Jen's Music Review

Jenness Mitchell • Published 1 Aug 2012 09:30 0 Comments

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Ministry of Sound: The Chillout Session

Ministry of Sound never fail to deliver a cracking compilation. However, as with my thoughts on the recently released Now! 82 and Pete Waterman presents the Hit Factory, this album is crammed with really decent anthems but the £9.99 (iTunes) price tag is a tad too steep for old songs. Genuinely there's not one bad track on here - from the likes of Lana Del Rey's Video Games, Emelie Sandé's Heaven and Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know to Ben Howard's Only Love and Benjamin Francis Leftwich's Pictures. There are even a handful of superb covers, such as Birdy's Skinny Love (Bon Iver), Ellie Goulding's Your Song (Elton John) and James Vincent McMorrow's Higher Love (Steve Winwood). However, Florence + The Machine's You've Got The Love has been doing the rounds for at least three years, Mylo's In My Arms was released in 2005 and Everything But The Girl's Missing is a whopping 18 years old. Being completely honest, this isn't a top-notch MoS chillout playlist - it's a collection of dated Chart favourites thrown together to make some cash.

Passion Pit: Gossamer

Passion Pit return with their second studio record, Gossamer. The American electro-poppers first caught my attention back in 2008 with their debut EP Chunk of Change. It was actually through Passion Pit that I came across Ellie Goulding after she covered Sleepyhead and toured with the band before going on to top the Charts with her own material. To date PP's Smile Upon Me is still one of my favourite songs and reminds me of summer adventures and strong cocktails, whilst introductory album Manners (2009) elicits memories of winter parties and spiked Eggnog. Having scored tracks on the likes of Gossip Girl and Skins, the band haven't messed with their winning formula (unlike MGMT) and have continued to deliver a sugar rush of easy synth on this release. This is indie-dance at its best - think what 80's new wave would sound like now. Don't be fooled by Gossamer's bubble-gum façade however, the songs tackle depression, alcoholism and overnight success deflation. Highlights include Take A Walk, Cry Like A Ghost, It's Not My Fault I'm Happy, Carried Away and Love Is Greed.

Spotify Playlist Recommendation

Family of the Year: Treehouse. The Errors: Pleasure Palaces. Holy Fu*k: Red Lights. Four Tet: She Just Likes To Fight. Three Trapped Tigers: 1. Air Review: Waiting Lessons. Ms Mr: Hurricane. TV On The Radio: Wolf Like Me. Kitty The Lion: Duck. The Boxer Rebellion: Spitting Fire.

These tracks will smoothly see you through a rainy day.

Videos to check out:

Lana Del Rey, Summertime Sadness: www.youtube.com/user/LanaDelRey

No Doubt, Settle Down: www.youtube.com/user/NoDoubtVEVO

Nelly Furtado: Spirit Indestructible: www.youtube.com/user/NellyFurtadoVEVO

Madonna, Turn Up The Radio: www.youtube.com/user/MADONNAVEVO

Lil Wayne, My Homies Still ft. Big: www.youtube.com/user/LilWayneVEVO

Ne-Yo, Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself): www.youtube.com/user/NeYoVEVO

Gig updates:

Beverley Knight, O2 ABC, Glasgow (3 August)

Lianne La Havas, Liquid Room, Edinburgh (4 August)

Fatherson, Liquid Room, Edinburgh (17 August)