TRACK OF THE NIGHT: Seven

Fever Ray / Seven

Fever Ray aka Karen Dreijer Andersson (one half of the electronic duo The Knife) is a real thing of wonder. Her voice is seriously hypnotic and the whole atmosphere that emanates from the tracks on her debut album is truly magical. Seven is no exception, its surreal lyrics referencing dish water tablets and heaven and a guitar that sounds just like the guitar used in Fragma's song Toca's Miracle all come together to make a superbly ethereal track revolving around the number seven. The whole concept of Seven is oddly intriguing, i mean, its not an all out pop song yet it still manages to creep into your head and lodge itself into your brain. Beautifully creepy, amazingly off the wall yet strangely addictive...this really is music for the mind.

Fever Ray / Seven by ShornStar

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: Dominos

The Big Pink / Dominos

Dominos is the kind of big bombastic song that comes along out of nowhere and literally blows your mind. It's HUGE. Compared to The Big Pink's classic first single Velvet, Dominos is a pretty upbeat affair yet still manages to maintain a nice level of darkness. With spaced out dreamy backing vocals and massive guitars and synths crammed into the chorus Dominos couldn't be anymore punchy if it tried, especially with the main line that simply states: "These girls fall like dominos". The whole thing is just a wondrous alternative rock number which shows that The Big Pink are more than just about epic introspective emotion as they can also muster up epic extrospective emotion. HEARTY STUFF.

The Big Pink / Dominos by ShornStar

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: One More Chance

Bloc Party / One More Chance

One More Chance is a great return to form for Bloc Party. After the shit that was Intimacy it seems Bloc Party are backtracking to their classic track Flux and carrying on where they left off with the whole dance vibe. Although One More Chance has many dance elements to it such as its house-style piano riff and a motoring beat it is much edgier and darker compared to Flux, relying less on electronic based melodies and more on gritty guitar rhythms which drive the track along at a thrilling speed. One More Chance emulates all that is great about Bloc Party: their ability to create songs with substance, write lyrics and melodies which fair well in the catchability factor and mix between genres while still sounding like Bloc Party and therefore not alienating their fans. WELL DONE chaps.

Bloc Party / One More Chance by ShornStar

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: Your Voice

Santigold / Your Voice

Santigold (previously Santogold) is a bit of a musical chameleon amongst many more straightforward artists. Listening to her album you can find a thrilling mix of pop, indie, rock, R&B, electro, hip hop - I could go on. However, on Your Voice Santigold boldly goes where she has never gone before: dub-style reggae. Your Voice is a wonderfully chilled out affair, surrounded by Specials-esque guitars and a wigged out drumbeat Santi's vocals soar across the track in a euphoric haze, thanks to a well placed echo effect used on her vocals. By the end of track you feel as though you have just been sat on a hot beach in Jamaica. Basically, Your Voice = sunshine in musical form.

Santigold / Your Voice by ShornStar

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: Hang Me Up To Dry

Cold War Kids / Hang Me Up To Dry

My love for Cold War Kids stretches much deeper than the classic that is Hospital Beds. Hang Me Up To Dry is a fantastic, understated, hip-shaking, indie belter. The tale of "splashing around in the muck and the myre" with "stains caked deep in the knees" is addictive listening thanks to a memorable bass riff and the shattering vocals of Nathan Willett. The lyrics are also impressive, being literal yet metaphorical at the same time, as a result an instant picture is formed in your mind while you are still able to draw many different conclusions as to what the lyrics really represent: a greast quality for a track to have. Overall, this beautiful mix comes together to make a mighty indie rock crusade which will get stuck in your head for days.

Cold War Kids / Hang Me Up To Dry by ShornStar

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: Pump My Pumps

Dan Black / Pump My Pumps

Pump My Pumps is as slick as modern pop comes. I recently saw Mr. Black open his set at the Bristol harbour fest with this track and it really was and still is an absolute BANGER. Pump My Pumps is like a roller coaster...slowly but surely you're eased in until suddenly the rush begins and the MASSIVE chorus comes in and pretty much BLOWS YOUR MIND. It's literally unstoppable. Grinding and pounding beats carry the song along an array of pumped up synths, rattling guitars and general amazingness until the song trips out and you get that CLASSIC moment where everything goes all bassy and slow and then BOOM...in comes the incredible chorus again.

