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Artist:
Kings of Leon
Already on course to be one of the year's biggest sellers, Only By the Night has sealed Kings of Leon's unlikely position as Britain's favourite American rock band. The Followill brothers (and cousin) have always been tagged as part of a southern rock tradition of family bands such as the Allmans and Lynyrd Skynyrd, a label they vehemently refuted. But the skinny lads certainly looked like a classic rock act, even as they took musical inspiration from indie contemporaries The Strokes and eighties new wave acts such as The Cure and New Order. Only By the Night is effectively a sequel to 2006's terrific Because of the Times, their third record and the f...
 Only by the Night-Kings of Leon, 2010-08-31
Superb album BBC keep playing tracks when showing trailers for progs. Hopefully they KOL keep on track and produce some more quality music (gig reports indicate they are loosing the plot).
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List Price: £15.99
Our Price: £3.48
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Artist:
Vampire Weekend
You're the only band in the world to have moulded the fruity shimmering of sun-baked African pop with the leather-jacketed cool of 21st century New York rock 'n' roll, delivered it with the diligence of first-class honours students with tidy haircuts, and become a universally-lauded if unlikely international sensation as a result. You're not about to change your spots now, are you. It should come as no surprise therefore that with Contra, Vampire Weekend have delivered another full length album packed full with the same near-flawless, feather-weight indie with occasional knock-out tendencies as their eponymous first. What may be surprising though is how different a...
Great album, one that really grows on you :), 2010-06-30
I've loved this band since I first heard Blake's Got A New Face on the iTunes song of the week however when I first heard this I thought that it wasn't anywhere near as good as the first album, but it alowly grew and grew on me and now I like it even more than I like the first!
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List Price: £13.99
Our Price: £3.99
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Artist:
The XX
Amazing! Gets more addictive the more you listen to it, 2010-08-18
I had heard so much about the XX but not yet given the music a listen, being a pessimist I tend to expect that the rave reviews are from the too cool for school kids and being 30 now tends to mean I don't get it all any more :D... then I heard Crystalised on the radio and got hooked!! Took the plunge and bought the album from amazon as it was about [...] when i got it so no risk there! Took about 3 or so listens which is about what a great album should take, 1 then its too easy (mainstream pop) and you'll get bored easily, it will be on the pile in no time. This is one you need to hear late at night on a drive, collapsed out on your bed in the dark in some good headphones so you get every whispered lyric, hear every bass note that throbs, every tingling guitar note. Seriously from start to finish its amazing and I don't think I have heard a more perfect album in maybe 5 years. Can't recommend it enough, actually don't want to go into more detail than that. Music is about discovering an album in different scenarios. Sometimes you can hear an album one day when you are in the wrong mood and you put it aside and 4 months or a year later you find it again and put it on and its the most perfect album you've ever heard. Don't wait that long, stick it on, but make sure you hear it in it's entirety and then again and again..
References are obvious with new order, the cure and some eighties electronic bands that you never thought you would hear sound so fresh today. Which I always loved, but don't be put off if you don't like those, if you liked crystalised by the XX you will love the rest of the album. P.S try XX's mix of you've got the love (florence version) it's amazing, stripped back and gorgeous! But i can't find it on amazon sadly. Thank you XX :)
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List Price: £13.99
Our Price: £5.93
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Artist:
Everything Everything
Mindblowing, 2010-08-31
This band remind me of several others but as other reviews have pointed out, EE defy categorisation. Just be reassured that they are inventive, quirky, strange, funky, graceful and thrillingly catchy.
For all the vocal and musical dynamics, they distinguish themselves from most of the current pack by having superb songcraft too.
And 'Nasa is on your side' will likely be my tune of the year, although it is difficult to single out one track from this highly consistent Lp.
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List Price: £12.99
Our Price: £7.85
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Artist:
Isobel Campbell,
Mark Lanegan
Oh Wow another haunting classic, 2010-08-26
I am almost afraid to review this CD as nothing I say will do it justice. But its so good I have to tell the world. For those of you who have enjoyed the other Campbell and Lanegan records well the quality continues into this record. For those of you who have never heard of them I wish I was like you, as I could then buy all three at once and hear them for the first time. This is a truly remarkable CD, its hard to describe for most of the pleasure is in the vocals and you have to hear them to know it, however if you put a gun to my head I would say that they sound like a reincarnation of Sandy Denny and a tuneful Tom Waits (but enjoyable to listen to) The music is largely acoustic blues but with some notable exceptions where electric guitars make a raucous appearance, the music also takes note from country and folk, its soulful without being soul but most of all haunting.
