Review: MS MR - Fantasy

Originally published on www.sosogay.co.uk

MS MR are a self described Tumblr Glitch Pop/Soul fuzz/Electroshock American band who, after releasing their first EP Candy Bar Creep Show last year, are on the verge of releasing their début album Second Hand Rapture.

In the run up to the release of said album the band are currently touring around the world, and their single ‘Bones’ was featured in the season three trailer for Game of Thrones.

The first commercial single release from the band comes in the shape of ‘Fantasy’, a single that sounds rather indie-alternative for a band describing themselves as Electroshock. Upon first listen, the track’s sound feels all too familiar and verging on uninteresting.

The vocals on the track are reminiscent of other female singers around at the moment, most notably Florence Welch and Ellie Goulding. However, the vocals on this track have a bit more oomph than Goulding’s but aren’t as feisty as Welch’s.

This being said, the strong yet delicate and ghostly quality of the vocals, coupled with the mix of indie, dance and ethereal sounds, did increase the song’s appeal after a few listens, and you can definitely hear influences from bands such as Florence + the Machine. But it’s the drumming noise used throughout the song that really hooks you in after a while, as it creates an anthemic quality that could make this quite good at a festival.

Although this song doesn’t necessarily seem like an obvious choice for a lead single from an album, it certainly piques interest for the band’s future output.

Lost in Music: Amy Studt - False Smiles

Originally published on www.sosogay.co.uk

For many that were born at the end of the 1980s and in the early 1990s they missed out on much of the singer/songwriter craze that had become so popular during the early to mid 90s, which saw the birth of music superstars like Alanis Morissette and Tori Amos. Instead they listened to the music of teen pop idols such as Britney Spears and N’Sync.

However during the early 2000’s the emergence of Canadian teen rock star Avril Lavigne gave them a peek at what they had missed almost a decade ago. Like most pop stars, there had to be an equivalent of Avril in the UK and that honour got bestowed on one Miss Amy Studt. A young 16 year old from London, Studt was branded the British version of Lavigne by the press, much like Billie Piper was the British Britney, despite releasing her début single quite some time before the phenomenon that became Ms Spears.

With the release of her first single, ‘Just a Little Girl’, Studt looked poised for chart success having reached the UK top 20. The song itself was featured on promotional videos for the final series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, it was almost 12 months before we heard from Amy again, and in 2003 she released the single ‘Misfit’, which hit number six on the UK top 40 and was all over the radio and television music channels.

She now looked set for success; another top 10 single followed and a top 20 album in the form of False Smiles. The album itself spoke out for the underdog in the schoolyard, as Amy herself had admitted to being bullied whilst at school. Featuring brilliant tracks like ‘Misfit’ and ‘Ladder in My Tights’ she looked set to give teens who were experiencing the agonising daily trip to school a voice, showing those who don’t quite fit in that it was acceptable and everything would one day be OK.

However, the sales of her singles and album didn’t quite match up to her Canadian equivalent. A brief stint to try and re-market the album with a cover of the Sheryl Crow song ‘All I Wanna Do’ didn’t quite work out, failing to break the top 20. Sadly, this saw the singer being dropped from her record label.

It seems that maybe Amy didn’t quite match up to the hype or maybe the charts were looking for something a bit different, and given the fact that single sales were diminishing at the time until the second wind they found with digital downloads, Miss Studt may have just been around too early.

Fast forward five or six years later and female singers who write their own songs, with a unique sound and look are dominating the charts, just look at Adele, Florence Welch and the late Amy Winehouse. Sadly however, this is now and Amy Studt was back then, but for all those young teens that listened to the album they have a hidden gem of music that may have given them a bit of hope back in the day.

Review - Cat Power - Sun

Originally posted on www.soundblab.com

American singer-songwriter Cat Power returns to the music scene with her ninth studio album, drawing on her blend of haunting ethereal vocals and minimalistic indie background beats, but it's a little hit and miss. By now most people know what to expect from Cat Power, she has been releasing music since the mid 90s after all, and for many big fans out there this album may be that little gem they've been waiting for. But as someone who isn't completely aware of the entire oeuvre of Cat Power, I can honestly say this album definitely isn't the best way to get introduced to her music. It's ok but it won't have you hooked and running out to buy her entire back-catalogue.

This album has been a long time coming, and has been in the works for the last five or six years, so you would have thought it would have been a little better, especially when the indie sound she is known for has become so mainstream. However, this album just makes her sound like a cheap and less feisty Florence Welch, which is sad considering she was making music before Florence was even in high school.

The songs themselves aren't so bad; there are some very good tracks here such as 'Manhattan', an upbeat, chirpy song which makes you want to sing and dance along despite her melancholic vocal. Then there's 'Peace and Love'. A very fast-paced, almost rocky song with a very catchy chant of "nah nah nah" and a good beat, it's definitely one of the best here. Elsewhere, 'Nothin' But Time' is a really upbeat, cheery track that lifts you right up. However, at almost 11 minutes, the song just gets a bit formulaic and you begin to lose interest in it.

The remainder of the songs are all quite boring; they all sound pretty much the same with their minimalistic beats and sad vocals which, to be fair, is her style, but she could have upped the ante a little bit considering she's been working on the album for so long. Songs such as 'Silent Machine' and 'Sun' almost go somewhere at the start, with the former sounding like a 70s throwback and the latter containing a bit of a dance-inspired opening, but that's where it stops as the remaining few minutes of each song fall flat and sound like all the other songs on the album.

The album is a concoction of a few hits, misses and almost-hits which just miss the mark and, whereas the raw and melancholic sound is true to her, the whole album just kind of falls flat on its face. Despite a few good songs, it's not something I'm going to be in a hurry to listen to again.