Dan Black / Pump My Pumps by ShornStarMusic

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: White (Adem Remix)

Charlotte Hatherley / White (Adem Remix)

Charlotte Hatherley is one of those constantly underrated and forgotten musical gems but hopefully, after touring with Bat For Lashes and with the release of her new album New Worlds, she'll finally get the exposure and recognition she deserves. White, the first single off the new album, is a delightful indie pop strut with a chorus almost reminiscent of 60's era Phil Spector girl groups . However, in the hands of Adem it becomes a beautiful lush folk number laced with earthy acoustic guitars, a subtle yet effective beat and an end verse so epic, thanks to additional vocals from Adem, that it sounds as if the pair could give Arcade Fire a run for their money...and that's saying something.

Charlotte Hatherley / White (Adem Remix) by ShornStarMusic

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: I Feel Cream

Peaches / I Feel Cream

Tonight's TRACK OF THE NIGHT is a bit of a stonker. I Feel Cream, from Peaches recent album of the same name, is the kind of track you hear in a club when everything slows down and you get lost in the moment as you lock eyes with that special someone and...you can guess the rest. The irony of I Feel Cream is that it's one of Peaches best tracks yet unlike her other work it sits in a completely different dimension. I Feel Cream is all about being in the moment and getting lost in the sound, its urging bassy synths are like a pounding heartbeat which rock through your chest while Peaches sultry and restrained vocals add a beautiful sonic texture to the mix...this is TOP CLASS stuff! It may sound as if Peaches has turned into some kind of dance floor siren in the initial stages of this track but Peaches wouldn't be Peaches without an A-grade rap, which we are delivered with near to the end of the track in which Peaches orders us to get "suspect" and "wet" until the track reaches its thrilling conclusion and the KILLER chorus returns. BLIMEY.

Peaches / I Feel Cream by ShornStarMusic

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: Celebration (Benny Benassi Dub)

Madonna / Celebration (Benny Benassi Dub)

Okay, this is a very special moment in my blogging life because something INCREDIBLE has entered my ears and I pretty much have to share it with you guys. Right, so to be honest Benny Bennassi's mix of Celebration has always been my personal favourite...I'd even go as far as saying for me it is the original Celebration because frankly the album version pales WAY into comparison. I've been listening to Benny's mixes of the track, both the full length and the edit, for quite awhile now and I really do love them but about an hour ago I finally heard the dub and bloody hell it's INSANE. It's safe to say the dub is a freestanding dance track in it's own right because it pretty much takes all the good bits from Benny's main mix and basically makes them even better which = AMAZING. The dub is just a revelation, it begins in a relatively relaxed way slowly but surely building up until BAM everything slows down then KABOOM in come some absolutely GINORMOUS ravey anthemic synths accompanied by a HUGE pounding beat...in other words it's a giant EXPLOSION. The only way I can describe this explosion is put together Calvin Harris's I'm Not Alone and mash it up with the rave-style chorus of Madge's Give It 2 Me and there you have it. EXTRAORDINARY.

Madonna / Celebration (Benny Benassi Dub) by ShornStarMusic

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: Audacity Of Huge

Simian Mobile Disco / Audacity Of Huge

Audacity Of Huge works as a neat introduction to Simian Mobile Disco's sophomore album Temporary Pleasure and to be honest, it really does kick ass. Yeasayer's Chris Keating features and provides the track with assured swaggering vocals which take the super-slick lyrics to another level, as he name checks an array of different characters from Mama Cass to Bill Murray. Compared to previous SMD classics such as Hustler and Sleep Deprivation Audacity Of Huge is not an all out electronic banger but with squelchy synths and eclectic vocal samples it subtley reaffirms SMD's ability to create a hit which transcends much further than the constraints of clubs. Overall, Audacity Of Huge is a delightful gear change for SMD and shows that they are more than mere producers...they are in fact GENIUSES.