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List Price: £14.99
Our Price: £8.43
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Artist:
Muse
It's not really about the music anymore, is it. It's about the breadth and height of everything Muse do. It's about leaving a jet-stream in the sky. Any tune with a trajectory lower than the cosmos is presumably discarded, with arrangements generally sounding as expensive as battleships (intergalactic battleships, that is). Of course the music is not exactly incidental either; Muse's full-on fifth album The Resistance is packed hard with virtuoso musicianship, rigorous instrumental freak-outs and harmonies beamed between dimensions. It's simply what they do now, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. Long gone are the days of the feisty yet formal English post-grunge band ...
muse at their finest, 2010-08-23
Fantastic album demonstrating Muse at their very best. Gives an immediate up beat, feel good factor, absolutely amazing.
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List Price: £15.99
Our Price: £4.28
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Artist:
30 Seconds to Mars
My favourite!, 2010-08-27
I didn't particularly like 30 Seconds to Mars - I found their music loud with unnecessary shouting. My opinion of them changed however when I heard Kings and Queens whilst flicking through the music channels. The song quickly became one of my fave's and made me appreciate their earlier work such as The Kill and Attack. After buying this album and A Beautiful Lie I can honestly say they are now my favourite band which is strange because I wasn't really into this genre of music before. This Is War was described as sounding like a movie and I think this is a perfect description, it's atmospheric and really gets you into a good mood. Jared Leto is an amazing singer and the sound is something I've never heard before. Anyway, I now totally adore them and am going to see them perform in Birmingham in December which will be totally amazing I'm sure :D Hope this helped! xx
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List Price: £14.99
Our Price: £4.48
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Artist:
Florence + The Machine
Already the year’s most hyped new artist--not only first in the BBC’s famously unreliable poll of new talent and recipient of a special Brit award devised just for her--Florence Welsh has a lot to live up to, and thankfully the artfully titled and sleeved Lungs justifies the investment. The singles are undeniably the standouts. The impressive "Dog Days Are Over", neurotic and fierce, and the slightly more reserved follow-up "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" lead her debut collection, sometimes overshadowing her other material. Yet the extremes of "Kiss With A Fist", a jokey celebration of mutual domestic violence and noisy guitars that shamelessly steals its melod...
amazing voice fantastic album, 2010-09-01
I purchased this having seen Florence and the machine play live. She is amazing and could not wait to hear more.
This album is fantastic, her voice is amazing.
I found my self screaming (sadly lack any real vocal talent myself) her songs in the car and struggling not to when playing this on my ipod.
I would recommend this to anyone she blew me away live (if you get a chance GO AND CHECK HER OUT) this album did the same well worth a listen, there is not a bad track on the whole thing.
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List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £4.89
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Artist:
Arcade Fire
Materpiece beyond the hype, 2010-08-29
First time I listened this album I thought 'Funeral' was better. Now I am not quite sure. 'The suburbs' is an anthem, a whole soundtrack for a generation.
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List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £7.95
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Artist:
The National
Very High Violet, 2010-08-14
I'm probably one of the many people whom has only recently discovered The National, but this album has blown me away on a number of levels - the high quality of the songwriting, the overall production and as another reviewer has said, the ability to 'tingle arms'.
'England' was the first track which I heard from this album. It's the reason I watched them at Glastonbury, but at no point was I expecting to come away from that afternoon set a converted fan. As it is, I rushed out to purchase the limited purple double-vinyl set and have since purchased it also on CD for the car.
The first time I listened to it, I still wasn't sure; the first 4 or 5 songs didn't grab me like I thought they would but then 'Bloodbuzz Ohio' kicks in and it all seems to start making sense. Tracks 7 to 10 are incredible. I still love 'England', with the almost-perfect line 'You must be somewhere in London, you must be loving your life in the rain'. 'Lemonworld' isn't a songtitle which would have you running for the 'play' button, but believe me when I tell you that it's an amazing track. It's the kind of song which makes me want to fly to America, hire a convertible and drive across from Florida to California, listening to this song on the CD player. 'Conversation 16' is similarly stunning - I simply love the line "Now we'll leave the silver city 'cause all the silver girls gave us black dreams".
If this album doesn't appear in countless "albums of the year" at the end of 2010, then something's seriously wrong. 2010 has surprised (and surpassed) my expectations. After serious disappointment earlier in the year from the likes of Ellie Goulding's and Marina & The Diamonds' albums, 2010 has seen some seriously good releases - the Domino State's debut album 'Uneasy Lies The Crown', Serena-Maneesh's 'Abyss In B Minor', Exit Calm's eponymous debut - and now this.
This album is a fantastic listen. Definitely Recommended.
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List Price: £13.99
Our Price: £5.99
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