Can't Deny Brandon Flowers, Smallpools and All In White

Hi. Wow a lot happened/is happening this week: we had the Leibster Award on Wednesday, now you're getting the Friday post on Sunday and later in the week it's the first month review - so that's gonna be fun. Anyway, I have lots of stuff planned to make this more interesting in the month ahead, but for now here's this week's review:

Artist: Brandon Flowers. This week’s artist of the week is the Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers. Earlier in the week, he released his new single “Can’t Deny My Love”, performed on the Tonight Show, and also managed to sell out his UK tour. I think doing all that in one week was pretty good going, so he earned the title of artist of the week. His new single’s actually pretty good: it has this kind of 80s feel to it which makes it pretty unique at the moment, so points for creativity. Also, it managed to avoid the trap of sounding like a Killers song which is pretty common when singers decide to go solo, not mentioning any names… I’m not sure it’s my favourite track by Flowers but it has some really good parts. The guitar riff is pretty cool - it has a Daft Punk/Nile Rodgers feel about it, but it’s kind of drowned out a little by the 80s effects. The harmonies are also very emotive - they have a HAIM kind of feel, and they work well in context with the 80s theme, but they also get a little overshadowed by the effects in the chorus. I’m not sure I’m so keen on the synthesised drums, but I guess that’s in keeping with the 80s motif, and I think that’s just personal taste... I did like the track, honestly! I love the vocals - they’re very polished and the song is very well written in itself - it’s very catchy. Perhaps it was just a little too trigger happy with the effects. Anyway, he’s not just artist of the week because he released a new song, he also performed it live on the Tonight Show, and you can’t deny (hehe… sorry) he did pretty well. Actually, can I just say that the backing singers were pretty amazing. Personally I preferred the live version, but y’know you can’t please everyone all the time. Anyway, give it a listen, and tell me what you think. Based on the live version imma give it a 9/12. It was a very strong live performance. However, if you asked me what I’d give the recorded version, perhaps a 7-8/12. I think it’s a bit of a shame because I really do like this track - it has so many good parts, but the effects kind of ruin it for me a bit. Tell me what you think. Was I too harsh?

Album: LOVETAP! - Smallpools. It’s all about the new music this week - this week’s album of the week is LOVETAP! by indie pop band Smallpools. If you’re thinking where did I hear that name before, if you’re a TDCC, |-/, Neon Trees or Walk The Moon fan, then you may know the Smallpools from their tours - they were the support act for all those bands. LOVETAP! is Smallpools first album, and was released just a few days ago. I already absolutely love it and couldn’t wait to tell you about it. There are loads of great tracks on this album that will get you dancing around and singing along so you should definitely give it a listen. My favourite tracks from the album are Killer Whales, Dreaming, Over & Over and No Story Time - I don’t really have a good reason, other than I liked these the best. They have a great sound that I can only describe as Walk The Moon meeting Vampire Weekend then going out for dinner with the Two Door Cinema Club. I’m not hesitating to say that it’s one of my favourite albums of the year, and for that it can sit alongside Kodaline in the 12/12 club.

Track: All In White - The Vaccines. I broke the chain - this isn’t a new song, but it’s a good one so it does have that in common. I suppose I could’ve talked about Handsome - their new single from their upcoming album “English Graffiti” - but I’ll talk about that when the new album comes out, deal? Anyway, I picked All In White this week because I think it makes a good contrast with Smallpools and Brandon Flowers. All In White is quite a heavy Vaccines track, unlike their more popular tracks: Norgaard and If You Wanna. It still has all the components needed to make a good Vaccines song: their traditional bassline and hints of their crazy drum beats (that always makes me think of Animal from the muppets), but it’s much calmer, and a lot more subdued compared to their other tracks. It’s not quite as depressing as Somebody Else’s Child, but it’s toned down a little compared to the rest of What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? Great Track. 11.5/12 - ‘Nuff Said.

Top Ten Tracks:

1. In The Heat of the Moment - Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
2. Luck That Keeps You Guessing - One Night Only
3. Electric Love - BØRNS
4. I And Love And You - The Avett Brothers
5. Heartbreak - Clubfeet
6. Give Me A Try - The Wombats
7. This Ain’t A Love Song - Scouting For Girls
8. Postcards from Far Away - Coldplay
9. Mr Brightside - The Killers
10. Lola - The Kinks

I’ll be back again soon with the first end of month post so it’s a busy time :)
See you soon,
M x
PS: Another strange video warning for All In White… do yourself a favour and don’t watch it.