Simian Mobile Disco / Audacity Of Huge by ShornStarMusic

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La

Calvin Harris / Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La

Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La is the song from the recent Coca-Cola advert which involved a load of hairy creatures singing in a big field to a crowd of super happy Coca-Cola drinking young folk. This happy vibe transcends to the full length track, with its classic Calvin-style jerky synths, sensational ringing bells and a seriously addictive chorus this could well be Calvin's freshest and funkiest work to date. Who cares that the high-pitched verses are hard to decipher, or that the chorus doesn't really mean anything...this is the perfect summer song which is sure to take its place at every barbecue and general summer party across the country. This summer's weather may not always be great but Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La sure as hell shines.

Calvin Harris / Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La by ShornStarBlog

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: Might Like You Better

Amanda Blank / Might Like You Better

Amanda Blank seems like the kind of lady who always gets her way and shes clearly not beating around the bush in this monster of a track: "Might like you better if we slept together." This is scuzzy electro-hop at its finest with Amanda's raw rap-style delivery being thrown through a mass of vocoders to the point where she ends up sounding like an amazingly dirty robot who's been pounded in every position imaginable. This isn't music for the faint-hearted but that's simply because its so EXHILARATING. With its whining synths and pounding beat Amanda has created one of those fierce songs which pretty much bitch slaps the competition while engulfing the listener in its beautifully dirty world. Miss Blank is on a mission to corrupt and there's nothing you can do except give in.

Amanda Blank / Might Like You Better by ShornStarBlog

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: One In A Million

Private / One In A Million

Private pretty much live up to their name in the UK at the moment as they are virtually unheard of. However, hopefully all of that is going to change with the recent announcement that their incredible song My Secret Lover is going to be getting a proper UK release. To celebrate this fact ive decided to make their equally amazing song One In A Million my TRACK OF THE NIGHT. One In A Million is a joyous throwback to the 80's, with its slick electro stylings and lush melodies the track has a beautiful understated feel in which the celebration of that perfect someone isn't made too sickly sweet yet at the same time the message is made clear: "You're one in a million". Who ever said that the Danes cant make pop music.

Private / One In A Million by ShornStarBlog

FRANKS FOR THE MUSIC

FrankMusik / Complete Me

FrankMusik is just a bit of an enigma in today's current musical landscape. This year was to be remembered as the year of the female synth/electropopper (Little Boots, La Roux, Lady GaGa...) until FrankMusik came along. FrankMusik's debut (Vince to his friends) is an assured and thrilling record which shows that you don't have to don a pair of heels to produce a great electro-based pop song.

From the very start of the album we are hit with pounding jerky synths in the form of In Step, a sharp portrayal of a failed music career: "You made a hit / But you can't hear it being played / Cause you my friend have had your day." FrankMusik is definitely staking his claim here and rightly so. With Complete Me he has done something very very special...he's created a diverse and exciting electropop record which has pure emotion running through its core, yes you heard it correctly La Roux EMOTION.

In terms of lyrics Vince clearly writes from the heart and his experiences of love luckily transfer into amazing pop songs. Take Confusion Girl for instance. An unabashedly solid gold pop song, Vince sings of a girl who just can't make up her mind in the love department while backed by a future-pop crescendo of bleeps, blips and a touch of strings. This heady mix makes for that timeless pop song which slowly but surely works its way into your psyche whether you like it or not, to the point where all you can do is simply realise its brilliance. Such moments crop up a lot in this album with the stonkers that are 3 Little Words, Better Off As 2 and Gotta Boyfriend? However, it doesn't end there with FrankMusik using samples to incredible effect by creating the unstoppable Time Will Tell with the help of M/A/A/R/S's classic Pump Up The Volume, and also through his indescribable interpretation of The Strangler's Golden Brown in the song When You're Around (which you can read me bang on about in greater detail below). Even Wonder Woman with its slightly aimless lyrics: "Cos' Wonder Woman even gets her nails done" still manages to come out trumps in the catchability factor.

