Live Review: NME Tour 2009 Feat. Glasvegas, Friendly Fires, White Lies and Florence & The Machine, 02 Academy Leeds. 8/2/2009

The annual NME Awards Tour aims to bring together the best in the previous years music, combined with acts the NME thinks will be big this year, and they (generally) get it right. The tour consists of 4 acts, headlined by a band with recent mainstream success (Glasvegas), followed by a band with "scene" success/critical acclaim (Friendly Fires), a band who is destined for mainstream success (White Lies) and a band who is currently being hyped by journalists (Florence & The Machine).

Florence & The Machine open the night with a highly impressive half an hour set. Brilliantly soul infused indie is produced as singer Florence Welch jumps around the stage as the band rattle through a collection of tracks including single Dog Days Are Over, and highlight Girl With 1 Eye.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Friendly Fires, who are far less interesting despite their setlist and recent debut album being crammed with excellently upbeat electro indie tunes. Much of the sound appears to be coming from the synth machine that singer Ed Macfarlane touches occasionally, when he isn't dancing around like a pretentious little twat. Harsh? Maybe. Still, I'd recommend Late Of The Pier to anyone considering seeing Friendly Fires.

I have recently come to the conclusion that I am on of the few in the minority of people who think Glasvegas are seriously good live. The passion singer James Allen conveys throughout their set makes you scream your heart out along with him and, on singles It's My Own Cheating Heart... and Daddy's Gone, the rest of the (diminished) audience. Still, tonight is the worst I've seen them, and I finally understand the main criticism leveled at their live shows of "they are just too loud".

However, tonights heroes are the country's new favourite band, White Lies. Who produce a blistering half an hour set leaving the audience speechless. From new single Fairwell To The Fairground to closer Death, the band rock through a perfect taster of their recent No.1 debut album, including highlights The Price Of Love and debut single Unfinished Business, where they are joined by Florence (the one with the machine) for an excellent duet. Any criticism that White Lies sound robotic and un-emotive on record are irrelevant live, as singer Harry McVeigh pours his heart into every word. The fear that they will soon be playing massive venues has certainly got a hold on me.


White Lies played:

Fairwell To The Fairground
To Lose My Life
A Place To Hide
Unfinished Business (Feat. Florence Welch)
Fifty On Our Foreheads
The Price Of Love
Death


Glasvegas played:

Geraldine
Lonesome Swan
It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry
Polmont On My Mind
Flowers & Football Tops
Ice Cream Van
Go Square Go

S.A.D. Light
Daddy's Gone

Album Review: Grammatics - Grammatics

With the likes of Glasvegas and now White Lies gaining high critical acclaim, it would appear that epic sounding bands have replaced indie 4-pieces in our charts. Grammatics seem to follow more along the lines of the grand Arcade Fire rather than the likes of the gloomy laded Glasvegas or Editors.

From opener Shadow Committee, Grammatics set the album up. Grand guitar fueled music with just the perfect mix of heavy crashing chorus and subtle verse, quickly followed by the gloriously poppy D.I.L.E.M.M.A and the beautiful Murderer.

However, The Vague Archieve is where this album begins to show it's true magnificence. The perfect upbeat indie verse, with it's sharp guitars and bouncy keyboards, contrasts brilliantly with the thundering chorus. Relentless Fours is sounds very Arcade Fire, with it's organ sounds and slow building to an epic ending, and the fantastic jazzy feeling Polar Swelling building to the violin-led chorus and ending creates

The contrast within this album is staggering, as the rolling Polar Swelling is quickly followed by the frantic guitar of Rosa Flooding, and the gorgeous acoustic Cruel Tricks Of The Light. Closer Swan Song returns to the layout of slow verses building to an epic imposing ending' as the an early contender for album of the year comes to a close.

Grammatics have created an album that would appear to have one up on the likes of the other new bands, in that their epic, emotion fueled ballads are far more musical than the likes of Glasvegas, and while this album may not be as gloomy as the current financial climate calls for it is both a refreshing and sympathetic sound.

Best tracks:
Relentless Fours
Polar Swelling
Rosa Flooding

8/10

Album Review: Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

Before the release of her latest single, The Fear, it would have been easy to forget Lily's debut album due to massive media attention focusing on her apparently attitude towards drugs and sex. We forget how 2006's Alright, Still, led by debut single Smile, was the soundtrack to that summer. Her delightful reggae infused pop, combined with clever and witty lyrics, not to mention fantastic production from Mr Ronson, was refreshing amid the choas of teenaged indie bands.

It's Not Me, It's You shows a clear change of sound for Lily, evidence for her choice not to use Ronson as main producer. Musically, it's far more electro than her debut, more keyboards and synths than guitar and drums, though still bass heavy.

