CD-Charts Position 1
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Brandi Carlile: On Tour

by: Brandi Carlile

Release Date
Brandi Carlile is amazing! I bought both of her UK albums on the back of an Amazon home page promotion on new artists. Generally I find most of the music that I buy from these sorts of promotions to be enjoyable but most don't have the wow factor. Brandi has that wow factor! Her voice is incredible and the songwriting is beautiful. Brandi's band (aka The Twins) is top notch. I went to see Brandi play live at a small theatre in Leicester Square - I've seen many live bands in the past year and I have to say that Brandi Carlile was one of the most powerful acts I've seen for years.

Branda Carlile is a star in the making. Watch her space!

CD-Charts Position 2
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Little Dreamer

by: Beth Rowley

Release Date May 19, 2008
Was wondering what to buy recently when I saw a review of this album and an interview with the singer in a sunday magazine.Turns out that this is a brilliant album,and has traces of blues,gospel,pop,country,and a touch of the brilliant Karen Carpenter about it.

Stand-out tracks for me include the intense deep gospel of Nobody's Fault But Mine and One Cloud,and the lighter yet still uplifting pop of So Sublime and i Shall Be Released.

A varied collection then in some ways,yet with a pleasing undercurrent of blues running throughout the whole album to string it all together and give it a sense of identity.

Really uplifting and at times extremely powerful! For once the hype may be justified!

CD-Charts Position 3
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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 ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Lessons To Be Learned

by: Gabriella Cilmi

Release Date March 31, 2008
Cilmi has a characterful voice, but her album is let down by poor quality control. 'Sweet About Me' is undeniably great, and the ballad 'Safer' is well above average, but much of the rest seems like autopilot Xenomania to me - too many tracks sound like the ones Girls Aloud left in the wreckage after a ram-raid on the studio. The bonus cover of 'Echo Beach', a proper song with a memorable tune, only shows up the fluffy filler that precedes it.

CD-Charts Position 5
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That's Proper Folk

by: Various Artists

Release Date April 07, 2008
A selection of short stories, rich in meaning, but with no pretensions. Great fun to listen to again and again, especially on long car journeys, because as each Country of origin or Story-teller changes we become alert and ready. Am so impressed that I really want to buy another compilation album like this.

CD-Charts Position 6
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Worrisome Heart

by: Melody Gardot

Release Date February 18, 2008
This is really a nice discovery, if you don't know Melody Gardot's tunes. I didn't know of her before listening to this, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the awful cover concealed a tight little collection of songs. The production takes up the baton from, say, Ray La Montagne or Madeleine Peyroux, if you happen to know either of those chaps, being all smoky clubs and drum brushes and minor key niceness. Though it could be said to threaten, it never drops into hokey caricature, but delivers I think an honest collection of songs, well worth repeated listening.

CD-Charts Position 7
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Liejacker

by: Thea Gilmore

Release Date May 19, 2008
Took a couple of listens to get into Liejacker but now I'm hooked. Is there no limit to Thea's talent?

Brilliant on CD but to see her perform live is unforgetable - she engages with the audience, she's witty, personable, rude too! - she made us laugh, then she tugged at the heart strings with her next song. One amazing lady.

CD-Charts Position 8
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Fleet Foxes

by: Fleet Foxes

Release Date June 16, 2008
My music tastes usually have to include talented musical playing ability i.e.Porcupine Tree, Keith Jarrett, Jimi Hendrix, Weather Report etc so it unusual for me to rave about an album based on singing and harmony vocals but the Fleet Foxes have given me an album that I have not enjoyed so much for years. I dont do a bundle on singers apart from Jeff Buckley,Thom Yorke, early Neil Young and Lowell George but the phrasing of the vocals on these delightful songs really hit the spot. Could be too mellow for some but on further and repeated listening it is ever so rewarding. Im raving to my friends(those with musical taste) so much about the Fleet Foxes that I feel the need to write my first ever review. Buy this album now.

CD-Charts Position 9
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Melody

by: Sharleen Spiteri

Release Date July 14, 2008
along with Duffy these are my 2 albums of the year. Every track is superb, very classy production and I love the use of horns on a lot of the tracks. Only 2 or 3 sound like Texas, otherwise you get Tamla, Nancy Sinatra and a French sound.I wish there were more songs as the 11 fly by when listening and its under 40 mins long. Do another next year Sharleen!

CD-Charts Position 10
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Sunday At Devil Dirt

by: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan

Release Date May 12, 2008
After reading some mediocre reviews of this album I was shocked when I finally heard it and it turned out that I really enjoyed listening to it. It's clearly a step away from the first album, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. This album has much more of blues, kind of Nashville Skyline-era Bob Dylan, feel to it, and I personally think that their vocals work much better together here, whereas the first album often felt like one or other of the vocal tracks had simply been 'tagged on'.

All of the tracks on this album seem to gel together very well, and although there aren't really any stand-out 'single' type tracks, I do not think that this is a bad thing at all.

It might take a few listens to really get into it, but this is well worth a few ... Read More: