CD-Charts Position 1
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The Reminder

by: Feist

Release Date April 23, 2007
With lots of albums, I have to listen numerous times before I am able to form a definitive opinion on them.

Not so with The Reminder. From the very opening of So Sorry I was encapsulated. The album's a real emotional journey, with beautifully soft and bare songs such as The Park well complemented by the catchy I Feel It All and Sea Lion Woman to name but a few, which you can't help but tap your foot to.

Great songwriting, great production, and a superb voice.

CD-Charts Position 2
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Open Season [Us Import]

by: Feist

Release Date July 18, 2006
This CD mops up some of Feist's collaborations and a smattering of remixes of tracks from her superb album "Let It Die". There's some nice stuff here but the casual fan could certainly live without this. The first two tracks - a solo piano version of "One Evening" by Gonzales and a stripped down acoustic cover of the Bee Gees' "Inside & Out" from a BBC session - are gorgeous. A pity the latter is spoiled by peak-level distortion; the BBC engineer should have been shot.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Seventh Tree

by: Goldfrapp

Release Date February 25, 2008
For all those who loved Felt Mountain and were horrified at Goldfrapp's complete departure from it with 'Black Cherry' (well, I was horrified, anyway!), you're sure to enjoy this album.

I guess it's unreasonable to expect any band to keep churning out the same material - except for Status Quo who got away with it for years, how I do not know. So I would describe 'Seventh Tree' as a beautiful return to Goldfrapp's original album, but with a slight difference. It is not as dark as Felt Mountain can be in places, but every bit as deep. I would also say it's the most gentle work Goldfrapp has produced.

In short, if you loved Felt Mountain (and loathed Black Cherry) you will love this album.

CD-Charts Position 4
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Fleet Foxes

by: Fleet Foxes

Release Date June 16, 2008
Wonderful and haunting. It sounds both contemporary, seventies and has more than a hint of old 19th century American folk music about it.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Alas I Cannot Swim

by: Laura Marling

Release Date February 11, 2007
I have heard this album a number of times now and each time I find something else to like about it. She is a very young lady with an old soul. Great stuff.
Alas I Cannot Swim

CD-Charts Position 6
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A Girl Called Eddy

by: Girl Called Eddy

Release Date June 21, 2004
This is the extraordinary debut album of A Girl Called Eddy, brimming with romance, hypnotic beauty and languid melodies. A Girl Called Eddy is the stage name of Erin Moran - "just a nickname that stuck" she says - who was born in Neptune, New Jersey, USA. The tracks were mostly recorded in a wet and windy winter in Sheffield, north England, with the help of ex-Pulp guitarist Richard Hawley as a producer, and released through the independent label Anti Records.

The result is 51 minutes to drown yourself in - its all-absorbing warmth, wistful and melancholic lyrics, feelings drifting between deep nostalgia, heartache and romance. Most of the tracks are mellow, cocooned in cotton wool and spare arrangements, with singing that is most reminiscent of Karen ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Third

by: Portishead

Release Date April 28, 2008
Much of the time bands who have gone into hibernation return with albums which are mere shadows of their previous work. This album is the complete opposite and successfully captures the eerie tones which occupy many of their best songs. I simply cannot pick a favourite from an album which oozes style.

CD-Charts Position 8
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For Emma Forever Ago

by: Bon Iver

Release Date March 24, 2008
I'm puzzled about all the 5 star reviews here. This record does not deserve 5 stars. It's slightly above average and that's it.I couldn't decide between 2 and 3 stars.

The last 2 songs are the best, particularly "Stacks". Otherwise the singer's voice can be annoying and the songs, in general, have a deeply somniferous effect...like watching a very slow arthouse French movie.

CD-Charts Position 9
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Fur And Gold

by: Bat For Lashes

Release Date July 16, 2007
My friend recommended this album to me, reminded me of lots of other great female singers first time round! Now I just can't stop playing it what a cracking album. Ps laughed my head off when I saw the bicycle video.I can not wait to see them live !

CD-Charts Position 10
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I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too

by: Martha Wainwright

Release Date May 12, 2008
Believe me, it's usually the other way round. Usually I have nothing but praise for the man and his show that introduce me to so many fantastic artists. But in the case of this album, seeing Martha Wainwright perform on that show before purchasing `I Know You're Married, but I've Got Feelings Too' has ruined me, because if I hadn't seen her perform live I would have been blissfully unaware that in the right form this collection of songs presents an absolutely incredible portrait of a uniquely charismatic singer/song-writer. But not when they're delivered with decidedly less passion on an over-produced album that is not a proper showcase for these beautifully written songs and the tortured/passionate voice that always performs to perfect spine-tingling effect in the right setting. ... Read More: