The Killers Battle Born

Four years since The Killers collosal album Day & Age truly breathed new-life into American rock-culture, the four-piece Las Vegas band return with a brand new album 'Battle Born'. Following lead-singer, Brandon Flowers reasonable solo-success many fans feared Day & Age would be The Killers finale as a band, yet Flowers stayed true to his roots, and thankfully so is their new sound on first-single, "Runaways" is fresh and spirited. 

Flowers distincitve, wailing vocals are as usual key to making the track stand-out from a competitive-crowd, but  lyrically the song has an edge. With Flowers' powerful voice the song plays over a teenage encounter of his capturing that spirited energy feeling that anything is possible of an adolescent. It's bright, yet fiery and serves as the perfect uplifting introduction to their brand-new album. Starting slowly with keys and bass accompanied by Flowers singing, the tune builds to the energetic chorus. "Let's take a chance baby we can't lose, Mean we're all just Runaways." He reminisces this time and realises as they grew older, their spirits parted and their passion departed, commanding vocally for that feeling to come back.

The video is electric with the band playing in the sky, the scene transforms at various points in the song when Flowers sings of "Looking at the Stars", a city skyline appears clearly having some significance to their relationship. The song is enough to paint a substantial story and the video shows that.

A dynamic return to the scene from the classic American rock band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMbyWSGYUgc

Plan B the narrator...

For anyone whose had the opportunity to see Plan B's ground-breaking film 'Ill Manors' or even watched the trailer, you will understand Drew portrays himself as 'The Narrator' of a gritting, moving inner-city story, a role he takes on with tenacity and ardent venom. Welcome to Plan B's latest ground-breaking, stirring track, softer to the ears yet just as emotionally intense.

Deepest Shame tells the tale of a lady owned by the devils of the night. Riddled with the theme of entrapment, the girl with such a bright future ahead of her as a young girl is "crashing like an aeroplane." She can't go back, can't make a new life for herself, can't do anything without the pain of street-life.

With a gentle drum-beat and rousing acoustics Drew's vocals take centre-stage and he doesn't fail to deliver. Singing every note with conviction and heart, matched with his exceptional wordplay capturing the girl's predicament he paints a heart-renderingly, dark image. The soulful, heartfelt element to Drew's voice really is what paints such a vivid image in this tune.

The video, interchanges between shots of Drew and snippets from 'Ill Manors', truly showing the girl's hellish lifestyle, a slave to wicked, gluttonous men  with nothing but cruel intentions. At first, it seems like she isn't so encaged in that life, but as the video progresses and the song progresses, it shows Plan B wasn't lying when singing. "There's no way back from here, on out, only one place left to go."

A stroke of genius from Forest-Gate's finest...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke7LGK3UhxA

Inside Delilah's Love

Paris-born Paloma Stoecker, better known as Delilah is truly a distinctive artist who apart from her debut-single Go, without question hasn't gained the recognition she deserves. Following touring with Drum and Bass Heavyweights Chase and Status and fellow Hackney-based Singer-Songwriter Maverick Sabre, Delilah has released her artistic debut-album entitled, From the Roots Up. Heavily influenced by the contemporary music scene yet with Delilah's beautiful vocals and wordplay it surely is a modern-day masterpiece. 

Fourth-single, Inside My Love, is simply stunning. Majestically primal, the lyrics show the raw-unadulterated pleasure of love-making on the human-side. She gives an insight into the feelings associated with both the physical and spiritual embrace of love. Delilah's distinctly heavenly vocals are really what give her music the edge it has however. They're pure, angelic and glowing. Pouring emotion into every word, every syllable the feelings within Inside My Love are almost palpable. Accompanied, by a bongo-beat to really capture the Primal nature of the song makes this something of a story. 

The video isn't needed to bring the song to life as her voice is already capable of that, but the foreplay between her and lover acquires the Spiritual love that she is trying to convey in the song. A real talent, engaging the listener more than most artists are capable of. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvkgnm8jcyY

The most respected member...P!

Grime and Dubstep, both well established genres in their own right, but now  it is clear to see that the Grime Scene is moving towards Dubstep as it evolves. If executed properly, these two genres combined create something devastatingly special. Welcome to the world of P Money, dubstep's new right-hand man. Already going in "HAM" on Magnetic Man's monstrous smash Anthemic and creating something truly distinctive with True Tiger in the form of Slang Like This, "KingPMoney" as he likes to be known has already succeeded in becoming a strong presence in the dubstep scene, but it's time for his solo material to really set the world alight.

