Talented tootsies, gals, lassies and other such sweet things…tracks from Beach House, Marina, Agnes Obel, Paloma Faith, Amy MacDonald and Angus & Julia Stone

Looking for an apt title to headline a piece about a collection of female singer-songwriters, I happened upon the following synonyms for the word ‘female’: babe, bimbo, dame, dish, doll, floozy, moll and skirt. I just didn’t feel quite right describing such talented and respectable artists as Paloma Faith and Julia Stone as ‘skirts’, so I opted for the slightly less Dickensian and more Gaelic ‘lassie’ and ‘tootsie’…a reference which in no way implies any similarities to the work or wardrobe of Dustin Hoffman. Just so that we’re clear.

Beach House is a dream pop duo consisting of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally. Legrand hails from France and Scally from Baltimore, US. The duo’s fourth studio album, ‘Bloom’ was released in May 2012 to critical acclaim, following 2010’s ‘Teen Dream’ which has been described as one of the best albums of its year. I have highlighted new album track ‘Lazuli’ below.

 

Marina And The Diamonds released the follow-up to debut album ‘The Family Jewels’ a couple of weeks ago; ‘Electra Heart.’ ‘Power & Control’ is the second track to be released from the record, which is performing brilliantly in the UK Album Chart. To be fair, there isn’t one weak track to be heard on the album, so it deserved to do well. This is probably my favourite record of the year so far.

 

I am loving the new high-gloss, high-drama TV series Revenge on E4. I’m not usually a fan of such things (90210, One Tree Hill, The O.C.) as they pretty much bleed in to each other plot-wise. You could accidentally sit on the remote as you reach for your Chipsticks, switch over half-way through and not realise you had actually scooted over the short coastal distance from Beverly Hills to Newport Beach and the cast had all aged about 20 years. Revenge however has the edge…maybe that’s because it’s set on the East Coast? It has a great cast, an addictive plot sequence and very importantly for me, an exciting musical soundtrack.

Agnes Obel‘s track, ‘Avenue’, featured on the pilot episode of Revenge and had a big impact. The track is taken from the Danish singer-songwriter’s debut album ‘Philharmonics’ which was released in September, 2010. Album track ‘Riverside’ has also featured on the hit series; Obel is obviously a personal favourite of the music supervisor.

 

Paloma Faith released her second album ‘Fall To Grace’ last week; an album which was preceded by the single ‘Picking Up the Pieces.’ The track is Faith’s highest charting single to date. I also really like ‘Just Be’ which Faith performed on Later…with Jools Holland recently. It is surprising and slightly irksome to her followers that Faith hasn’t yet enjoyed the same level of notoriety as some of her peers, particularly Stateside, but I think that this is all set to change with this album.

 

Amy MacDonald released her third studio album today (June 11th, 2012), ‘Life In A Beautiful Light.’ The album has already garnered several positive comments from the music press and Perez Hilton no less. The album follows in much the same vein as ‘This Is The Life’ and ‘A Curious Thing’, but possesses perhaps a more rose-tinted lyrical glow. MacDonald is no less fiesty in her subject matter, but everything certainly seems to be blooming in her world. Good for her.

 

Angus and Julia Stone for those who are not in the know, are a brother-sister folk duo from Sydney, Australia. They formed the band in 2005 and have since gone on to release two studio albums, the most recent of which was ‘Down The Way’ in 2010. I re-discovered ‘Hold On’ whilst watching Revenge last week. Angus and Julia are both working on solo projects at the moment, so I don’t think that we can expect any new music anytime soon.

 

www.beachhousebaltimore.com / www.marinaandthediamonds.com / www.agnesobel.com / www.palomafaith.com / www.amymacdonald.co.uk / www.angusandjuliastone.com

shelleyhanveywriter 🙂

My new music picks of the week: Josephine, Amy MacDonald, The Temper Trap and School of Seven Bells

Josephine is a Manchester-based singer-songwriter, with a strong regional and celebrity following; Guy Garvey (Elbow) has named her as one of his top tips for future success. Josephine’s sound has been described as soulful and eclectic, with her single ‘A Freak A’ being a perfect representation of the genre. Speaking about the addictive track, she has said that:

(‘A Freak A’) is a celebration really, of understanding what you are and holding on to it…‘A Freak A’ is a way of saying we are all capable and allowed to be more than one thing.

Josephine is performing at Manchester’s first Lady Rock Festival on Saturday 26th May 2012 at the Rugby Club in Cheadle. The festival aims to ‘bring a bit of girl power back to the 21st century’ and will feature music, comedy and performance/participatory art across the site’s numerous, themed areas. Each and every one of the acts will be female (or female fronted). For more information and to buy tickets to the festival, please visit www.ladyrockfestival.com.

 

Amy MacDonald has announced details of her third album via her official website this week. The album, ‘Life In A Beautiful Light’ will be released on June 11th, 2012 and the first single will be ‘Slow it Down.’ MacDonald’s second, million-selling album, ‘A Curious Thing’ (2010) spawned five hit singles including ‘This Pretty Face’ and ‘Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over.’ MacDonald has been busy writing material for her third album over the past two years and if this new track is any indication, Amy fans are in for a real treat come summer.

 

The Temper Trap will release their second, self-titled album on May 21st, 2012 (UK), with the first single to be released being announced as ‘Need Your Love.’ The album will be released on May 18th, 2012 in Australia/NZ/Germany and June 5th, 2012 in the US/Canada. After enjoying an Easter weekend of Noriyuki “Pat” Morita’s finest work, I am simply delighted that the band has decided to take inspiration from The Karate Kid films for their latest music video. The premise of the video being; what would have happened had Johnny been taken under Mr Miyagi’s wing. “Sacrilege!”, I hear you yell; I concur, yet I greatly enjoyed the musical morbid curiosity.

 

On the strength of hearing the sublime synth sounds of ‘Lafaye’, I recently purchased School of Seven Bells’ latest album, ‘Ghostory‘. I can’t recommend the record enough. Every track is worthy of a single release and their sound is quite unlike anything that’s been doing the rounds over the past few years. Their sound thrills and throws you in equal measure; very much an assault on the senses and an adventure ride of an album. I have a couple of favourite tracks, one of those being, ‘Scavenger’. The band has announced a couple of UK dates over the summer and I am keeping my fingers crossed for one in the North West region. I include this track here as my personal recommendation for a potential hit single on these shores.

 

www.myspace.com/thisisjosephine / www.amymacdonald.co.uk / www.sviib.com / www.thetempertrap.com

shelleyhanveywriter 🙂

Scottish sass from the elliptic-eyed entertainer: album review of Amy Macdonald’s ‘A Curious Thing’

Musically speaking, the only thing I love more than discovering a new artist or band, is discovering an already established artist or band, that I’ve heard some  tracks by but never that one glass slipper of a song that made me sit up and pay attention. I did just that a few weeks ago when I first heard ‘This Pretty Face’ by Amy Macdonald and now I’m very happy to report, that I’m a fully fledged Macdonald fan…though I just need to get mini-me Tracy Barlow out of my head when I pronounce her name out loud.

Amy Macdonald is a 23-year-old singer songwriter from Dunbartonshire, Scotland; producing soft rock and pop tracks as if her mind were a veritable conveyor belt of creativity and musical craftsmanship. Her voice, unsurprisingly and perhaps fittingly in this autotuned age, is her USP; coming somewhere between Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries and a deeper-toned, rock-edged Sharleen Spiteri. The guitar is Macdonald’s weapon of choice and she uses it with skill and finesse, as she attacks her tracks with passion and prose, seldom found in such a young performer.

You might be familiar with Macdonald’s first album and most successful single of the same name, ‘This Is the Life’, released in 2007, with the album selling 3 million copies  to date. She has since achieved considerable success in Europe and released her second album ‘A Curious Thing’ in March, 2010. This record has more soft, almost stadium rock leanings than the former; as Macdonald recounts past friendships, past acquaintances and the past perfect. She talks about staying true to herself, about looking beyond the superficial and ponders where her music will take her in ten years time; understandable musings at the sophomore stage you might say, but I think that there is more to this Scottish sensation than an easy analogy; she appears to be a genuine and down to earth sort, wanting only to write music and lyrics which people enjoy and preferring to shun the celebrity parties and the high gloss temptations. It was this likeable demeanour, as well as the aforementioned ‘This Pretty Face’ track, which brought me to Macdonald’s door and I’ve not stopped knocking just yet.

