash - Nicest Thing. For those of you that have been here from the beginning, you'll have heard my rant about this track many a time. Basically from start to finish, it's magical. Starting with a single delayed electric guitar playing a simple phrase, the songs introduces subtle strings before stripping everything back again to allow Kate's hushed voice to take centre stage. Foundations couldn't be further removed from this heartbreaking song, with Kate's haunting vocals begging for a chance, a reciprocation of emotion, an acknowledgement that she exists. Though the delivery of the track is very similar to her other songs with the lack of regular rhythm and sometimes slightly forced rhyme, it is this awkwardness that makes the delivery so natural, augmenting the angst and discomfort of a one way relationship.

"Basically, I wish that you loved me,I wish that you needed me,

I wish that you knew when I said two sugars, actually I meant three.

I wish that without me your heart would break,

Yea, I wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake"

2)Maximo Park - Books From Boxes.

From the roller coaster second album from Newcastle's own Maximo Park, Book From Boxes was the standout track for me in what was clearly a singles album. Our Velocity and Girls Who Play Guitars were both wonderful tracks with some crafty songwriting and fantastic production but it was Books From Boxes that caught my imagination for longest. Another (surprisingly) song about heartbreak and romance, I luckily latched onto songs that portrayed this overexposed emotion with wit and in a poetic nature, as demonstrated by Paul Smith. The track is your standard Maximo Park pop song with melodic guitar lines, constantly changing pace and understated harmonies with a smattering of cheesy lyrics for good measure. I like this track so much because its a heartfelt song by a band that aren't traditionally known for their vulnerability. It sounds fantastic with just enough going without overpowering the track and its lyrics are superb.

"We rarely see warning signs in the air we breathe,

Right now I feel each and every fragment"

"Scattered Polaroids and sprinkled words around your collar in the long run

you said you knew that this would happen

The pounding rain continued it's bleak fall

And we decided just to write after all, after all"

3) Brand New - Handcuffs

I've followed Brand New for a fair few years now, beginning with their breakthrough album Deja Entendu, stepping back to their first album and then last year, getting my hands on the new album The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me. Deja Entendu for me was an instant hit thanks to Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't thanks to its broody, angst-ridden lyrics and powerful explosion of noise and the iconic Quiet Things That No one Ever Knows. TDAGARIM was an equally impressive album continuing the dark themes of the first album both lyrically and musically with the token acoustic track that Brand New seem to write oh so well. I listened to Handcuffs many a time and each time I found myself surprised when I could hear a new instrument being played as I couldn't remember it being introduced, such was my concentration Jesse's vocal delivery. The track grows and evolves around the lyrics with string and percussive accompaniment all introduced with such ease and subtlety that you are unaware of the storm brewing behind the vocals. The track speaks of boredom, frustration, irritation whilst maintaining a sense of apathy to detach from whatever situation. The lyrics are by no means ground-breaking but it is the musical intelligence and consideration within the track that I really caught on to.

So that was August, bleak lyrically, inspiring musically and always satisfying. And of course what is August without Reading Festival? And that inspired pretty much the next 12 months of music...

July 2007: The Enemy - We'll Live and Die In These Towns

July 2007 was an odd month for me in terms of music consumption. I was in South Africa armed only with a dying iPod and a music collection that needed some serious attention. But what else do you do on a plane for 11 and a half hours?

So July 2007 for me will be remembered as the month that I started paying attention to Coventry outfit The Enemy. As I was working at BK at the time, I was exposed to a lot of the new class of British indie with bands like The Twang, Pigeon Detectives and The View all receiving plenty of radio play and the same was easily said for The Enemy. After hearing two singles I was still left wondering what all the fuss was about as I found it difficult to distinguish The Enemy's accented indie pop from Pigeon Detectives equally standard songs.

Now I've admitted before that I make snap decisions and I'm often wrong and will have to retreat with my tail between my legs and luckily, I didn't have this blog then so I didn't make public my disinterest. There are times when a boring song that you know and are familiar with all of a sudden becomes relevant and interesting and engaging and Away From Here was one of those tracks. Working 7-4 everyday cooking burgers is a thankless job I can assure you. Trying to manage kids that are doing that is even harder and possibly the most demotivating thing I've ever done including uni and D of E.

So when I heard Away From Here again on the radio, something clicked. The lyrics are cheesy and obvious and so easy to relate to when you've been working the same crappy job for as long as I was at that place. The chorus is undeniably catchy and the more you listen to the lyrics, the more you find you agree and crave the easy life. Now I'm not saying they are pioneers in writing a song about how rubbish the working week is but luckily this band has more than one song.

