Wall of Shame: Every hero's wake up call?

Probably there really is a god, or at least a higher power that keeps me away from all the crappy loads of music running through music channels as sewer. Don't get me wrong, I do respect everyone that works as a professional in this ruthless business, but sometimes I feel way to disgusted to be supportive. Such is the case with little miss Hayden Panettiere, best known as Claire Bennet from ABC's hit series "Heroes". Apart from her acting career she has a few mediocre attempts in singing of which I was most happily unaware of. A few days ago when one of Panettiere's efforts had been posted on my news feed on Facebook and my nosiness drove me straight to the hell called "Disney's teeny heavenly candy galore". I should check myself for diabetes and severe mental damage.

If you are a Jonas Brothers and alike fan Hayden is your girl, otherwise be warned!

Review: Felix da Housecat - He Was King

Who was king and does this mean he is not alive? Probably the two crucial answers in Felix da Housecat's new album that have no clarity. I guess it's just not my year, especially when it comes to favourite musicians and my dear Felix proves me no wrong. Sadly, we could all easily go without "He Was King" and now that is what I call a bummer, although I am not surprised at all.

Felix had his best years back when the electroclash scene was still vibrant, producing and meaningful. But after it's natural downfall and his dubious return to the house family, the picture got all smothered and some people obviously lost themselves in the vast fields of electronica. "He Was King" is somewhere in between house, electro, electropop and dance, without leaving any impression of being a whole product, but rather a compilation of various works under the electronic shield. I have always thought of Felix as a wise producer knowing "da" real good stuff, but as it seems things change and in this instance not for good. Honestly...I was bored! Yes, "He Was King" was just a few ideas away from absolute boredom and I could almost fall asleep while listening.

No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't come up with any praise and for what's worth this album just doesn't deserve it. Total lack of originality, songs that sound old as my grandma and brutally blunt tunes knocked out the few positive words I was planning to write down, but all went to oblivion as soon as I reached the end of the tracklist. With a few exceptions "He Was King" is a major filler either in your CD collection or on your hard disk. Actually even the exceptions are nothing special, they just sound OK compared to the rest of the material.

Songs to hear: "Machine", "Spank U Very Much" and "Do We Move Your World"

Rating: 5/10

First single:

Review: The Crystal Method - Divided by Night

There is nothing better than pleasant surprises, especially when they come in the nick of a time. Such is the case with The Crystal Method's fourth proper studio album "Divided by Album", which is their first in five years. I dare say it grabbed me from the very first listen and enjoyed listening it till the very end. The Crystal Method might have never reached the popularity of The Chemical Brothers, but with with albums like their latest one, they do prove to be quite the competition.

"Divided by Night" sticks to the duo's tradition of extended guest appearances throughout the record both vocal or instrumental contributions. Eight out of twelve songs contain guest vocals, which virtually makes this album their least instrumentally dependent. The big number of collaboration give an additional asset to the final product and only prove for the complexity and maturity The Crystal Method have striven to demonstrate. Nevertheless, "Divided by Night" is not your another The Chemical Brothers' album squeezed to its maximum for the sake of commercial success and potential chart-breakers. Don't get me wrong, I like the Brothers a lot, but The Crystal Method happen to be still on track with the actual meaning of making music and care to be less over the top and electronically snobby.

Still fusing as many genres as possible, Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland keep up to their own standards with a few intriguing improvements. Improvements that make their music more accessible without the blunt taste of selling-out. Stylistically "Divided by Night" has little to do with their genuine big-beat sound, which is another indicator that the whole genre is heading down the spiral to oblivion. In the times of such a high diversity of electronic styles sticking to the good old beats and turntables equals almost suicide and with their latest release The Crystal Method put the knives away from their wrists. Of course, "Divided by Night" could have had some more surprises in store and be even more outstanding and dancefloor-crashing, but let's be honest The Crystal Method have never been your club regulars. If you don't know/remember why grab the new album and divide your night with a few original tunes.

