Summer is coming, and it seems like Gregory Darling has written an album just for it.
‘Stew Americano’ is a smooth album of the sort of laid back tracks you might find drifting over your garden fence this summer.

Album opener and single ‘Kiss the Pain’ has already caught the attention of Radio 2 DJs Jonathan Ross and Terry Wogan. Gregory’s voice is like a more rampant David Gray; his vocals embody a delicious rasp that you definitely won’t be able to ignore.

‘Life’s Got a Funny Way’ subtly frames Gregory as a modern day Morrissey with lyrics like, “If you believed in me/You’d end this misery”. Where Were You Last Night? mixes a 50s swing feel with infidelity accusations that will make your heart swell and your feet tap simultaneously.

There are moments, like on Out of Time, where Gregory proves he can master Robbie Williams-esque Macho pop ballads, just as well as crooning piano love songs.

Similarities to Morrissey seem to continue through the record, with ‘Somebody Kill the DJ’ sounding like a jazzy rehash of The Smiths’ ‘Panic’.

‘Warm Blooded Killer’ and ‘Mad Twist of Fate’ echo the feel-good jazz made popular by Jamie Cullum and final track, ‘They Came Together’ is a storming ballad of almost theatrical proportions.

‘Suicidal Acrobats’ comes with its own theatrical score accompanying the lyrics, which comes across slightly overkill. Darling’s voice could hold a record with very little behind it, so why bother with such a rambunctious and distracting backing track?

Darling’s influences are clearly very eclectic but his soulful vocals are constant throughout. In ‘Stew Americano’ you will find an album of gorgeous, meandering music to soundtrack long drives and long nights this summer.

A Sure sign that summer must be just around the corner, IF IT'S GOOD FOR ME is one of those upbeat indie pop tunes that heralds the season in big bright neon letters. Coming from Brighton based outfit Stars And Sons, IF IT'S GOOD FOR ME is a blend of big bouncy piano stabs, crashing power chords and impossibly catchy choruses that lodge themselves into your brain mere seconds after launch.

London based 5 piece outfit LA Shark, are a difficult act to classify into one specific genre. Having listened to their latest single ‘A Weapon’ and b-side ‘Modern Man’ a few times, the best way I can think of describing their sound, is utterly irritating. In fact, I’d be impressed with any music fan who can sit through more than a handful of listens of ‘Modern Man’, a track whose airplay time should be restricted to the use of interrogation officers as a means of aiding their torture procedures of suspected criminals.

Slightly more bearable is the single ‘A Weapon’, however this still fails to make you relax, dance or be inspired in the slightest. Devoid of any melody, the track takes precisely three seconds to annoy and make you want to turn it off.  It’s hard to review a song that you have to listen to in twenty second clips because this is all you can manage in one take.

Perhaps I’m being a little harsh, to be fair the music is not entirely worthless, however every vocal drone seems to grate on your mind and give you a headache. It seems that the indie/dance/new wave genre has gone far enough and all that is left are bands trying almost too hard to be cool and edgy, missing out on vital necessities that are required to make a track listenable.

The band have recently been on tour supporting Paloma Faith and it would be interesting to know how her fans fared with their eccentricities. Unfortunately however, I’m struggling to find any positives and will have to remove it from my Itunes, safe in the knowledge that it won’t crop up amongst a random playlist one day in the future.

Most people try to count sheep when they get insomnia, make themselves a cup of hot milk, or just toss and turn all night. Not Adam Young, lead singer of dreamy electronic outfit Owl City. As a way of avoiding frustrating nights and baggy eyed mornings, he set up camp in his parents basement and wrote songs into the small hours; the result being his music project Owl City, and an eventual record deal through word of mouth on Myspace.

Three albums in and the dream still isn’t over for Adam. Ocean Eyes has seen his popularity increase due to smash hit single FIREFLIES, a track you’ve probably heard on the radio, or seen on television; and he's toured many parts of the world bringing his fragile electronic musings to the masses. So is the rest of the album as good as FIREFLIES, and did it make me feel asleep?

Not a chance on the sleeping issue. I may have felt relaxed, but there are too many great moments that make you want to pay attention and not miss anything. Opening track CAVE IN sets the tone. Catchy electro-synth chords burst like bubblegum bubbles over cool disco drum beats. Then add some computer generated bleeps and blips, a melodic chorus, a splash of violins, and you have a winning formula. True; on this album, the song writing never really ventures far from that formula, but it works so well that anything other than this might be too jarring and snap the listener out of their daydream.

If you haven’t heard Owl City yet, then think Postal Service and the happy bits of Death Cab for Cutie mixed with 2 Unlimited. Adam also has quite a distinct voice, you’re either going to love it or hate it. I loved it, but can see how it might grate with some people. He creates languid, spacey songs that tend to provoke the imagination of the listener. Put this album on if you want time to be reflective, chill out, and drift off into thought, there is a serious element of escapism to this music. Most of the songs seem to be about issues facing young people: relationships, fear of isolation, a desire to withdraw, and escape into nature, or the world of sleep.