We'll Live and Die In These Towns was released on July 16th 2007 and debuted at the top spot. Aggro is a solid album opener and prepares the listener perfectly for the next 40 minutes with no allusions of grandeur, over complicated riffs or difficult vocals. Aggro is exactly how The Enemy should be, straight out of the blocks with loud guitars, dancey drums and a chorus that you can sing along to without knowing the words. The album mirrors the cocky swagger that lead singer Tom seems to carry, storming on to Away From Here and Pressure before you've even caught your breath. It is half way through the album when the title track plays that I really started to appreciate this band.

I've always viewed Medway as a bit of a trap, It's a wonderful place to live and a very safe area in general. And that's kind of what worries me. I'm a pretty restless person, I need to be doing something that excites me or I get bored and claustrophobic and by last summer, Medway was starting to be that place for me. Same routine of BK then gym, same places, time was passing without achieving anything new, seeing anything different.

"And it's all too much for your head to take,

It's just a matter of time before you break"

We'll Live and Die In These Towns is on par with Away From Here for my favourite song simply because it's a complete removal from the rest of the album and still feels familiar. The song touches on every little emotion of being trapped in a job, in a town, in a situation and that was very much how I felt and is something you can always apply to something in life I think.

You're Not Alone is pure, unadulterated indie pop and it's fantastic in every way. Uplifting and heartbreaking lyrics, it's almost a love song but only if you choose to read it that way. The album begins to build momentum again after a slight respite and powers through the final few tracks before ending slightly anti-climatically with the downbeat and slightly wasteful Happy Birthday Jane. But then again, when the previous 11 tracks have run so perfectly together, I guess a little chill out at the end is allowed!

I've found it quite difficult to describe my enjoyment in this album as it was such a personal connection to the songs and the lyrics and I was just in the right place at the right time. The production is fantastic but very few albums these days don't sound amazing, whether they're by lo-fi artists or bands with incredible budgets. The songs are catchy but don't break ground on topics covered or amazing guitar sounds or anything inventive really.

or me, We'll Live and Die In These Towns summed up my general feeling of wastefulness and claustrophobia in my situation at the time and was a welcome escape from that nightmare. The album shows that you don't necessarily need to do something different to be noticed, you just have to do the things you're good at very well and hope that people like it. I feel like this is a bit of a lame review but I guess you can't capture every feeling in words, sometimes the album speaks for itself.

text me asap

apologies for the short notice, i've got guest entry passes to zoothousand taking place this week, www.zoothousand.com one person has to buy a ticket and the other gets in for free so basically you split the cost between you, i'm getting there saturday afternoon so you could pick it up then and buy a weekend ticket or get one one sunday and just go for the day

gonna be a top weekend, text me asap to get one

alex

June 2007: Kings of Leon - Because Of The Times

So it wasn't June when I got this album, or when it was released but it was June when I started to listen to the hype that surrounded this masterpiece. I actually got the album in about February due to my scary dedication to finding albums far before they come out. On first listen Knocked Up stood out, Charmer was ok and the rest of the album generally bored me. I remember my first experience of Kings Of Leon, 2004's Aha Shake Heartbreak and most memorably the single Molly's Chambers. It was impossible not to love their garage/country rock and Caleb's gravelly delivery fills the songs with warmth and emotion when most of the time, I can't understand what he says first time around.

Knocked Up for me was the perfect album opener with a subtle drum beat, a smooth bass line and the unforgettable echoey, delayed guitar that captured my attention with such force, I didn't need to listen to the rest of the album. And I didn't. The song changes emotion so quickly, snapping into heavy choruses and snapping right back into the calm. Ed O'Brien of Radiohead fame championed their drummer saying he was "amazing...they're all great but he's really special" and Knocked Up demonstrates this perfectly with constant snare rolls adding emphasis when its perfectly suited.

And so after constant badgering and witnessing them live again, I felt it was necessary to give the album another whirl. And I did. And luckily, I found all the elements of Kings of Leon that I'd fallen in love with first time around. Songs such as Charmer brought back the raw emotion that was evident in earlier songs with its powerful bass line and Caleb's fantastic vocal delivery, On Call was a gorgeous song about being there for people when they need you, McFearless is a wonderfully constructed song with an extremely complicated drumbeat that rules the song without overpowering. Black Thumbnail rocks out with its cock out, a powerful and loud song with catchy guitar lines and skipping drums. As the album progresses it is clear that Kings of Leon do not take their pedal off the gas for a moment and by the time your reach Fans, your elation is uncontainable and the song dutifully provides anthemic singalongs.

It really is a superb album by such a young band, the progression is clear in each album as they've become more polished songwriters, more polished production whilst maintaining the raw edge that makes them so appealing. With new album Only By The Night due for release on September 22nd and a stunning headlining set at Glastonbury behind them, Kings of Leon have secured their place on the british music scene as innovators and live masters.