New Musick Monday

We all knew last week would be a success, in fact, we made sure of it. Echo sold over 160,000 copies in its first week, to debut at number 1, but that's about half of what her last album sold in the same period. Now, we're not suggesting that the wheels are falling off Leona's career per se, but what she lacks that a lot of other pop stars have is a definite personality. Songs like 'Happy' don't help matters. Speaking of personalities, Will Young's best of crashed in at, er, no. 9, which is hardly the work of a TV talent show alumnus, but we're pretty sure that's all he can hope for now. The Arctic Monkeys single seems to be missing from the top 40, which must be some kind of blip, right?

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Fuzzo by Brigadier Ambrose



OK, confession time, this band are friends of the blog. Not just, "oh yeah, we met them at a party, they seem like nice guys" kind of friends, but proper "we went to school together" type friends. We feel the need to make this clear from the outset given the fact that we love this album so much it's going to seem like nepotism either way. You'll assume we're friends even if we weren't when we say that Fuzzo is one of the best debuts of 2009. Influenced by surrealist British comedy just as much as they are by bands like Blur, Belle & Sebastian and Pavement, they've crafted an album that keeps one eye on the everyday and the other turned skywards. It also features this lyric; "Silences don't really mean a great deal anymore/ One minute for footballers and two minutes for war / Three for terrorist atrocities / Four for the death of Morrissey". Kind of says it all really.

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Rated R by Rihanna



The Fame Monster by Lady GaGa



Two of pop's biggest characters return with albums on the same day, one trying to build a new image after some well-publicised personal problems and the other cementing her status as 2009's best megastar. Rated R is a darker, denser affair than Rihanna's previous efforts, featuring far more aggressive, almost sadomasochistic imagery. Guns are licked, fired and drawn on skin (she has a tattoo of one on her hip), whilst love is variously depicted as dead, deadly or, er, Spanish ('Te Amo'). WARNING: This album features will.i.am. Lady GaGa's The Fame Monster on the other hand should be subtitled "what this? Oh I knocked this up in my lunch break", such is the run of form she seems to be on. Eight brand new songs, four potential singles, Beyoncé drops by for a brief cameo and somewhere Madonna dies a little inside.

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Fall Be Kind EP by Animal Collective



This 5-track EP is a little bit darker, a little bit denser than their last album...oh, have we written that before today? Erm, it's their equivalent of Rihanna's Rated R album, only with longer songs and slightly more droning. Very good as ever, in other words.

New Musick Monday

We weren't expecting great things from our selections last week, so, as you will see from this week's picks, we're going all out for the chart glory this week. Amerie was our most bankable bet and she was nowhere, Joe Goddard's album probably sold about 11 copies and the Girls single missed the top 75 too. We're trying not to be too despondent, but it's difficult.

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Echo by Leona Lewis



This week can rightly be labelled 'run up to Christmas' week. For those lamenting the inclusion of someone like Leona, the only other options were that dire-sounding Them Crooked Vultures album or the new Stereophonics collection...So, we thought we'd include this so that if you were having problems deciding on what to get your mum or your older sister for Christmas, this might help you out. Echo isn't exactly what you'd call experimental, but there are moments when that voice wraps itself round an undeniable melody and you get a strange feeling in your stomach (see 'Outta My Head'). 'Happy' is still really dull though.

BUY THIS FOR YOUR NAN THIS CHRISTMAS

The Hits by Will Young



We will be buying this for our Nan and we suggest you do the same. Well-executed, intelligent pop music sung by a nice young man who doesn't swear or 'carry on' like all those other ghastly singers and who has a handful of genuinely great singles. For example; the piano ballad, 'All Time Love', the career-defining 'Leave Right Now' and the underrated 'Who Am I'. What you will need to do, however, is put a little note on the present label, warning your elderly relatives not to listen to the first two songs. 'Evergreen' is an abomination and Will's jazzy cover of 'Light My Fire' is about as jazzy as Simon Cowell's record collection. After that, the rest is plain sailing.

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'Cornerstone' by Arctic Monkeys



After the lukewarm reaction to 'Crying Lightning' and the general frustration at the lack of tunes on Humbug, Arctic Monkeys release what their record label will hope is the song to reverse their sales slump (the album sits at no. 75 this week). Luckily, it's a brilliant, beautifully phrased singalong that benefits from the relatively stripped back production and Alex Turner's characterful croon. Revelling in their new-found desire to sell less records, however, the band have made a video that makes Turner look like an androgynous electrical salesperson from the Eastern bloc.

New Musick Monday

It was Blur that once sang: "Bank Holiday comes with a six pack of beer...then it's back to work". Well, not for us. Our Bank Holiday was spent at work, having shifted the beer drinking forward a day to the Sabbath. We know, we know, may the Lord send down a thunder bolt or some such. Anywho, we must deal the hand that we have been dealt and get back to business. Last week we predicted big things for the Arctic Monkeys album, which wasn't exactly going out on a limb. It entered at no. 1, having outsold the rest of the top 5 put together. Needless to say the Fiery Furnaces album was nowhere to be seen and the Black Lips/Lumina single just missed out on the top spot thanks to about 75 other singles that all sold more. For this week, you should all be buying these things...

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Kid A (Special Collectors Edition) by Radiohead



Radiohead are going to love this. Having ditched EMI in favour of releasing their last album via carrier pigeon, Radiohead upset their former paymasters to such a degree that they cobbled together a Greatest Hits package and started releasing all their albums again in various forms. These re-releases may not have been overseen by the band, but they are worth investigating not least this new version of Kid A, which not only features the incredible original album, but also a second CD of live versions and a DVD of a couple of TV performances. Amnesiac and Hail To The Thief have also been re-packaged with various b-sides and live tracks, but seeing as the original source is one of the best things ever released we're going with Kid A.

HAVE A BIT OF CRY TO THIS

First Days of Spring by Noah & The Whale



May we, for a second, be crude? If we had split up with Laura Marling we would be pretty depressed too, for she is proper fit. Ahem. Charlie Fink, singer with twee-indie-also-rans Noah & The Whale, broke up with the lovely Marling recently and decided to write an entire album about how it made him feel and how he was going to get over it. The lyrics pretty much run the gamut of heartbreak cliche, but musically the band have expanded their sound to include strings, choirs and a bit of a go on the old kitchen sink to create a stirring second album.

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'Get Sexy' by Sugababes



We could have gone for The Cribs new single, or that one by Jamie T, but you know what, we're stuck in an office on a sunny Bank Holiday and we're going to choose a fun little pop song that samples Right Said Fred and is not a patch on past glories but is good enough for now thank you very much. 'Get Sexy' sounds a bit too try-hard when you listen to it without the video, but somehow it improves when matched with all those bright lights and gyrating hips. Why don't you have a little look here.

New Musick Monday

Last week we gave you three, yes three, album options. Given the current economic climate, factoring in the weather and the fact that we've no doubt you had a lot of presents to buy this month, we understand that sales weren't exactly brisk. We're happy to report though, that The xx outsold both Jay Reatard (he was nowhere, frankly) and Simian Mobile Disco, who snuck in at no. 39. So, where did these cherubic young scamps enter? No. 36. That's not bad given the state of radio these days. We went to see them play a gig in a shop the other week and one of Musick's closest friend said they reminded them of Faithless. That, dear reader, is what alcohol can do.

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Humbug by Arctic Monkeys



The Arctic Monkey's have clearly decided they don't want to share fans with Oasis. This is all well and good, but that doesn't mean you have to grow your hair long, dress like Led Zeppelin and use a frankly abysmal picture as your album cover. BUT, everything else about this third album is very good indeed, from the innuendo of 'My Propeller' to the deceptively catchy 'Crying Lightning' to the career-high of 'Cornerstone'. Josh Homme doesn't mess with the sound too much, just gives them some muscle and and that sense of foreboding that QOTSA are so good at.

BORROW THIS AND ENJOY IT BRIEFLY

I'm Going Away by The Fiery Furnaces



We always get excited about a new Fiery Furnaces album coming out. Then we get it, listen to it once, maybe twice, then leave it to gather dust in a pile sandwiched between the first Arcade Fire album and a mix CD entitled 'Songs everyone says they love but don't actually listen to'. So it is with I'm Going Away, which despite being their best in a long while, is still too twitchy and frustrating to be really pleasurable.

