REVIEW: Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino

"Anticipation has the habit to set you up" sang Alex Turner, 12 years ago on the album that started it all: Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not. That was back in 2006 and now, in 2018, the Arctics are still going strong and they have now released their 6th record, Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino.

Turner and co truly lived up to that first line from their first album when they were teasing their return. It started when they announced festival dates in late January, which were gradually followed by European headline shows and North American shows, leading fans to speculate that an album announcement was heading our way.

Sure enough, on the 5th April, the news that fans had all been waiting for...the album was going to be released on May 11th, along with the reveal of some...erm...questionable...song titles (The World's First Ever Monster Truck Front Flip anyone?) Now, after one very long wait (it seems), the album is finally here!

In many interviews, it has been clear that Alex was keen to drift away from the sound that people were comfortable with when listening to an Arctic Monkeys record, notably saying that he "was suspicious of where it was gonna go" and that his imagination was more prevalent when he sat by a piano. Gone was the gritty guitar sounds that you have heard previously on songs such as Arabella, I bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor etc, replaced by something that David Bowie would probably be proud of.

In fact, the best way to explain this album is this is the result of a mashup between the sound of David Bowie and The Last Shadow Puppets. Indeed, the latest Last Shadow Puppets album was inspired by Bowie (they added Moonage Daydream to the setlist in the middle of their 2016 tour). Now, it seems that the inspiration has carried on further with this album, with the music of the lead single, Four Out of Five, sounding very much like the music of Lazarus, Bowie's last single before he died. You could also argue that the sound of The Last Shadow Puppets has sneaked in as well, in the form of She Looks Fun, eerily sounding like a mash up of Calm Like You and In My Room.




However, for those who were expecting "old" Arctic Monkeys, there is some slight guitar sounds but not as much as you would expect. In fact, the sound is not the only unexpected thing with this album...you've also got the random song titles and the fact that The Ultracheese...is a ballad (to be honest, a song title like this would cause you to have no idea what the song will be like). On the other hand, you have still got something that, throughout the Arctic Monkeys' career, has not changed...Alex Turner's impeccable lyrics.

The most interesting thing about this album though, is the dystopian and sci-fi feel that we get throughout the album, including the album artwork, mentions of the film Blade Runner, the video for Four out of Five looking like Stanley Kubrick directed it, and songs called Science Fiction and Batphone. In addition, the album title, Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, seems to have had inspiration from the Tranquility Base, the place on the moon where Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon's surface. In fact, Alex commented on taking inspiration from science fiction, stating in an interview from Pitchfork: "Science Fiction creates...other worlds within which we can explore our own...I wanted to write something about that idea".

Overall, whilst the Arctic Monkeys have distanced themselves from their usual sound and created the most divisive album of their career (yep, even more divisive than AM), and yet it was a risk that paid off. Yes, the new sound takes a bit of getting used to, but once you have heard the album, you will want to book a room at the Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino. I hear the reviews are Four out of Five...

***

REVIEW: Blossoms- Cool Like You

Hello Everyone!

So, this Friday (27th April), Blossoms released their second album, Cool Like You, a follow up to their eponymous debut, Blossoms, which was released in 2016.

There is something we have to talk about before we get into the nitty gritty of the review...the odd promotion/teaser campaign, which saw the drummer, Joe Donovan get interviewed and insult his bandmate, lead singer, Tom Ogden. This was followed by a spoof "Where are they now?" video, which saw Joe set up a ice cream van business,  called Cone Rose, after Blown Rose, Charlie become a Stockport County FC mascot, Josh create a food and drink documentary and Myles creating a (fake) rap record. This all caused rumours of a split, complete with a hotline number for distressed fans. This was later revealed to be a voice message with a possible taster of new music in the background.

Thankfully, this was all a ruse, in preparation for the band announcing new single, I Can't Stand It, on the 1st March, followed by an announcement of Cool Like You the very next day, on the 2nd of March.  The other give away that this "rift" was fake was that they soon announced a string of festival dates in the run up of these two announcements, including TRNSMT festival in Scotland and Neighbourhood Weekender in Liverpool.