Highlights of the album include UMBRELLA BEACH, a track that begins with a cool electronic disco snyth riff that grows into a belter of a pop number. THE SALTWATER ROOM blends acoustic guitar and lush computer generated chords, and has a lullaby like quality to it. On the chorus Adam is joined by Breanne Duren and their voices melt together into cutesy sonic heaven. HELLO SEATTLE sounds like excited robots exchanging information, the computerised blips form a backdrop to the whole song, and create a spacey, futuristic vibe. Adam's voice sits over the top like a vocal tranquillizer, blending the whole thing together into a melodic mish-mash of keyboards, blips/bleeps and drum loops . THE BIRD AND THE WORM is one of the more stripped down songs on the album. Pretty and uplifting, almost Burt Bacharach like in style, featuring bright breezy strumming on the acoustic guitar, this is a song for the Summer and hanging out with friends.

FIREFLIES is still probably the best song, and forms the centrepiece to the record. It's just a great pop tune, has emotional depth, and a strange vulnerable quality to it, like all our dreams, which is maybe why it is so popular. Maybe it loses steam a bit after FIREFLIES, the final three songs aren't stand out, they just round off the record in a gentle way.

Ocean Eyes is a solid offering full of anthemic yet fragile songs and blissfully melodic moments. It both manages to relax, uplift, and space out the listener all at the same time. The dreamy and cutesy vibe may put off some people, but if you can get over that then there's a lot of enjoyment to be had here. It’s amazing that a bout of insomnia can lead to someone writing songs that will be transported to other peoples bedrooms all over the world, maybe even helping them get to sleep. Hats off to Adam Young for creating something quite magical, lets just hope he doesn't pinch himself and wake up.

You can sense when a band are truly special sometimes, especially when their debut single manages to floor you on first listen, like was the case with PLANET from post-rockers Kyte. An epic, majestic take on swooning post-rock, PLANET was seven minutes of pure sonic bliss; subdued and beautiful in places, searching and angst-ridden in others. Equal parts Doves, Slint, Mogwai and Sigur Ros, Kyte weave spidery guitar lines across a landscape of militaristic drum patters and gorgeous piano chords.

Fast forward a few years and the Leicestershire four-piece are releasing their first full-length debut album, DEAD WAVES, a record that proves Kyte have lost none of their magic and majesty since that very first single.  As epic, majestic and just plain special as ever, Kyte swoon their way through an albums worth of songs guaranteed to mesmerise and entrance; taking the subdued majesty of bands like Sigur Ros and The Postal Service and weaving that into something they can call their own. Singer Tom projects a half whispered croon whilst the rest of the band deliver waltz like post-rock beauty, stealing your hearts in the process.

Opener THE SMOKE SAVES LIVES immediately earns your adoration and heart, equal parts subdued introversion and epic bluster, Kyte transport you to glorious new highs, cascading synthes swirl gorgeously around fragile beats as vocalist Tom projects a half whispered croon reminiscent of Ben Gibbard at his most stripped bare and delicate.

Songs like ifnfsa, YOU'RE ALONE TONIGHT, DESIGNED FOR DAMAGE and LIKE SHE SAID continue to mesmerise and delight, Kyte weaving majestic sonic magic from their musical pallet of cascading synths, spidery guitar intricacy, fragile beats and bruised melodies.

For all this hyperbole and praise though, DEAD WAVES does suffer a touch from a lack of deviation from the formula and an almost too blissfully beautiful sonic lushness. These are songs that can tend too blend far too seamlessly into each other at times, Kyte perhaps a band who'd benefit from the odd musical curve ball or left turn every now and again; something to break up all the breathless intensity and hushed majesty, perhaps a little fun amidst all the heartbreak and hypnosis.

Still, at what they do, Kyte are an absolutely wonderful and brilliantly realised operation; as the likes of GUNS AND KNIVES, FAKE HANDSHAKES, EARNEST SMILES, EACH LIFE CRITICAL and FEAR FROM DEATH wash over you and instantly take your breath away, leaving you in awe struck wonder, there's no denying that this is a band able to weave magic from the ether, the perfect middle ground between The Postal Service, Mew, Maps and Sigur Ros.

Kyte have returned here with another beautifully realised collection of music that mesmerises from start to finish, DEAD WAVES is very special indeed, an album you really need in your life.

Until now I hadn't realised it was humanly possible to find such an eclectic mix of genres in one album! Reggae, blues, hip-hop, break beat, pop, electro; the list really does go on. It was only recently, upon listening to Let's Go To War for the first time, that I heard this truly unique sound. Yes that's right; the long awaited debut album from the Canadian band has finally arrived! The group, who have already produced songs for the likes of Fefe Dobson, D.O.E. and the unforgettable Britney Spears, are currently signed to Last Gang Records, home of fellow electro band Crystal Castles.

Released ahead of their forthcoming GOOD AS GOLD long player, six piece Swedish outfit Petter & The Pix give a taster with new single NEVER NEVER here.

Brother of Pontus Winnberg of Bloodshy & Avant who worked on Britney Spear's Toxic, Petter is an Icelandic based musician whose band is made up of school friends and members of Mum and Gusgus. Following debut album EASILY TRICKED in 2008, GOOD AS GOLD is Petter & The Pix latest opus.

