The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes

You have no idea how pleasing it was to visit the sacred ground of Pitchfork’s Best New Music section to discover I knew three of the last six recommendations. Gone are the days of haplessly catching up, I’m finally starting to match it with the best. Granted, I’d heard only one song by one of these bands and had simply ‘heard of’ the other but it was progress! Nestled among those two however, was this album, an album that I was more than familiar with and itching to spread the word about. Of course it goes without saying which review is more worthy of your time, while theirs is plagued by an overblown intro and unnecessary wording, designed only to puff up the image of the author, mine is…guilty to a lesser degree. I should probably give you an advanced warning to not listen to this band if you’d feel uncomfortable singing “rest your pretty head” or “your kisses are wasted on me” in public. Because this is exactly what their music will do to you. No prizes here for guessing what kind of music they make. If the cheesy album cover didn’t give it away surely the band name ending in ‘ettes’ did. Yes, The Pipettes’ music harks back to the glory days of 60’s girl groups. It’s infectious pop music that’s blissfully simple and dripping with sexual innuendo. The band consists of three of the self-confessed “prettiest girls you’ve met”, decked out in high heals and spotty dresses accompanied by a backing band which pales into insignificance behind these dancing divas. The Pipettes succeed in all the same ways as their 60’s counterparts, the vocal harmonies, the catchy melodies but their music has a certain edge to it that sets them apart and makes them well worth your time.

Judy – The strong lead voice, soothing backing vocals and finger clicking in this song mean that on first glance it may appear like a traditional girl group pop song, but lines like “the older boys would stop and turn their heads, the older girls wished that she was dead” highlight how it is something very different. It demonstrates the degree of self-awareness and wit so central to their winning formula

Sex – This definitely isn’t the kind of song I’d go around telling everyone I liked……Am I losing it? Probably. Am I concerned? Not slightly. Pop music carries such a stigma due to all the associated commercialism and often questionable lyrics, but on a musical level it is an equally challenging and equally rewarding art.

Blitzen Trapper - Field Rexx

Any good band knows that you can’t succeed without a degree of variation. A mix of pace, an occasional ballad, the short novelty songs - they'll all be found amongst the best of albums. This is because nobody wants an album of 13 identical songs. Well Blitzen Trapper have pulled out all stops to ensure they’re bursting with variety. In fact you could easily mistake this for a compilation. Each song seems to come under a different genre. For every offering they dip their hands into a pool of influences, notably country, rock, folk, blues and pop and emerge with a brand new sound. The band, hailing from one of the united states, are relatively unknown so your chances of finding this record are slim. However if you do come across it, it’s definitely worth the second glance. It contains the slow (concrete heaven), the fast (moving minors over country lines), a ballad (dreamers and giants) the teasingly short (love I explain!) and even random excerpts from some crazy sounding old man – all the hallmarks of a great album. Now just to prove a point I’ve picked two different songs for sampling. While mentioning the names of the songs in brackets may have been a meaningless waste of space, the names of these songs should become familiar to you in no time.

Summer Twin – This is one of those chilled out, soothing sort of songs. It steps up the excitement in small increments, but never gets out of hand. That is of course if you don’t include the instrumental solos, complete with whistles

Asleep For Days – All that talk about variation and then I go and pick two of the more moderate songs. Ah well, at least it shouldn’t stop you from enjoying them. Besides, these songs sound good in isolation. Some of the others sound a bit lost when out of the collective. This song made it in on the sing along principle. If it’s stuck in my head it must have something going for it

Lily Allen - Alright, Still

Can I write this without mentioning her myspace and blog driven rise to fame? Apparently not. But lets just say she has almost as many friends as Tom. Lily Allen is a bittersweet musician, sure to divide opinions across the board. It’s weird how your previous musical interests seem to have no bearing on how you receive her music. She brings together people of vastly different tastes and splits those who think alike. She has even divided my own opinion in a number of ways. One day I love the sound of her layered vocals, next day they’re getting on my nerves. Listening to her lyrics, you could easily be forgiven for thinking she grew up in a trailer park. Her chronicles of breaking up and going to the pub make her seem like little more than white trash. But look at any picture of her and her smile will have you thinking the complete opposite. Her music is a blend of pop and hip-hop, which surprisingly works for me. What makes it special is that this pop music is her own, not some factory produced rubbish. It’s fast, it’s catchy and it’s genuine. Only problem is that in high doses, it can get a bit much, both in terms of repetition and obscenity. Excuses aside, I’m not ashamed to say I like her music. She seems to be having so much fun and it really is contagious. How I’ll feel in a couple months time when the rest of the world finally cottons on is another matter. For now I’ll just enjoy.

Everything’s Just Wonderful – Picking a song here was really difficult. In fact I changed my choice after writing that first sentence. This song would not have won a week ago, but with repeat listens it has risen to the top. It builds up a nice momentum as the cynicism rolls smoothly of her tongue.

