Growing up can be a long process, but it takes The Maccabees [approx] 53 minutes to tell you how they done it. From the start to end, a story is unfolded by audio, of childhood and the cycle of life. The band have brought in many new elements of electronic styles rather than focusing on their regular power ballad method. This time, all five members have had made something of the tracks, sending e-mails back and forth of update parts of songs. Methods like this could of turned out horribly wrong, albeit the price has payed off. The Maccabees have reached new highs and have totally proved to the nation they are a very important band in Britain.

The Brighton five-pieces’ new sounds hit you from off, as ‘Child’ delicately glides with sounds of liquid bass and melancholy guitar. Orlando chimes his magical vocals around your eardrums, like a church choir, the guitars from Felix and Hugo ripple and cut just at the right moments to create mass intensity and head-banging. ‘Feel To Follow’ really is the album release, cutting it loose from the beginning. Orlando’s watercolour voice breaks out to the lyric “How will I ever dare to breath“ and shoots you straight into a soaring oblivion of indie-crash-bang-and-wallop. ‘Forever I’ve Know’ begins heavy and moodier, until Orlando cries “Couldn’t you just lie/I’m a child to your voice and I know nothing stays forever“ and once again rockets into the abyss of crazy riffs and drumbeats.

‘Pelican’ beats beautifully with Orlando’s nostalgic lyric writing re-appearing “before you know it pushing up the daisies” which comes after soft, half way point ‘Heave’. ‘Slowly One’ rolls gently like a lullaby, until you’re zoomed into another crazy riff whilst it echoes with humming and ”laaaaaa la la laaaaaa”. ‘Grew Up At Midnight’ closes the album with a yearning affection of the past “we were only kids then“, re-iterating Orlando’s audio story of maturing.

‘Given To The Wild’ holds back just enough to make sure it’s not to overdone, or to subtle. It’s an album that creates an adventure as you listen all the way through, entices your full attention to a truly phenomenal record from a quintet of amazing talents and really pulls on your heart-strings of your childhood memories.

Buy your copy from iTunes here.

Declan x

March Review:

When you’ve fallen in love with a debut album of such pure class, you know that you have probably met the band that you really enjoy and will love forever. ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?‘ is just pure genius. Just a one simple sentence that sums up their bold first step.

The Vaccines, are evidently this seasons fast-rising inheritors of post-punk guitar pop. The London four-peice unfortunately though, did walk into the trap of being this year’s musical #1 enemy, with some critics calling them ‘shabby’ and even remarking that their ‘lyrics are more dull than watching paint dry’. I can’t understand why though, I mean they have brought back the mentally fast guitar tunes and the croaky vocals which bumps along vigorously with the heavy-sounding drums that we all know and have come to love. The upbeat and accelerated songs like ‘Wreckin Bar (Ra Ra Ra)’, ‘If You Wanna’ and ‘Nørgard’ provoke you to listen on, right to the end, for the full indulgence of indie guitar rock that they can play so well with such unmistakable flair and passion.

Not only have they done this with great effect, but they have also showed that their just as good live, as they are on CD. Aswell as, such raw talent and ability to write and sing songs about every day happenings like, ‘A Lack Of Understanding’ and ‘Post Break-Up Sex’, proving to the critics that they should have come higher than third in the BBC Sound Of 2011 Poll. The biggest thing that impresses me though, is the change of tempo and dynamics between certain songs, like ’Wetsuit’ with it’s deep, lethargic guitar motion to, ’Nørgard’s' fresh, clappy, toe-tapping masterpiece.

The only improvements I can suggest for them is to ignore all of the godawful criticism and carry on making the remarkable music that came out of their debut record.

To end, I really think this album does prove that there is still a place for crashy drums, guitar spilling melodies and shallow vocals. Which is good, because I’ve missed it.

Album of 2011: The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines

Declan x

Vol. 1

You Ain’t Alone – Alabama Shakes

212 – Azealia Banks feat. Lazy Jay

Old Pine – Ben Howard

Days of Youth – Bos Angeles

On the Run – Cerebral Ballzy

You’re Mine – Devin

Changing Times – Iwan Rheon

Bam Bam – King Charles

Devil’s Work – Miike Snow

I Wish – Skee-Lo

these have been 10 songs that I have been buzzing round my head over the last couple of weeks!