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'I'll Be With You' by Lumina



This is a cover of a Black Lips song that appears on the b-side to another Black Lips song. It's by Lumina who are Faris Badwan from The Horrors and Cherish Kaye who used to be in Ipso Facto. Unsurprisingly, it's an atmospheric, drip-feed dirge with Badwan taking the lead vocal and Kaye offering some haunting backing. Do not listen to this in a darkened room or at work. If, however, you're feeling quite chipper and are sure that nothing can dampen your spirits then click here.

New Musick Monday

The tired edition.

Oh dear oh dear. Sun burnt of face and smelly of pits we have returned just in time to bring you a decidedly truncated version of everyone's favourite weekly guide to what's 'hot' and what's 'not' in the world of music. Last week wasn't exactly a corker in terms of sales with V.V. Brown's album entering at number 30 and the Arctic Monkeys single plummeting about twenty places.

There aren't really any albums out this week that make us think "we should really tell our loyal readers about these works of art". So, there's just this...

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'Box N Locks' by Mpho



We thought this had already been released but it hasn't, hence it's appearance here. Mpho is from London, she's got oodles of 'spunk' and 'Box N Locks' is a very good summery pop single about 'real issues' (black musicians feeling pigeon-holed by mainstream media and record labels). If you don't believe that politics has a place in pop then you could always pretend it's a song about key cutting and general masonry.

New Musick Monday

So, how well did we do last week then? Let's start with the bad news shall we? V.V. Brown's ridiculously catchy 'Shark In The Water' drowned (boom, boom, tish), wallowing at a lowly number 38. Given the fact the chart was littered with Michael Jackson releases and the lack of airplay from Radio 1 you could be forgiven for thinking it was an alright result. We'll have to wait and see how patient her label will be. On the album chart, however, Lungs by Florence & The Machine breathed new life (boom, boom, tish...tish) into her burgeoning career by crashing in at number 2. It also recorded the biggest first week sales for any debut album in 2009. Musick is literally keeping these artists afloat and will accept all forms of remuneration.

WARNING: It's a pretty slow week for new albums and though we enjoyed both of the following, they're what you might call 'patchy' yet 'promising'.

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Travelling Like The Light by V.V. Brown



We're being unfair of course. There are some genuinely brilliant moments on this debut album, it's just that most of them are during the three singles she's already released. None of the album tracks - aside from the excellent Game Over - really come close to the immediate appeal of Leave!, Crying Blood or Shark In The Water, and as an album it lacks the depth of something like Amy Winehouse's Back To Black, which mined a similar retro-soul sound. BUT what it does have is personality, energy and a very talented young woman calling the shots. Amen to that.

BORROW THIS THEN LISTEN TO IT TWICE AND LOSE IT

Welcome To The Walk Alone by The Rumble Strips



How amazing is that front cover? That little dog is one double-hard Jack Russell. But we're not here to talk about dogs, we're here to talk about music and thankfully music is something The Rumble Strips have learnt to do much better then last time (2007's Girls and Weather album was as nondescript as that title suggests). Produced by Mark Ronson (you're cringing aren't you?), it contains a handful of well above average singalongs including recent single 'Not The Only Person', which is probably the only single written about knife crime that positively encourages a repeat performance due to the unseemly nature of female intervention. Sweet.

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'Crying Lightning' by Arctic Monkeys



To be honest, it's all a bit of a struggle this week. If it's a struggle for us then we're assuming it's a struggle for you, so apologies. This single was mentioned the other day, it's very good and gets better the more you listen to it. It actually came out to download last week and is already at number 12 in the charts so it's all a bit pointless. Still, it's Tuesday tomorrow...

Lightning strikes thrice?

Remember when the Arctic Monkeys were like The Beatles or something? Getting mobbed at supermarkets, selling records by the lorry load, receiving plaudits for tying their laces. We like them, don't get it twisted, but it seems odd remembering how doolally everyone went. After all that Last Shadow Puppets malarkey, Alex Turner and his band of (not so) merry men are back with a new single, entitled 'Crying Lightning'.



The album, Humbug, was produced by Josh Homme from QOTSA and James Ford from Simian Mobile Disco, and from the swampy, bass-heavy dirge* that is 'Crying Lightning' we're assuming Homme had the reigns for this one. It sounds a bit non-descript first time round, there's no real chorus as such, and it's not as instant as all those old ones, but it gets better second time round. Nice pick 'n' mix-themed lyrics too. He's, like, a real poet, isn't he?

* in the nicest possible sense of that word.