From the very first listen, it is clear that Blossoms want to stick to their 80s electronic sound and it is often good when music artists stick to their sound that everyone knows and loves. OK...it may be a little bit boring to some who may have wanted a change but at the same time, often, when bands do release songs that sound different to something they had done before, fans turn against them and ask why they didn't stick to their sound they are known for. This is why I think it was good that Blossoms stuck to what they know.

Their opening track, There Is a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls) wouldn't sound out of place in a 70's/80's disco, with some fans on Twitter comparing it to ABBA's sound. In fact, fellow track, Giving Up the Ghost has a guitar sound in the background of Ogden's vocals that definitely sounds familiar...I'm thinking Voulez-Vous? Oh...and that stomping beat to Lying Again...I'm getting a Gimme Gimme Gimme vibe.



It's not just ABBA that Blossoms seem to be getting inspiration from...it seems they have used their previous album as a reference in order to build up that already epic electronic sound that they've got going on within their music...is it me or there is a hint of Blown Rose in the title track, Cool Like You? Unfaithful...yep it is clear they used At Most a Kiss as a starting point when coming up with the instrumentals to this song.  Considering that this album had a been a two year project, this source of inspiration is highly likely. In fact, Blossoms' frontman, Tom Ogden, even went as far as saying There's a Reason Why was a sequel to one of the previous album's songs, Getaway, during a Radio 1 interview.

Overall,  Blossoms have proved that sticking to your sound, along with taking inspiration from 70s/80s bands, works wonders when it comes to producing an album and proves that everyone should have a bit of Blossoms in their lives! Put it this way...it's not going to be, nor was it ever going to be a difficult second album...

****

Coachella? More like #Beychella

Hello!

So, the USA equivalent of Glastonbury happened recently...yep I'm talking about Coachella.

Coachella is considered the first big festival and I consider it as the unofficial opener of festival season. This year's festival saw loads of artists come to Los Angeles to play the famous desert festival site: Haim, Jamiroquai, Alt-J, Cardi B and more. We also had two headliners. One was The Weeknd, who got people talking after he got emotional during a performance of his latest song, which is thought to be about his relationship with Selena Gomez, and the other was Eminem.

However, none of these acts drew more attention than the third headliner of the weekend...in fact LAST YEAR was when she began to draw attention to her anticipated headline set...yep, I'm talking about queen Bey herself: Beyonce.

Originally, she was meant to be headlining Coachella 2017 but she then announced that she was pregnant with twins, causing her to cancel. Of course the worst kept secret was eventually confirmed: she was headlining Coachella 2018.

Some of you are probably thinking, "Why is everyone making a big deal about Beyonce headlining Coachella?" Well not only is she...erm...Beyonce but she also broke...oh...just a couple of records:

• She was the first black woman to headline Coachella. This is a big deal in a world where, unfortunately there is still some racial tension.
• She was the most tweeted about performance. 
• Destiny's Child are technically the first girl band to headline Coachella

Also, not only did she reach these milestones, she also, because she is Beyonce, managed to inadvertently create a hashtag dedicated to her performance: #Beychella.

Of course, there were a few surprises up Beyonce's sleeve. One of them happened on the first weekend of Coachella, even though people predicted it anyway, and this was the reunion of Destiny's Child. Yep, Michelle and Kelly Rowland joined their former band mate to perform a classic hits medley, consisting of Lose My Breath, Say My Name and Soldier.

The other surprises was how subtle she was being during her performance, particularly with her main outfit at the start of her headline set on the first weekend: Black shorts with a yellow hoodie. Not only is this the colours of a bee (Bey...get it?), this is also the colour that represented the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which was the first black inter-college fraternity, when it was established at Cornell University in 1906.

Overall, Beyonce is probably the only headline who grabbed attention before, during and after the performance. Now, the question is, will any other artist have as much focus on them when they headline Coachella? In fact, will they even have a hashtag dedicated to their Coachella performance, in the way that Beyonce had #Beychella? Answer: probably not.

Em x

Miles Kane is Back!

Hello!

