50 MusicWeek 22.06.12

PRODUCTRECOMMENDED ALBUM OF THE WEEK

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TRACK OF THE WEEK

HONEY RYDER Marley’s Chains (Oceanic Music/EMI)

British music trio Honey Ryder are Lindsay O’Mahony (lead vocals), Jason Huxley (guitar) and Matthew Bishop (guitar). They self-released debut album Rising Up in 2009 to widespread acclaim. It spawned two Top 40 UK singles during a period when they also supported Will Young on a 19-date UK arena tour. The title track from this year’s second album – co-written by lead

singer Lindsay in Nashville with Emerson Hart, frontman of multi- platinum-selling post-grunge group Tonic – is already gaining momentum. It was signed up by hit US TV series Body Of Proof and aired throughout the US in Apri - and it has also been added to the Radio 2 playlist and spawned a video featured on MSN in the UK. Honey Ryder have appeared on BBC Breakfast (BBC One), Live

July 2 INCOMING ALBUMS

PET SHOP BOYS Elysium (Parlophone) Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe co- produced Elysium, their brand new studio album,

with young American engineer/ producer Andrew Dawson who has won three Grammy awards for his work on Kanye West’s albums. To give a taste of the album’s sound,

a short film (made by renowned Los Angeles artist/film-maker Brian Bress) for the track Invisible can be viewed on the Pet Shop Boys’ website and on Vevo. A single will be released to radio at the beginning of July. Pet Shop Boys said in a statement:

“We wanted to make this album in a different environment. “Despite frequent visits there we have

never made an album in Los Angeles. Working there with Andrew Dawson has enabled us to make a very fresh-sounding album.”

BLOC PARTY Four (Frenchkiss Records) Produced by Alex Newport (Death Cab For Cutie, The Mars Volta, At The Drive-In), Bloc Party’s new

album was recorded and mixed in New York and will mark the band’s first full- length since 2008’s Intimacy. BP have released three full-length albums including Mercury-nominated debut Silent Alarm, toured extensively and headlined festivals throughout the UK, Europe and the world. In support of the record, BP will

SEPTEMBER TBC

embark on a string of European, US and festival appearances following a two-year absence from the stage, showcasing new material from their forthcoming album as well as classic tracks from the band’s 10-year history. Demand has resulted in the UK dates instantly selling out. The band will play three UK dates in June in London, Glasgow and Manchester.

AUGUST 20

GRIZZLY BEAR Title TBA (Warp) Brooklyn-based indie rock band Grizzly Bear will release their first album in three years in

September with a corresponding worldwide headline tour kicking off during the same week. The new album (title to be

announced) follows 2009’s critical and commercial breakthrough, Veckatimest which debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Billboard Indie chart in 2009 - it also ranked No. 1 on the NPR Listener’s Poll and Top 10 on year-end lists in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Pitchfork, SPIN, NME, Uncut, Clash, Rough Trade Shops and many more. New single Sleeping Ute became

available to stream on YouTube earlier this month - the perfect precursor to GB’s UK visit: they will play Brixton Academy on October 22.

With… (Five) and This Morning (ITV1). The album has been described as ‘a pop record with its feet in folk and country that sounds both classic and contemporary’.

MISHA B Home Run (Relentless)

Former X Factor contestant Misha B is set to release her debut single through Sony imprint label Relentless. The track encompasses the

energy and soulful vocal Misha was known for on the television show and is fused with jolting percussion, reggae-infused, drum and bass influenced beats (courtesy of up-and- coming UK producer MNEK) and a catchy hook. Misha said of the single:

July 15

“Home Run is about that special someone who gets you so excited, so hyped that you lose control! It is based on a ballad I wrote about my ex and I just changed it up to give it a fresh, fun vibe.”

STAFF PICK: CZARALEE ANDERSON, SALES EXECUTIVE BOY

Mutual Friends (Grönland Records)

An excellent example of positive prosody; BOY’s album Mutual Friends is a chocolate box of sweet, happy songs that make me smile. School friends

Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass released this LP, their debut (produced by Philip Steinke), back in 2011 through label Grönland Records. Racking up acclaim by both public

SEPTEMBER 18

and industry, in 2011 the duo won the Hamburg Musician Prize HANS in the Newcomer Of The Year category, and Mutual Friends won them the prestigious European Border Breakers

Award (EBBA) 2012. Reminiscent of Feist and Bon Iver,

it is clear why the album has achieved so much; although their songs are innocent and charming, they show a certain level of maturity in both their arrangement and production. This takes Boy up a notch in Pop Land and sets to gain them the respect and longevity they deserve within the industry. The opening

track, This Is The Beginning, is

uplifting and calmly euphoric. However, my favourite track of the collection is Little Numbers which is wonderfully playful and energetic. The album closes beautifully with warming and delicate July. This is the perfect debut. BOY: These gifted girls are here to stay!

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