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24 What did Santa say to Mrs. Claus when he looked out the window Looks like “rain”, “Dear”! December Issue 2010 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk Music For true Take That fans this album could be quite the divider. The diehard followers still may have not forgiven Robbie Williams for his swift departure in the mid-nineties, which left the pop world distraught. Yet it seems others cannot wait to see Robbie back. After the “In essence it is the culmination of 20 years of first class pop albums” serious, soulsearching TV d o c u m e n t a r y, ‘Look Back, Don’t Stare’, you can see the reformed five are trying hard to impress. After all this is the pinnacle. It is what people have waited 15 years for; the original five-piece reunited. After the number one comeback album ‘Beautiful World’ in 2005 it seems “Progress” is just as good. The album opens with ‘The Flood’ the single that didn’t quite make it to the number one slot yet it is what Take That do best, unadulterated pop. With the opening lines sung by Robbie you seem to notice his voice is purposely ever present throughout the album and it’s definitely not a bad thing. You also start to realise why you loved Take That back in the nineties. Even if you were only 5 or 6, and it was your mum or auntie who was obsessed with Gary Barlow (and sadly probably still are) Perhaps this is why they are so popular. Their ‘Progress’ tour due next summer sold over 1 million tickets in one day, showing that they have the ability to enamour more than just the housewives of this country. Back to the album and after the well crafted opening track Mark Owen’s voice is instantly recognised at the beginning of “SOS”, with what I think is the catchiest song on the album. It’s the type of song you’d crank up in the car and have a good sing to. Another stand out track is ‘Kidz’ with a memorable base line and almost political message, with lyrics such as ‘say nothing, deny everything’, quite unsuspected from the golden boys of pop. It’ll have you tapping your feet and daydreaming about Mark again... swoon. Is there an epic, a ‘Never Forget’ among this album After all you cannot deny this album will be judged against previous work. In essence it is the culmination of 20 years of first class pop albums, both as Take That and Robbie’s own career which we all know made him ‘rich beyond his wildest dreams.’ There is a hint at what they boys do best at the end of the album. In ‘Eight Letters’, Barlow’s dulcet tones produce a tone fit for a first dance, just like their classic ‘A Million Love Songs’. Yet is seems not even their new material can quite measure up to such publically revered songs. When hearing Robbie was returning it would be easy to think perhaps was just one more earner for the already multi millionaires, an album, a tour and it will all be put to rest. Yet the album leaves you yearning for more, realising why you loved the band so much in the first place. If you’re buying ‘Progress’ as a present for your mum for Christmas or for your own pleasure (guilty or not!) you’re in for a treat. They’ve pulled off this comeback even better than the first. Alexandra Ross BOB DYLAN: LOVE AND THEFT Bob Dylan (real name Robert Zimmermann) certainly has had a vibrant and varied life down on music road. First, he was “the apple-cheeked kid in the Huck Finn cap” and in 1962, critics labelled him “a lung cancer victim singing Woody Gutherie”. In 1992, the idea first emerged that his lyrics are, in fact, “as good as Keats”. On the sombre day the world stood still, September 11th, 2001, Bob Dylan released his 31st studio album, Love and Theft. “Country” is the single word that best describes this album. I hesitate to use the word “folk”, since the man himself once said “Folk music is a word I can’t use…I think of all this as traditional music.” Love and Theft is a magical tour throughout what Uncut magazine calls “most of the great styles of 20th-century American music”. As soon as the album was released, the aforementioned music magazine was already calling Floater (track six), High Water (track seven) and Po’ Boy (track ten), a poignant song about one man’s very hard life, “classics”. This album is rich in traditional American country blues techniques and blues-style finger-picking. Cry a while (track eleven) uses a recurring time-signature change to assert the album’s American folk, I mean traditional identity. On the second track, Mississippi, Dylan paints a picture of the place and his emotions in words, using a catchy hook and blues chords on a piano. This song is blues meets folk meets nature poetry. The line “I wanna look at you ‘til my eyes go blind” reminds us that he truly is a poet with a guitar. On this album, there is a real sense of reflections by someone getting older. There are several nostalgic references to memories