Snow Patrol are frequently compared to Coldplay in the press, which seems strange as they write far better songs and do not appear to be quite so self-hating, nor as rich. Their delightfully dour little pop songs do touch on the melancholic side of things, but the lyrics are wonderfully slice-of-life descriptions. Singer/lyricist Gary Lightbody gives a shout-out to Sufjan Stevens when on the ...
Manufacturer: Polydor
Manufacturer: Mercury Records Ltd (London)
Manufacturer: Universal
Manufacturer: Rhino
It's never too long between Paul "The Modfather" Weller albums. Yet the starlet's prolific solo output over the last decade or so hasn't often reached the artistic heights of his work with The Jam or The Style Council. While consistent enough, recent projects have been marred by a certain complacency - a tendency to settle for the middle ground instead of the soaring, surprising heights of ...
It's difficult not to like Danish six-piece Alphabeat. Their retro-fuelled `wonky pop' is pure optimistic fun of the kind that only po-faced too-cool-for-schoolers could possibly diss. This Is Alphabeat, their UK debut, is a version of their platinum-selling Danish release Alphabeat, minus some of the cheesier moments and with three brand new tracks produced by Mike Spencer (Kylie, ...
Manufacturer: Copenhagen Records/EMI
The idea of Free/Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers taking the place of Freddie Mercury for a new Queen album is an odd one indeed. Where Mercury was flamboyant and knowing, Rodgers--who toured with Brian May and Roger Taylor in 2005--is way more weighty and grizzled. The resultant album, The Cosmos Rocks, sounds literally like Queen's gregarious musicality has been filtered through the ...
Manufacturer: EMI
Manufacturer: Warner
Manufacturer: Virgin TV
Leona Louise Lewis is something of an anomaly. Not only is she pretty and endowed with a wonderfully elastic (four-octave) vocal range--she's also a committed vegetarian and one of the few X Factor/TV talent show winners not to immediately try to capitalise on her success with an album of weak covers. Instead, her mentor Simon Cowell (and team) have coaxed Lewis into the studio with some of ...
Manufacturer: SonyBMG