I can already hear quite a few people thinking "He has been back since late 2015!" Yeah...erm...that was The Last Shadow Puppets guys. I'm saying he is back regarding his solo career, with his last album, Don't Forget Who You Are being released in 2013. Well, recently. he unveiled a new song, Loaded, which was Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac's Hottest Record on Monday (16th April).

I have to admit something: I had only really been a fan of Kane within The Last Shadow Puppets and before that, I had only heard of one song, which was Don't Forget Who You Are (thanks New Look!).  However, seeing as I like The Last Shadow Puppets, I thought I would listen to Annie Mac's show to hear Loaded and see what I think...and I thought it was quite good.




During his interview with Annie Mac, he gave an insight in the making of the single and his upcoming album Coup de Grace (named after a wrestling move), revealing that he had recorded with Jamie T and Lana Del Rey.  In fact from what I have heard from Jamie T, it is clear that he has had some influence when listening to Loaded and do I detect a bit of Last Shadow Puppets sound as well? Yep...I do.

Of course, the inevitable question came: is Alex Turner involved with Miles' new album? Well, surprisingly, Turner is not present on the album but he has been busy with something else... However, this will allow Miles to show that he is not just Alex Turner's best friend; he is a musician in his own right.

Overall, judging by Loaded, we can expect good things from Coup de Grace, and with Kane being announced to play various festivals and announcing a limited number of free 7" vinyl copies of the Coup de Grace single being available in various record stores across the UK, to celebrate Record Store Day, anticipation for the new album has already begun!

All I can say is bring on the new album!

Em x

Let's have a rant: Ticket Touts

Hello

So, I thought that I would use my next blog post to have a bit of a rant. In all honesty, I feel it's always good to have a rant, whether it's verbally to a friend or family member, or via a written piece, such as blog posts. Anyway, the thing that is most annoying is...ticket touts.

Ticket touts, for those who may not have heard the term, are those people who buy tickets and then sell them on at ridiculous prices, often nearing the £1,000 barrier. How is that fair to true fans who actually want tickets?

I have to admit, as a disabled music fan, I am lucky when it comes to buying tickets, as all I have to do is phone a dedicated ticket line and someone usually picks up between 45 minutes- 1 hour later. However, what about those who are not disabled?  The problem starts here.

I'll give you an example.  I was trying to get Muse tickets for my Mum and Dad (my Dad is a big fan) and I went to this ticket site to get tickets. Despite me getting on the website exactly on 9am when the tickets went on sale, and refreshing the page multiple times, I kept getting a message come up saying no tickets available and yet tickets were appearing on secondary ticketing sites within seconds of being released, selling at some ridiculous prices. Finally, after 3 hours and multiple dates being added, and me phoning up the O2 arena directly, I got some tickets but I was still annoyed that tickets that could have been given to real fans.

Thankfully, artists and their management are putting things in place to (try and) stop ticket touting. Recently, acts such as Ed Sheeran and Arctic Monkeys have ensured that the ticketing process is fair by putting strict instructions on what to do on their websites:

• the lead booker's surname will be printed on the ticket.
• the lead booker must arrive at the venue and present a photo ID.

Ed and his management also stated on his website to bring confirmation of the booking and teamed up with a website, Twickets, along with other artists such as, Little Mix, Adele, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and Lana Del Rey, where purchasers of tickets can sell them appropriately, so people can buy these tickets from this website at face value.

Despite this, and countless features on TV regarding problems with people ending up with dodgy tickets, ticket touting is still happening, meaning we are still a long way off from tackling the touts. However, with these special measures in place, hopefully we will less ticket touting in the future.

If you need/would like to sell your tickets, or buy some sold tickets at face value, visit https://www.twickets.live/

Em x

REVIEW: George Ezra- Staying at Tamara's

It's time to celebrate! Why? George Ezra has finally released his long awaited second album, Staying At Tamara's. The follow up to the Number One album (in the UK anyway), Wanted on Voyage, Staying at Tamara's is the fun-filled pop record that we all need in our lives.

The title itself has an interesting story. After the success of Wanted On Voyage, Ezra wanted to...erm...take a voyage and one of the places he went was Barcelona. Instead of booking a hotel, he rented a room in a flat. The name of the flat owner that he rented the room from? Tamara!

