Spin It or Bin It, 07/09/07

Albert Hammond Jnr – Yours To Keep - Rough Trade
 
There’s something really sweet and lovely about this album. Guitarman with The Strokes, Albert Hammond Jnr. has made this as a solo project, alongside his work with the band.
It is a delicious inventive treat for the ears, which leaves a warm glow. It’s bright and it’s breezy, but it’s never cheesy…
Delicious twinkly keyboard sounds lift ‘Bright Young Things’ to a sublime place. Harder edged ‘Back To The 101’ reminds of Tom Petty’s ‘American Girl.’
This album has a slight Lennonish/Beatles/Monkees flavour, especially in ‘Hard To Live In The City’ and ‘Blue Skies’ but that’s no bad thing, as Hammond innovates, and does not imitate and it all just adds to the feelgood vibe.

Reviewed by Rikki Wright 4/5
 
KT Tunstall – Drastic Fantastic - EMI
 
This album rattles along like a steam train with a boiler full coal! It’s simply smokin’! When KT Tunstall rocks, it is with uncompromising energy, a belting voice and an exuberance that is happily infectious. There are some banging upbeat songs like ‘If Only’ and Hopeless’ with singalonga choruses and foot tapping tunes. Others, like ‘White Bird,’ are sultry and silky smooth, and reminiscent of the mighty ‘Solid Air’ by John Martyn.
More contemplative, ‘Paper Aeroplane’ and ‘Someday Soon’ show a thoughtful side to KT Tunstall, that demonstrates her depth and sensitivity, and rounds the album out beautifully. It’s good stuff this, authentic, heartfelt and enjoyable.

Reviewed by Josh Green 3/5

 The Decemberists – The Crane Wife -  RoughTrade
 
'The Crane Wife' is bursting at the seams with interesting sounds and great songs. From Levellersish ‘When The War Came’ to ‘Shankill Butchers’ which has something of the Seth Lakeman’s in it, this is folky, but modern sounding. ‘The Crane Wife 3’ has a vocal reminiscent of the excellent Alistair Anderson. It is a lovely, listenable album, crammed with songs that rapidly get stuck in your head, and have you coming back for more.
So what’s going on in Oregon these days? There is a flood of great unusual music coming out of there at the moment, and The Decemberists are certainly riding high on this creative wave. They describe themselves as folk rock on their Myspace, but I think it must mean something very different in Oregon! Here it means something horrible, with some old geexers, who can hardly strap on their instruments over their beer bellies, turgidly bom bom bomming along as the backing racket to someone who looks like they work in a bank warbling their way through an interminable song about the perils of being a fair maiden on a white steed - truly grisly stuff! But this is nothing like that, it is fresh, it is free and it beautiful, with a spooky, slightly Victorian edge. The UK folk rockers are long overdue for a wakeup call, and The Decemberists might just be the band to apply the jump leads to their temples!

Reviewed by Rikki Wright 4/5

Reverend and the Makers – He Said He Loved Me
It’s an age-old tale - a young, impressionable girl falls for a serial love rat who has only one interest - but it doesn’t mean we’ll ever tire of hearing it, and The Reverend, aka John McClure, sounds a lot like his mate Alex Turner. A sure-fire indie disco hit, then.