Dubsteppin, released less than a month ago, really stays true to his grime roots whilst including a heavy beat that really shows off why P Money does have the dubstep-world in the palm of his hands. P's flow is pacey and purposeful and he really attacks the beat, explaining why his presence in the scene is an important one. What's probably most refreshing about P is that he doesn't rely on a feature or an autotune in the chorus. His distinctive hard-hitting style works just as well in the hook. "The most respected member! I make the vibe much better! Bouncing left, bouncing right, cos I'm the Dubstepper!" He undoubtedly does create an infectious vibe that simply makes you want to move and bounce your head with the beat.

The video depicts P at a Festival, really getting the crowd moving, backed by a couple of DJ's and quite simply that is how it should be. Rinse have a real talent in P Money and  his future lies in Dubstep, he has come under some criticism for supposedly abandoning the Grime in favour of the more lucrative Dubstep scene, but that quite simply is the way Grime is evolving. Expect this, "respected member!" to get bigger and bigger and bigger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzAX_dwbL8A

Olympics 2012 - Muse with Survival

The London Olympics have already, far more than anticipated, captivated the nation. With a spectacular opening-ceremony, quirky and typically British demonstrating the Industrial Revolution, Bond and the Queen and of course the unrivaled British export of music. So it's hardly surprising when lead-singer of Muse, Matt Bellamy was asked to compose the official London 2012 Anthem it was something him and fellow band mates were keen to grab with open-arms. 


Survival, is the title of this stadium-anthem, befitting for the world's most momentous competition by a worldwide monstrous band in Muse.  Bellamy, describes the track as expressing, "a sense of conviction and determination to win." and it certainly succeeds in that. It's a rousing tune that begins with stirring strings capturing the roller-coaster of emotions that go hand-in-hand with Sport and particularly the Olympics. 


Once the song truly erupts with the explosive guitar-riffs and Bellamy's commanding feels, it really has quite a dark sound. But in a way  that captures the raw hard-work and 'never say die' attitude needed for a successful Olympian. Bellamy almost chants the vocals in a cult-like way, which are simple but unforgettable. "Yes I am prepared, to stay alive, I won’t forgive, the vengeance is mine, and I won’t give in, because I choose to thrive, I’m gonna win." It wouldn't be hard to imagine a Olympian sitting down in the dressing-room listening to this just prior to entering the battle-scene to really reinstate their desire and that is probably what the song was designed for. 


Bellamy and the rest of the band brought the song to the key 2012 Olympic personnel, who "said they'd love to use it as the official tune." and it really only takes a listen to understand their enthusiasm and as to why they were chosen to carry the torch, as shown below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66molzUEkWI

World beginning to Feel the Love for D 'n' B

Drum and Bass has been rippling its distinct basslines and heavy drumbeats to chart-success for a few years and recently through the likes of DJ Fresh, Flux Pavillion and now Rudimental creating Monster hits as a genre it really has come a long way. Climbing to Number One in the UK just a couple of months ago are Hackney-based quartet Rudimental with their anthemic tune 'Feel the Love'.

The song features the soulful vocals of singer, John Newman, and really is a breath of fresh-air in the way it truly stays faithful to it's genre with the Drum and Bass aspects of the tune the centre-piece of the song, rather than , as many artists are beginning to rely, the vocals. It has all the ingredients to be this years Summer-Smash alongside DJ Fresh's 'The Power' most notably. Yet the song has considerable depth and meaning to it and the structure of it, with the incorporation  of a trumpet-solo gives it a compelling edge, that other Summery tunes designed purely for the 'feel-good factor' don't. But it doesn't create this atmosphere through the lyrics, which are spirited and repetitive, it quite simply creates a mood designed to galvanize the listener.

The video is atmospheric and rejunivating, set in small-town America with several young people as the beat builds they begin to ride around on horses, a sign of human-spirit and freedom and the power and momentum that it's capable of achieving.

Undoubtedly-unorthodox, yet utterly Brilliant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oABEGc8Dus0

Some Nights are Fun

It may come as a surprise that the New York band Fun have actually been together making music for quite a number of years, but only with their latest album Some Nights have they truly found their niche and really soared to success. Their first vigorous single, We are Young which featured Janelle Monae achieved many number one spots worldwide including the US and UK and they've followed it up with another stonking tune Some Nights. 

Sadly, it does feature a little autotune towards the end, which seems nothing short of futile given that lead singer Nate Ruess has a distinctive voice capable of reaching high notes. But don't let that put you off, like 'We are Young' it's uniquely special. 

The song is about a man, confused with his identity, he sings "Oh who am I? mmm...mmm..." The video uses an American War Scene to capture the underlying meaning of the song. It is as if he is in a battle with himself, wondering why he left his parents or changed his style. But the song remains uplifting, it begins with a chorus of singing chanting the hook and is soon joined by a military-like drum-beat. 

They are a quirky band, but in a way that appeals to the masses and I fully expect their album to deliver many more a memorable melody and infectious chorus. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQkBeOisNM0