Jen's Music Review

Jenness Mitchell • Published 1 Sep 2010 16:03 0 Comments

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Fight Like Apes: The Body Of Christ And The Legs Of Tina Turner

This has got to be the best name for an album ever. Given that past lyrics from Fight Like Apes has included With faux fur coats tied around your head/Japanese children in your bed/And then she looked at me and said/I don't like Simple Kid, I am not surprised some of the tracks on this second studio record have humour in their title as seen with Waking Up With Robocop, Pull Off Your Arms And Let's Play In Your Blood and Ice Cream Apple F**k. Progressing from their debut, Fight Like Apes And The Mystery Of The Golden Medallion, the Dublin band have grown musically without losing the essence of what attracted me to their sound in the first place. The frantic pop-punk beats lay to a background of synth still feature heavily, but it seems to have matured from what was on offer before. Even more vibrant that Best Coast's latest release, The Body Of Christ And The Legs Of Tina Turner is one of the hidden gems of the year.

Various Artists: American Dreams

Dawson's Creek was one of the first American television shows to maximise profits from fan following by releasing a soundtrack to the series way back in 1999. Cleverly a specific choice of song can not only make or break a scene but can also thrust an unknown artist into the spotlight, so soundtracks make for big business within the music industry. Nowadays however you can barely watch a single episode of your favourite show without being encouraged to download a handful of tracks - you need only look at Glee as an example of this. I am not complaining as I have found many great bands that would otherwise have been left unknown if they were not given a play within the likes of Skins, Grey's Anatomy and Veronica Mars. From the outset American Dreams seems like a solid compilation of tracks that have featured as score to the likes of Sex And The City, One Tree Hill and 90210, however many listeners will probably already have The Rembrandts theme to Friends, Phantom Planet's California from The OC and Natasha Bedingfield's Unwritten title track from The Hills within their music collection. And even if they do not, the tracks themselves have been a tad overplayed and are not worth the cost of the download. There is one single standout song on this record however. It belongs to Bloc Party, is called Signs, and was featured within an episode of Gossip Girl. That gains my approval.

Various Artists: Street Nation (2010)

In the same vein as the Clubland, Rock Classics and R&B In The Mix compilations, this record has been produced to ride on the recent street music Chart successes of N-Dubz, Tinchy Stryder and Chipmunk. Aside from the aforementioned artists, with additional appearances from the like of Professor Green, Tinie Tempah and Roll Deep, this album could arguably soundtrack a Step Up or Street Dance movie. As with the American Dreams record however, Street Nation would have been better if the playlist featured new or unreleased music. Most fans will already have Florence + The Machine & Dizzee Rascal's You've Got the Dirtee Love within their collection, along with Wiley & Chew Fu's Take That and my future husband Taio Cruz's Dynamite. If anything this album would make an excellent gift for those you wish to introduce to the Grime/Street R&B scene.

Download Recommendation

Futuristic Retro Champions: May The Forth/Settle Down

After catching my attention with the bubblegum electro sounds of the track Speak To Me, Glasgow/Edinburgh four-piece Futuristic Retro Champions have again found themselves on my iPod with the release of their debut Single, May The Forth/Settle Down. It can be risky for Scottish artists to sing with a strong accent however vocalist Sita Pieraccini's lilt is attractively soft. Obviously the line "hottest kid on the coolest scene" within May The Forth is sung directly about me, so what is not to love about this synth popping track. Settle Down is a tad more melodically slow and as a self-proclaimed "eighties power ballad", showcases another side to a talented and up-and-coming band. For tracks, information and tour dates, check out www.retrochamps.bandcamp.com and www.myspace.com/retrochamps.

Classic Collection

Sigur Rós: Takk...

When you think of Icelandic singer-songwriters your immediate thought turns to crazy-swan-wearing Björk. Although a great artist in her own right, I am personally more of an Emiliana Torrini and Sigur Rós woman. Hailing from Reykjavik, Sigur Rós is an all-male post-rock band that has formed their intriguing sound via lead singer Jón "Jónsi" Þór Birgisson's falsetto along with the selected use of Vonlenska (non-literal language, non-lexible vocable and phonemes). For many years I thought that Sigur Rós were singing in their native tongue, only to find out it was in fact gibberish to fit in with the music. Takk...(Icelandic for Thanks...) is Sigur Rós' 2005 fourth studio release and is an absolute beauty. Filled with what can only be described as amazingly pretty instrumental, this Classic will stand the test of time as there is not one other musician out there right now to rival Sigur Rós' output. Standout tracks are Glósóli (Glowing Soul), Hoppípolla (Jumping Into Puddles) and Sæglópur (Lost At Sea). If played within the right atmosphere, you will get goosebumps.

If you've got a recommendation of Artists 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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