Halestorm

Type – Live Review

Artist – Halestorm 

Location – Glasgow Garage

Date – 23-9-2012

For the first time ever Halestorm headlined a UK tour and we were lucky enough to be able to attend the sold out show at the Glasgow Garage. The Pennsylvanian rockers were supported by British bands Zico Chain and Heavens Basement.

The Garage was packed to the brim and the band kicked off the show with ‘The Strange Case Of…’ number ‘Love Bites (so do I). What Halestorm have is not just their undeniable for what they do but a connection to both each other and the crowd which many bands lack. Aside from their family tie, there is a chemistry that you can hear and see in their performance that out ranks most bands by a landslide.

The delicate vulnerability shows in Lzzy’s voice as she takes to the piano for ‘Break In’ and ‘Private Parts’, as Lzzy approaches the piano the crowd falls silent for just a moment to listen to her speak. There are so many parts to this band that it is difficult not to find yourself attracted to at least one element, or like most people, all of them. They are just one hell of a unit.

Straight up rock tracks such as ‘Rock Show’ stand out and the energy and atmosphere in the room was electric and it’s moments like these is the factor of Halestorm that really makes people fall in love with them. However at the same time it’s the more elegant moments of purely vocal and piano numbers that are so spectacular and the entire crowd hangs on to every one of Lzzy’s words. From Arejay’s amazingly crazy drum solos to the crowd sing a longs, through older tracks such as ‘Familiar Taste Of Poison’, to new tracks ‘You Call Me A Bitch Like It’s a Bad Thing’ and ‘Here’s To Us’.

Halestorm were absolutely mesmerising. They were completely worthy headliners, perhaps there is a bias in myself being a fan. The show was unbelievably fantastic and if you have the chance to catch one of their shows any time soon I suggest you grab a ticket without a second thought, their shows sell out fast.

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- @Gillian_x3

Carly Rae Jepsen

Type – Album Review

Artist – Carly Rae Jepsen

Title – Kiss

Who would have thought that the runner up of Canadian Idol 5-years ago would have had the biggest selling single of 2012, the odds were certainly against her. No one could have predicted the mammoth success of 'Call Me Maybe'. Follow up single, 'Good Time' with Owl City also made sure that Carly wouldn't be just another one-hit-wonder. However, recording two catchy pop tracks is one thing, but producing an entire album of them is something else entirely.

A quick scan of the album credits and some of pop music’s go-to hitmakers are nowhere to be found: there’s no Dr. Luke or Ryan Tedder, no Shellback or Benny Blanco. There are two co-write assists from Dallas Austin, a single track with Max Martin’s hands on it, and ... that’s it. Jepsen has opted to work with a very close circle of producers and songwriters, and she co-wrote every track on her album save three. Jepsen’s game of spot-the-influence continues even on the peppy opener “Tiny Little Bows”, which despite a charming bit of overproduction (string stabs and synth-squeals all quick-edited BT-style), still manages to carry a sugar-sweet melody and features—of all things—a slowed-down sample of Sam Cooke’s classic “Cupid” part-way through. Unlike JoJo’s pointless re-appropriation of Toto, this bit of sampling actually hems close to the intention of the song, and if this gets one tween closer to discovering who Sam Cooke is, all the better.

Standout track 'This Kiss' wouldn't be out of place on an Alphabeat album with its use of electronic synths and feel good euro pop vibe. 'This kiss is something I can't resist/ your lips are undeniable' - there is no refuting that it is one hell of a catchy tune.

'Beautiful', a duet with boss Justin Beiber. It sticks out a bit like a sore thumb amongst the poppy track listing, this folksy ballad about friendship feels out of place, however it is still a fantastic song.

On a songwriting level, ‘Kiss’ manages to avoid the single most common pitfall of most mainstream pop albums: an overabundance of ballads. Rather smartly, every single song (save the admittedly inveigling Bieber-assisted track “Beautiful”, which has the misfortune of sharing the exact same lyrical theme as One Direction’s tramped-up “Summer Night” rewrite “What Makes You Beautiful”) is either mid- or uptempo, meaning the album’s 42 minute runtime breezes by fairly quickly. The production is warm and inviting, although its default setting is “amiable synth-pop”—Jepsen doesn’t detour far from her new sound. For those wondering: no, there is no knock-‘em-dead classic on the same level of “Call Me Maybe” on here, but the songs featured here are by-and-large surprisingly strong. An Owl City album this is not (but more on him later).

 

Jepsen proves she has more talent than half of the stars out there, managing to not only sell virtually every word on the album but also managing to make it all sound off-the-cuff and effortless, ultimately creating a bubbly pop playground that is both catchy and endearing without having to turn base or crude to get there. At the moment, Carly Rae Jepsen is best known for a monstrous #1 worldwide smash. If she keeps putting out quality material like virtually all of Kiss, that thankfully will not be the only thing that defines her.

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-          Gillian_x3

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P!nk

Type – Album Review

Artist – P!nk

Title – The Truth About Love

P!nk’s major-label solo debut landed way back in 2000, and her sixth studio album, “The Truth About Love,” was released last week. This means the 33-year-old singer has been releasing music for 12 years – which is an eternity in pop music, unless your name is Madonna or Michael Jackson. The reason P!nk has been able to achieve such longevity is that she never allows the public to get sick of her, she does this by taking years-long breaks form the industry.

Amazingly whenever P!nk feels like jumping on the scene again, she finds a
audience for her music, this is mainly due to the fact she comes up with at least one defiant, anthemic song that really speaks to us.

Even though she doesn’t actually call him out by name it’s hard to listen to P!nk’s new album without taking her year-long separation from husband Carey Hart into consideration. In the title track she unfurls each syllable slowly as if drawn from a coy smile. Backup singers chime in at the chorus. As background music, it sounds like a perfect beach jam.

Turns out, though that the sweeter P!nk sounds the more cynical she becomes. “The truth about love is, its all a lie/ I thought you were the one and I hate goodbyes,” she sings at the chorus’ end. P!nk once confessed, “L.A told me, you’ll be a pop star / All you have to change is all you  are.” She was referring to the L.A Reid-approved, slick R&B treatment of her 2000 debut ‘Can’t Take Me Home’, which seems tailor-made for Destiny’s Child in hindsight.

"Here Comes the Weekend" takes fans back to P!nk's early days, to the days of "Get the Party Started." There is no profound message, no anthem for wayward misfits. It is a pure and simple party rocker. The tune comes to a head with an unmistakable Slim Shady-style rap from Eminem, who assisted in writing the track. His influence is also apparent in the steady and heavy bass beat that runs throughout the track. "Here Comes the Weekend" is easily a track that could become prominent in dance clubs and house parties as the album gets a few more spins behind it.

All of us here at Life is Music TV absolutely love this new P!nk album and we recommend that if you haven’t got it yet you should go out and get it you most definitely won’t be disappointed.

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- @Gillian_x3 

Of Monsters And Men

Type – Album Review  

Title – My Head Is An Animal

Artist – Of Monsters And Men

Huge stars in their native Iceland, rockers Of Monsters and Men have what it takes to achieve the same success in Britain. Combining Arcade Fire's exuberance and Mumford & Sons' undemanding take on folk. And yet for all the wide-eyed charm of its finest songs – recent single Dirty Paws is electrifying.

The debut album by this Icelandic sextet finally gets a British release, a full year after topping their home chart and six months after making the US Top Ten. The record’s primary appeal is that it straddles two seemingly irreconcilable genres. The scrubby acoustic guitars, glockenspiels and campfire songs of  nature and fairy tales seem to reek of indie-folk, as do the cooing vocals of Kate Nash soundalike Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, who tends to sing an octave higher than her male co-singer Ragnar ‘Raggi’ þórhallsson. 

However, before it degenerates into a painfully whimsical world of hairslides and gingham frocks, the rhythm section adds a touch of heavy metal menace – all stomping drums, distorted guitars and anthemic  chant-along vocals. The resultant stadium folk collision just about works.

This is a fantastic debut album from these Icelandic rockers and we really enjoyed it. We want to know what you thought of this album, leave us a comment below telling us.

                                                                                                -Gillian_x3