We first heard a snippet of what Ezra's second album will sound like, when the first single off the album, Don't Matter Now, which was in a similar league of Ezra's previous hit, Listen to the Man, telling listeners not to worry about their troubles. This was followed by the second single, Paradise (no...not a cover of Coldplay). Paradise is typical Ezra, jam packed with guitar sound and a catchy chorus that can stay in your head for days. Well...I had it in my head for days anyway...



Since the release of Paradise, Ezra released other songs over time, in the run up to the release of Staying At Tamara's: Pretty Shining People, which, along with Paradise, is a song that you can't help but sing along to,  Hold My Girl, Saviour, a collaboration with Swedish folk group First Aid Kit, and, released the night before the album got released, Shotgun, which was Annie Mac's Hottest Record of that night on Radio 1.

The thing that's great about this album is that the songs are so varied. The songs range from being upbeat, like those mentioned, to slow relaxing songs, such as All My Love, Only a Human and The Beautiful Dream and I feel that albums should be like this, otherwise they could be seen as a bit boring and lackadaisical.

There are a few downsides with this album but these are little things. Firstly, having revisited Ezra's first album, some may argue that this album seems too much like Wanted On Voyage. However, whilst that could seem negative, there is a well known saying...if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Secondly, the album seems to finish too quickly!

All in all, Staying at Tamara's is an album that can, on the one hand, provide songs that you can dance to and, on the other hand, provide songs that you can just chill out and relax to. Either way, this album is perfect to allow you to not let any worries get you down.

***

Oh NME Magazine...We Will Miss You!

After 66 years and many issues featuring iconic musicians, the news broke recently that the NME was to cease releasing its print edition.  Among many other music fans I'm sure, I felt a mix of shock and sadness. With that in mind, I thought I would delve into why.

I have to be honest, I didn't always read the NME...yes I liked music but I didn't used to like the type of bands that NME would have put on the cover...I was more into bands like Steps, Spice Girls and Take That (OK...I still like Take That). Having said that, I did used to sing along to the albums of Oasis and Manic Street Preachers when I was four, due to my Dad having them in his car but that was the closest I was going to get being interested in bands the NME would have had on the cover. Also, due to being four, it's safe to say I was probably too young to read the NME!

It was only when I went to University that I became more interested in bands that were/would be on the cover of the NME, such as Arctic Monkeys, Bastille, Blossoms and The Last Shadow Puppets. It started out by reading articles on the website and me liking the NME facebook page so I can keep up with the latest music news.  It then ended up with me finally bringing the magazine home.

For many people, whose comments I have seen in various articles and on Twitter, it was the sheer joy of going every week with their pocket money and buying the NME to catch up on the goings on regarding their favourite musicians and oh there were so many cover stars! Cover stars included stars from yesteryear, including The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard, 80s legends, such as David Bowie and Prince, Britpop icons, including Oasis, Blur and Radiohead, notably for running a cover story dedicated to Oasis vs Blur regarding the UK singles chart, and finally more recent stars, such as Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Coldplay and Muse.  Of course, other times, the NME would make their issues tribute issues when someone had sadly died, including Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson and most recently, David Bowie and Prince. This showed that music truly mattered to the NME and that, quite rightly so, these musicians will never be forgotten.

Unfortunately, to many people (not me), it seemed to them that the end was nigh for the NME when it started to release free publications. Not only that, it also emerged that the editor, Mike Williams was to leave, shortly after the 2018 NME awards. Oh...and not to mention that these days, everyone can reach news with the tap of a button, thanks to technology.

Despite this, #RIPNME still became the trending hashtag on Twitter on the day that the news broke about the end of the print edition. However, we have been told that this is the start of a new and exciting time for NME, and the actual product, news about musicians, has not ended itself. Therefore, I am excited for the future of the NME and I can't wait to see what happens. However, that's not to say that I am not upset about the publication ending. 

Oh NME magazine...we will miss you! Thank you Mike Williams and your team for creating a fab magazine!

Em x