We are a new music blog for pretty much all genres of music. We will review new albums & gigs, tell you about upcoming bands and also the hottest news. Feel free to ask us a question, submit us a new band or even to send us your own music; it's all welcome! So take a look round our blog, we hope you enjoy it.
Jack, Daniel & Tom x
Mumford & Sons burst onto the scene in late 2009 when they released their album ‘Sigh No More’. When I first downloaded this album, I wasn’t expecting much. At the time, I’d only heard the song ‘Little Lion Man’ and although I loved it, it was very different from the other music I was interested in. It was folk-rock. However, it proved me so wrong.
The first time I played the whole album through I was shocked, amazed. It was beautiful on every level. Each song amazing me with not just the sound, but the emotion spoke through each lyric Marcus Mumford spoke. The lyrics (some taken from Shakespeare’s ”Much Ado About Nothing”) were gorgeous and you could tell they were coming straight from Mumford’s heart. I fell in love with them and this soon became my favorite ever album. I could listen to it over and over again, without getting bored. It is safe to say, I fell hook line and sinker for those four lads from London.
I had to see them live and so I did in October 2010 at the Hammersmith Apollo. It was an amazing concert, and I saw how humble and grateful they were of the attention they received. Following this they went onto claim ‘Best Album’ at the 2011 Brit awards and tour extensively all over the world. I saw them again in June of last year with Arcade Fire, The Vaccines and Beirut at a one off gig at Hyde Park. Here, they played some new songs and also talked about how they were going in the studio soon to record album number two.
In 2012, they are expecting their album to come out and I myself cannot wait. I have heard many of their new songs both live and on YouTube. I cannot recommend highly enough listening to the songs “Home” and “Lover Of The Light”. It’s from these songs that have made me so excited for their second go.
Some people have said that they won’t be able to deliver a better album than “Sigh No More” but I cannot stress highly enough how good this album will be. It is going to be a different sound as they were quoted into saying “Our new albums sounds like Black Sabbath meets Nick Drake”.
Mumford & Sons may have already hit big heights with their debut album however, they are about to hit even higher ones. So these shit little bands called “One Direction” and “The Wanted” , be prepared to hear real music; be prepared for Mumford & Sons.
Jack
It’s been less than 2 years since The Courteeners last released an album, but my god do we need them back. I crave The Courteeners, a real, honset band from Manchester who have over time gone from cult band to chart storming giants. Oh yeah did i mention theyve only relesaed two albums? They’ve still got classics left in the tank, and I can’t wait for them to come back in 2012.
St Jude was bold, catchy and original, a rarity in music today. Falcon was even bigger, the band had matured in terms of their sound, but the lyrics hadn’t changed a bit. Still witty, heart breaking and beautiful, they had upped their game. Now’s the time to do it again.
Liam Fray has said their new songs are ‘Mega’ and it’s ‘Big, dirty, Rock n Roll you can dance to’. I hope I’m not the only person who is now beyond excited for the new album. Don’t think there’s anything better than Rock music that you can dance to. In my head it sounds like a mix of The Black Keys dirty, distorted garage guitar, The Smiths’ beautiful, funny and sheer genius lyrics with the hidden punch of Primal Scream’s ability to make you dance to whatever the hell they’re playing.
Taking the songs on the road will be big too. The band who just before Christmas played 3 sold out shows in their home town have nothing to prove, just to show us how good of musicians they actually are.
We need them back to inject a bit of passion and attitude into British guitar music. Just watch, the year of 2012 will be the year of The Courteeners.
Tom
As Christmas present’s go, this was not bad at all. Seeing Snow Patrol for the 3rd time in another country, it does not get much better. So the expectation was high, could the reality live up to it?
Firstly, the venue was magnificent. It was the second biggest selling gig venue in the world behind the O2 in London. However, this was better, a lot better. Set out like a semi circle, it felt more intimate and felt that I was the only one in the room. This generally makes a gig a lot better. The support band, Everything Everything, played a great warm up to Snow Patrol, performing a mix of old and new. I would definitely look out for their album because it will sound brilliant.
Now it was time for the main event, Snow Patrol. As soon as Gary Lightbody walked out, his smile was beaming. The band are from Northern Ireland but this felt like a home crowd and I think the band felt that too. Kicking off with a song off their new album with ‘I’ll Never Let Go’ which for the first song of the tour, was played to absolute perfection and it seemed like they had never been away. They then picked up the pace with ‘Take Back the City’ and ‘Hands Open’ with the crowd singing every single word. The energy was brilliant from Lightbody, even climbing into the crowd at one point.
Then come the singalong songs. The new anthem ‘This Isn’t Everything You Are’ along with ‘Run’ and ‘Set the Fire To the Third Bar’ where Lightbody must have only sung 10 words throughout 3 songs because the crowd was screaming back at him with every single word. You know you have made when fourteen and half thousand people are singing every word of your song. In between this was a very rare performance of ‘You Could Be Happy’ which has not been played since they toured the Eyes Open album. You could tell this when Lightbody was reading the words off a sheet that was next to his feet and even forgot the words completely. This was all forgotten though, because it was a treat no one expected.
The next 10 songs were a mixture of old and new with the most famous Snow Patrol song ‘Chasing Cars’ played with again, Lightbody rarely singing the words. Finishing the set with the title track from the new album ‘Fallen Empires’ which was a completely different sound to the typical Snow Patrol song, really showed how good the acoustic’s were. The drums echoed around the arena while everyone stood and watch this fabulous performance end.
However, it was not the end. Obviously, there was more. An already hour and half set, got even longer. Although, no one really cared because they wanted more. The next song was dedicated to Lightbody’s Dad who was in the crowd. ‘Lifening’ is one of the most touching songs I have heard and to then hear it live nearly brought me to tears. There was one man in tears however, Lightbody himself. The song obviously has great meaning and it took a hug from a sound technician to keep him going.
They then finished with ‘Open Your Eyes’ and ‘Just Say Yes’ with the latter really energising an already ecstatic crowd. With the words ‘Just say yes, just say there is nothing holding you back’ gave the crowd permission to let nothing hold them back and that’s what they allowed. The whole crowd jumping from back to front and Lightbody and co really enjoyed it as they all had beaming smiles on their faces.
I can exaggerate things quite often, however I can truly say that was one of the best gigs I have been to and one of the best Christmas present’s I have ever received.
Dan
Setlist
I’ll Never Let Go
Take Back The City
Hands Open
This Isn’t Everything You Are
You Could Be Happy
Run
Set The Fire to the Third Bar
Crack the Shutters
The Garden Rules
Chasing Cars
Make This Go On Forever
Shut Your Eyes
New York
Spitting Games
Called Out In the Dark
You’re All That I Have
Fallen Empires
Encore:
Lifening
Open Your Eyes
Just Say Yes
From a first look at the members of the Vaccines you wonder if you may have travelled back in time. Justin Young, the lead man in the group, stands with his messy hair while the lead guitarist, Freddie Cowan, waves his curly hair whilst wearing shirts from the 60’s. The distinctly named Árni Hjörvar is the bands bassist who stands for the saying “Who gives a fuck?” Then there is the drummer, Pete Robertson, looks like the only sane one in this band.
However, damn these guys can make an album.
Since releasing their album “What did you expect from the Vaccines?” In March 2011, The Vaccines have gone to be become the biggest selling debut by a band that year.
From first hearing their first single “Post-Break up Sex” I knew that this band had something. The way that the song starts jumps out at you like a pink elephant. With all instruments blazing and the vocals of Young just make this song start off perfect. NME described Young as being able to sing about sex in the same field as Morrissey which is risky. The Vaccines are no Smiths, well not yet.
The song “Norgaard” then creates a new tempo for this album. Fast paced guitar starts off the songs and as soon as you hear it, you know it is going to be stunning. Drums then kick in, and Young comes in singing about a 17 year old girl is “probably not ready.” It’s a pretty meaningless song (regarding their lyrics) but that is what The Vaccines are all about, not giving a fuck. There may only be 3 chords throughout the song, but they are the right 3 chords.
“If You Wanna” and “Wreckin’ Bar (ra ra ra)” both open with a shotgun drum and then Young shreds his voice into the song. Crisp guitars songs from Cowan and a bold bass line from Hjörvar make the songs ooze with confidence. In fact the whole album flows with absolute ease and bold confidence which any great debut album possesses.
However, they also show their delicate side in the album with the song “Wetsuit” which undoubtedly, is my favourite. The way that the song opens with a hollowing guitar noise ringing out and Young singing about how our youth passes too quickly is pure perfection. It’s about doing things when you’re younger, just because you can. Throughout the song, the drum stands out prominently. Even Young was quoted into saying “I love the drum beat” in this song. The music video to this is one of the best I have ever seen. It is a 4 minute video of collected photos from their fans at festivals throughout the summer. It may just be a simple video, but yet it is such a meaningful video to capture everyone’s young hearts.
What did you expect from the Vaccines? Even the album title reflects their attitude. In my view, it is the return of the guitar and shows that it still works. Songs which make you wish you were at their set at a festival, recklessly going mental, whilst not caring about anything. They may be 4 odd blokes from all over the world (well mainly Hjörvar) but they fit together so well. Unquestionably the best debut album of 2011 and I do not see anything but good things for this band. They have made an album better than any young British band in years. The album it is the sound of the youth. It is the sound of indie rock. It is the sound of the Vaccines.