However, its not all punchy pop as FrankMusik also delves into the slow and moody territory, with great success may I add. Many pop albums often fall flat due to mawkish and generic ballads yet Vince somehow uses these moments to slip the listener into a different atmosphere while still retaining the album's thrill and excitement. Your Boy is a good example of this as it appears at a key moment in the album when we are delivered with 4 blasting tracks in succession then suddenly a gear change occurs and you come to this much slower almost power ballad-y track and unbelievably...it works! Vacant Heart is in a similar vein to Your Boy and again works well in changing the mood while still retaining the album's direction and pop flair. Sadly this power ballad-esque vibe doesn't work so well on the title track which seems to sacrifice substance for hollow over the top-ness. Although, this is a minor bump in the road as other moodier successes crop up at the end of the album with the subtly pounding emotion of Done Done and the truly EPIC Run Away From Trouble which literally explodes near to the end of the track as you start to contemplate that Vince can muster up more than just a pop song.

With the help of acclaimed producer Stuart Price Vince has created a fantastic electropop record filled with quick heady thrills, blissed out emotion and pure pop euphoria. There's a new star in town and his name is FrankMusik.

★★★★

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: When You're Around

Okay so i know virtually no one looks at this blog right now but i thought id create some kind of generic cheesy feature for my own personal thrills...so my mighty first track of the night is:

FrankMusik / When You're Around

Finally received FrankMusik's debut Complete Me today in a battered form courtesy of Play.com and i have to say he has made a BEAST of an album (a PROPER review will feature soon so watch out NME!) To sum it up When You're Around is basically The Stranglers "Golden Brown" (the songs sample) on acid. The whole thing is like an epic headrush. The track clocks in at a neat 2 minutes and 52 seconds and in this space of time Frank hurls us through a wave of cut copy stop start synths and samples which basically kick your butt into another stratosphere. The verses are snappy and not over-egged while the chorus is big, HUMONGOUS in fact. It doesn't try to be any kind of analytical philosophical guff it's just one giant celebration of the company of a loved one: "I'm never down when you're around" - that's all there is to it. AMAZING. Oh and i mustnt forget to mention the incredible breakdown near the end where theres kind of this i dunno how to describe it like a tribal siren type thing and everything goes slow then speeds up again...just indescribable unadultered ABANDON.

FrankMusik / When You're Around by ShornStarBlog

SIDENOTE

Just a quick sidenote: ive been having a royal mess about with this blog and so id just like to say that the posts below weren't all created in succession at 1 in the morning apart from the X Factor rant. The other posts were done way back in July but ive had to make a few changes to the blog to make certain things happen so it looks like i had a big blogging surge but sadly NO...

FAKE FACTOR

UHHHH haven't bothered with this blog for ages but I'm in a very inspired/ranty mood so... i would like to begin by talking about the delusion that is X Factor.

A couple of weeks ago me and a few friends travelled up to Cardiff to watch the newly formatted live X Factor auditions (my friend won a bunch of tickets to go). We queued for a good 2 hours surrounded by chavs and some of the fattest people I've seen in a long long time. When we finally got into the CIA it all looked bloody MASSIVE. All shining flashy lights, with a huge stage where the desperate hopefuls would be flocking. While we waited for the auditioners loads of Girls Aloud tunes were pumped into our ears at full volume, basically showing how this was less of a talent competition and more of a marketing strategy. "Maybe if we play these tunes loud enough then this bunch of gullible fuckers will love Cheryl Tweedy even more and buy a Girls Aloud CD while they're doing their shopping in Asda." Yeah good one - apart from I'm a Tesco man and I don't usually fall for processed pop.

Anyway, now to the start of the main attraction. So there was some production guy who entertained the crowd just before the judges came on and throughout all the breaks etc. Unfortunately, his jokes became pretty tiresome pretty quickly and it end up feeling like we were part of the "job" as he directed us to do fake cheers, applaud judges when they weren't onstage, do a standing ovation which they would clearly cut to show just how "great" their handpicked "hero" would be and also to make sure we weren't recording the auditions in any way in case we showed the reality behind what you see on the box.

