Shena

In dance music, female vocalists rarely get name-checked, never mind seen in a scantily clad video. We've been dancing to songs like Michael Gray's 'The Weekend' and Alex Gaudino's 'Watch Out' for years but have we ever heard of the vocalist, Shena?

A session singer originally, last week Shena released her new single 'Can't Stop The Rain' and although it didn't do big things, it must surely have tickled the ears of Hed Kandi or Ministry's A&R people. Sounding like the closest thing to Chic, particularly I Want Your Love, in many a year, it's full of funky horns, a hip shimmering bassline and Nile Rodgers' bells. Radio 2 have been playing it on their B-list but I'd love it to pick up somewhere else in the future.

Paul Lester says it better.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxIiAklZ13U[/youtube]

Review: Blok Busta, New Players Theatre

Wandering into a London theatre to be confronted by only 14 other people two minutes before curtain call is always a worrying sign. Maybe it's a hidden gem, we thought to ourselves. Warning: it is not a hidden gem.

'Blok Busta' is a brand new musical from TV scriptwriter and record producer Mike Bennett. Inspired by the glam music of the 70s, it tells the tale of a group of friends in the town of Glamsville who are terrorised by the serial killer Busta. His weapon? The power of disco music and a sprinkling of corn flakes (we have no idea). Aiming to be a farcical who-dunnit, the jokes come fast but more often than not create groans rather than laughs. Indeed the whole plot muddles its way from murder through schizophrenia, misogyny, threesomes before an overly intense and nonsensical ending.

Mixing actual glam hits such as Devilgate Drive, Ballroom Blitz and The Jean Genie with new compositions will go some way to satisfy a child of the day but few of the new songs excite. Al Howell's sweet duet with Delilah, 'Disco Dispair', is a rare highlight as is the later power pop of Kandy Girl's complete with dance routine and lesbian kiss.

In fact, it is only the lively nature of the young cast, who play all their own instruments, that manage to keep us in our seats for the duration. Ignoring a distracting performance from Susannah van den Berg as Tiger Feet and a whopper of a bad note from Mikey O'Connor's Inspector Stone, the real delight is newcomer Clare Kinson who takes on the duel roles of perky teenager Delilah and saucy policewoman Jean Jeanie. One to keep an eye on.

Blok Busta continues at the New Players Theatre, Villiers Street until April 18 with tickets at £20.

Rochelle

When London band Rochelle released their first single 'Fer De Lance' on Kitsune Records last year they were exactly the type of band you could imagine getting remixed and being played by bloggy people at little dance nights in East London. It was glitchy goodness, with a touch of the overstyling, but didn't have that big hook that might interest anyone out of E2. Now they're back for 2009 and pushed the pop fader up a little bit, resulting in the much more accessible 'Chin Up'.

First things first though, Rochelle are a band - not some shiny electro diva. Lydia is the name of the Amy Winehouse look-a-like and if I were her manager I might be suggesting a bit of a hair colour change to stop any ridiculous confusion. She's even managed to rock a key-tar in this Klaxons-y video months before Little Boots is allowed to waggle hers about in a video. 'Chin Up' is out in April and they're playing live at Yo-Yo on Thursday night. Of course you will all be at Miss-Shapes instead.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E6Q71avbtc[/youtube]

Can anyone figure out what the 'one for sorrow, two for joy...' bit of the verse sounds just like?

Review: Metro Station - Metro Station

If Billy Ray is your Dad, Miley your little sister, and you want to have a career in rock music, you'd have to come up with something pretty amazing to be taken seriously. Latest Cyrus on the block, Trace might be trying to do just that as part of Metro Station, but their debut album leaves us feeling distinctly underwhelmed.

Originally released in the US back in 2007, it's taken two whole years for the Metro Station sound to hit our shores. In that time similar sounding but much better bands like Shiny Toy Guns, The Answering Machine and Stefy all failed to make any impact at all over here. So what is it about Metro Station that makes them different?

Their first UK single 'Control' might have fizzled by without anyone noticing but it's the 2nd, 'Shake It', that's made us sit up and pay attention. Powered by a huge sing-a-long chorus that would have any dancefloor stomping and chanting along to. It's a power pop, almost Disney, version of the darker emo sounds offered by labelmates Fall Out Boy. Similarly the gloomier 'Wish We Were Older' has a brilliantly goofy 'Woah-e-o-e-o' hands in the air chorus. The problem with both these songs and perhaps the rest of the album is that they seem to be built entirely to support the chorus with the verses being utterly unmemorable. Indeed songs like the twinkly 'California' and dreary 'True To Me' easily merge into the background.

Utterly harmless, Metro Station have shown they have the potential to write a killer hook. Their debut album is just not the showcase for that talent we were hoping for.

Review: Ronan Keating - Songs For My Mother

Ahead of Mother's Day each year albums designed to appeal to your mum trot out in stores around the country. As well as dabbling with a Boyzone reunion, 2009 is the year for Ronan Keating to make his mainstream comeback starting with a release of 'Songs For My Mother'.

This, his fifth studio album, is a collection of covers recorded by Ronan with a live orchestra. It's no rapidly chosen covers album though; instead it's a group of songs Ronan remembers his mother, who he lost to cancer at the height of his success in 1998, listening to throughout his childhood.

Covering songs as cherished as Don McClean's 'Vincent' and Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now' is always going to aggravate fans of the original but on the whole, Ronan manages to create careful versions filled to the brink with emotion. Bob Dylan's 'Make You Feel My Love' crackles with tears, popular Celtic folk songs such as 'Carrickfergus' and 'The Wild Mountain Thyme' are tender and the orchestral arrangement of Cyndi Lauper's 'Time After Time' adds an extra layer of euphoria coupled with the sadness of the lyrics.

Only a cold heart could refuse to be moved by the gentle 'Mama's Arms'. Originally performed by American singer-songwriter Joshua Kadison, the heart tugging lyrics must have been hard to Ronan to sing, his voice cracking on the beautiful line 'all you want is mama's arms'. The mood is only ruined somewhat by the suddenly jolly 'Suspicious Minds' and echo-heavy cheese fest cover of R Kelly's 'I Believe I Can Fly'.

It would be easy to thrown scorn on 'Songs For My Mother' but instead it's a sweet, and surprisingly enjoyable compilation of gorgeous songs. Perfect to show your mother how much you care.

Originally for Orange Music

The Veronicas Hit The UK!

The Veronicas - New Music - More Music Videos

Over three years ago I wrote about a brilliant pop band called The Veronicas. I'd found them via an mp3 blog, was working in social media at the time, and loved the way they were being marketed.

Amazingly they are now being brought over to have a crack at UK success. Although the Max Martin penned 4eva from their debut album remains the standout song for me, it's their 2nd album 'Hook Me Up' that we'll be hearing. Originally released in their home of Australia in 2007 I wonder what it must be like for a band to constantly have to promote the same stuff over and over again in different terriorites over such a long period. I know we think the world of pop is all glamour and glitz, but we have to remember to the people involved it's probably like any other job. It has more than it's fair share of amazing-ness but there must be those hungover or dragging days that get anyone down.

Image issues are another part of fame, and I think something The Veronicas are facing. Where once they were pretty looking normal girls, they've now become so thin it's unattractive. You could see every bone and muscle in their knees when perching on stools and facially they looked worn and gaunt, plus they're playing about with a 'oooh we might be so sexy together' lesbian T.a.T.u-esque vibe despite being sisters. Yawn, we're so over that.

Muscially though, is what we're all about, and live they pulled off a great show. They've dropped the super poppy sound of 'The Secret Lives of...' and taken a darker, more studio electronic vibe surrounded by emo looking band members. 'Untouched' will be their first UK single. It's an urgent sounding, string laden teenage tale of yearning love that I think is brilliant. It's perfect to soundtrack an episode of Gossip Girl, but I doubt it'll work on super safe daytime radio music policies. Perhaps the similarly awesome but slightly more commercial Hook Me Up would do better. Equally their image is doubtful to impress fashion magazines or the like unless they were on a bit of a gothic vibe, with my friend from Marie Claire describing them on his twitter as 'appleton + shampoo + pinks song + rubbish tattoos = the veronicas'.

