Jen's Music Review

Jenness Mitchell • Published 11 Aug 2010 10:21 0 Comments

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Best Coast: Crazy For You

Best Coast have only recently made their way onto my radar after their track Happy was featured on a playlist I received last month. At the moment I am really feeling the surf rock sounds of The Drums and Surfer Blood with Best Coast now topping that list thanks to the female led vocals of Bethany Cosentino. Hailing from LA, Best Coast's debut studio record is a dreamy haze of summer with simple lyrics, catchy hooks and colourful melodies. From longing that your best friend was in love with you as heard within the track Boyfriend to wishing you were seventeen again as sung within I Want To, Crazy For You is an explosion of surf-pop and is without doubt definitely one of the sleeper hits of the year.

The Hoosiers: The Illusion Of Safety

Leading with the fantabulous track Choices, The Hoosiers return with a more electronic and synthier sound for their second studio album, The Illusion Of Safety. After their label "encouraged" them to return to the studio after being dissatisfied with the original output recorded for this follow-up, the additional effort results in The Hoosiers surpassing that of their 2007 debut, The Trick To Life. Superior to the bubblegum pop of Scouting For Girls, The Illusion Of Safety is easily a male counterpart to The Saturdays' Wordshaker. Highlights include the aforementioned Choices, Bumpy Ride, Unlikely Hero and the electro cover of David Gray's Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

Thea Gilmore: Murphy's Heart

This is going to sound bad, but I hadn't a clue who Thea Gilmore was. Ignore my ignorance, but I had no idea she was a British singer-songwriter. I had no idea she had released her debut record, Burning Dorothy, back in 1998. And I had no idea Murphy's Heart was her eleventh studio effort. Now I realise why. Gilmore is folky-lite and there is passion within her music, but I feel as if there is something missing in the shape of a clever hook or simple melody throughout this record. Maybe I need to listen to Gilmore's anthology from the beginning but with her genre about to take off to new heights, I would much rather tune into the sounds of Kitty The Lion, Rachel Sermanni, Lissie and Laura Marling instead.

Download Recommendation

Autumn Selection

From emails and talking to readers of my column a lot of you out there are like me and scour the Internet for a wide selection of music that is not readily available in the Charts or to download via iTunes. The following tracks I recommend have a nice sound to ease us into the autumn season, but it is going to be quite a challenge for you to get your hands on them. Get online and get searching as Brothertiger's Feel, Coma Cinema's Only (Gobble Gobble's Sunshine Dust) and Jake Troth's Material Things are too good not to have on your iPod.

Classic Collection

Blink-182: Greatest Hits

After returning from an indefinite hiatus, with Blink-182 scheduled to play at the SECC on 17th August it is time for me to big-up one of my favourite punk pop bands. Not being able to choose one specific album, this greatest hits selection has a handful of my favourite tracks all in one setting. My highlights include Dammit from 1997's Dude Ranch, What's My Age Again from 1999's Enema Of The State, The Rock Show and First Date from 2001's Take Off Your Pants And Jacket, Feeling This and Always from the 2003 self-titled fifth studio record and the cover of The Only Ones Another Girl, Another Planet for drummer Travis Barker's MTV reality television show, Meet The Barkers. Having been soundtrack to my College and University years, I am happy to see Blink return to the fore and look forward to hearing what frantic raw sounds they have in store for us this time round.

If you've got a recommendation you think I should tune into or an idea for the Classic Collection section, hook me up on Twitter @Jenster13. Your suggestions may then find themselves in print.

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