Album Of The Week: The Temper Trap - Conditions

As I have described in my previous two posts there are some classic remastered albums released this week but what about the new stuff?! My pick of the new releases this week is 'Conditions', the highly anticipated debut album from Australian band The Temper Trap.

Recorded between Melbourne and London and produced by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Editors, Kasabian) this album definately has a British rock influence to it. Having relocated to London in May they have made a number of festival appearances this summer including Glastonbury, The Great Escape and Love Box and are already gathering a good following here.

I am not going to give you an in depth track by track analysis or anything! I haven't listened to it enough yet to do that and I think it works better if you find out for yourself! From what I have heard so far having been listening to it on repeat this afternoon I can definately say that it is worth listening to. The production is excellent and musically it is incredibly accessible. Throughout the album they manage to create an atmospheric sound set off perfectly by the excellent soulful vocals of lead singer Dougie Mandagi.

I wouldn't say this album is going to be my album of the year of even up there. The sound is very much like a lot of other bands out there at the moment but I would say this does stand out from the crowd. Standout track for me was opener "Love Lost" showing off some impressive falsetto from Mandagi and a rousing driven chorus.

If you are a fan of the likes of Bloc Party, Kings of Leon, Fleet Foxes, Glasvegas etc then I would definately recomment this to you. Even if you are not a fan of any of these give it a listen!! Let me know your opinions on it both good, bad and indifferent be great to hear what you have to say! It is available on Spotify and if you don't have Spotify yet where have you been! Here is the link http://open.spotify.com/album/7cBGSjfw2xMosazpbA0tgp

P.S. If you know of any albums out this week that you think I need to hear let me know and I will gladly have a listen

Neil (Who?!) Young

I have a confession to make! I know very little about Neil Young the musician and would struggle to name you more than two of his songs! To me growing up as a Bournemouth football fan Neil Young was always our dependable right-back and I have no idea if he could sing!

My ignorance is not intentional, I have not gone out of my to avoid hearing about him, I have just never really been introduced!

The first I heard of Neil Young of the musical variety was when Kurt Cobain quoted a Neil Young song in his suicide note. As a big Nirvana fan you might expect this would inspire me to check out his music but I never did! I have since heard people mentioning him and have come to understand more of his significance as an artist. Having been on the scene since the 60's and been involved in many different bands and projects as well as his solo work he is clearly a talent that I feel I should learn more about! And with him having headlined Glastonbury this year I'm sure I won't be the only one!

To aid my education this week sees the release of re-mastered editions of four of Neil Young's solo albums ('Neil Young', 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere', 'After The Goldrush' and 'Harvest'). I won't pretend to know anything about these albums although I hear 'Harvest' is quite a significant one! Unfortunately the re-mastered versions are not on Spotify but the originals are and they are all pretty cheap on Amazon if you do want to buy them.

If any of you out there have any recommendations for Neil Young albums/songs I need to hear let me know! Also if you, like me, are only just discovering him let me know how your doing! Maybe I will keep you posted on how my education goes!

The Stone Roses: 20th Anniversary

I was only 5 when, in 1989, The Stone Roses released a debut album that would leave an indelible mark on the UK rock scene. At that age I can't say I was really able to appreciate the finer points or the significance of the album. I didn't hear about this must hear album until years later when Britpop was exploding on the scene and everyone was citing The Stone Roses as an influence.

This week sees another re-release of the album to mark the 20th anniversary of it's release having also released a 10th anniversary edition in 1999. This time round you have three options depending on how much you want to spend! The entry level (£8.68 amazon) is The Special Edition which is a remastered version of the album plus the full length version of Fool's Gold. The mid-range Legacy Edition (£24.98 amazon) adds The Lost Demos album and a DVD live from Blackpool. Then for those to whom money is no object there is The Collectors Edition. This contains 3 CDs, 3 LPs, 1 DVD, 2GB USB, 1 book and 6 art prints!

I have to say this has never been, and I'm pretty sure will never be one of my favourite albums. I enjoy listening to it and I understand how important an album it was, I just find myself preferring the stuff it influenced! When you look at British rock music through the 90's so much of it can be traced back to a few pioneering bands such as The Smiths and Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses would definately be counted among these. The artwork as well has become iconic with lead guitarist John Squire creating a Jackson Pollock influenced cover that is instantly recognisable.

20 years on I am sure there are many people too young to know about The Stone Roses and to know about this album. To those I would say this is an important piece of British music history and an essential listen. Tracks like "I Am The Ressurection", "I Wanna Be Adored" and "She Bangs The Drums" are timeless classics and need to be heard at least once.

If you already own the album then I would say, unless you are a die-hard Stone Roses fan, it is not really worth buying this 20th anniversary edition. If you want to check it out for yourself then you can listen to the three discs of the Legacy Edition on Spotify here http://open.spotify.com/album/2hPgN0wHJ3efQg3DwaLIvW

Welcome to my blog!

So I decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon. A little bit late to the party I know but better late than never I guess! I'm aiming to try and blog regularly on the latest releases in the music world, give my thoughts on my favourite music coming out and maybe reminisce on occasion about some old classics. Don't know if anyone will actually read this but I will enjoy writing and so I hope if you do, you also will enjoy reading it!!

Music Is My Radar