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Impressive statement of Manic’s creativity
Futurology is about finding a new sense of purpose. And plenty of it can be found in the triumphant Walk Me to the Bridge, which delivers a punch of a chorus that has heavy touches of the 1980s stadium rock to it. Every track is quite full of life and holds no lack of energy that characterises good, classic British rock ’n’ roll. Best track: Between the Clock and the Bed Worst track: The View from Stow Hill Rating: **** The Canadian quintet’s debut brims tantalisingly with effortless splendor
Best track: Archie, Marry Me Worst track: Party Police Rating: **** Vintage synth-pop meets electro-disco drama
Best track: Uptight Downtown Worst track: Silent Partner Rating: ** An astonishing voice matched with exquisite craftsmanship
Sia’s smooth, textured teamwork with The Weeknd and Diplo, Elastic Heart, anchors the strong start of the album’s second half. Fair Game is a minimalist, string-laden tune about wanting to find an equal partner, while Cellophane is about feeling vulnerable in front of someone else. The album concludes with a hopeful roar, as Sia sings about being guided out of the darkness in Dressed in Black. Best track: Chandelier Worst track: Fire Meet Gasoline Rating: ***
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Following
last year’s more sombre, acoustic and intimate album Rewind the
Film, the Welsh trio is back with a wildly energetic record, full
of enduring political passion and new musical ideas. Futurology is
a welcome return by Manic Street Preachers to the forefront of pop,
featuring no lack of technical prowess or instrumental capabilities.
The album’s centrepiece is Europa Geht Durch Mich (Europe Goes
Through Me), which sounds like Sally Bowles fronting Einsturzende
Neubaten, artfully enhanced with choruses handled by German actress
Nina Hoss. Misguided Missile and Black Square are both
superb and worthy 
of
mention while Scritti Politti’s Green Gartside smoothly lends
his vocal talents to Between the Clock and the Bed.
Lyrically, there is a ceaseless thirst for knowledge, which is both
cerebral and visceral. The glorious title track is, perhaps, the first
song the band has written since Generation Terrorists that’s
actually about the Manic Street Preachers, a summation of their past,
present and future, "We’ll come back one day, we never really
went away."
On
the band’s winsome debut, it’s the disarmingly frank lyricism that
instantly raises them above their contemporaries, capturing both the
humour and heartaches of living in the big city. At its heart, Alvvays
is a pure indie-pop band. Archie, Marrie Me takes its
inspiration from Teenage Fanclub’s Neil Jung, while other
songs like the wonderful opener Adult Diversion is very much in
the guitar mould, accompanied by dreamy vocals courtesy their lead
singer Molly Rankin. Molly’s astonishingly understated vocals are
reminiscent of Victoria Bergsman, particularly on Atop a Cake, revealing
a tale of a twisted relationship. One of the reasons why the lyrics in
these songs are so effective is because the simultaneously sweet and
sultry voice of Molly always addresses the subjects directly. Even on
the surreal Red Planet, as she croons about isolation on a
distant world, it feels as intimate and personal as any other track on
the record. Ones Who Love You is an easy going, retro song,
with the vocals and backing perfectly balanced. Elsewhere though, dark
subject matters are wonderfully hidden behind playful instrumentation
like on the jangly, Next of Kin that blends melancholy and
warmth with the same expertise. If there’s one complaint to be made
about Alvvays, it’s that it seems a bit too short.
Elly
Jackson’s creative rebirth is apparent on Trouble in Paradise,
the follow-up to La Roux’s self-titled debut, the 2009
chart-topper yielding hits Bulletproof and In for the Kill.
Having coped with Ben Langmaid’s departure from the group, Jackson’s
comeback album is still heavily influenced by 1980s pop but has
expanded its horizon of genres to include 1970s disco-synth and a
little reggae. Album opener Uptight Downtown injects Jackson’s
signature double-track vocals and a healthy dose of nu-disco into a
jarring story of an inner-city street fight. The album also functions
as a swan song for Langmaid, who co-wrote five of the nine tracks. Trouble
in Paradise is at once sleek and solid, every track pulsing with a
kind of confidence that invites closer listening. Emotionally
hard-hitting atmospheric ballad Let Me Down Gently balances
resilience and heartache until the track takes off with a soaring
saxophone solo. Tropical Chancer floats by on reggae groove
that is a welcome change from the straight up electro-pop that fills
out the first half. La Roux is establishing itself as the face
of pop industry, and it will be interesting to see where Elly Jackson
goes from here.
Aussie
singer-songwriter Sia Furler’s already had a long successful career
before she began penning songs like Diamonds for Rihanna, Pretty
Hurts for Beyonce and Titanium for David Guetta, releasing
five albums that travelled from jazz to art-pop to piano ballads
between 1997 and 2010. Dark Lush production abounds on her latest
outing 1000 Forms of Fear, compliments of Greg Kurstin.
The
gloriously epic opener Chandelier will, without a doubt, go
down as one of the greatest pop songs of 2014. Big Girls Cry turns
over the script on the classic hit Four Seasons, updating it
for modern women who aren't afraid of expressing their own emotions,
and feel that there is no shame in wearing your heart on your sleeve.
