Certainly an unusual, nay, eccentric piece, ‘The Walker’ is a four-minute pop song that builds up to something special, built around a recognisable whistle-hook and the 80s-influenced funky vocals of the main singer. With enough retro styles to fit in with the modern production it perhaps lacks the huge hook in the chorus that would […]
Author: Philip Lickley
Single review: Ellie Goulding – ‘Beating Heart’
The second single from ‘Halycon’ and also taken from the film Divergent, ‘Beating Heart’ is possibly Goulding’s most boring release yet, taking all the improvements through ‘Burn’ and ‘Goodness Gracious’ and dumping them all for this airy-voiced bland number that never really advances from a low, unmemorable collection of breathy vocals. With shades of a […]
Single review: Coldplay – ‘A Sky Full of Stars’
What happened to Coldplay? Though it’s difficult to criticise the band for trying something different, here on ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ they seem to have picked up the sheet music for a record that even Calvin Harris would reject. It starts off well enough and has the moments of Coldplay’s brilliance but it’s lyrically […]
Album review: Foxes – ‘Glorious’
Foxes – Glorious Rating: 6/10 Buy: Glorious Louisa Rose Allen arrives with her debut album and, though calling it a glorious piece of music might be an overstatement, it’s a fun, perky pop package, masking some quite downbeat themes and lyrics, supported by a handful of radio friendly songs that showcase her ear for a […]
Album review: Blondie – ‘Ghosts of Download’
Blondie – Ghosts Of Download Rating: 6/10 Buy: Blondie 4(0)-Ever: Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux / Ghosts Of Download Blondie are back with their tenth album, ‘Ghosts of Download’, named after the spirits that allegedly live in the electronics, on the fortieth anniversary of the band’s formation. The new release coming in at just over fifty […]
Single review: The Janoskians – ‘Real Girls Eat Cake’
What would you get if you crossed One Direction and the Vamps with the music of Reel Big Fish and the potty mouth of some snickering teenage boys? Well, this. It’s pretty much a novelty track with lyrics that come straight off the back of a fag packet and it’s hardly complimentary to the target […]
Single review: Grouplove – ‘Shark Attack’
It’s almost going to be tricky following up such a great track like ‘Ways To Go’ and though ‘Shark Attack’ doesn’t quite hit the catchiness of that chorus, this is a more overall solid track. It’s not going to be to everybody’s tastes but its shift in tempos, vocals and vibes works well and keeps […]
Single review: Fuse ODG feat. Sean Paul – ‘Dangerous Love’
Single number four for Fuse ODG is not his biggest number but it does everything you need from an early summer hit: catchy, bouncy, and sounding great in a club or out at a festival. With Sean Paul guesting on the record, surely the epitome of summer music, and a whipping out of the Caribbean […]
Single review: Longfellow – ‘Kiss Hug Makeup’
A mid-tempo, piano-led ballad that has shades of a smattering of other songs, but ones that don’t immediately come to my head. Fans of Bastille and the Killers will find a home in this merging of sounds that also crosses into the world of Snow Patrol, in particular ‘In The End’, mixed nearer the end […]
Single review: Clean Bandit feat. Sharna Bass – ‘Extraordinary’
The fifth single from the band’s album, which isn’t even out yet, is pretty much an amalgamation of what we’ve heard so far, lacking as it does the uniqueness of ‘Mozart’s House’ or the catchiness of ‘Rather Be’, with too few fresh ideas and too much autotune undercutting the vocals of Sharna Bass. It’s still […]