Songs to hear: "Divided by Night", "Drown in the Now", "Sine Language", "Double Down Under" and "Black Rainbows"

Rating: 8/10

Review: Gossip - Songs for Men

Music for men sung by an open lesbian! Now that is how I like it! American band Gossip is still a hot gossip and this time they offer you more to be jealous of. Beth Ditto is no wussy and she likes being herself even if this means to be criticized for her attitude and be discussed about her quite eye-poking eccentricity and sexuality. Nevertheless, Ditto's media challenges have little to no effect on their music, which has improves with every next record.

"Music for Men" is not your lesbian-kick-ass album that diminishes masculinity or praises woman-to-woman love in the name of emancipation and personal liberation. Sorry to those who were awaiting Gossip with the axes ready to chop-off a few heads, but "Music for Men" happens to be an intelligent post-punk/alt rock exploration of personal battles, the emotionally challenging moments and the harsh truth behind the mundane course of life and the lies we tell on daily basis. Being strong, with the guard up and knowing the perks to survive in the concrete jungle is what makes everyone of us an essential part of the community. The rest is crap and Ditto knows that best.

Although "Standing in the Way of Control" was Gossip's breakthrough release their new album shows some visible changes for good or for bad. Just three years ago this Searsy, Arkansas based band had to face the hardships surrounding the whole overnight stardom and give a serious thought on their next material, which could put an end to their success and send them straight to the "kind" hands of critics. I guess, Ditto had a few top notch ideas hidden somewhere around her bellybutton and "Music for Men" proves that after a very strong "debut" on the big scene one could actually record an adequate follow-up. Of course, to those too much in love with their older material this album might come as a surprise or a big No-No, but after a few listens you'll tune into the beats of Ditto's dance-punk groove.

Songs to hear: "Heavy Cross", "Love Long Distance", "Men in Love" and "For Keeps"

Rating: 7/10

Review: Passion Pit - Manners

If you've long missed a quality indie pop album on the prowl "Manners" by Passion Pit is out here to fill in a few cavities. Debuting just a couple of years ago the American band Passion Pit brought a fresh breeze in the lately rather stagnant electropop scene with some clever ideas and stylistic manners.

"Manners" has everything that should be expected from an indietronica album: brave experimenting, intriguing vocal-instrumental combinations, pushing a few boundaries further and sticking to their own kind of originality. This record may not be a groundbreaking detour from the straight electropop line, but definitely draws direct inspiration from other areas such as new wave, electro-rock and chamber pop, which add up to the diversity and saturation of the whole product. Lyrically Passion Pit show that words are a fine instrument to express emotions and they sound even better when accompanied by memorable tunes.

Nevertheless, I should warn you about the heavy falsetto that vocalist Michael Angelakos has, cause it may sound a bit too annoying at the very first listen (as happened with me). But after giving the album a second chance impressed by the sound quality I did start to enjoy his voice, which after the startle turns out to be a pleasant accompaniment to the instrumental arrangements. There is a track for almost every indie taste, from good old electronica to shaky dance-punk and soft alt-rock. The best thing is that despite the great variety "Manners" manages to stand its own ground with a stable structure and rhythmic change of pace and emotion.

Songs to hear: "The Reeling", "Make Light", "Moth's Wings" and "Folds in Your Hands"

Rating: 8/10

Review: Moby - Wait For Me

Ambient sadness! Depressing harmony! Tunes straight from the heart! Moby never misses out and "Wait For Me" is the 100% proof that he can make virtually any kind of music. Going through various stylistic stages, dubious experiments and a string of successful albums Moby concentrates entirely on the taste of ambiance that was had a vibrant part in his previous records. What he left as B-sides before, now sums the whole concept of his newest album, with no over the top melodies, fancy lyrics or indigestible messages.

"Wait For Me" is for the sole delight. No commercial aiming, no pushed efforts to be radio-friendliness and no disposable resolutions. The album tries to avoid the overwhelming success of Moby, as well as being a pretentious self-centered project with high expectations. "Wait For Me" is the last call for oneself to get hold off themselves and move on despite all the pain and the lows...after all we all need someone to wait for us. With the release of this album on his own label Moby has given himself enough space to develop his devotion to ambient music. Actually "Wait For Me" is his top notch ambient project, which in no means tries to overshadow any of Moby's previous ambient attempts.

The vast majority of included tracks is entirely instrumental with only few exceptions, which is nothing new to Moby, who has released an immense amount of material without vocals. Of course, this may be seen as a major flaw to those used to Richard's popular songs and they are right to some extent. Despite all the visible efforts "Wait For Me" leaves me with the impression that it has never been really finalized and a few more vocal tracks would have done good.

Not that the whole idea for an instrumentally based album is bad, but we have to face the facts: it's the vocal tracks that brought Moby to prominence. I guess, that is the reason why the first official single from "Wait For Me" is the vocal track "Pale Horses". The songs carries a slight resemblance to songs like "Natural Blues" or "Extreme Ways", which is a wise choice for the promotion of a less commercial release. Anyways, if you are not really into the whole chill-out/lounge stuff and slow tunes "Wait For Me" may be a hard one to swallow or an easy one to be cast away as boring and unoriginal. For those who have long anticipated an entirely ambient Moby album 2009 is their year. As far as I am concerned I do appreciate the new album, but I hope Moby will keep on offering new and unexplored stuff. After all that is the whole charm of his music or?

Songs to hear: "Pale Horses", "Wait for Me", "A Seated Night", "Study Wars" and "jltf"

Rating: 7/10

Review: Regina Spektor - Far

The Queen of anti-folk is back with a classy piano-driven elaborate album named just "Far", which is her fifth studio album and the along awaited continuation of her critically acclaimed record "Begin to Hope". With the soft touch of piano music and the distinctive sharpness of her voice Spektor demonstrates a talent, which is yet to reach its highest.

"Far" is a manifestation of Regina's desire to concentrate more on the validity of social values and on the impact of worldwide issues on the individual themselves and the changing prospects of success and failure. Despite not being as edgy or emotionally diverse as her previous album Spektor goes up the spiral with less commercial material, which may be seen as a step aside from her work up to now. I personally, cannot categorize "Far" as anti-folk due to the lack of the style's typical elements and it has more to do with the newest wave of the indie alt music movement that has taken the States overnight.

Regina Spektor has always been devoted to acoustic music and "Far" is no exception to the rule. Even more, it is an acoustic galore with plenty of tracks freed by any other instrument interference or technical tampering. The talented singer further explores the abilities of her vocal abilities, although if you are not very used to her singing style you might find it kind of annoying. This, of course, should be no obstacle to embracing "Far" to its fullest and spending some quality piano time.

Despite all the praise I should say that this album got just a little bit on my nerves with over the top yelling at certain points, repetitive piano parts and rather disappointing of the lyrical content of some of the songs. The emotional charge is quite chaotic and reaches extremes, which just don't fit in the same album tracklist. Regina knows piano music best, but maybe she should break the ice a little and give experimenting more field in her records. Her top competition Tori Amos may have released quite a disappointing album, but at least she did try a lot of things. As for Spektor, obviously she plays safe, keeping in a tight grasp her piano music. But for how long?

Songs to hear: "Man of a Thousand Faces", "Genius Next Door", "Laughing With", "Human of the Year" and "Dance Anthem of the 80s"

Personal rating: 7/10

Review: Asher Roth - Asleep in the Bread Aisle

It's been a long time since I last listened to something as bad as Asher Roth's debut studio album "Asleep in the Bread Aisle". Excuse me for being that honest from the first sentence, but this album is a pure waste of time...and space. Pretentious rapping, dull lyrics and lack of originality make this debut absolutely obsolete.

Asher Roth is a fresh name in the hip-hop scene, but he makes a disastrous first impression. I wonder how did he actually got to sign a deal, having in mind the quality of his first record, which sounds as if college rock meets amateur rapping. I gave my best to understand his rapping style, but mumbling words without any real rhythm can't be passed as such. Roth is another fine example why the majority of white people are incapable of rapping and an album like "Asleep in the Bread Aisle" could hardly be taken as a serious music product.

Probably Mr. Roth surely has his fans among US college fraternities or is kind of suitable for some teen American drama series and still in Europe his approach to music will remain dubious and rather distasteful. Admirable is the honesty Roth demonstrates throughout the album, which could have been his ticket to major recognition. Sadly, for him, honesty is a vicious friend, who likes to stab you in the back while kindly smiling. Plus the lyrical content is annoyingly predictable: chicks, getting high, drinking till the very last memory is wiped out, promiscuity and parties combining all of the before mentioned. Really? Cause we had no idea what shaking the trunk and doing spliff mean and only gurus like Asher could make it clear for us.

Despite including a load of guest performances and desperately trying to sound like a whitey with a black rap soul Asher Roth demonstrates doubtful skills and rather crude final product, which may easily find its spot among the weakest albums of 2009. For those who expect nothing more than a college freak out party should get their hands on "Asleep in the Bread Aisle", and for the rest saving yourselves a few bucks is the best thing you can do.

Songs to hear: "She Don't Wanna Man", "Lion's Roar" and "His Dream"

Personal rating: 3 out of 10

Review: Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D

Energy never dies they say? Hmmm, think again! Black Eyed Peas sound like this actually is The END (without the dots) and after a few listens I should agree with them shutting down business sooner or later. Don't worry, they are not breaking up...yet. Still, this is no explanation for the rather disappointing quality of "The E.N.D", which is their fifth studio effort.

"Boom Boom Pow" definitely was a hook-up with a more electronic sound and futuristic pre-taste dipped in dance beats. Sadly, the album contains too few hook-ups and after several listens the whole idea has gone to waste. Not that I really had high expectations for anything released by Black Eyed Peas, especially after the launch of Fergie' solo reach-out for extra cash and fame, but "The E.N.D" is cramped with tedious punch lines, boobies and trunks in jeans and (f)actually few good dance tracks. The worst thing is that they have tried out to include as many of their ideas as possible and it all turned out into a screwed up mess. Attempts have been made, but the majority of them have crashed and burnt.

You remember Destiny's Child? Yeah, Beyonce's trampoline to success...right! You do recall they used to say they were a band, although we all knew that the greedy B was taking most of the vocal credits. Now move it all to Black Eyed Peas, but instead of Beyonce place will.i.am. What do you see? Really? So did I! "The E.N.D" is another will.i.am and others project featuring from time to time the singing efforts of fellow band members. Fergie, of course, is second in charge of the singing parts, although she can't beat the presence of will.i.am throughout the album. Didn't he have a solo career where to share all of his music ideas and mambo-jumbo? Excuse me for being to pushy, but I really don't like bands openly dominated by a single member. If you doubt listen to "The E.N.D" and calculate the album-time that will.i.am takes up!

Anyway, the whole electropop spinal cord supporting the album structure doesn't really fit Black Eyed Peas. It actually reminds me of Kanye West and his "808s & Heartbreak" album, which was an intriguing combination of electronica and hip-hop. On the other hand "The E.N.D" sounds more like a super drunk party of genres, which ended with a furious fight and unexpected hook-ups.

Fergie is desperately trying to sound sexy and sleazy, tempting and provoking, but her improvement still hasn't seen the light. She should think of picking up a career as a screamo vocalist or finally hiring a vocal coach! Please, Stacy, stop whining instead of singing. Oh, yeah, and confessing that you like holding the bottle tight is no surprise to us...for real! The others demonstrate almost no creativity, their lyrics have lost even the last traces of wisdom, as well as bringing you to the verge of committing a suicide after dancing yourself to exhausting, figuratively saying. Truth is "The E.N.D" had an interesting dance concept, which was lost while trying to be exceedingly original and club-friendly. The END.

Songs to hear: "Boom Boom Pow", "Imma Be", "Out of My Head" and "Electric City"

Personal rating: 6 out of 10

Review: Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Some groups are meant to be over the top, being the hype of the year, although they really don't deserve it, others tend to stay a little bit aside, but hold plenty of fine surprises for true music lovers. Such is the case with the American lo-fi/folk quartet Grizzly Bear, who demonstrate to the best how quality sound is actually supposed to be created with their third studio album "Veckatimest".

Veckatimest is the name of a small island in Dukes County, Massachusetts, and I dare say it is one of the most original album titles I have recently heard. At first I thought it is nonsense, but when you listen to the album you could actually visualize this picturesque little island nested in the warm grasp of a blue bay. The whole album is a spiritual endeavor to maturity, the coming to terms with reality and the fascination of emotional complexity. The album merely insists on lyrical perfection, missed out only be the repetition of a few topics, but the best is kept after a few listens when you actually sink into the depths of symbols and indulge into the structural coherence in the album.

After a few experiments, left mostly out of studio albums, Grizzly Bear have proved to be one of the fastest evolving neo-folk American bands, who manage to put the standard higher with every next release of theirs. Although not being one of the most profound pioneers of chamber pop, they have played quite an important role in its popularization, especially in the States where the scene grew in a fortnight. "Veckatimest" is swinging between genres and still preserves preserves the idea of an album both stylistically and lyrically inseparable. They have even tried at certain points to sound poppier and more accessible, which may be seen as a major flaw to fans, who support their relation to the folk scene, but I believe that Grizzly Bear have done it very swiftly and softly, leaving a little surprise for anyone open to less commercially orientated pop music.

"Veckatimest" is not your million-copy selling groundbreaking album and definitely not radios' newest favourite addition to their playlists, but is this year's one of the best alternative records and if you are up for some quality time with meaningful texts, emotionally enriched tunes and extraordinarily charming vocals than Grizzly Bear's third album would be the right choice.

Songs to hear: "Two Weeks", "All We Ask", "While You Wait For The Others" and "Cheerleader"

Personal rating: 8 out of 10

Review: Eminem - Relapse

Sometimes silence is golden for real! Such is the case with Eminem and the newest add-up to his record history named "Relapse". After five years full of lows among which a pill-addiction, an eleven-week marriage to his two-time wife Kimberly Scott, the murder of his close friend the rapper Proof and producing career with a rather mild success, Eminem ended his hiatus giving a new flow to his solo music. "Relapse" is also expected to be followed by "Relapse 2", which is to be released some time this year.

"Relapse" is entirely based on the rapper's experience during his prescribed drugs addiction, as recordings started immediately after finishing his rehabilitation. This albums also marks the return of his well-known alter-ego Slim Shady, who eagerly demonstrates his indulgence into recreational drugs and craving for serial killing to some extent. Eminem sings about murdering Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan and makes fun of plenty of other famous persona. The rapper admits that apart from his own experience he has also drawn inspiration from documentaries on killers and movies dedicated to them, thus the more gruesome and darker lyrical content.

Dr. Dre is again the one standing behind the production part of this album, which is no surprise to anyone I guess. He can also be heard on two tracks: "Old Time's Sake" and "Crack a Bottle". The second one is a collaboration with 50 Cent, who is expected to release an album of his own later this year. "Relapse" is Eminem's album with the least guest performers on it for his entire career, allowing him to concentrate more on his own ideas and let them extensively develop.

Despite all the personal background that "Relapse" projects it does lack certain points of originality, sounds rather crude, distasteful and out of real emotions. Few new topics are introduced, but as a whole you have Eminem's usual dissatisfaction with the things in his private life, moaning and bitching around like violence is actually THE resolution. The mommy issue is present, as well as the love you-hate you situation with his ex-lovey-dovey wife, which have become less or more a burden in his last works. His lyrical killing spree provoked by Shady's uncontrollable drug addiction and the horror elements incorporated in several of the songs may be considered as a plus to his die-hard fans of brutality, but to the rest it may sound more of pushing things up in an unknown direction. Actually "Relapse" sounds to me as a desperate shout for help after a serious nervous breakdown and I tend to believe that Eminem is still not sure where the hell he is actually heading to.

Songs to hear: "3 a.m.", "Bagpipes from Baghdad", "We Made You", "Medicine Ball" and "Must Be the Ganja"

Personal rating: 5 out of 10

Review: Tori Amos - Abnormally Attracted To Sin

Abnormally attracted to boredom! Tori Amos sent me to bed with her new album! Despite all the respect I have for Amos' work I find it hard being positive about her newest effort. Let's say that I don't feel disappointed and pissed off after listening to it, but I had higher expectation and they were not met...to some extent.

"Abnormally Attracted To Sin" is the tenth proper studio album released by Amos and it continues her traditionally lengthy records, which usually exceed 15 tracks in a single CD. Definitely a blessing for the fanatics and a tease for the regular listeners like me. Not that I don't like to hear more material by my favourite singers, but Tori just goes beyond the acceptable for me. With her 17 brand new tracks Tori has absolutely nothing for us. We have already heard all the whining, all the emancipation, all the ambiguity and the despair, all the lust and pride, and still could use a little change. The whole album would have sounded perfect if wasn't her tenth already. Come on, Tori, is that all you've got?

I personally liked a lot the idea with the various alter-egos in the previous album "American Doll Posse", which was a fresh breath after several years of pretended wisdom and exploited sensuality. Well, yeah, old boring Tori is back on track ready to sing a few more lines about women, sinning and power of the sexes...blah, blah, blah. I start to believe that she has had the same little red book with lyrics, which she finds so amazing that after a few changes they are ready to be used in the newest album. Is Amos out of ideas? Has the music prodigy become a victim of her own talent? The answers are kept deep inside of "Abnormally Attracted To Sin" and if you manage to thoroughly listen to it more than three time you might have them for yourselves. If not, feel excused if you have dozed off while being attracted to sins.

Unless you are a die-hard Tori Amos fan, the chances to be abnormally in love with it are less probable. Still the album has a charm of its own built up by tracks like "Give", "Welcome To England" and "Flavor", which are the strong beginning of the record, which gradually goes down the interest index. The second part of the album is quite monotonous and I really had to make a few break while listening to it as I could hardly concentrate when the songs started sounding alike. "Abnormally Attracted To Sin" will definitely find no place in Amos' top three best albums and is no crucial add to the singer-songwriter genre as a whole. What's more a singer like Bat for Lashes came up with a more quality album, which despite being genuinely inspired by Tori's work has much more variety to offer than Amos herself. Watch out Tori, you are abnormally attracted to repetition!

Tracks to hear: "Give", "Welcome To England", "Flavor", "Maybe California" and "Police Me"

Personal rating: 6 out of 10

Review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

Karen O is back to kick some ass! Three years after Yeah Yeah Yeah's last studio album "It's Blitz" comes to surface as a fresh breath of dance-punk and dream rock. Although I have never been a big fan of the band I dare say most of their stuff deserves a good load of listening and happens to be way better than the majority of wannabe rock bands hailing from the States and Canada. As I am not following their career too much and I had no idea they have had already released the album and got to hear it just a day ago, but it immediately made a good impression...not that I had a bad one before.

From a first listen you can prove yourselves that the album is better in composition, has less stylistic detours and lyrically explores more topics. With this release Karen O shows more singing and less screaming, which is a big plus at least to her vocal abilities. She definitely can sing, but spent annoyingly too much trying to make us deaf. "It's Blitz" is not a leap to a more commercial niche, but rather an example of maturity and taking music for real. For most of the time the instruments create a structural harmony, which was hard to be found with their first releases, which sounded more distorted and less professional. Definitely time has gad its impact on Yeah Yeah Yeahs and "It's Blitz!" proves that even the biggest party-crashers can come up with some genuinely original. Of course, this doesn't mean that Karen O and company have grown into a bunch of old nagging rockers, who hold up to their old rusty glory. Yeah Yeah Yeahs is still one of the most promising alternative rock bands to hail from the States and I am pretty sure that there is more and more to come.

There are a few weak points but they are rather insignificant to the concept of the album, that they could be easily omitted when listening to the whole product. The title "It's Blitz!" may be a direct references to the German word Blitz (Eng. lightning) a connotation of the album's striking content filled with electrifying energy. Karen O is polarizing the whole atmosphere with her aggressively charming attitude towards your brain-cells, which either have to shake to the rhythm or are going to bring you to a dull life.

Songs to hear: "Zero", "Head Will Roll", "Dull Life" and "Shame and Fortune"

Personal rating: 8 out of 10

Moby with a new album on the way and a new video

Less than a year after the release of the album "Last Night" Moby announced a new studio release on its way. The name of the album is "Wait for Me" and it is going to be produced by his label Little Idiot. The official date as stated on moby.com is 30th June and the first single to be available is "Shot in the Back of the Head", which is available for a free download at moby.com. The accompanying video is directed by the famous American film director David Lynch, thus offering quite a change to the usual Moby videos.

Here is a part of the official statement published on Moby's website:

"i have some friends/guests singing on the record. they're great singers, but unless you live in fort greene or washington heights you might not know about them, as they're relatively unknown(because i've found that working with friends is almost always nicer than working with rockstars).

i started working on the album about a year ago, and the creative impetus behind the record was hearing a david lynch speech at bafta, in the uk."

Discoveries: Trash Yourself

As I was browsing for new music (how regular of me!) I stumbled upon a free downloadable EP provided by Electrocute themselves at trueanthem.com and afterwards I spent some time checking what's else available. Of course, I immediately headed to the electronic section and started pre-listening to streamable tracks and it was just then when I first heard Trash Yourself. Trash Yourself is an electronic duo, hailing from Oklahoma, USA and consisting of Heidi Cannon and John Bourke. They are currently not signed to any labels, but I am sure that soon they will be offered a contract, cause they just deserve it. Stylistically I would define them as electroclash with a pinch of new-rave.

I am posting all of their available songs...the last one is a collaboration with The Toxic Avenger and it's a cover of "Song 2" by Blur. If you like them here is a link for their free tracks at trueanthem: http://www.trueanthem.com/Artists/artist.aspx?artistId=8586077

Recommendation Weekly: Uffie

"I am ready to fuck" is one of the most famous lyrics' lines of the 21-year old electro singer Uffie. She' s pretty much new to the scene, but already rocking it and she is yet to release an album. Her real name is Anna-Catherine Hartley and is an American-born, Hong Kong-raised and Paris-based. Her music is somehow reminiscent of M.I.A., but with more electroclash influences and her own distinctive rapping. Although born in the USA, Anna-Catherine is surely part of the European electronic scene, being signed to the French label Ed Banger Records and predominantly working with French musicians and DJs.

Uffie's entrance in the music perhaps, not like in a dream, but it all began as her combined effort with her then-boyfriend, who gave her the needed push to start a career. She's been active almost three years and despite still not having released an album, she manages to be one of the current names in the electroclash scene. You might think of her as an electro version of Hilary Duff, but with no Disney crap and with lots of profanity to come out of her little mouth. Of course, she is still far from the goddess of the sexually explicit lyrics and the I-don't-give-a-damn lifestyle Peaches, but one thing after the other.

I do hope that her debut will be like a kick in the teeth for those mainstream bitches, who just whine about her hubbies and bfs, and will show them that it is Uffie's time to pop the glock, cause she's ready to fuck.