The Go Team
Proof of youth·Memphis Industries/Sinnamon 2007
This young Brighton band are back with “Thunder, Lightning, Strike” and they still have that air of innocence that was characteristic of their debut. The usual samplers are to be found: they’ve used hip hop, funk, pop and soul melodies for their latest playful and lively compositions. The likes of Marina from Bonde Do Rol and Chuck D have collaborated on the record. Joyful and danceable, the record takes us back to secondary school days. A youthful record.
Humbert Humberts
Snake park·Subterfuge 2007
Humbert Humbert has combined the comic, punk and alchemy on his new record. This third album strides the known roads of punk with a little saxophone thrown in every now and then to colour things up a little. The songs are short and lively affairs and sometimes reminiscent of Devo. They’ve used animals when writing the lyrics. Different songs but all dynamic, just like on previous recordings. There is a rich dialectic formed by the mixture of ballads and dance tunes (even though it must be said that we prefer the live lier ones).
Beirut
The Flying Club Cup·4AD -PopStock! 2007
Young Zach Condon is the guy behind this project and their first offering was heavily influenced by Balkan sounds. The world opened up before him and he toured all over the place. The songs on this new album are full of melodies and sounds he’s picked up in different places on those travels, with a heavy French presence at times it must be said. These are great compositions, full of nostalgia. Backed up by the usual musicians he surrounds himself with, any of these songs is capable of moving you. Beirut had time on their side and now they travel through time to build their songs.
Dj Solal
The Moonshine Sessions·Ya Basta records/Karonte 2007
Philippe Cohen Solal just doesn’t know how to sit still. He’s that type of artist. For this record he headed west to Nashville. As well as being one of the leaders of the band Gotan Project, he has also done quite a lot of work as a producer and DJ over the last couple of years. His latest shows as a DJ have been heavily marked by a country music tendency but what he’s come up with here is even more so. He’s got a handful of really good songs here like: “The Academy of Trust” or “Psycho Girls & Psicow Boys” amongst others.
Audience
Tying Wings On Roots·Noiz Pop 2007
The band have really gained in experience, both live and in the studio. This can clearly be seen in their 2003 release “Second Handed” (Noiz Pop.) Four years on and they’re back with a new record. You could dig up lots of musical references if you wanted, but it all comes back to the same thing in the end: this is Audience. They’ve really grown as a band and have achieved a strong personality of their own and this is really on show here. They travel to the roots of blues or country and have come up with the record of the year.
Mia
Kala·XL Recordings – PopStock! 2007
This is one of those records that transmits energy to the listener from the very start. Strong stuff indeed. There is no let up as they move from musical lyrical and musical landscape to another. The first three songs are like three explosions in a row. Then it’s party time: Jimmy. By this time you realise that the MIA heads have gone one better than their last record. Switch, Diplo or Blaqstarr have produced the record for them and they sing the last song with Timbaland.