So the judges eventually came on and everyone cheered and pointless nobodies screamed their love for them. But it was all one big huge JOKE to me. Acts came on clearly to make "good" tv, as the judges made one old man in particular perform 3 songs just to make sure they had enough "humorous come cringeworthy" footage to put on the show with this man clearly being briefed on exactly what to do. I mean its less of a talent contest and more of a pantomime. Everyone boo everyone cheer everyone boo everyone cheer.. who cares, i just want to see talent!

So, the auditions dragged on and to be honest no one was really that great. The judges highly scripted comments were extremely grating and just the general premise of the whole thing pissed me off. I know this is manufactured shit but now I've seen the truth behind it all I can't believe people buy into this shit. For example, one guy was studying music theatre but wanted to give up everything for a pot shot at fame...WHY!? X Factor is in no way a quick route to fame it's a machine which handpicks its contestants and leaves no room for diversity...only the "perfect" few will get through. Anyone can be an artist if they put their mind to it, you don't need a judge to tell you if you can do it or not (I mean if you're actually shit then that's another story...) all you need is to do things off your own back and go for what YOU believe in, not go for the "easy" route purely for the fact that it's incredibly deceptive and it'll frankly chew you up and spit you out...Leon Jackson anyone!?

So yeah, if a show wants to use a mad Czech Milkmaid who likes to murder P!nk songs and protest onstage or a desperate housewife in her 40's who can't sing a note to get ratings then that's cool, because at the end of the day Simon Cowell has made big bucks for himself so good for him. However, at the end of the day I would urge anyone who is thinking of entering this show to realise just how fake it all is and understand that you don't have to go on X Factor to be a Shorn Star.

PS. I will be watching X Factor when it airs in September cos I think it's great TV...just glad now that I understand how it all works and thought I would probably have a rant and get all preachy about this general topic as I'd hate people to get delusional about what you watch compared to what really happens.

GOT ME LUNGS

I finally got Florence's Lungs on Friday and since getting it I am completely and utterly addicted. It's pure GENIUS!

For a start Florence has to be one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever set my eyes upon, but in terms of the album itself it's, I dunno, like one huge forest of emotions. The whole sense of emotion is pretty much down to Florence's voice...BLIMEY; it can go from being a shrieking howling thunderstorm in one moment to a gentle breeze in another, it's pretty much a revelation. However, although Florence's pure soulful voice is the core of this mighty album, the lush arrangements behind her simply lift the tracks even further to an almost godly level...yes the album is THAT good!

Now, I can't really be bothered to do the whole track by track shebang but I will pick 5 of the albums absolute killers:

Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up): Mythical, ethereal, spiritual, beautiful. WOW. This track has a fantastic pounding soulful chorus but at the same time has a huge sense of vulnerability to it. I also love the whole impending doom vibe it's really great stuff.

Between Two Lungs: Strangely heavenly. This track has a great anthemic build up and it really just kind of explodes towards the end. How Florence makes human lungs seem so poetic I'll never know.

Cosmic Love: Literally one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Starts with woozy harp sounds and then explodes into a thunderous heartfelt story of how Florence has been "left in the dark". EPIC.

Blinding: Really quite dark and sinister. As noted by one of my friends, this track really wouldn't be out of place on a Bat For Lashes album...it's seriously heavy stuff...but that gives it its charm, it also has the line "Snow White stitching up your circuit board" which is very WTF basically adding to the tracks brilliance.

Falling: I remember Florence doing this track when I saw her at the NME Awards Tour and I was literally blown away by it and thankfully it remains just as amazing on CD. It's really luscious and powerful and restrained and anyone reading this should seriously consider getting the deluxe edition just for this track!

So there we have it...Lungs is a modern day masterpiece.

★★★★★

BASICALLY

Okay well i really really LOVE music. And i also LOVE making music. By looking at this blog i guess you can gain an insight into my own musical tastes, the music i create and why i do what i do.

HELLO

The future starts here.