NEVER NEVER is an infectious sounding single that straddles that oh so fine line between the annoying and the catchy with its naggingly delirious “la la la la la la la” melodies running throughout the song; echoes of the Kaiser Chiefs Na Na Na Na Naa and the Gorillaz 19-2000.

Perhaps not the kind of thing to stand up to prolonged listens, NEVER NEVER is catchy pop in a summery, throwaway kind of way, but definitely the sort of song that will soon start to grate on your nerves after one too many airings.
Still, as delirious indie pop singles go, NEVER NEVER is buoyantly infectious sounding stuff and certainly leaves you hungry to hear more from Petter & The Pix.

Taking themselves back to their roots, and grasping onto what made Turin Brakes stir up a fuss in the first place.

Outbursts is a multi-layered recipe for achievement, although obviously dwelling slightly on past successes. This being their first studio album since 2007s Dark on Fire, its fair to say this is a healthy step up.  The mellow storyteller like melodies, wrapped in blankets of anything from bongos to strings, accompanied by familiar claps and crisp double-bass lines, set this album apart. The tones are communicated so clearly, without being bare and lonely. Un-deniably uplifting pathways are laid, connecting each track, but still leaving relaxing dips to breathe it all in.

The teaser for this album that was bestowed upon us is opening track, Sea Change. A clear example of the hard work and promise still expressed by Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, the driving power behind Turin Brakes. It sets you off slowly into a world of acoustic retire, but builds up contently with stepping stones of drums and strings, into the thick rich sound that Turin should be known for. This song stands out as the catchiest, and most understandably written, which does make you question its placement in the running order, but nevertheless still plays it’s part.

A Personal peak comes in the form of Paper Heart. By not overcomplicating its communication to the listener, it pulls you onto the raft, letting you float down a sleepy river of piano keys and warm chorus’.

The voices of Olly and Gale intertwine unarguably, complimenting each other, and the music. These vocal connections amplify the build-ups that help these songs raise your spirits.

It is fair to say, that the production on Outbursts, helps to achieve the more interesting atmospheres put into the tracks. Something that could work against them in live performance, but it helps the album make sense, so all power to them.

Outbursts is an essential mood setter. Take the opportunity to enjoy this album, while the sun is very slowly starting to put its hat on, but the evening air still holds its crisp wintry breath.

As 2009 came to a close, female music artists were really making an impact on the British public. Not only by selling the most records, but by being different and original compared to their predecessors – Gaga and her outrageousness, Florence Welch and her gothic imagery, Marina Diamandis and her outspoken feminism. Another artist who turned a few heads was American songstress Kesha Sebert, or Ke$ha.  Her debut single, Tik Tok, stormed the charts worldwide in November, reaching number one in nine countries and number four in the UK. The song was a massive hit in the UK - on the radio and in the clubs - as its witty lyrics applauded the one thing we all know what to do – Party!

Ke$ha’s highly anticipated debut album, Animal, was released three months later in February 2010. Sounding like the work of Taylor Swift’s ASBO older sister, ‘Animal’ is packed full of girl power anthems for the 21st century. Dripping with attitude, this album almost acts as a how-to guide on how to be a real party ‘Animal’.
On the surface, Ke$ha might be brushed off as another preppy pop clone; a middle ground between Avril Lavigne’s harmless teenage pop and Lady Gaga’s extreme, over-sexualised lyrics. But lyrically, there is some magic here. Many critics have branded her lyrics as corny and hilarious, but the truth is, Ke$ha’s lyrics paint a brutally honest picture that young girls will relate to in ways middle-aged, male critics cannot. Hungover, for example, is a lovesong that negates itself in the chorus through Ke$ha’s confession, “Now my heart is broken/ Like the bottles on the floor/ Does it really matter/ Or am I just hungover?” The lyrics of Boots & Boys however, won’t be forgiven by even the most liberal of critics (‘Boots & Boys/ they bring me so much joy’).

It becomes apparent however, that Ke$ha’s appeal lies solely in the rebelliousness and sassiness of some of her lyrics, because the calmer, more ballad-like songs on the album – ‘Stephen’, for example – come off as boring and unappealing.
If the key to success is making edgy pop tracks that can be remixed to death and then played in nightclubs every Friday night, then the majority of Animal will cash in. A number of tracks, like ‘Your Love is my Drug’ and 3OH!3 collaboration, Blah, Blah, Blah’ imitate the catchy pop feel and super cool production that made Tik Tok a success.
Tik Tok however, set a very high standard of attitude-ridden, raunch pop that her debut album, Animal, never really manages to recreate.
To put it bluntly, you’ll probably love this album when you’re on the dancefloor and full of vodka, but up until the moment - it might prove just a little too girly, fluffy and bittersweet for you to find bearable. Imagine if someone wrote a musical based on the film, Mean Girls, and then played the soundtrack over and over again to you. That’s what reviewing this album has felt like.
A good effort from an artist that you know has it in her to make smash hits, but with all the Gagas and Marinas ravaging the charts at the moment, Ke$ha’s ‘Animal’ won’t stand a chance.