Review: Florence and The Machine - Lungs

Tori, Regina, Fiona, Kate and all the rest beware! Florence Welch, best known as Florence and The Machine, is on the roost and she happens to be amazing! "Lungs" is virtually one of the best indie-pop albums I have ever heard, as well as one of the best to come out in recent years.

"Lungs" is the balanced mixture of folkatronica, pop, alternative and experimental with the fine pinch of Welch's witty and highly original lyrics. This debut is so breathtaking, that it's almost disturbingly unreal and only after a few thorough listens assures me that music can still have a meaning over the obvious. Don't get me wrong, Florence is not heavenly talented and unreachable, she just manages to offer something that has been missing on the whole UK/American singer-songwriter scene for quite a long time. While Tori Amos bores me to death with her recent endless piano whining or Fiona Apple's stylistic uncertainties and struggles, Florence hops up in the right moment with a fresh breath straight from her lungs.

Smoothness, freely flowing tracks from one to another, stylistic diversity and originality make "Lungs" one of 2009's must-haves. Apart from the whole technicality Florence and The Machine go further deeper in developing the concept of an odd world where things that seem regular are irregular and notions tend to take particularly unusual forms and ways of expression. Received by both critics and fans with a critical acclaim after the release of the band's first single releases "Lungs" lives up to their expectations with flying colours. Such a strong debut for a 22-year old singer-songwriter, who was once labeled as dyslexic and dyspraxic, could only give us high hopes for an outstanding follow up to cause further competition in the rather stale indie genre.

Songs to hear: "Dog Days Are Over", "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)", "Drumming", "Between Two Lungs" and "Kiss With A Fist"

Rating: 9/10

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: Paolo Nutini - Sunny Side Up

Paolo Nutini until just a few days ago was nothing more than a familiar name to me, but after being recommended to me a few times I decided to hear his new album "Sunny Side Up" to hear what's the whole fuss about. I can only say: Interesting! I didn't expect for a man of his age to have such a powerful voice with which he actually tells stories of here and there.

Getting back to the album itself, "Sunny Side Up" despite being in the folk-rock niche explores various styles, favoring blue-eyed soul, bluegrass and neo-folk. Nutini draws inspiration directly from his music upbringing in Scotland and to some extent demonstrates his fascination from American folk music, which has most certainly played a major role. Don't worry "Sunny Side Up" is no country album, released by a Scott dying to be out there on a rodeo. The record is more of a tribute to Americana with the strong fundamentals of the European neo-folk scene.

I just can't agree with the annoying comparison to James Morrison, who despite all the efforts is nothing more than a mere copycat of James Blunt. Gosh, are they brothers or what? "Sunny Side Up" is the final proof that the two don't share the same music bed! Back to Nutini, although his sophomore effort is seen by some as a disappointment and the singer himself blamed for losing track of his own style, "Sunny Side Up" is a melodic experiment curving in fresh wood with the final accomplishment visible only in your mind.

I personally don't see this album as anything close to failure or waste of talent, as it is a manifestation of diversity, emotional landscapes and stories of sadness and happiness, of the strive for a pastoral life deep in the bushes of love. Apart from the few flops here and there "Sunny Side Up" is easily a fine folk piece with hopes and despairs, with maturity and childishness, with Europe meeting America for a dance under the stars.

Songs to hear: "Ten Out of Ten", "Growing Up Beside You", "Tricks of the trade" and "Pencil Full of Lead"

Personal rating: 7 out of 9

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: Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor

I have never had faith in the whole singer-songwriter thing, but these days I get to hear some excellent representatives of this genre and slowly, but surely my appreciation grows. A few days ago I posted a list of albums to be released in May and June. Patrick Wolf was among those listed, but honestly I had no plans to check out his new album. Not until today when I was browsing for some probable leaks and I stumbled upon "The Bachelor". Wolf is no new name to my music library, although I have never been fond of his music and I had almost no interest in him. "The Bachelor" made me realize I have ignored such a talent way too long.

Although the album is officially going to be out on 1st June you can already hear the leak version and decide for yourself whether to buy the album. If I had the money to put aside I would have immediately bought it in advance. Anyway, getting back to the album itself it is a very balanced combination between folk, electronica, alternative and indie songwriting. There is a fine structure supporting every single track and placing it in the exact spot, creating a next to perfect lyrical-instrumental combination.

"The Bachelor" was intended to be part of a double CD album called "Battle", but Wolf decided that this would overload people too much, this separating them into two albums, which will exist independently and still preserve a strong connection. "The Bachelor" explores such topics as the atrocities of life, the inadequacies of our emotional perceptions and the eternal battle between the inner being and the outer world. The album contains 13 tracks and none plays the role of a filler and all of them have their own purpose in the whole concept, which is quite a plus having in mind the loads of crap destined to be there for the count. An addition plus is the use of the voice of Tilda Swinton who appears as The Voice of Hope on the tracks "Oblivion" and "Theseus".

Songs to hear: "Vulture", "Hard Times", "Count of Casualty", "Oblivion" and "Battle"

Personal rating: 9 out of 10