Declan x

‘Just For The Waste’ is the opening track, a real treat in fact, blasting out ‘ooooooohhhhoooooooohhhhh‘ it has a true first track feel to it, encouraging you to listen through and enjoy every single last bit. Single ‘Wonderful World’ has gone down wonderfully with Fables fans and beyond, first played by the four of them on the Balcony TV YouTube channel, last year it has developed into a fresh folk package of creativity and talent. ‘Boom Boom Boom Boom’ is one of many songs on the debut which has the duo of electric and acoustic guitar that works gloriously throughout the song, slowing and stopping, it makes you vigorously sing-along and jive across the room. ‘Voodoo Queen’ is my favourite, opening with possibly one of the best guitar riffs I have heard in a long while, it just gets better and better as it bounces to bellowing choruses and haults to build-up the climax. ‘You Go Your Way’ is 2 minutes of acoustic genius, sounding like something Paolo Nutini would have wrote, it flows nicely into another beautiful guitar riff that starts ‘The Inventor’, which crashes and bangs from start to finish, ending with lovely guitar and vocal wizardry. ‘The People’s Song’ opens like a Spanish siesta anthem played in late July, it has big sounds and epic band vocals, growing in size, it ends with ‘aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh‘ very Mumford-like, loving it! ‘Learned Foe’ is another one of those electric/acoustic partnership that works so well, ‘Kicking Stones’ rubs hands with Bombay Bicycle Club, in the matter of starting slow and gradually picking up speed, this one feels and sounds much more indie. Title track ‘In This Town’ is a Fables ballad, a big shouting melody of drum beats and guitar chords. Final song ‘Soul By The Side Of The Road’, fades out a stunning debut, with its serene sound and ringing vocals, it closes Fables’ debut record blissfully.

Felix Fables have shown true talent on this album, not missing a thing on the 11-song tracklist, hopefully soon something will come about for them, the four-piece really deserve it for all their hard work and faith over the last [nearly] 3 years.

Buy your copy from iTunes here.

Declan x

‘Everybody’s On The Run’ opens the record, a very regular kind of Noel, catchy lyrics and brilliant instrument decisions. ‘Dream On’ follows suit, having a much more of an Oasis feel though, it rocks out from start to end. ‘The Death Of You And Me’ begins with a beautiful echo of a trumpet and a marching band leading into a sing-along bundle of good-ness. ‘AKA…What A Life!’ and ‘AKA…Broken Arrows’ shows he still has the ingredients of a great solo musician. ‘(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach’ is a song about longing to be somewhere else, I’m glad it isn’t with someone else though, as it fits Noel beautifully, with big rock sounds and mental screeching guitar riffs. ‘Stop The Clocks’ is the last song on the record, calming down all the songs and fading out, Noel’s more acoustic side flares up on the ending and shows its Oasis persona.

Clearing up all doubt that this wouldn’t be as good as first thought, Noel showed everyone who is still boss around here, (The Chief) not only catching the grasp of disco sounds like ‘…What A Life!’ or sing-along ballads like ‘…You And Me’, but just truly proving, that he is a legend, overall 9/10.

Buy your copy from iTunes here.

Declan x

Opening with title track ‘Mylo Xyloto’, its 43 seconds of blissful guitar riffs and flowing piano melodies leads nicely into Viva La Vida-like-sounding song ‘Hurst Like Heaven’, upbeat tempo and electric vocals also add a nice little edge to it. ‘Paradise’ has a beautiful intro to it, calm and smooth until it crashes into more classic Coldplay guitar riffs and dreamy synths. ‘Charlie Brown’ is very much a ‘X&Y’ song for sure, with a big and epic personality and a very original Coldplay feel. ‘M.M.I.X’ introduces ‘Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall’ magnificently, with its quiet flow and clear merge with ‘Every Teardrop…’ which is also a clear Coldplay hit, but aren’t most of them? ‘Major Minus’ is quintessentially an amazing acoustic song, louder than normal acoustic tunes, ‘Major…’ has muffled vocals and a few treats of electric guitar riffs. ‘Princess of China’ brings up the debate of whether it’s a pop song as Rihanna is involved, as I couldn’t give a shit about that, I think it’s a great song from the four-piece, something new and something they haven’t done before, original and maybe even classy? Not only does ‘A Hopeful Transmission’ lead into my favorite song [Don't Let It Break Your Heart'] on ‘MX’, it echoes and calls to my inner beast and love for alternative sounds.

Although being amazingly unique and incredible sounds, I’m not really sure yet if they all work together, a few more listens over the next week or so will hopefully help me with my judgement, overall, 7/10.

Buy your copy of the album from iTunes here.