Jack x
You Me at Six are like marmite. You either love them or hate them. Winning Best UK band in the Kerrang 2011 awards but then voted the worst band recently in a Kerrang readers poll say’s it all. I love them and that’s why I have chosen Sinners Never Sleep as my album of 2011.
A midweek number one, YMAS really pulled out all the stops with this album. The weeks leading up to the album, Josh Franchesci and co said that the 3rd album would be the heaviest yet and a different sound to what we have heard so far. So, as a fan of their past 2 albums I was worried as to what this album may sound like.
However, as soon as I heard ‘Loverboy’, the lead single from the album, I knew this album would be a banger. With guest appearances from Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon on ‘Bite My Tongue’ and Winston McCall of Parkway Drive on ‘Time Is Money’, there was definitely a heavy side to the album. However, these were the only two songs with a heavy sound with the rest of the album sounding more like a Coldplay album than an Escape the Fate album.
As we move through the album, there is a mix of songs. Songs such as ‘No One Does It Better’ and ‘Crash’ kept the album mellow and more like the old YMAS with Franchesci singing about love and friendship. From a ‘rock’ band, this is very unusual but with the sound of Franchesci’s voice, it sounds perfect.
One of my favourite songs on the album ‘Little Death’ show’s how far YMAS have come since Take Off Your Colours. The guitar sounds crisp and the drums sounding heavy throughout. With lyrics such as ‘We are not your lovers, we are not your friends, fuck what you believe in, this is the end’ shows the bands feelings towards the ‘haters’ and people who have criticised throughout their career so far. The sound of Franchesci’s voice throughout the chorus makes it feel as if he really means it and this is what he was made to do.
Finishing the album with ‘When We Were Younger’ a song about a death of a family member really brings out the bands skills as musicians. 6 minutes of echoing guitar and a daunting sound from Franchesci’s voice showing that being in a band is not all plain sailing. This is one of YMAS best songs in their discography just because of the skill. They make it sound so simple when making a song with this sort of emotion clearly is not.
To call YMAS a marmite band is correct but no one can judge them until they hear the progress they have made. I respect the band for their ability with instruments and, they may not be to everyone’s taste, however they have come a long way since Take Off Your Colours and hopefully they still have a lot to offer.
Dan
To get the ball rolling on our blog we decided to do a review of our favourite albums of 2011.
Bold, bulshy and beautiful. Kasabian’s fourth effort was exactly that. The genre defying band once again hit new heights with ‘Velociraptor!’, making it to the top spot across the world, but what made it that good?
The album was fittingly titled ‘Velociraptor!’ because it’s a monster, it stalks you, keeps you waiting then lands that killer blow you might never recover from.
Opening with a gong, how better to open an album with a big gong. ‘Lets Roll Just Like We Used To’ kicks the album off with a cool vibe and a 60’s esque melody. On a first listen this may seem like a pretty standard track, but what it really shows is Kasabian’s ability to progress, to adapt and improve what they have done before.
But what makes the album superior than WRPLA, is its diversity. Yeah WRPLA was pretty out there, but Velociraptor! Is way out there. One minute it feels like you’re listening to a song which should be number one, then comes the soft one, which oozes an underlying message of heartbreak and loss, and then the trippy one comes out to play and all seems calm. But out of nowhere the monster that is Velociraptor! churns out a song which will blow your balls off, absurd lyrics, crunchy riff, utter crazy batshit music.
After a few more class tunes involving synths and all, here comes what Kasabian have been building up to for the last 35 minutes. Switchblade Smiles starts, you can feel it brewing. They ask you ‘can you feel it coming?’ and then the monster is unleashed. Fat riff, heavy drums and now you understand why Kasabian are the best band in the UK. Just when you think it’s safe to get up, it knocks you back down. The last track helps you recover the ear bashing you’ve just suffered from and it’s over.
When I finished it for the first time, I went straight back to the start and did it all again, is what a great album should want you to do. When they took Velociraptor! on the road it sounded even better than before ultimately proving what we all knew before. No matter what you think of Kasabian before, after you’ll never feel the same.
Tom
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We want to get this as popular as possible and cannot do that without YOUR help. Get all your friends to follow this page and also following us on twitter: @limitlessblog
We will be posting on here very soon each of our favourite albums of the year just gone (2011 if anyone forgot). This is pretty exciting for us as this is what we all want to do so if you could support us as much as possible that would be nice!
Thank you once again,
Dan, Jack and Tom x
