Review: If there's been one defining element of 2017 so far, it's been the stress that it's put a good proportion of the Western world under, and with this in mind it seems that there couldn't be a better time for a new Elbow album, and for the always mildly world-weary yet magnanimous and uplifting strains of Guy Garvey and co. to offer succour. Just as well then that it's perhaps their most richly crafted effort to date, offering warm optimism, a widescreen sweep of sound and their mainman's plangent croon in full effect, amidst an aural landscape that will do more than satisfy long terms fans of their elegiac art, rather something of a balm for these afflicted times.
Review: If you read any interviews around Elbow's ninth studio album, Guy Garvey's open admissions that this is the Bury, Greater Manchester band's most patient and hushed work to date are unlikely to pass you by. The frontman is clearly pleased with what the outfit managed to pull together, offering a great example of why remote working during lockdown actually led to some pretty inspired projects if you look in the right places.
Whether Flying Dream 1 would have sounded like this had it been made through a standard studio process is a big question mark we're not in a position to answer. The group themselves are probably still pondering that one. What is clear is that it feels like a coherent, complete work, which is somewhat at odds with the reality of members contributing individual elements from different locations. Technicalities aside, this is a step away from the grandeur Elbow are often associated with, and distinctly void of gnarl, and it sounds
Review: Contemporary British electronic pop expert meets singer-songwriter Elderbrook expands his sound with his new album, Another Touch, which comes after establishing himself on the world stage s the voice of the Grammy-nominated 2017 collaboration with CamelPhat, 'Cola.' He has described this new long player as a "journey of personal discovery' and on that trip, he explores themes of love, loss and life's ups and downs, packaged in catchy, feel-good dance-pop tracks suited for big clubs. Blending melodic house and tech grooves, while his vocals mix falsetto with more moody deliveries, this album perfectly captures today's dance music penchant for crossing over by offering up accessible beats with some catchy emotional depth.
Review: British singer-songwriter Elderbrook is best known for the vocals on 2017's 'Cola', a Grammy-nominated single with CamelPhat, but now he shows a much broader range of sounds with his new album Another Touch which he bills as "a journey of personal discovery." It builds around themes of life's love, loss, ups and downs but essential is a collection of very accessible and feel-good dance-pop hits for large-scale clubs. The production takes the form of lots of catchy and melodic house and tech grooves while his vocals are a mix of falsetto and more moody sung-spoken deliveries. It's an album that very much chimes with the crossover dance sound of now.
Review: The debut studio album by American rock band Electric Six came as a demented party record, building on the high production value, yet still enjoyable musical approach of mainstream pop and industrial rock in the late '90s and early noughties. The Detroit band had been going since 1996 but only struck the starry heights of fame in 2001, when 'Danger! High Voltage' established their bluesy, raunchily delicious dance-funk sound. The star cut on the record, and ensuing hilarities such as 'Naked Pictures (Of Your Mother)', 'I'm The Bomb' and 'Gay Bar', proved just the right dosage of tension and irreverence.
Review: First released back in 2006, Electronic's on-point 'best of' collection returns in expanded, double-disc form. So, alongside the original collection (CD1), with its mix of singles and cuts plucked from Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr's three collaborative albums, we're treated to a second disc packed with rarities, lesser-known remixes and largely forgotten B-sides. There are some genuine treats to be found, including a swathe of club-focused mixes that showcase the project's dance music roots. Highlights include 808 State's majestic, breakbeat-driven 12" mix of Neil Tennant collaboration 'Disappointed', the piano-rich "peak-time at the Hacienda" 'DNA Groove Mix' of 'Get The Message', Graeme Park and Mike Pickering's similarly superb 'Vocal Remix' of 'Getting Away With It', and 'Idiot Country 2', a rushing club workout remixed by Stereo MCs under their forgotten Ultimatum alias.
Review: British synth-pop supergroup Electronic consisted of Bernard Sumner of New Order, Johnny Marr of The Smiths, Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys and Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk. The combined clout of these names surely amounted to enough credit to patent the name "Electronic", which always to us felt partially like an attempt to become synonymous with the music genre itself (as if these guys weren't synonymous with it already). On Get The Message, a 2006 compilation named after the second single from their debut album, we hear a thorough checking of their contribution to the golden decade that is the 1990s, cycling chronologically through the group's greatest hits, as well as some extra rarities and tidbits for curious fans.
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