Ed Sheeran - + (Warner Music)
In it’s entirety, it’s an album that celebrates Sheeran as a laureate for the 21st Century.
charm and his own prodigious talent to alarming effect. He won. Apparently you know – the UK knows, America even knows about the Sheeran effect. Aside from his lyrical dexterity, mature observations and the ability to get a million sounds from his mouth and trademark ¾ guitar, I think Ed has been dealt one lucky trump card – thanks to Facebook, Twitter and the whole webosphere, Ed’s generation are all talking the same language – they’re all on the same (social network) page and they share an affinity. Aside from his catchier-than-crabs singles, ‘The A Team’, and ‘You Need Me’, Ed delivers a mixture of downbeat movers like, ‘Give Me Love’, and reggae-influenced ‘Grade 8’. In its entirety, it’s an album that celebrates Sheeran as a laureate for the 21st Century, delivered with honey soaked vocal olympics. He’s given the album the title, ‘+’, and we can only glean that it’s a positive sign.Emma Garwood
T R The Drums – Portamento (Moshi Moshi / Island Records)
ip it off fast like a plaster. Perhaps that’s the best way of approaching that ‘difficult second album’; loaded with expectancy and asking questions, it may be better to get it out of the way fast. Floridian band The Drums have done just that in releasing ‘Portamento’ just a year after
their debut. As well as fitting in a tour that took in the corners of the globe and sashaying through a change in band line-up, they managed to produce an accomplished sophomore, which makes me think they borrowed a device from Hollywood filmmakers, which give their protagonists the gift of slowing down time to fit more in. The band’s drummer, Connor Hanwick has seen a switch to guitar after the departure of Adam Kessler and the impact has seen most of their rhythm come from an ever-present undulating bass guitar, which runs through the backbone of the album with frantic urgency. The band is shaking off its superficial surf pop sheen, which although we lapped up and would again, gives way to a welcome vulnerability and honest subject material. There’s distance in the production; space for the wind to sweep through and carry you along. It’s an album I want to protect, look after and celebrate its tenderness, which is exposed despite the album’s brassy beach pop sound. Tiny Dancer
The Duke Spirit – Bruise (Fiction Records) I
The result has been a concise LP that has just a few elements firing on all cylinders.
40 /September 2011/
outlineonline.co.uk
t takes a strong-willed man to tell the hypnotic beauty of Liela Moss that you want a little less of anything from her, or indeed her band, The Duke Spirit. That bravery comes from qualified ears though,
and it was super-producer Andrew Scheps (Metallica, Red Hot Chilli Peppers) that told the band he wanted to hear less of everything on their early demos for third album, ‘Bruiser’, to get to the core of their new creations. The band took it on board wholeheartedly, and the result has been a concise LP that has just a few elements that are firing on all cylinders. On initial listens, the power of the drums is at the forefront, giving it drive, with the crazed guitars and Moss’ vocal pushing and pulling you through the rest of the song. ‘Surrender’ and ‘Everybody’s Under Your Spell’ provide brilliant singles, with strong melody and strong attitude permeating them both. Acclaim has been easy to come by for The Duke Spirit, but commercial success in this country evades them – with this, their confident 3rd album, it may be an imminent bedfellow for this explorative London
band.Ergo
It’s hard to appreciate just how far Ed Sheeran’s musical wave has swept across the world; he’s
always been so huge here that it’s too tall to peek over the parapet. We still remember Ed for a magical gig at B2 in Norwich, a Next Big Thing qualifier where Ed used the venue’s intimacy, his
It’s an album I want to
protect, look after and celebrate its tenderness.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64