You can download a free, guilt free copy of Untouched here courtesy of Fuse Magazine.

Download The Veronicas - Untouched [MP3].

Most importantly if you only have time for one creepy pair of weirdo sisters in your life, ditch these and go check out the wonderful The Pierces. We're waiting for your new record!

Miss-Shapes Setlist 26/3

I've not posted a Miss-Shapes setlist and last night's was particularly fun so here it is! If you like the sound of it, come down for a boogie every Thursday night at Ghetto on Old Street.

Fan Death - Veronica's Veil
Bat For Lashes - Daniel
Marina & The Diamonds - Obsessions
Annie - Anniemal
Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy
White Rose Movement - Love Is A Number
Cazals - To Cut A Long Story Short
LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum
Soulwax - E Talking (req)
Tiga - Shoes
Bloc Party - Helicopter (Peaches remix)
La Roux - In For the Kill
Little Boots - Stuck on Repeat
Royksopp - The Girls & The Robot
MGMT - Kids
Lady Gaga - Pokerface (req)
Britney - If You Seek Amy
Rick James - Superfreak
MIA - Paper Planes
Lady Sovereign - So Human
Destiny's Child - Bugaboo
Ciara - Love Sex Magic
Mary J Blige - Family Affair
Pussycat Dolls - Jai Ho
Noisettes - Don't Upset The Rhythm
Shocking Blues - Send Me A Postcard
Santogold - LES Artistes
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
Annie - Anthonio
Girls Aloud - Miss You Bow Wow
The Saturdays - Work
Little Boots - New In Town

Eurovision 2009: The Netherlands

The draw for Eurovision 2009 took place today and we know now that the UK are performing 23rd out of 25. Good spot.

I've just started looking through the rest of Europe's entries and an immediate high (low) light is Netherland's entry from De Toppers. They're all individual solo stars in Holland who've now come together to form this group. One of them has even released a whopping 22 albums. It's all very strange.

The costumes are hilarious, the women look inexplicable, one of the men appears to be about 30 years younger than the other two and there's a brilliant hands in the air breakdown towards the end. Never mind the extremely ridicuous keychanges in the last ten seconds.

It's exactly the type of thing the UK will award 12 points to.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfmiyg4hnag[/youtube]

Kid Cudi 4 Little Boots

Little Boots sang:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4AHoTH5_uI[/youtube]

Kid Cudi wrote:

SO IM WATCHIN THIS VIDEO FOR THE 20TH TIME AND I KNO WHY I FUCK WITH IT SO MUCH. THE WAY SHE SINGS IT, THE WAY THE PIANO SOUNDS, IS HOW IT FELT TO ME WHEN I CAME UP WITH THE MELODY. IN MY HEAD IT SOUNDED LIKE A SYMPHONY, I HEARD IT IN ORCHESTRA FORMAT LOL. THIS LIL BOOTS VERSION PAINTS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW SAD I WAS AT THAT TIME IN MY LIFE. IT SETS THAT MOOD PERFECT. THIS IS HOW DAY N NITE WAS MEANT TO SOUND, MOODY AND SAD. BUT I DIDNT WANT IT TO BE SO DEPRESSING, WHICH IS WHY WE GAVE IT A WHOLE NOTHER FEEL, WITH A MORE UPLIFTING VIBE. BUT THIS IS PERFECT, ITS THE “REAL” DAY N NITE. HOW U WERE MEANT TO HEAR IT, SAD.

That nearly made me cry! Someone get them a room...

Menya!

If you loved the energetic indie dance pop touted by CSS & Bonde De Role after the last couple of years then there's a new treat out there for you, and this time they're not from Brazil.

Instead Menya are New York best friends Coco Dame, Angie Ripe and Good Goose. They write, produce and record their music themselves DIY stylee and conjure up lyrics like 'Hey Philly Girls, I wanna eat your cheese steak!"