Alfie – I simply could not resist using this. It is the textbook definition of a novelty song, but that’s why it’s so great. It provides a poor representation of the album, but that is irrelevant, it is simply too hilarious for it not to be heard by all.

Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther

Some music is just good. You can’t easily describe why or how. You can’t pinpoint it to particular trait. It’s simply a given fact. Midlake are just good. Their music is generally slow, mostly soothing and always a pleasure to listen to. It transcends your consciousness, exploring the darkest corners of your mind before suddenly you realise your eyes were closed and 45 minutes has passed. Has anyone else noticed my only ability seems to be excessively talking up bands? But anyway, their sound seems to roam and meander, occasionally entering Shins territory, an always-welcomed feature in my book, but eventually settling under the umbrella of rather ‘haunting’ music. Give these songs a few go-overs before you judge them, there may be some sense in my words after all.

Roscoe – This is the first ‘single’ off this hot new album and rightly so. It really showcases the beautiful vocals that feature throughout.

Young Bride – I really like the way this song eases itself in, slowly picking up the pace in a very soothing manner. But of course an intro would mean nothing without a decent body. Here the vocals almost seem to weave in and out of the solid rhythm produced by the drums and to great effect

The Panda Band - This Vital Chapter

It has begun. Countless awesome Australian bands have been preparing their debut albums seemingly simultaneously to be released at a time that will forever be remembered as a golden age in Australian music. The pressure has been building and now finally the first of these albums has exploded into our open arms. OK, so perhaps I went a bit overboard on the hyperbole but there really is a heap of albums about to be released and we should all be suitably excited. The Panda Band has really set the bar high with this album. It’s fun, powerful, expansive and easily lives up to expectations. I’ve been hearing a lot of people compare this album to Sgt Peppers and I’d have to agree. If you throw in a bit of Flaming Lips and Sleepy Jackson then you’ll start to get an idea of how they sound. They go beyond what you’d expect from your average four piece, incorporating pianos, horns, a range of wind instruments and quite a bit more. All of this adds that extra dimension to what they create. I’ve gone for the obvious picks in download offerings but if you’ve heard and loved these songs before, than you should need no more convincing from me that this is a great album, an aptly named vital chapter in Australian music.

Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town – While the slowing down is immediately noticeable on first listen, this song still holds all the charm that made me fall in love with it. It’s like a party rolled into 3 short minutes.

Ghosts Have The Best Time – Wow, that intro sure is intense. I literally find myself pumping my fists to it. I never felt it when I heard it on the radio but theres something about listening to it in the context of the whole album that makes it great. Add to that the catchy little melody it breaks out into and you have yourself a winner.

Evangelicals - So Gone

Everybody deserves a healthy dose of quirkiness every now and then. Well Evangelicals are here to bring it to you. Not content with your generic intros and fillers, these guys go all out in bringing you an endless barrage of farfetched and sometimes disturbing noises that are all brought together to create some powerful and surprisingly free-flowing music. Dotted fairly regularly amongst this untamed aural onslaught are the standard song structures, enough to keep all the verse/chorus conservatives content. And speaking of conservatives, I'm quite sure this band isn't religious. Rather they just picked an annoyingly misleading name (an increasing popular trend these days). Speaking of misleading...(ok, so that one was a bit thin), listening to just a couple of songs off this album is not how it was designed to be heard. Each song sort of blends into the next, like what Mars Volta like to do, but slightly less excessive manner. This means the album feels more like it's own product than a collection of smaller ones. Hopefully however, a couple of samples will be enough to whet your appetite and lure you towards the complete package. It is quite filling I assure you.

Another Day - With an intro like that, these songs have a lot to live up to. Well this song delivers craziness in spades. Each time you hear it you notice something new. It is a nice summation of what to expect from the rest of the album: the unexpected.

Goin Down - The name of this song is the basis for my argument that they're not religious. It takes quite a different approach to the rest of the album and it's equally refreshing. It's the kind of music that can steal your attention and take you along for the ride.

Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That

While it’s a bit of a sad fact, your chances of becoming popular are pretty limited if you don’t sing in English. Sure your home country may embrace you but reaching an international audience is a lot harder. English, it seems, is becoming the universal language. The music industry is directly targeting the lazy, uni-lingual Westerners and I couldn’t be happier about it. Phoenix, whilst being French, have, luckily for us, opted to sing in English. For their music really is something of a treat and would really be lacking something if we couldn’t understand it. For those who deal in genres, I would have to put their sound somewhere between alternative and infectious pop.

Consolation Prizes – The beauty of singing is that it transcends accents. Sure you get the British bands who’ll drop the occasional slur that makes them so…charming, but most of the time, nationality seems to make no difference. This is definitely evident here, Phoenix don’t even sound remotely French. Right from the offset you know what you’re in for. It’s the kind of song that won’t sit still.

Long Distance Calls – While the intros to these two songs might be remarkably alike, they each go their own way. This one has a much slower feel to it but stays true the immediate and catchy formula that makes them so successful.