Lyrically, it's a definite improvement as well. Despite Alright, Still not being without it's lyrical highlights, INMIY shows Lily having grown up, and while the lyrics follow the same lyrical pattern of witty gibes at society they are far more focused and educated.

This album contains everything. From epic social commentaries about drugs (Everyone's At It), celebrity culture (The Fear) and racists (Fuck You) among other topics, to beautiful tracks about love (Chinese), family (Back To The Start) and the advantages of being single (I Could Say), all topped off with the likes of the fantastically witty and genuinley funny Not Fair.

Pop perfection in just over 40 minutes.

Best tracks:
I Could Say
Who'd Have Known
Him

9/10

Live Review: Bloc Party, Manchester Apollo. 29/1/09

From the minute I heard Bloc Party's latest album Intimacy, second to falling for the London 4-piece all over again, I was curious, if a little worried, about how the heavy use of effects and keyboards would work out live. From the minute the band kick into opener, and new single, One Month Off my fears are eased, especially when this is followed by an epic rendition of Halo.

Bloc Party get straight down to business rattling through single Hunting For Witches, a rendition of Positive Tension that's up there with some of the best live tracks I've seen and Intimacy track Signs, which is as beautiful live as it is on record. Even Talons, one of the weakest tracks on the new album, is brilliantly frantic. The choice to play Waiting For The 7.18 is clearly one that not only pleases me, as the crowd sing and jump along to the chaotic ending.

Opener to 2007's A Weekend In The City, Song For Clay (Disappear Here) merges perfectly into indie classic Banquet as the immense first two thirds of the show crash to an ending. Unfortunately, the next few tracks do not follow suit. Ion Square is frankly boring, the only real highlight in single Mercury is singer Kele loosing his microphone while in the crowd and even airing of So Here We Are fails to recapture the atmosphere lost during the previous two tracks. Luckily final song of the main set Like Eating Glass saves the day.

The encore pretty much erased memories of the evenings down points, a brilliant cover of Girls Aloud's Call The Shots followed by singles The Prayer, Flux (unfortunately, the heavy synth fails to convey live) and the timeless Helicopter. The band return on last time for the insane Ares and a magic rendition of This Modern Love.

Bloc Party live is very much a game of chance. When you win, they are up there with the the best live acts on the planet, but when you loose, they are dull, boring and rather than conjuring up no atmosphere manage to remove any that had lingered from earlier in the night. Fortunately for tonight's attendees, they manage to win on pretty much every throw of the dice.


Bloc Party played:

One Month Off
Halo
Hunting For Witches
Positive Tension
Signs
Talons
Waiting For The 7.18
Song For Clay
Banquet
Ion Square
Mercury
So Here We Are
Like Eating Glass

Call The Shots (Girls Aloud Cover)
The Prayer
Flux
Helicopter

Ares
This Modern Love

Album Review: White Lies - To Lose My Life...

I remember the summer of 2006; the likes of Lily Allen and The Kooks were making happy music about good times. Upbeat indie-pop was rife as a horde of teenage bands assaulted the charts. These days, it's a bit of a different story. Recession calls for bands to create doom laden albums, full of emotion, audiences need to feel like people care.

From the opening to Death, White Lies prove all their critics right. The dark opening to the debut album To Lose My Life... reveals the huge debt this London 4-piece's sound owes to the likes of Joy Division and Editors. However, the album is a hugely impressive record, full of murky, gloomy, bass driven verses and epic choruses. Not only do White Lies have a fantastic sound musically, singer Harry McVeigh showcases an aptitude for writing excellently depressing lyrics, supported by his superb voice.

However, here in lies the issue. Despite the band presenting an album with 10 highly polished, musically excellent tracks, it's hard to gain a sense of real emotion, they aren't as moving as they wish they were. The same could be said about McVeigh's delivery of the lyrics; despite the lyrics being excellent in places, and his impressive vocal abilities, it doesn't feel like he is really pouring his heart into them. The whole album conveys the feeling that the band are just creating a gloomy, death obsessed indie record because they can, and because it will fit the times, not because it's how they actually feel.

As I said, it is a musically excellent album, containing many highlights that really can grab you (the end of The Price Of Love, or chorus to Fifty On Our Foreheads), despite this the album doesn't grab your heart, in the way other recent examples have. Listening to Glasvegas' debut, James Allen pours his soul into many of the tracks, whereas on To Lose My Life... McVeigh sounds like he is describing rather than feeling. It just doesn't make me want to sing my heart out in the way I wish it would.

6/10

Best tracks:
Fifty On Our Foreheads
Unfinished Business
The Price Of Love