Wonder - Lisa Mitchell

Released : July 31 2009
Label:Scorpio Music
Personnel: Lisa Mitchell (singer/songwriter)
Dann Hume (producer)

Former Australian Idol finalist (this will be the first and last reference to that show on this blog) Lisa Mitchell has dropped her highly anticipated debut album after an extensive stint over in London working with some of the most respected songwriters and producers. To date the Victorian singer-songwriter has released two highly acclaimed EP's which has included hits like Incomplete Lullaby and Neopolitan Dreams, the latter being one of the many highlights on this lush sweet album. The cute factor runs off the meter right from the opening moments which has Lisa seemingly walking down a path singing to herself. The stand out tracks are peppered throughout the albums with radio-hits Stevie and Coin Laundry giving the album a more sensible pop feel. Listening to this album I can't help but draw comparisons between Lisa and English folk pop sensation Laura Marling, who in 2008 released her debut Alas I Cannot Swim at a similar age as Lisa. Both girls possess stunning voices but Laura's musicianship is far superior making her record more enjoyable and interesting even after dozens of listens. It doesn't help either that Lisa carries the same tone and attitude through the entire record which is about 5 tracks too long (referring to the Special Australian 15 track edition). With these songs she could of made 3 brilliant 5 tracks EP's instead of a full length. Nonetheless Lisa now has enough songs in her repatoire to put on some great shows.

The deluxe edition of the album comes with 4 excellent demos. The iTunes version has yet another 3 demos.

Rating : 7.5/10

Grohl + Homme + Led Zep; Michael Jackson This Is It Movie; Wolfmother Album Details; No More Radiohead Albums - 12/08

It has been a little while since I updated everyone on music news. So here is all the biggest news from the last few days.

First up is an update on the rumours flying around in early July about Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age songwriter Josh Homme and legendary Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones collaborating together in a new supergroup. It was all confirmed last week when the trio announced themselves under the name of Them Crooked Vultures. They have set up the essentials for every 21st century rock band with a new website and Twitter page. Furthermore the band played their debut gig in Chicago on the 9th. Hitting the stage after midnight Grohl got behind the drums, Homme played guitar and unsurprisingly Jones was on bass and keys. They ripped through 12 songs which they recorded together in Los Angeles in July. Below is a sample of the new band's music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qR59OKj0CI

Last weekend a LA court gave the greenlight to producers of Michael Jackson's This Is It tour to release a film created from the hundreds of hours of footage that was captured during rehearsals for the singer's cancelled London shows. The movies will be released into cinemas around the world on October 28. Some of the footage captured in the Staples Center will be shown in 3D and the entire film will be reviewed by the Jackson family and associates, ensuring that in no part of the film is Jackson portrayed in a negative light.

Aussie rockers Wolfmother have set a release date for their 2nd album. The band which now only includes one of its original members will be drop the follow up to their self-titled debut on October 12. The album titled Cosmic Egg will have 12 tracks including the first official single off the record New Moon Rising which will be released on October 5. The only taste of the re-shaped band fans have had so far has been the track Back 'Round which will not feature on the album. There are also strong rumours that Guns N Roses guitarist Slash will be on the album.

In Rainbows may just be the final Radiohead album we ever hear. Despite having spent the last few months in the studio with long time producer Nigel Godrich, the band apparently have no intentions of releasing a new LP anytime soon. In a recent interview Thom Yorke commented that 'we can't possibly dive into that(album releasing) again. It'll kill us." Instead the band will plan bring out singles and EP's. Nothing is certain at this time but what is certain is that in two weeks time the band will headline the Reading & Leeds Festival in the UK, which boasts one of the, if not THE best line ups for any festival anywhere in the world this year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_and_Leeds_Festivals_line-ups#2009

RHCP ARE BACK

On 3rd August Red Hot Chili Pepper's drummer Chad Smith told the media that the band was planning re-banding in October to start planning out their next album after a 2 year hiatus. During this time each member has pursued their own projects. Bassist Flea has made guest appearances on several albums as well as studying Music Theory at USC for a year. On the other hand lead guitarist John Frusciante brought out his 10th solo album The Empryean back in January but did not do a tour in support of it. RHCP frontman Anthony Kiedis produced a TV series about his own life in LA. During 2009 Chad Smith was part of the rock n roll supergroup Chickenfoot along side greats like Joe Satriani and Sammy Hager. The band released an album this year which was unfortunately poorly received nonetheless the band has sold out their American Tour which will end in October.

RHCP's last album Stadium Arcadium was released in 2006 and has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The band tour on the back of it for close to 18 months playing 140 shows the last of which was at the Leeds Festival in August 2007. At this stage there has been no official confirmation from any other members of the band or their management. Some sources close to the band claim that all 4 members are on board and are looking forward to begin writing.

Ready, Able - Grizzly Bear on Letterman

One of the bands of the year were invited for the second time by Letterman to appear on his Late Show and on this occassion they actually performed. The band chose to play a lesser known track off their brilliant album Veckatimest. The song sounded simply perfect with some extra musicians on stage with them. Ready, Able is one of the many highlights on Veckatimest and live on stage is sounds just as spectacular.

Pearl Jam Stadium Tour; All Points West Festival; Coldplay on Simpsons

( This writer will attempt to hold in his excitement about the following piece of news)

American rock band Pearl Jam have announced their Australian/New Zealand Tour for November 2009. It will be an all-stadium tour and will visit each major city in both countries. This will be Pearl Jam's first tour down here since 2006 which saw the band play Newcastle for the first time. The tour will be in support of their forthcoming release Backspacer coming out on in September. The band has stated that the shows will be one-night-only events.

November 14, Perth, Perth Oval
November 17, Adelaide, Adelaide Oval
November 20, Melbourne, Docklands
November 22, Sydney, Sydney Football Stadium
November 25, Brisbane, QSAC Stadium
November 27, Auckland, Mt Smart
November 29, Christchurch, Lancaster Park

Tickets go on sale August 17. WOOOHOOO!!!

Jersey's All Points West Festival came to a close on Sunday night with British soft rock megastars Coldplay headlining the main stage. The opening day of the festival was marred by heavy storms which delayed the start of the festival by 4 hours. Things eventually got going at 4:10PM leaving the tens of thousands of fans frustrated and angry. Headlining Friday night was local legend Jay-Z who was replacing The Beastie Boys, he dedicated his set to the band's ill member Adam Yauch. Other highlights on the night were Fleet Foxes and Yeah Yeah Yeah's. Homegrown band Vampire Weekend survived heavy storms to complete an excellent set in front of a very large crowd. The mood of the festival changed entirely on Saturday as the main stage was taken over by prog rockers Tool and their graphic imagery. Also on stage were Brits Arctic Monkeys and a surprise performance from Ice-T. Sunday was host to a stunning line up of bands including Coldplay, MGMT, Elbow and Mogwai . Coldplay frontman Chris Martin had some fun with the muddy weather telling the crowd "We're four people from Britain who grew up in the mud and the rain,so we take our hats off to you New Yorkers and New Jerseyers for surviving what could only be described as a mud jacuzzi." The New York Times described the festival the next morning as 'All Points Wet'

Briefly, Coldplay are set to appear in an forthcoming episode of The Simpsons. The band will reportedly be hired by Homer to play a private concert for him and Bart after he wins the lottery.

Horehound - The Dead Weather

Released:July 14
Label: Third Man Records
Personnel: Jack White (Producer, Drums, Guitar and Vocals)
Alison Mosshart (Vocals and Guitar)
Jack Lawrence (Bass, Vocals)
Dean Fertita (Guitar and Keys)

Jack White is back after finishing his world tour with The Raconteurs and recording the official song for the latest James Bond film. The first taste we got of this album was Hang You From The Heavens a real throwback to the early days of Led Zeppelin, it was hard-as-nails rock n roll. Alison Mosshart's vocals could of been mistaken for Jack who instead opted for a backseat placing himself behind the drums but is still very much in control of the band without doing a Phil Collins. Jack hits the drum with finesse and elegance whereas Allison comes out with her fists and doesn't back down. The band apparently finished this record in a matter of days, entirely inspired by extended jam sessions. That isn't reflected on the album, the songs are tight and structured with all the qualities of carefully written and produced piece of work. The highlights are held very much in the first half with I Cut Like A Buffalo and Treat Me Like Your Mother, both tracks offer a level of anger unheard on other Jack White produced records. Above all the hero of Horehound is bass playing extraordinaire Jack Lawrence. Every track on the album is defined by its brilliant bass line, each has its own character and feel. This compensates for the embarrassingly poor guitar work that features throughout this album, it's weak and uninspiring and is compounded by the fact that you have one of the best guitarist of this generation sitting behind the drums. Nonetheless this isn't the record you might expect from musicians of this calibre but a solid effort.

Rating : 7.5/10

Uprising - Muse

Album: The Resistance (out September 14)
Release: 3rd August
Length:5:90

The first official single off the forthcoming album The Resistance has leaked almost 24hrs before its world premiere on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show. In a previous post I included a preview of the song in which Lowe claimed that there was a rap-section in the song. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything it really reminds me of the eclectic American art rock group Battles. A grinding dancefloor ready bass line, a beat that belongs on a Peaches song with 'we-will-fight-to-the-end' lyrics. There is nothing all that wrong with this track, it's actually quite enjoyable to listen to. The only let down on this track would be the rather dull guitar work, I understand that this is very much a bass driven song but I'm sure there are countless Muse fans out there like myself who prefer their guitar driven songs. I don't see this song adding to the anticipation of The Resistance but it won't hurt them.