Originally published by L.S. Media. March 11th 2011.
It is easy to see why Elbow has been one of the most talked about bands of the last ten years, with a Mercury Prize being a pinnacle of a very achieving career. With four top twenty albums on the spin, Elbow have released what could be their biggest album yet in the form of the brilliantly titles Build a Rocket Boys!
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 14th 2011.
If there is a young musician or group of disaffected teenagers currently playing their own music whilst holed up in garages and bedrooms of this fine musical city, if they are blinded by the injustice of the world and fear their voice is not being heard; then they need look no further than the inspiration of a band who knows all there is to know about the fine tradition of Liverpool and Merseyside protest music, The Trestles.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 20th 2011.
Sheer Heart Attack was the third album delivered by Queen onto the British public and the third within sixteen months. The album marks a turn in the band’s outlook and was beset with ill health and medical problems for guitarist Brain May who had been ill for the early parts of the recording.
With the band’s popularity spreading, not only in their home county where their previous album had reached the top five in the album charts, but also in the emerging markets of Australia and Japan, it is not hard to see why this particular album had all the hallmarks of one of the early classic albums by the band.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 20th 2011.
Funeral for a Friend’s music may be more in common with West Coast and Mid American acts than with some of their compatriots from Wales, I.E The Stereophonics and The Automatic, but their music still has the ring of Welsh confidence that has seen a resurgence in their country’s output of superb music over the last few years.
The new album has the title to die for in Welcome Home Armageddon! And whilst it may open with a self styled instrumental track in This Side of Brightness, it hides the fact that the album is full of mind crunching riffs that that will satisfy the cravings of those that may have felt a little left out in the home grown hardcore stakes recently.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 22nd 2011.
Following on from their smash hit A Night at the Opera, Queen once more delved into the world of The Marx Brothers for inspiration for the title of their next album. They didn’t have to look too far as they chose the name that would have been next on the film list. A Day at the Races became the bands second number one album and although arguably nowhere near as strong as its four predecessors in its direction or overall feel it still marked an important change in the band’s approach and how they were looked upon.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 22nd 2011.
If there is a band that sums up the pop scene in Birmingham in the 1980’s and the resulting worldwide fan base that followed with their cut glass image, their smooth and carefully planned videos and sexual appeal, then it would be none other than of course, Duran Duran. It can be said that this decade belonged them.
Now three clear decades on since they thrilled Birmingham crowds at the Rum Runner Club they have released the 13th studio album and things finally look back on track for the band after a few failed attempts to recreate the early magic had left them looking rudderless and no longer a viable musical option.
Originally published by L.S. Media. April 13th 2011.
For fans of John Wesley, the news that he has released a new album will be greeted with a fan fare so loud that it will be heard from Florida to Stourbridge. One of the finest musicians of his generation, he has thrilled audiences with his own music and with collaborations with Fish and Porcupine Tree over the last twenty years.
The Lilypad Suite is no exception to the hard and fast rule that once you have found a sound, stick with it, tweak it, play around with it, even enlarge it but never forget what made you admired and loved.
For any band to follow up one of their finest albums especially after a four year gap can be daunting, especially when that album was the sensational and 2 x platinum selling Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace.
With the bands seventh studio album Wasting Light, Foo Fighters have done that…just. The album has a wonderful urban feel to it and should come as no surprise to the band’s massive following and multitude of fans that the album was originally recorded in Dave Grohl‘s garage. Other bands have tried this effect of taking the band feel and giving it a new environment and in a lot of times it doesn’t give the band the sound or the credit they deserve for the experiment, in this case however, the deconstructive result gives the band an unseen quality that many would have missed over the last fifteen years.
Originally published by L.S. Media. April 13th 2011.
Almost a year to the day since he released Black Rock and fewer than nine months since Black Country Communion’s debut album, Joe Bonamassa has once more turned out an album of pure quality that will appeal to the Blues Rock fan but also to the wide reaching music lover everywhere.
Dust Bowl has all the qualities that you would associate with one of the most laid back guys in Blues, he may be a man of very few words but his fingers do more than just talk for him, they simply ooze conversation without so much pausing for breath. From the opening track of Slow Train, Joe takes the listener on a slow bound journey calling at all stops including inspiration, joy and appreciation.
Originally published by L.S. Media. April 23rd 2011.
There are some anniversaries that deserve a little something extra, a chance to really set the town alight, go the whole hog and show that special someone how much you care and love them. For fans of the Canadian super group Rush, that’s exactly what’s happened for them in the form of the seminal piece of work Moving Pictures.