07102014 - Bryan Adams "Tracks of My Years"

This album could have been stickered with the message "sounds exactly as expected". One look at the tracklist, and you can imagine how Adams will perform the various songs. Oh, did I not mention that, apart from one song (two on the deluxe version), these are all covers? Adams does The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Smokey Robinson, Beach Boys and more, and makes everything sound like Bryan Adams. You decide if this is a good thing or not. Let's face it, although "Reckless", an album that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, remains a true melodic rock classic, it's all been a bit boring since then. There's been the big ballads - especially THAT ballad - but Adams has obviously forgotten completely that the kids wanna rock, which is a damn shame. Somebody should remind him, perhaps get him to do some shows where he plays "Reckless" in its entirety, because this is a snoozefest that doesn't do Adams any favours, nor does it improve on any of the originals (as if!). I'm sure it was fun playing these songs,  but apart from the album cover there's little to get anyone else excited. And it's too bad he's not covering Ryan Adams!

06102014 - Wasp Summer "Close As a Slow Dance"

Who is Wasp Summer? This is one I accidentally came across while looking for something COMPLETELY different, and all of a sudden here I am, listening to a song called "Dancehall At Louse Point", which reminds me of Maria McKee. And those who know me know that this is one of the biggest compliments I can give! Apparently Wasp Summer, the singer/guitarist, is an English-born, Australian-raised, Berlin-based songstress and singer/songwriter who, if I read my internet biogs right, formed Wasp Summer, the band, after this album was recorded. There is much lovely alt country here, as well as some proper country, and Neko Case would no doubt approve. On "I'm Going Mining" there are hints of Martha Wainwright, another of my favourite artists, and on "I Hope You'll Mend" I hear traces of Sophie Moleta. However, the artist I hear most in these songs is Wasp Summer. Yes, beneath a surface of easily enjoyed tunes that at first listen might not seem like more than pleasant wanderings in the great field of familiar sounding music there is a voice - both literally and musically - shining through that seems capable of winning you over with an even more distinct identity of its own come the next release. An impressive debut, and one that makes me really look forward not only to the next album, but to the next 5 albums and beyond! Who is Wasp Summer? Maybe your next musical crush!

05102014 - The Fat Dukes of Fuck "You and Your Opinion"

I remember digging these guys' 2012 album "Honey From the Lips of an Angel", a record with some real gems beneath the sick and childish humour. This album is from 2009, and delivers a lot of the same sonic attack. With song titles like "Will There Be Poop?" and "Penetration Celebration" you know it's not gonna be soft hugs and pats on the back, but that would not be what you're looking for from a band called The Fat Dukes of Fuck, would it?. The references are still Melvins, certain Mike Patton related bands and other delightful nasties, with equal parts noise, groove, heaviness and sickness. It's perhaps a tad less accessible than "Honey…", which means very little I guess, but it's also very cool in all its uncompromising ugliness, which means a lot.

04102014 - Duran Duran/Wham! "Rio"/"Make It Big"

I just REALLY wanted to hear "Hungry Like the Wolf", and so I thought I might as well play the entire album. Of course the title track and "Save a Prayer" are also songs I've heard a million times before, and even "The Chaffeur" and "New Religion" are pretty familiar. Great stuff, of course, and so is the rest of the album, even today. Still, knowing over half of the album already felt ever so slightly like cheating, so since I was in that 80's mood, dancing around the living room floor with my 10 month old daughter I put on another album where I know half of the songs by heart, namely "Make It Big" by good old Wham!. Again, there were four smash hits on this one, and those shouldn't need any introduction, but the remaining half are relatively dull, at least compared to the non-single material on the Duran Duran album. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Careless Whisper" are still flawless, though, and so are the other two singles, I guess. All in all a nice trip back to the eighties, but "Rio" is the only album of the two I might want to play in its entirety again.

03102014 - Lewis "L'Amour"

I recently stumbled across the story of Lewis, an artist who released two albums in the eighties and then disappeared. Read the story yourself. This is the first of the two albums, released in 1983, and it's a gorgeous piece of low key singer/songwriter pop, mainly performed with just an acoustic guitar and some tasteful keys backing up Lewis' soft and tender voice. This is one for fans of Neil Young at his most mellow and minimalist, but those who love Antony & the Johnsons or Bonnie "Prince" Billy are also very likely to embrace this thing of frail and quivering beauty.

02102014 - Superchrist "Holy Shit"

One of the best metal bands on the scene these days is Dawnbringer, led by the omnipresent bandleader, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chris "Professor" Black. This is his Motörhead inspired band, and their sixth (and so far last) album, from 2012. Apparently this band is currently on hold while Black juggles 4 or 5 other bands and projects, which is a shame as this is a really cool album with songs that are great and have plenty of identity despite the obvious influences. This might be because the Professor puts his own stamp so clearly upon the material, especially vocally, that nobody could ever accuse Superchrist of being mere copies of anything. And there's also a lot of other influences to be felt, such as Saxon, Thin Lizzy and plenty of NBOBHM, which is nice. The end result being something that is unique and fresh and a homage rather than a rip-off.

01102014 - Prince "ART OFFICIAL AGE"

Yesterday I enthused about Prince's other new album, "PLECTRUMELECTRUM", released with his new band 3RDEYEGIRL. And where that record starts out (and keeps on) rockin', this album begins like a Danish eurodance party - which is not what anybody really needs. It's obviously a good thing that the two different releases don't sound too similar, and for the rest of the album this is Prince showing his funky and soulful side. Not a bad side at all, but this is a road that was paved by Prince himself, and not even he gets a free ride down that highway. He is Prince, and of course he delivers, but he has done this before and a lot better.