Kicking off the twelve-strong set with the first release from the album, ‘Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over’, Macdonald gives a rich and empowering soft rock vocal performance, she sounds in control and spirited as she states that (it) ‘isn’t over till the song is sung’; see previous comment on the Scottish sass. I’ve always been particularly struck by Macdonald’s vocal tone, sounding more Irish in origin I think, than her Scottish roots. Perhaps I am just hearing the unmistakable Celtic influences coming through. Either way, it produces a richness and warmth to her contralto range which I think suits the soft rock-pop genre perfectly. Next up is second single ‘Spark’ which is probably my favourite off the album. With its strong guitar hooks and theme of reinvention, the track can’t help but invigorate the listener as Macdonald likens herself to ‘an astronaut in the sky/the light in the dark/the match, the spark’; she is speaking about feeling buoyant, brand new and ready for whatever comes her way. Certainly no ‘O’ by Damian Rice, I think you’ll agree.

‘No Roots’ gives the first opportunity to kick back and bathe in a soft rock ballad, but don’t be fooled as after just a few bars Macdonald builds up to a dreamy acoustic guitar sequence, resulting in yet more classic electric-stringed rock sounds. You could liken the instrumentation on this track to the seasons of the heart or the stages of a common relationship; starting slow and steady with maximum control, building in intensity and passion, taking in various sights and sounds as memories are created and then finally establishing the very roots that she said were lacking in the track’s title. ‘Love Love’ comes next which was the fourth single release from the record. This is an upbeat rock-pop track which caused me to have a particularly random musical connection. With its catchy hook, addictive nature and almost guilty-pleasured fun quality, this track put me in mind of Status Quo. Yes, as I say, random. I think in truth this is a mere recollection of many wonderful weekend nights dancing to ‘Rocking All Over The World’ with my late Nan. My older brother fancied himself to be a DJ at the age of 8 or 9 and had the decks, the microphone, the whole shebang. Nan would babysit us two and my other older brother and our night would consist of watching James Bond films, eating Stix crisps and Skippy bars and then getting down to the grooves of The Quo. Whenever I remember such times I feel that lovely pull of nostalgia and a sense of being really happy in that moment. I could never thank Francis Rossi enough…but back to the artist in question; ‘Love Love’ evokes similar connotations for me, as Macdonald ponders how to express her feelings to that special someone and why her idealised version of romantic events never come true…all against a bouncy electric-dreamed backdrop.

‘An Ordinary Life’ was written after Macdonald stumbled in to a showbiz party in Glasgow, hosted by fellow Scot Gerard Butler. Macdonald recalls seeing men and women fawn over the Hollywood A lister and wondered what his life was like behind the scenes, the cameras and out of the media glare; ‘what makes you happy, what makes you sad.’ Again, Macdonald states that she doesn’t care about the camera or the lights and almost seems to feel sorry for him and his existance…I’m with her on one score, I feel sorry for his dialect coach who has surely been run out of town after the pathetic excuse for an Irish accent he displayed in feature film ‘PS, I Love You.’ Come to think of it, I can’t recall an accent he actually does well, except perhaps his own, and even then I’m a little suspicious. ‘My Only One’ is a tender acoustic ballad dedicated to someone in the spotlight, who has the whole world looking at them and Macdonald is urging them to stand tall and keep true to themselves; perhaps her footballer fiancée? ‘What Happiness Means To Me’ is another poignant number, said to refer to their relationship and her love of those moments of stillness which can provoke such powerful and vivid memories. The track builds with orchestral accompaniment and would be the perfect soundtrack for a rousing and feel good feature film.

Whilst ‘This Pretty Face’ takes a literal pop at celebrity culture and superficiality, ‘Troubled Soul’ delivers a more delicate message. The track opens with vast electric strings, sounding not dissimilar to U2, as Macdonald takes the listener on a journey through expansive landscapes of peace and emotion, waiting for her ‘troubled soul’ to realise that her smile and eyes will be sticking around, so maybe they should too.

I think this is a brilliant second album, perhaps even more impressive than the first and I think that it deserves just such credit. I can only hope that the world Macdonald dreams of; one where people look beyond the surface and never let themselves forget where they came from, will one day become a reality.

www.amymacdonald.co.uk

www.myspace.com/amymacdonald