and times past. This is a far cry from his revolutionary “The times, they are a-changin’” era or when he shocked everyone by trading in his acoustic for an electric guitar, breathtaking and full of the energy fueled by “the perpetual motion of his hands and feet”. Often, the songs on Love and theft are bittersweet, bleak and misanthropic. Lonesome Day Blues (track five) is Bob Dylan’s own style of a rant in a song. It has some solemn and sobering lines like “How many of his pals did they kill today” and “I wish my mother was still alive.” Its pessimistic viewpoint places it in the vein of Everything is Broken but its upbeat melody coupled with the misery it describes renders it more comparable to Maggie’s Farm. The last track, Sugar Baby, is a Dylan-esque “I don’t need you” song, à la Like a Rolling Stone. Written about a woman who broke his heart, it remains nostalgic despite the sadness. This is demonstrated by the lines “You went years with me, you may as well keep going now” and “some memories you can live with and others you can’t”. Love and Theft: Listen and Love. Rosie MacLeod “On this album, there is a real sense of reflection by someone getting older RIHANNA- LOUD It’s been less than a year since ‘Rated R’ was premiered to the world, and whilst it wasn’t exactly a flop, the success of the dark and moody album paled in comparison to the upbeat party smash that was ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’. So it’s no surprise that we see Rihanna return to the latter form with her new album ‘Loud’. An impressive start to the album comes courtesy of the sexually charged ‘S&M,’ currently rumoured to be the third single, the track’s lyrical content is just as provocative as the title as she sings about how “chains and whips” excite her. From experience Rihanna knows how to do catchy and this is right up there with her best, it’s a sure fire hit. An already firm hit from the album is the second track ‘What’s My Name’ The second single from Loud managed to hit number one in America before the first single ‘Only Girl in the World’ did, enlisting the help of the now successful Drake to tell us how desirable she is, the track sees both artists compliment and flow perfectly with each other. Keeping with the party attitude is ‘Cheers (Drink To That)”, it’s hard to believe that a song can sample Avril Lavigne’s ‘I’m With You’, it’s even harder to believe that such a thing would work but this does. Along with the brilliant ‘Man Down’ (I’ll come to that later), it’s my personal favourite from the album, mainly due to the impressive production and it’s get your drink on attitude. Whilst we’re on dancefloor hits, you will all by now be aware of the David Guetta produced and worldwide smash “Only Girl in the World”, complete with impressive vocal range and an energizing dance track, it’s been tearing up the clubs far and wide. Rihanna isn’t just all about the dancefloor though, she can hold her own when it comes to ballads. ‘Complicated’ and ‘Fading’ are the examples here on ‘Loud”, the first being the better of the two, Rihanna gets her frustration out in style and again, her vocals impress. ‘Fading’ isn’t as catchy or impressive but still manages to get the job done. The same sadly can’t be said for ‘Skin’, keeping with the sexually charged themed it doesn’t quite hit the mark as the mishmash of the guitar clashes with her voice. And whilst we’re disappointed, ‘Love The Way You Lie’ would be perfect would it not be for Eminem shouting at me. However, all is not lost as we encounter ‘Man Down’ and ‘Raining Men’. The first sees Rihanna head back to her Barbadian roots that we first saw on ‘Music of the Sun’ and ‘A Girl Like Me’. In the track she compares the ending of a relationship to shooting the man she was involved with. Her delivery and the Reggae inspiration has resulted in me having this on repeat for quite a long time, it’s definitely up there in my top Rihanna tracks. ‘Raining Men’ features the freshest new female urban artist Nicki Minaj and we see Rihanna adopt Nicki’s unique delivery style meaning it’s one of the most unique tracks on ‘Loud’. I think it’ll be hard for Rihanna to ever beat the success and quality that was ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’, but don’t dismiss ‘Loud’. It’s a solid album with just a few flaws. It’s good to see her going back to her roots from even before ‘GGGB’, and whilst I enjoyed ‘Rated R’, I’ve always preferred a happy Rihanna and ‘Loud’ is just that. Aaron Wiles
