The Sound Radar Music reviews, news and previews

Gabriella Cilmi, Australian born singer-songwriter best known for her 2008 hit "Sweet About Me" released her second album, Ten last week. Clearly trying to break away from that Sweet About Me label she has stuck to being known for and relating sound, this record aims for a more electro-pop genre to try to break Cilmi through again into the charts. Her powerful vocals and catchy electro inspired backing tracks make for a much more listenable album as a whole than her first record, Lessons to be Learned, which although was a great listen in it's own right, did restrict itself to a certain audience.

1. On A Mission - This is the debut single from the album. Up-tempo, electro and heavy hitting, the track creates a disco-esque feel and stomps along with its bass line whilst Cilmi provides powerful vocals highlighting her strengths as a "woman on a mission", and this is one woman you don't want to get in the way of! The track only just made it into the UK top ten of the official singles chart at number 9, although I feel it should have made it at least into the top 5 as this starts the album off with a bang! 10/10

2. Hearts Don't Lie -Planned as the second single from the album, Hearts Don't Lie further builds on the disco sound touched on in the previous track. With high pitched vocals here, this track could easily be ripped straight from a Bee Gees record! The funky disco bass line and electro keyboard synths staple this track further into the 80's period. Another bit of a stomper here, although not quite as powerful as On A Mission. 9/10

3.  What If You Knew - Moving further into the 80's electro genre, What If You Knew is slightly more laid back from the previous tracks so far, but is still classed as up-tempo. The lyrics play with the thought of your best friend being in love with you, and what would you do if you knew? Perhaps a scenario many people are familiar with so can relate to the track? Cilmis' vocals sound a little quiet compared to the backing track but are delivered well with an inquisative edge to them. Oh, and did I mention there's electro bells found in here too? ELECTRO BELLS!  Brilliant! 9/10

4. Love Me Cos You Want To - The first mid-tempo track to make an appearence on Ten, this is what the future-disco genre sounds like. Love Me Cos You Want To could easily be compared to Girls Alouds' "Untouchable", as that same up-tempo backing track and sombre, yearning vocals are featured. A pleasent breather from the electro-stompers we've been presented with so far, this is another hit waiting to be unleashed on the charts. 9/10

5. Defender - Here is the first ballad type track on the album. The verses are a little weak and forgettable, but the chorus is catchy and tries to make up for things. After the first chorus, a military style drum beat kicks in, similar to production we've heard with Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield". A nice track, but a bit of a venture off the electro-pop-disco feel of the album so far. 6/10

6. Robots - If you need waking up from the previous track, Robots will try to that for you and it does quite a good job. A long retro-electro buildup then breaks into the brilliant chorus, mechanical love and ones and zeros of the binary code (for any geeks listening!) The track is borderline mid to up-tempo but is very listenable and very catchy. Cilmis' delivery of the middle eight is superb, with her vocals fitting perfectly. 9/10

7. Superhot - This track turns the dials up a bit more and returns to the 80's sounding electro-disco. The sound reminds me of a Kylie-ish sound, which further boosts its appeal to me. Other than this though, there isn't much else I can say about the track. It fits, it works, but probably not a single choice here. 7.5/10

8.  Boys - The electro intro to this track, along with the heavy bass, instantly grabs your attention. You just know this is going to be a good listen! Bells, keyboard synths, a catchy tune and strong vocals from Cilmi create a future-pop sound which really suits Cilmi and hopefully she will do more of this in the future. A highlight of the entire album, Boys deserves a single release complete with remixes and amazing single covert art! Make it happen Gabriellas' people! 10/10

9. Invisible Girl - Straight away this tune sounds like a track from Pinks' "Funhouse" album. It's fun sounding, the vocals are powerful and the production is similar to a fairground. The track is catchy, but the sound feels a little bit robbed and something that's been done before. The execution works fine, but I can't get excited about the track as i've heard similar elsewhere. 7.5/10

10. Glue - The second ballad to be featured on the album, but much more fitting to the overall sound than the previous effort in Defender. There is a discreet electro tune running through the track, and once the initial intro and chorus is delivered, the beat becomes powerful and keeps the sound interesting. The vocals are powerful and the topic the ever sung troubled relationship. A very good effort here though and a bit of a hidden gem! 10/10

11. Let Me Know - Unfortunately it was felt that the album needed to be ended with a return to the funk soul style of Cilmis' debut album. There is a slight disco bassline hidden in here, but the track could still be lifted and placed of the previous album without anyone knowing. Once you can get over that though, the track itself is very pleasent and makes a good listen, but one you may not return to that much if you've been a fan of Cilmis' music since the start. 8/10

12. Superman - Another mid-tempo, previous era sound here. The track is very chilled and laid back, although I find it a little boring. There is nothing particular to note about the track, and it feels a bit like a step backwards after the rest of Ten. We should be thankful it features at the end of the album though, so we can skip forward to the start again! 4/10

Overall rating: 8/10
A much more memorable release into the charts for Gabriella Cilmi this time round. She's starting to find a sound that works well for her and is accessible by a much wider audience but the album is let down at the end with a forray back into the Lessons To Be Learned era. If this can be controlled, and the highlights of this release can be held onto, the future will look very good for Cilmi. With the second single due for release some time this year, lets hope she can get some of the recognition she deserves for this record. It will be interesting to keep an eye on...!

The five-time Grammy award winning Christina Aguilera is preparing for the world premier of her latest single "Not Myself Tonight" taken from her upcoming fourth studio album Bionic. The single cover art and the lyrics were released a few days ago via her official site but today, the first preview snippet of the track went up for all to hear.

Finally, some new music from Robyn has surfaced! Robyn's previous album full of new music, the self titled Robyn, was originally released in 2005 (and then in 2007 worldwide) and since then fans have been waiting for news of new material. Just as it seemed new music was never coming, Robyn's website was updated today with the background track to the site being a track called "Fembots". It sounds very Robyn, has all the production values of a Robyn track and amazing "talky bits" in it too!

If you're interested in giving it a listen, head on over to www.robyn.com and let me know what you think!

Do Wah Doo is the first single from British singer-songwriter Kate Nash's second album My Best Friend Is You which is due to be released in the UK on 19th April 2010.

The track takes a more uplifting sound to that of a lot of the material found on her debut album Made of Bricks, so hopefully Kate can gather a few more fans this time around. She seems to have taken a much more carefree approach to the song and the video to go with it, which hit the internet on 4th March 2010. Apologies for the delay with this one!

Check it out below...

 

Lady Gaga, who left the UK today to head back to LA, has come under fire from her fans for almost doubling her ticket prices for her return to the UK in May and June.

Originally, tickets for her "Monster Ball" tour were priced in the UK between £27.50 and £35.00 depending on seats and packages. For her return, however, prices have soared up to between £50.00 and £75.00 for the same show. This has, understandably, caused an outrage on GaGa's website, with fans firing rage and complaints her way.

Tour operator Live Nation has stated the ticket prices are "fair and comparable" due to the fact that the tour has been updated to a "first-rate arena production"...

...is that not what it was anyway?!

Just how much of this is down to the fact that her UK dates sold out pretty quickly and the sheer popularity of the GaGa force at this time is not stated, obviously, but whether she'll sell out second time around still remains to be seen. Once thing to keep in mind though is that this is a management and tour promoter level decision, not that of Lady GaGa herself, so keep the direct insults to a low!

What is your opinion of the increased prices and will you still be going anyway?

Alphabeat, the UK-based Danish pop group have returned to the charts with The Beat Is..., their latest album which hit shelves 1st March 2010 in the UK. Originally released in Denmark in October 2009 under the title The Spell, the group has moved away from their pure pop roots featured in their debut album - This Is Alphabeat, and headed in a more 90's dance inspired record. The results are fun, highly dancable and slightly more mature sounding than the sounds produced in their previous album. The vocals have shifted over with more mic time given to Stine, the female vocalist and this further adds to that retro-dance sound.

1. The Spell - The leading single for the album release in Denmark. This went straight to number one in their home country but failed to make as much of an impression on the UK singles charts, peaking at 20. This is really the only track on the album which echoes the groups previous pop sound, but with Stine providing the majority of the vocals. The track is lots of fun, very catchy and easy to sing along to and a very effective showcase of Stines' vocal abilities. 10/10

2. DJ - This was the second single in Denmark and peaked at 10. The track plods along a little slower than The Spell and isn't half as catchy. The repeated lines of "just let the music play" harken to that 90's dance sound and Anders' verses sound like they were sampled straight from the era. A pleasent track but that's about as far as I would push it. The highlight of this track is clearly the synth heavy middle eight! 7/10

3. Hole In My Heart - This is the current single newly released in the UK. It has so far peaked at number 29 but should climb compared to the majority of rubbish floating around in our charts! This is cheesy, dancable and very instant when skipping through the album to find a quick fix. The piano riffs, drum beats and synth swooshes will take you back 15 years to the dance floor raves and the vocals are easy to pick up, provided dually by Stine and Anders. A highlight! 10/10

4. The Beat Is - The title track for this album and a little bit of a mess for me personally. The tune is UN-catchy (if that's possible) and plods along with not a lot happening thoughout the 3 minutes and 22 seconds it lasts for. Featured here are Daft Punk-esque vocoded vocals from Anders, various beeps which sound like they should be censoring a lyric and glass smashing sounds which, in my opinion, make a perfectly awsome sound effect in a track and should be used more often. Nothing much else interesting to hear with this one though, but not quite into the realm of instant skip yet! 6/10

5. Heat Wave - Another instantly likable gem can be found here. Heat Wave boasts some incredible vocals from Stine and has a euphoric backing track during the choruses. The build-ups are immense, and the chorus feels like a sudden release of energy similar to the drop in a roller coaster after the initial mile high climb. I hope this is a single, definitely my favourite pick! 10/10

6. Chess - This is the first mid-tempo track featured on the album and the lyrics are a clever play on a love chase, and an actual game of chess. The beat plods along nicely, possibly to calm you down from the thrill of the previous track! I could imagine this as possibly the closing single from this campaign, but that is still to be decided. The track is easy to listen to and perfectly placed between two very strong stompers. 8/10

7. Heart Failure - The second coronary dilemma to be transformed into a great track from Alphabeat. The beat is heavy, the vocals are strong and catchy and the chorus even catchier. The middle eight even features a very relevant heart monitor beep!  If you needed a kick start after the previous mid-tempo track, this is sure to provide. 10/10

8. Always Up With You - Again the 90's dance influence is showcased here, with the track opening with a piano heavy introduction and Anders' vocals layering over the top perfectly. The chorus is quick to kick in, still piano riff heavy and featuring Stine providing retro backing vocals. The beat and synths compliment the riffs perfectly and create a unmistakable blast to the past until the track fades out, perhaps a little too early but worth lapping up for all it's got. 9/10

9. Q & A - This is the second and mid-tempo track on the album, based on questions and answers within a troubled relationship as the title suggests. The overall sound to this one sounds slightly UK garage with the chimes and beat. The synths ensure the dance vibe isn't lost though but with a track this slow it's hard to get excited over. The vocals are emotive from Stine but her voice is more more suited to up-tempo tracks where she can let rip. Unfortunately this seems like a clever lyrical idea but a bit of a missed chance for me, and I ususally listen to half the track and grow bored 6/10

10. The Right Thing - This was the last track from the original Denmark release of the album and I feel it is the weakest. The ingredients are there for a good track, the dance sound this album follows and the signature piano riffs but it doesn't really go anywhere or take off into amazing-ness. Anders' vocals sound a little lifeless and Stines' ad-libs seem like a bit of a missed opportunity for her to propel the track to greater things. This is always a "skipper" for me. 4/10

11. Til I Get Round - The final track on the international release of the album and the last mid-tempo track. This gets off to a bit of a slow start and only accelerates very slightly to provide a decent tune. I don't think the track would be missed if it was omitted from the track listing, or just provided as a bonus track. Great vocals again from Stine and Anders together but would lend themselves to a more fancy production. This is another one I listen to rarely and doesn't conclude the album any better than the previous track from the original release. 5/10

Overall rating: 8/10

There are more amazing tracks to this album than Alphabeats' debut record, which really started to lose it halfway through the tracklist. Unfortunately it is let down by a couple of duffs but the new sound the group are going for is a welcome addition to my music library and hopefully to the singles charts. When it is good, it's very good and all other times it is fairly average - nothing on here offends my ears though and I wouldn't complain if I was forced to listen to the album from start to finish. If you picked up the album from iTunes you're treated to the bonus track "365 Degrees" which brings the par back up to finish the album off on a definite positive note, and amazon UK have been offering a free bonus track which is a mashup of Lady Gaga's "Telephone" and "Bad Romance" which is an awesome cover and the icing on the cake. I look forward to hearing its strong points in the clubs as Alphabeat are definitely successful in making you want to dance!

Mutya Buena, one of the founding members of the chameleon-like, ever changing Sugababes has finally put her foot down and launched a legal battle to take charge of the Sugababes name and brand. A decision will be reached in the coming months, but if she is successful she will be able to use the groups name and brand how she see's fit...namely stripping it from the current lineup. Could this mean the possibility of a re-group of the three original members - Keisha Buchanan, Siobhan Donaghy and Buena? It would meet a lot of praise from fans of the 'Babes original sound but last I checked, Siobhan had moved on and the last thing I can imagine her doing is re-grouping.

A response comes from the groups snake-in-the-grass; Heidi Range, stating that the group is aware of the proceedings but it isn't bothering them. She also claims they have the right to use the name and they have lawers taking care of the issue.

This comes in perfect timing for the Sugababes latest release, Sweet 7 which hits shelves on 15th March 2010. Extra publicity needed much?

It seems it's not all over for the Pussycat Dolls - Nicole Scherzinger has vowed to continue with the group project with a new lineup of "supporting members". Jessica Sutta was pushed out of the group after breaking a rib whilst touring in January 2010, Kimberly Wyatt quit the group last month announcing she wasn't happy with her position in the group and Nicole getting all the limelight and lastly Ashley Roberts quit for reasons still unknown, probably has something to do with everyone else jumping ship!

So we are now left with Melody Thornton and Scherzinger. How long Melody will stick with it is anyones guess but if any of the other girls could carve a solo career for themselves, Melody could.

Nicole has announced that she is on the prowl for a new cast along with the groups founder Robin Antin. New material is being recorded reportedly and Nicole wants to stick with pop music but this time with a more "soul-inspired" sound.

I can't say that I'm overly excited to hear this new sound, sung by Nicole with the occasional assistance from these new members. Lineup changes always kill a group for me and I have to grow to like the new entity so lets hope another "PCD" can be pulled out the bag!

Welcome to The Sound Radar music fans!

The aim of my blog is basically to provide news and reviews from the music world. I'll try to be on top of important news as update as frequently as I can. I plan to review new and old albums, singles and artists etc so if you're deliberating whether to make a purchase or not, hopefully I can help you out there!