This is their brand new video for 'Oh!' Matching their vibe totally, it's colourful, energetic, jerky and above all just good fun

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCLMvf8DObE[/youtube]

Torchwood Returns

The first promo shot for the new series of Torchwood has just been released by the BBC. Rather than a 13 week series, this year Torchwood is subtitled 'Children of Earth' and will run over five nights in one week, currently scheduled for June. In the next couple of weeks I'll be interviewing (and trying not to visably swoon in the face of) Gareth David Lloyd who plays Ianto Jones in the show for Attitude Magazine. If you've any questions you'd like me to ask, feel free to leave them in the comments, and I'll do my best!

Hooray for Abby!

If you were knocking about in the 'early days' of pop music blogging, you'll probably remember brilliant site Poptext crashing onto the scene back in 2004 fondly transfixed by the failure of La Lohan to create the perfect pop song yet Ashlee Simpson's ability to do so.

It's writer was Abby McDonald. We were both at university (different ones), frustrated by our trappings, addicted to American TV shows and finding blogs like Popjustice and Fluxblog our perfect bedtime reading. After lots of commenting on each other's stuff, Abby and I finally met a couple of years, hanging out at Cargo interviewing one of our favourite pop stars - Robyn.

Today Abby's debut novel gets published in America. It's called Sophomore Switch and it's amazing to see her dream turn into a reality. It tells the story of American party girl Tasha, and serious Oxford scholar Emily swapping studies and lives for three months and discovering new sides to themselves. You can read the first chapter here but I'm dying to get my hands on a proper copy to find out what happens next. Although you can order the American version from amazon, it will also be coming out in the UK under the title 'Life Swap' (cruelly denying the alliteration) later in the year.

Following that comes her debut 'adult' novel 'The Popularity Rules' (Sophomore Switch is youth) and then the amazingly titled 'Boys, Bears & A Serious Pair of Hiking Boots'. I've got my fingers crossed that's going to turn out to be a tale of a surprise climbing wall being installed in deepest, darkest Vauxhall.

Review: Taylor Swift - Fearless

Taylor Swift is a Nashville girl. She's very nice, very sweet, and not one bit a popstar designed to work over here. Everything about her is so very American that her long stay at #1 in the States comes as no shock. But Taylor having a big hit in the UK? No chance.

How wrong we were. Instead of drifting by, Taylor has captured the hearts of British teenagers with her slushy songs. Her first UK hit 'Love Story' is a simple tale of girl meets boy, falls in love and later gets swept away by her Romeo. There's a subtle difference from the American original - a lack of twangy bassline. In fact 'Fearless' has entirely been slightly tweaked to zap out the country vibes and make her more palatable internationally.

The teenage audience is really the key to her success though. At 19 she personally knows the emotions of teenage girls, a knowledge she demonstrates perfectly on Fifteen singing "when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe it" or when chastising her boy feeling on the feisty 'Tell Me Why'.  It's sickly sweet at times, none more so than in the schmaltzy 'The Best Day', an ode to her parents in which she labels her mom "the prettiest lady in the whole wide world." Pass us the sick bucket.

Yet if you can get over the syrup, Taylor's music is packed with delicate melodies and an idealised view of romance despite protestations on 'White Horse'. "Fearless" could easily be described as dreary and inoffensive, but if you connect with her lyrics, then she could be the very person to help guide you through your first love.

Review: Starsailor - All The Plans

Since Starsailor first burst into the mainstream in 2001, most famously declaring 'Your daddy was an alcoholic,' singer James Walsh's voice  has become an immediately recognisable part of the UK music scene. Now on their 4th album, returning after a considerable break, the best new band to come out of deepest, darkest Lancashire this decade are back with 'All The Plans', another brilliant slice of indie pop realism.

Having moved record labels and inspired by all the 'rights and wrongs' they've experienced in the last few years, lead single "Tell Me It's Not Over" showcases compelling harmonies and an emotive vocal that sizzles with passion. Reminiscent of Coldplay's "The Hardest Part", it's just as epic and makes a strong impression as the album's opening track.  'All The Plans' and the yearning 'Boy In Waiting' have a similarly epic quality and capture that essential festival anthem spirit with hints of Oasis creeping into James Stelfox's bassline on the title track.

Equally there's a honesty in Walsh's voice that makes the gorgeous 'The Thames' feel like a genuine insight into his broken heart.  Despite sounding like it could soundtrack a Western, were it an instrumental, lyrics like 'the birds & the bees, the leaves on the trees, die all at once, now that you're gone', coupled with a compelling belief that his girl will one day be back in his arms, crackle with heartbreak.

Starsailor have unfairly become a band most people sneer at but "All The Plans" has recaptured that special something that made debut album "Love Is Here" so exciting. Whether it's too late to change people's opinions remains to be seen, but were we not so bothered by the 'cool' factor, there's no doubt the songs on this album show an anthemic return to form.

Review: Mongrel - Better Than Heavy

When Jon McClure first bound onto the music scene, he was full of endless optimism. Originally a writer for the Arctic Monkeys, the Reverend (of Reverend and the Makers) was convinced that his left wing politics could be put to music and make a difference to the world. Sadly after just one album he became disillusioned with the music industry and formed Mongrel releasing 'Better Than Heavy', their debut album, for free via The Independent.

Pulling together Joe Moskow from The Makers on synths, Drew from Babyshambles on guitar, London rapper Lowkey, Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders and former Monkey Andy Nicholson on bass to form a grindie supergroup was presumably his attempt at a multi-skilled masterplan. Yet the mid-way position between grime and indie, the aptly name Mongrel can't help to fail to excel in one particular field, instead falling somewhere into the middle under adequate.

Sometimes, when paired with a brilliant bassline, McClure's politics make sense. In 'Lies' we're told "the whole country is full of lies, you're all gonna die, I don't trust you anymore" and 'Barcode' offers up a chilling warning of the human race being 'a commodity, we will quantify'. Yet sometimes, his lyrics can move too far towards preaching with the listing of oppressed countries such as 'Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Darfur, too many to name,' in the otherwise brilliant 'The Menace', sometimes being too hard to stomach for your average music fan.

A good effort for sure, but ultimately 'Better Than Heavy' leaves us yearning for the catchy tunes and daily life descriptions that made Reverend & The Makers debut so special. We admire the message but can't help but feel we'd rather have The Reverend back in his very own church.

Kleerup Arrives

You might remember the name Kleerup from Robyn's brilliant #1 'With Every Heartbeat' - he was the producer behind the song and accompanied Robyn live on lots of early gig dates. Beardy and hairy he looked like an unlikely pop star but his self titled debut album managed to deliver one of most bittersweet pop albums of 2008 in Sweden. He'd had lots of practice before going solo though, as the former drummer in amazing Swedish band Teddybears STHLM.

Now 'Kleerup' is set to be released in the UK in April or May time thanks to Positiva Records. The album is filled with gorgeous soaring electro pop fronted on the whole by some of Sweden's best vocalists including Neneh Cherry and Marit Bergman. Robyn described it to me very well as 'songs to dance to with tears in your eyes'. To get the ball rolling, an EP named 'Holla Holla' will be out first with the disjointed 'Until We Bleed' featuring Lykke Li and bittersweet 'Longing For Lullabies' with Neneh's younger sister Titiyo. Here's the Swedish video for the latter:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luIBrGyFNq0[/youtube]


Most excitingly Kleerup will be live at Cargo on April 9, hopefully with lots of vocalists in tow.

Ghetto Princess

Remember trashtastic Big Brother contestant Aisleyne? She's back. Not content with inexplicably becoming Charlie Brookers bezzie mate, her autobiography will be hitting shops this May. I was one of few people in my circle at the time who really didn't like her on Big  Brother, but since, she's become a bit of a giggle particularly in this week's Snog Marry Or Kill, the uber-shonky makeunder show on BBC Three.

Now her autobiography looks unmisssable. Just look at that cover:

1. The title - Surviving Guns, Gangs and Glamour.

2. The quote - "Women like Aisleyne make the world go around . . .  She's A Lioness" - AMY WINEHOUSE (?!)

3. The fierce pout.

Never mind the synopsis which includes life stories such as a childhood surrounded by Boy George, predatory men of the city's gang culture and a potential marriage to Mike Tyson, all we really care about are the juicy details of the must-happen love affair between her and Brooker.

2009's essential reading? Yes please. Bring it on.