CD-Charts Position 91
Average Rating:

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Yours Truly, Angry Mob

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: Kaiser Chiefs

Release Date February 26, 2007
I'm not gonna lie - I thought Employment was an utterly brilliant record. It made me quite obsessed with the chiefs that yeah and is still in my Top 20 all time favourite albums which is saying something.

So you can imagine how heartbroken I was when I finally heard this. Yes, it's good but nothing special at all, certainly not in the way the first one was. I was so excited for the record I downloaded bad quality live rips off the internet and loved what I was hearing - a more serious direction with still some great music. But unfortunatley Lightning never strikes in the same place twice and Stephen Street turned those brilliant tunes into something quite bland.

With Employment I listened to a track off it pretty ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 92
Average Rating:

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Tired Of Hanging Around

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: The Zutons

Release Date April 17, 2006
To be honest, I did not think much of "Who Killed..." A couple of catchy pop tunes, for sure, but it was "bubble gum" music for the most part. This album remains true to the band's sense of having fun with their music, but it has a much more confident sound and the production is much improved. Touring the States with The Killers also seems to have rubbed off on how the band now sounds. Moreover, to their credit, the record again romps home in just over 40 minutes.

The themes are varied and frequently concern the more mundane aspects of life - the stress of taking public transport to work ("Tired of Hanging Around"), why good nights out always end in miserable hangovers the next day ("It's the Little Things We Do"), or getting over a relationship ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 93
Average Rating:

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The Stone Roses

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: Stone Roses

Release Date June 13, 2004
one of the most overrated albums ever, not much that's memorable about it, good impression of jangly Byrds style 60's pop, couple of good songs, lots of attitude, nothing much more.

CD-Charts Position 94
Average Rating:

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Watershed (Special Edition)

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: Opeth

Release Date June 02, 2008
I am very new to Opeth (8 weeks). A Death Metal Drummer guy at work said 'try this mr prog rock!' So I did and WOW! I love a bit of cheesy prog truth be told but really love dirges a.k.a Pink Floyd (Animals being their best album in my opinion). But Opeth are something else and now that I have listened to every album many many times, all the time in fact, i think they have become my favorite band! How sad... I dont think i have ever heard a band that has produced so many great ideas per album and consistently created atmospheres worthy of Floyd and then some! The only thing I have a problem with is that I have been working with this guy for two years and he has only just showed me what I have been missing!

CD-Charts Position 95
Average Rating:

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Twenty One

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: Mystery Jets

Release Date June 09, 2008
It REALLY annoys the faeces out of me when bands re-release ablums with a new song and a snazzier cover. When I compile my CD square, I like to see nice bright colours and prettiness in the covers, like this here version has, but my original one does not. I'm not saying I don't like the cover, it's just this one has really funky writing.

Also, the matter of the new song. It seems as if Mystery Jets have taken the "Two Doors Down" opportunity to lengthen their album and, dare I say it, sell more. Why could they have not just put the new song on the album in the first place? Adding it in now and re-releasing just makes fans who bought it when it came out originally feel like they are missing out.

If you didn't buy the first version of this ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 96
Average Rating:

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The Warning

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: Hot Chip

Release Date May 22, 2006
Genre-bending Hot Chip have not only released some of the singles of the year but one of its best albums. As with Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkley recently, mid-way into the `noughties' we are starting to see some real wit and invention in pop music that may come to define the decade. `The Warning' finds them putting heart and soul into their curious mish-mash of folk whimsy, house and electronica. For all the sonics and low-fi trickery, and the comedy lyrics, there is beauty and genuinity shining throughout. Their songs are unconventionally tangential, with phases and subtexts, but pulled off with a playful insouciance that belies some of the technical brilliance.

After the abrasive aural assault of the opener `Careful' is the brilliant single `And I was a boy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 97
Average Rating:

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Lookout Mountain Lookout Sea

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: Silver Jews

Release Date June 02, 2008
Hearing the Silver Jews have a new album out always leads to a short and dangerous drive to the nearest record shop for me. I can get from work to Avalanche records in Edinburgh in about 40 minutes if I push it: they close at 6...

I thought I had got passed this stuff now. Good God, my 'co-workers' give me funny looks as I try to tell them about David Berman's band - how funny and memorable his words are and how he puts them sleekly in such great tunes.
This is always going to be not so mainstream: unfair but true.

This one is pretty upbeat in comparison to the earlier records. David Berman is feeling better now. Whew!
:-)

CD-Charts Position 98
Average Rating:

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Ballad of the Broken Seas

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan

Release Date January 30, 2006
I can only agree with the earlier reviewer, the pairing of Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan is a match made in heaven. Some unkindly dismiss Belle as the 'princess of twee' but not here, that's for certain. There's a strong sense of rhythm dominating much of the music, and wonderful arrangements; False Husband has a terrific Morricone 'spagetti western' sound, a lone guitar with reverb disappearing into some deep well, and then those sonorous tubular bells.

There's a good range of material, nearly all composed by Isobel, who also produces as well as singing and playing quite a variety of instruments. While the singing voice of the album is Lanegan's, it's definitely her project, and one that has real substance.

As the previous reviewer said, the sound ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 99
Average Rating:

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Started A Fire

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: One Night Only

Release Date February 11, 2008
Bought this on the strength of the Just for Tonight single...one of the few current tracks with a strong melody at the moment. It's so nice to hear a band who can right proper melodic and well-structured songs and deliver them with some passion without sounding as if they are about to have a nervous breakdown/anxiety attack.

My personal favourite is Time but most of the tracks have something going for them...the production by Steve Lillywhite contributes to the overall anthemic feel...there are also a few whimsical retro moments which, suprisingly work well in this context.

I'm told the singer is only 17 so there should be more to come - for a first album this is very impressive.

Definitely worth buying...

CD-Charts Position 100
Average Rating:

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Velocifero

CD-Charts > Music > Indie
by: Ladytron

Release Date June 02, 2008
Velocifero is Ladytron's fourth album and it continues to baffle me as to why they're not regular chart fixtures as they have the songwriting talent, the determination and the ability to be massive.

As someone who has followed them since their stunning debut 604, I've no idea why their work isn't being snapped up all over the place but then the public are strange folk! It should be noted that Velocifero was released on Nettwerk, the third record company they've recorded for: the indie Emporer Norton/Invicta Hi-Fi (which released 604 and its sequel Light & Magic) closed and they were then snapped up by Island with which 2005's heavier Witching Hour saw the light of day. Unfortunately no hit singles were forthcoming and Ladytron were dropped but could it be that ... Read More: