Noah & the Whale-Peaceful The World Lays Me Down

Noah & the whale are a folksy band not far removed from the likes of Willy Mason, The Spinto Band and Frank Turner. Each of these fulfils the pop ideals of catchy riffs and rythms, with an acoustic style and traditional singing.
This debut by the band, named Peaceful The World Lays Me Down, starts with the song 2 atoms in a molecule a song about the beauties and pains of love, and in particular waking from a romantic dream to realise he's alone. A quickly plodding song with plenty of little instrumentals and harmonising "ooh oohs" over the top of some fast vocals.
The song is a simple strum n drum rythm in the form of jacosta and although not poor, just another album song along with the track second lover later in the listing.
1st single shape of my heart is a pounding song scattered with trumpets and sing-songy vocals all in all leading to a good track closely mimicking the succesful pop-folk style of the aforementioned willy mason.
Do what i do is a slow burning johnny cash style song with minimalist strumming and violin sections. A love song about the point where you stop searching and just let love blossom:
There's a pleasure
We must all feel
And it's a pleasure I know
Of losing your heart
And then letting love grow.
Next up is another pacing track with a simplistic verse chorus verse structure with a pleasant and relatively catchy chorus. The track builds up and down using plodding pianos and swooping violins are used to effect with question and answer vocals also coming into play. I wouldn't be surprised to see this as the next single.
The best track and second single 5 years time is a song about whistfully imagining in 5 years time not needing alcohol or cigarettes to have a good time as they are happy together in the sun. The summer pop chorus is what makes this such a good single with the lines, And it was, Fun Fun Fun When we were drinking It was, Fun Fun Fun. I can definately see this being placed in many a quirky advert or independent film.
The next song rocks and daggers scatters in with a melancholy tone proceeded by violins slowly pounding into a whipping chorus where the violiin is turned into an instrument of irish folksy joy. The track flutters between melancholy and joy with such ease using the lyrics There's no need to play with my heart from words of defeatist pleading into fun which is what makes this song so enjoyable and interesting.
The following two tracks, Mary and title track Peaceful the world lays me down are largely average tracks save for some nice guitar plucking and violins respectively. Final album track Hold my hand as im lowered does little more of interest though the vocals are stronger.
Ultimately there is a strong core to this album with stronger songs such as 2 atoms in a molecule, shape of my heart, do what i do, 5 years time and rocks and daggers all feeling original and ranged, however too much on this album feels like filler for it to be truely successful. On the other hand this is their debut with the lyrics and instrumental variation largely succcesful on the aforementioned succeses. The best word to use would be solid, though this needs building on: 7.5/10

Kings of Leon-Sex is on fire (single)

This single by the kings starts off with an unassuming riff, but once the drums and the bass kick in you know you have vintage kings of leon. In comes Caleb with his distinctive vocals with a timid sound hidden in his voice fully charged with passion and aggression. Ultimately its all building with pace into the rip-roaring chorus howling "woah-oh your sex is on fire" like he can't hold it in any longer with the pulsating guitar and beating drum you just have to give in to the urge to howl along. With kings of leons passion and stories being easily matched in ability and hard work its impossible not to like and good news for their forth coming album Only by the night : 9/10

The Verve- Forth

The verve are a band listed alongside famous names such as oasis, blur and pulp, with a host of famous songs like the drugs don't work, sonnet and of course the epic bittersweet symphony.
The question was always can they step up and do what others have failed to do and launch a succesful comeback?
The album launches with an eerie atmospheric pinpoint siren noise echoing around before a drumbeat and eratic guitar come in with the lyrics announcing the song title "sit and wonder" the instrumentals do a great job of announcing loudly "we're here to do our thang" but lyrically it begins to bore. Next to the single......
Love is noise a great name, which many a music fan would agree with and indeed very vervesque. This song builds from the outset with vocal cawwing and whooping with the drums rumbling in, with vocals to match and as is with a good verve song a sing-along chorus "Love is noise, love is pain Love is these blues that I'm feeling again" the whole song feels a skip ahead of your heartbeat and is ultimately successful and hopeful for the rest of the alum.
Rather Be opens with moby style aquatic wah style guitars, and ashcroft coming in with a dylanesque drawl in his voice which pitters away in the chorus. Ultimately this is a sweet love song, with lyrics such as " Sometimes life seems to tear us apart don`t wanna let you go ". Nothing epic but good none the less.
Judas is a quiet jangly number with occasional prince vocals, but feels pretentious and uninspiring.
In comes Numbness, a cross between Tom Petty and Pink Floyd even the words "breathe in the air don't be afraid" they could be accused of copyright fraud however there is enough of thei own inventiveness and distinctive vocals to show these are simply heavy influences. All in all one of my favourite tracks on the album.
This is followed strongly by i see houses with slidey soundscaping guitars and moaning vocals not to dis-similar to one of ashcrofts solo efforts, check the meaning a pleasant listening experience with a nice melody.
Noise epic rests your ears at first slowly building into a rocky riff and distant vocals much like a Nick Cave track, flowing into some punky drawling vocals. and round. About 4:30 we get an echoing spiralling UFO like noise, coming into a southern rock ending. For all the name promises, and the occasional highlight there's too many effects and ideas going on for this to be truly epic.
The melodic follow-up is Valium Skies which is a pleasant enough chilled out track and could-be-second-single, though it possibly would have needed more padding, to bring the whole song closer to the chorus.
As the album draws to a close the remaining two tracks are quiet chilled out soundscapes with Columbo having a dreamlike feel with disjointed echoey instrumentals in the background throughout and changes in vocal pitch to take you on a journey which is quite interesting and their experimenting on this one has been successful.
The ending track Appalachian Springs is a nice vocal treat and pleasant floydesque instrumentals with a feeling of leading you nicely out of the album into a pleasant quilt of nothingness.
Ultimately the verve slot right back in, with one of the more succesful comebacks we've seen. This needs though, to be a springboard for further succesful albums, given their willingness to experiment and ease in which they create such a great single as love is noise.
This track along with Rather Be, Numbness and Valium skies being others of particular success.
All-in-all the question can they launch a successful comeback and the answer has to be a yes but rome wasn't built in a day.: 7.5/10

Bloc Party- Intimacy

This album starts with the quiet serine sounds of a choir before kicking off with swirling guitars and pounding drums shouting (metaphorically) we're back and were hungry for change. The opening track ares screams in your face quite literally, with a relatively rappy style that have been shown on previous tracks such as "She's hearing voices". The section of sweet singing at 2:17 is almost as much a shock as someone shouting in a quiet silence, with the proceeding racket grabbing you and shaking you the pause is one of unease not knowing when to expect the next throttling.
The 2nd song and 1st single is mercury showing their lust for experimenting and testing themselves. Starting with the effects on the vocals with kele shouting "m-mercury's in retrograde" he starts to loop his own voice as a thumping beat comes in before kele keeps the theme of a more rap-come-sing style. A brass set comes in building to intense cruscendoes as though in an old fashioned horror movie. As it all hits a peak and promises a change of style, a more aggresive, experimental style in comes halo, bringing closer to the bloc party we know. Good but nothing original.
Biko is a lulling song with a crisp high voice, singing beautiful lyrics such as:
--for my sweetheart,
the Melancholic
you crossed the river states
and the waves have taken you away
as I lay my head on your chest
I can hear it in your veins
wake me up when you come to bed
so toughen up biko toughen up biko toughen up
this world isn't kind to little things--
You can feel the sense of loss and love, as well as helplessness about the person involved, its their most beautiful song to date along with signs.
Signs carries the same emotional punch with lyrics such as:"I can sleep forever these days,Cause in my dreams I see you again" and "I see signs now all the time,That you’re not dead, you're sleeping,I believe in anything,That brings you back home to me".
My personal favourite and destined single success is One Month Off, choppy guitars reminiscent of Helicopter with a bouncy beat and aggresive powerful lyrics "I can be as cruel as you, fighting fire with firewood".
Zepherus brings back memories of the prayer with monk like drones and an incessant beat however it follows closer to the likes of waiting for the 7.18 with kele wailing emotional lyrics about a need between two people as well as regret.
As the album draws to a close "better than heaven" comes in merging the two types of song from throughout the album into one with ballad like singing and a higher tempo pulsing chorus in one of the most successful tracks on the album.
The album closer is Ion square which is largely dissapointing, not for content rather originality, mimicking its more succesful,older brother blue light.
All in all it reaches for the sky and gets the clouds, striving for an album that experiments whilst having beautiful songs, floorfillers and songs that shake you to the core, but is mixed in its results. Stand-out tracks are one month off, biko and better than heaven, and as a whole manages to show glimpses that there on the road to an album which fulfils silent alarms promise. Keep striving lads and good effort: 8/10