Junk of the Heart

 Ok, first of all: the new Kooks album is amazing. It may be different to what many people expected, and yes, they use synthesizer sounds... but it's still The Kooks!

So, here's my opinion of every song on the album:

1. Junk of the Heart
The first single of the record and, as I expected, definitely a grower. It may not be "love at first listen" as perhaps Sofa Song was, but I would still say that it's one of the better tracks on the record!
2. How'd You Like That
Second song, second highlight: How'd You Like That rocks out with with pianos and guitars! Still not as energetic as some songs on their debut, but it really is a great song. The catchy chorus will make it a popular song for live shows.
3. Rosie
Electric verse, guitar chorus. In my opinion it's not as good as the previous two, but I like that little interlude after the second chorus. The second half of the song is better than the first one!
4. Taking Pictures of You
It's getting more quiet and calmed-down: acoustic guitars dominate the verse, more electronic sounds in the chorus. Experimental guitar tunes (for The Kooks) complete this little Indie-ballad!
5. Fuck The World Off
Hm, mixed feelings on that next song. Personally, I think it starts quite boring. The chorus is a bit better though, but it's still one of the weaker songs on the record for me. "Smooth" acoustic guitar plus bluesy electric guitar.
6. Time Above The Earth
Wow. The Kooks + violins = amazing. Why can't that song last longer than 1:54? Absolutely lovely melodies, violins, and Luke's voice only. And it's getting philosophical: "Thinking about life and each man's worth, how can one person be worth more than a thousand people knocking on his door?"
7. Runaway
Most electronic song on the album. But that chorus.... sorry, but all I can say is that the title fits! That may be a bit harsh, but it's the weakest track on the album in my opinion, from start to end.
8. Is It Me
Luckily, Runaway is followed up by another really, really great track. Is It Me is Indie Rock like The Kooks produced on their second album, but with a few electronic influences. It's among my favourites of Junk of the Heart!
9. Killing Me
Again a nice ballad, but with more guitars than Taking Pictures of You and only little electronic tunes. Great track!
10. Petulia
Only Luke and his acoustic guitar! Ok, plus background singers. Petulia is a quiet Indie-ballad with lovely melodies.
11. Eskimo Kiss
Hands down, the best song on the album. A happy Indie-Pop song in the tradition of She Moves In Her Way and See The Sun and an instant classic at live shows, I'm sure. I love it! "And it goes la la la la la..."
12. Mr. Nice Guy
A piano driven Rock song, which isn't quite the best thing on the new album, but definitely not the worst. It's an ok-song for me.

So yeah, they did change a lot in comparison to their wild, energetic debut album. There definitely will be people that are disappointed, but that does not apply to me. I though I would miss songs like Sofa Song or See The World, but this album is so self-contained that I forgot about that whenever I listened to it. Junk of the Heart deserves to be loved :)

A Different Kind of Fix

So, finally I can get my hands on the new, third album by Bombay Bicycle Club. It is a mixture of their last two albums: More Rock than "Flaws", more quiet than "I had the Blues..." But also more "Indie" than both of their previous records, despite the input of synthesizer-sounds. An album that takes more time to get into it than BBC's first and second.

My Top Three Four Songs:

A Different Kind of Fix starts with one of the best Bombay Bicycle Club songs ever: How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep? That melody will stick in my head for a long time. Probably the catchiest song on the album. Would fit perfectly on their debut as well!

The bass line of Your Eyes reminds me of Always Like This from their first album. But instead of guitars, electronic and synthie tunes define the sound of the song. The chorus is damn catchy, too!

Shuffle, the first single of the record and, along with How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep, my favourite track. Do I have to say anything more about that song?

Lights Out, Words Gone. Slow, dreamy, untypical, but very nice! Again restrained guitars, but audible when you need to hear them. Lovely melody and lovely duet of Jack Steadman and Lucy Rose.


All in all, I think I'm allowed to say it's a pretty decent album at first listen. I suppose that it takes a bit to really get into it, as it is (again) completely different from the previous album(s).

 

Suburban (K)nights

song of the day. I could listen to it non-stop!

Speechless.

Today, Coldplay reveiled not only the kryptic title of their new album Mylo Xyloto, but also the release date: the 24th of October!

Considering that Coldplay is one of my favourite bands of all time, that's incredidbly exciting news to hear for me. Since they've performed several new songs on their festival appearances, the fan community is wondering which songs will actually make the record, what the title would be and so on. You can hear what the album will probably sound like here: Charlie Brown (my favourite song so far!), Hurts Like Heaven, Us Against The World, Major Minus and Moving to Mars. And for the gorgeous Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, a gorgeous video:

The second official single is called Paradise and will be released on the 12th of September, yay!

I absolutely believe that this album will be their masterpiece so far. Coldplay has grown as a band on every album and I hope they won't stop making music too soon!

Noel Gallagher + Thees Uhlmann

I like Oasis, but honestly I've never gotten into Liam's new band Beady Eye. They sound ok, but nothing more to me (yet). And so I wasn't expecting too much from the other brother's musical project: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds!

But, I have to say, I actually do like his approach of starting new. The first single of his October-album is called The Death of You And Me and is settled between The Last Shadow Puppets, acoustic Oasis and the actual Beatles. I think it's a lovely, warm-sounding pop song that isn't groundbreaking or innovative, but still pretty catchy.

But what really convinced me of his solo attempt was this nice, quiet acoustic song he did a while ago: Everybody's On The Run. Noel's voice sounds absolutely amazing in this. And I think it's extremely catchy, too! There's only a video with poor audio quality, but you can hear everything that's necessary. I really hope it's not going to change too much on the final record.


And there's another great artist that's wandering on solo-paths - the singer of the German band Tomte, Thees Uhlmann. I know his voice may sound a bit "uncomely" and he's singing German, but I don't believe that it's necessary to actually understand lyrics. it's the music that matters, in my opinion. And there's this wonderful, wonderful piece of music called "To Spawn And Die, The Salmons Are Moving Up The River"! the video is very beautiful and retro-esque. The song is about him personally and life in general. I hope you enjoy the song as much as I do!

You can find another song of the upcoming album here. The Translation of the title would be "And Jay-Z is Singing a Song For Us" - how awesome is that

So, I would like to know, how do you like Thees Uhlmann? Should I continue to introduce German bands and artists to you? I would be happy if you would leave a comment for me on this. Furthermore, if you ever wonder what a German song is about and you can't find a proper English translation on the Internet, feel free to contact me and I will try to translate it for you.

The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future

I want to introduce one of the craziest and most creative bands that I know:

Los Campesinos! 

What is so special about them? Well, the band consists of seven members and their used instruments range from classical rock composition to violins,  lyras and xylophones. Singer Gareth has a very distinctive way of singing, and he takes turns with Aleksandra and after her leaving with his sister Kim.

Their music is energetic, wild, unusual and fragile at the same time. There are many bands outside that more or less sound very similar to any other band, but you really can't accuse Los Campesinos of that. They've already released three albums so far and a fourth one will be hitting stores in november this year!