December Issue 2010 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk Music 25 Rihanna- Only Girl in the World: The chorus is bigger than Jupiter, and fires Rihanna back to the forefront of the scene. Blood Red Shoes- Light it Up: Is there any justice in the world If this brilliant record propels the wonderful Blood Red Shoes into the mainstream, then yes there is. Ellie Goulding- Your song I always say that covers never live up to the quality of the original track, but in this case I take it back. Beautiful song. Mike Posner- Cooler Than Me: An embarrassment to rival your Dad ‘rocking around the Christmas tree’. The X Factor Finalists 2010- Heroes: *shudder*. Raising money for the British Legion Fair enough. Doing it by tarnishing one of the great British artists finest records makes me feel bloodlust towards Mr Cowell. Bruno Mars- Just the way you are Am I the only one who thinks this song is too cheesy for words It makes me want to shake off the cringe. Eww! Featured Artist introducing you to bands that are slightly off the radar. NINE BLACK ALPS Imagine if Nirvana came from Manchester. In a sentence, you have Nine Black Alps. Snarling their way through their first album, ‘Everything Is’ back in 2004, releasing the softer (yet equally stellar) ‘Love/Hate’ in 2007, and recording their third album ‘Locked Out From the Inside’ at local Bryn Derwen studios in Bethesda, this is a band that don’t do things by halves. Swaggering their way through distortion laden rock songs and lovely little ballads, Nine Black Alps are a criminally under-rated. For fans of: ‘Nirvana’ ‘The Sunshine Underground’ Recommended tracks: ‘Not Everyone’, ‘Happiness and Satisfaction’, ‘Buy Nothing’ Classic Album brilliant records your life will be completed by. Symptomatic of the failing friendship between frontmen Pete Doherty and Carl Barat, this rough, ragged, shambolic album was the siren sound of the band that revolutionised British indie. Despite the album’s musical mistakes (the band recorded their albums live), the it showcases two musicians in the ultimate love-hate relationship (best exemplified in ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’), and it’s compelling listening. From the incredible ‘Music When the Lights Go Out’, to the ramshackle brilliance of ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’, this album is necessary in every way. Best tracks: ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, ‘What Became of the Likely Lads’ SLOW CLUB It’s been almost a year since Sheffield two-piece Slow Club have been able to return to their roots. The band, who cite their main inspiration as Neil Young with a mixture of anything and everything they listen to, have spent time touring worldwide over the last year;“New Zealand was definitely our favourite.” Between promoting the release of their first album, ‘Yeah So’, and beginning work on their second it’s been a hectic eighteen months for both Charles and Rebecca. “Its well overdue” they say of their return to Sheffield. After taking time out from working on their new album to tour with well known Scottish singer KT Tunstall returning to Sheffield, and a small venue like the Leadmill, was bound to be different. While the KT Tunstall tour was undoubtedly a great experience for the pair, Charles admits it was not only “fun” but “weird” too. “We do prefer the little shows” and it’s easy to understand why when they have such a devoted fanbase gathered in Sheffield’s Leadmill ready for their homecoming show. To go from practicing in Charles’ parents’ garage with chairs, bottles and saucepans over four years ago to return to their hometown and play in front of both friends and family they say is “brill!” Known for their unique and often eccentric style and their guest musicians Slow Club are surely used to being quizzed about whether or not they have plans to increase their current guitar and drums lineup. “We have two friends with us tonight [at the Sheffield show] on three songs but there’s nothing permanent.” With a sold out festive show in London and work on their next album set to continue there’s sure to be a bright future ahead for the band. “I’d like to play myself in a movie one day” jokes Charles while Rebecca sees herself “eating food and being married to a footballer with lots of dogs”. Hopefully that doesn’t mean they are going to give up on their music anytime soon though for if the last couple of years are anything to go by Slow Club have got a lot more up their sleeves. LJ Taylor Debut Album ‘Yeah So’ out now on Moshi Moshi Records. www.myspace.com/slowclub www.facebook.com/slowclub playlist of the month link: http://tiny.cc/8ntra This lovely little indie playlist from ‘lexyr’ is perfect for relaxing on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Flitting between bands like Bombay Bicycle Club and Two Door Cinema Club, you’ll love this playlist if all things indie are for you! Not every track was to my personal taste, but on the whole the playlist was well picked, and the right tracks were chosen from each artist. ‘lexyr’, or Alexandra Ross to call her by her real name, is an English Literature student from Wrexham, and her favourite band are the Arctic Monkeys. Editor’s Rating: 8/10
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