Declan x

‘Two Cousins’ chimes from beginning to end with Rebecca bellowing ”hold on/ to what you got” an important life lesson there I feel. The lovely ‘Where I’m Waking’ hops of the mark with pop-y vibe and Charles impressive guitar skills and Rebecca’s lyrical talent of ”you’ve got the brains/ I got the body”. Rusty from the start ‘Beginners’ crashes through into indie-pop-folk-madness which is my cup of tea. ‘You, Earth Or Ash’ is the more folk side of ‘Paradise’ with Becca’s slower vocals and acoustic guitar works well with lyric ”I’m exhausted”, deliberate irony? ‘Horses Jumping’ sees Charles take the lead on vocal duties, which works well and feels like he is treading on some Elliot Smith turf, nice work mate!

Maturing is a key factor of making a good follow-up, learning from mistakes and bringing in a fresh new sound is the way forward, Rebecca and Charles, I’ll give it an 8/10!

Get your copy of ‘Paradise’ here.

Declan x

‘Let’s Roll Just Like We Used To’ gongs from the off (literally) then entering into a toe-tapping melody and feeling like an 80′s ITV cop drama title credits. ‘Days Are Forgotten’ stuns with tight guitar riffs and ”aaaaaaaahhhhhhh”-ing backing vocals, transcending into pure rock. A slow lovey-dovey track, no way? ‘Goodbye Kiss’ is the slow calm, chiming hymn of summer with Tom recollecting how ”we met with a goodbye kiss/ I broke my wrist”, charming. ‘Velociraptor!’ is a Vaccines-length track of 2:52, flowing through with a drum and bass feel, it just ”blasts off”. ‘I Hear Voices’ more of a space-rock-like song slimes through 4 minutes of delicious synths and drum beats. More of a West Ryder.. tune is ‘Re-wired’ with a double beat chorus and sing-along lyrics. Starting off like a ‘Origin of Symmetry’ track, ‘Switchblade Smiles’ turns into an epic battle of Tom’s ghost like vocals and monster rock-synths.

Creating a great fourth album is a bit tricky, but Kasabian have done it in style, not only that though, the albums have just got better every time, from 2004′s ‘Kasabian’ to ‘Empire’ in 2006 and ‘WRPLA’ back in ’09, finally to ‘Velociraptor!’. More yet to come?, we hope so!

Get your copy of ‘Velociraptor!’ here.

Declan x

‘A Country’s Kind of Dreams’ starts out with tribal-like drums which lead into frontman Iwanusa’s tranquil vocals, finishing off with a high-pitched guitar riff. A bit more upbeat is ‘My Time’, calling out ”it belongs to him”, I wish it belong’d to me, it’s an incredible track. ‘Vampirer’ bellows no vocals but just hits you with an excruciatingly brilliant harmony of drums, guitar and synths, which then ends leading nicely into ‘Old Friend’,the halfway-through-track and it gets even better, with crashing symbols and screeching guitar riffs, the lid is boiling on their amazing-ness about to explode. ‘December 28th’ is the cheery, tap-along-too and whistle song, pacing along with tambourines and all things mighty! Coming onto ‘Thankful’, with an outstanding drum-beat and echoey-soundtrack feel, it packs a punch trust me. Final track ‘My Room’ is my favorite song on the record, opening with a western-like backing track and leading into vocals, ”I don’t like children/ I don’t like people/ to come to my room”, it wasn’t hard to instantly hard to fall in love with!

Creating a great debut record isn’t easy, right from the writing and recording process to proving critics wrong, but these five NY lads have done it and some!

Declan x

‘Book Of Revelation’ begins with Pierce repeating himself with ”let it begin/ oh let it begin”, which is quite ironic as it’s the first song of album, it also wets you appetite for what’s to come. ‘What You Were’ is my favorite song on the follow-up from their debut, crying out his feelings at the time of writing lyrics, I think it’s the best song The Drums have done to date! ‘Money’ bounces along nicely with a few synths from their treasured Analogue Synthesizer and frontman Johnathan’s low-to-high vocals. A classic Drums song is ‘I Don’t Know How To Love’, including the mesmerizing drum beats, guitar riffs and the bellowed vocal ”I don’t know how to love”. ‘I Need A Doctor’ focuses more on synths and drum beats..oh and insanity as Pierce sings ”you know I love ya/ but I want to kill ya”. Not sure if they irony, but The Drums close the album with ‘How It Ended’ with a hyper-backing-track, the trio finish it in style with high synths and soppy lyrics.

The Drums have done what I wanted them too, which was a) kick ass, and b) do a better album than number one (which I thought might not be possible, but actually is). Touring soon, they are going to be a huge band in the coming months!

Get your copy of ‘Portamento’ here.

Declan x