Reverend & The Makers - Mirrors (Album Review)

Reverend & the Makers have been performing for a decade now, and the indie-rock band were formed in Sheffield. The current five-piece consists of; Jon McClure on lead vocals ‘The Reverend’ , Ed Cosens on the guitar, McClures multi-talented Wife; Laura on the keyboard and trumpet, Joe Carnell on bass and Ryan Jenkinson on the drums. Reverend & the Makers have supported such acts as; Arctic Monkeys in 2006, Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2008, Oasis in 2009, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds in 2012 – alongside various festivals including Glastonbury and T in the Park.

As I don’t listen to Reverend & the Makers, I was ever so surprised at how short their tracks are. Their first track ‘Amsterdam’ is only 1:14, and it is very abstract and enigmatic to say the least. It sounds like an opening track to a film. Their second track 'Black Widow' is the most renowned track off their new album, and it has a very 80's twist to it. The Arctic Monkeys styled guitar riffs from Cosens and Carnell on the bass mainly dominate this track. Their third track 'Makin' Babies' is very Beatles inspired and sounds influenced by 60's/70's psychedelia, admittedly it is very catchy.

"Everyone I know is makin'babies, what about us? What about us? Everyone I know is making sweet, sweet love. What about us? What about us?"

Their fourth track 'Stuck On You' sounds very much like some of the Arctic Monkeys work. I think the relation to Arctic Monkeys is McClures low and slow voice, plus the perfect alecution of his lyrics. Again another short track, amongst the rest. One of my favourite tracks is their next song; 'The Beach And The Sea'. It's ever so repetitive, and the guitar riffs remain simple, yet effective. 

"I'll be the beach and you'll be the sea, I want you to wash all over me."

I like this track as it has endless possibilities of meanings. I reckon everybody who has listened to this song, interprets things differently. I interpret it in the way that a beach wouldn't be a beach without the sea, therefore he wouldn't be himself without this lover. He wants to embrace the fact that he'd be nothing without her ("I want you to wash all over me"), and things wouldn't make sense without her. Therefore the woman has him right where she wants him, hence the feminine laughing towards the end of the track.

Their sixth track 'The Trip' is short, yet it builds up the mood again in preparation for another slow song; their seventh track 'El Cabrera'. This track has a very westernised feel to it, however it's more of an instrumental than a song. No lyrics, except some odd noises. It's a pretty pointless and disappointing track unfortunately. However they do turn things around with their next track -'Blue'. Upbeat guitars and drums introduce this song shortly accompanied by the vocals, this is one of those songs that you just want to get up and dance to.

Their ninth track 'Something To Remember' is their last song that is in the one-minute range. This is quite a melancholic song, reminiscing back to a good time with an old friend. 'Mr Glassalfempty' is another favourable song of theirs that I like off this album. This is due to the effectiveness of the backing vocals, giving it a 60's twist to it and it is simple yet effective - much like 'The Beach And The Sea'. I'm not much for their eleventh track 'The Gun' in all honesty; as it doesn't particularly do anything for me, it sounds too similar to their previous tracks. I'm intrigued as to what their twelfth track 'My Mirror' is going to be like, as it should be one of the stronger tracks of the album as I am presuming that it is the title track. Again, I don't see the need for this track within the album I think they should not have had 14 tracks. Perhaps narrowed it down to 10? 'Last To Know' is their second to last track on the album and I like it! It's slow and melancholic, which automatically makes you want to sway. This song also really shows off McClures vocal range.

"And now you're realising that she's just been lying, and you were the last to know"

Their final song to conclude the album is called 'Lay Me Down' and surprisingly, it's the longest track on the album. The instrumental has quite a westernised twang to it, much like 'El Cabrera'. I wanted the final song to be a lot more upbeat, unlike the rest.

"I needed somebody to lay me down"

In conclusion, I'm not much for the album as a whole. Admittedly, I do like some of the songs a lot - like; The Beach And The Sea, Mr Glassalfempty, Last To Know Stuck On You, Black Widow and Makin'Babies. However, there are several tracks within the album that are just album fillers - which don't need to be there. 'El Cabrera' is a perfect example. I think that if the album had less tracks, and was structured better - I would like it a lot more. 

 6/10

James Morrison - Just Like A Child (Single Review)

James Morrison is an English soul singer-songwriter, and guitarist from Warwickshire. He has been performing in the public eye for nearly a decade now, he has released 3 albums and is yet to release his new album - 'Higher Than Here'. Which will be released on the 30th of October, 2015. On his two most recent albums; Morrison did two very successful collaborations with Jessie J and Nelly Furtado. On his 2008 album - 'Songs For You, Truths For Me' he did the collaboration with Nelly Furtado on a song called 'Broken Strings' which proved to be very successful. Then in 2011, on his most recent album - 'The Awakening' he did a collaboration with Jessie J and the song was called 'Up'. Due to these collaborations proving to be very successful when they were released,  I really hope that Morrison features a well-known and current artist on a new collaboration for his new and upcoming album. 

'Just Like A Child' is the only single to be released from Morrison's new album so far, hence why I am going to review it. This track was released onto YouTube and iTunes on the 2nd of October 2015. I've always been a fan of James Morrison's music, even if some people do think that he is out-dated. This song is very similar to his previous work, with its slow, soothing and acoustic rhythm. The opening line grabbed my attention straight away;

"I keep holding on to time, cause it moves so fast. Keep believing in a dream, even though I know it won't last."

I really admire the way that Morrison writes his songs as the title relates to his songs, unlike some artists who's titles don't have any relation to the song whatsoever. 

"And if you fall, fall with style. Just don't lie where you land. Keep on running wild, just like a child."

This relates to the carelessness of a child as when they fall over, they just get on with it and act like it never happened. Whereas, as you get older - when you get knocked down most people don't want to get back up again. Hence why he says;

"Keep on running wild, just like a child."

Basically, just get up and keep on going. In conclusion I really admire this song due to how well thought-out the lyrics are and the constant acoustic rhythm. I'm looking forward to the release of his new album, however I just really hope that all of the songs aren't similar and that he adds some more speeded-up songs like "Slave To The Music" off his "The Awakening Album". I genuinely hope that his new album proves to be successful, because he is such a talented and under-rated artist. 

9/10

Music Complete - New Order (Album Review)

'Music Complete' is New Orders 10th studio album, and it is their first album without former bassist Peter Hook - it was released on the 25th of September 2015. New Order are a British five-piece alternative, electronic dance band. The post Joy Division five-piece consists of; lead vocalist - Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris on the drums and new additions; Gillion Gilbert on the keyboard, Tom Chapman replacing Peter Hook on the bass, and Phil Cunningham on guitar. Two singles out of the eleven tracks were released before-hand; their first single 'Restless' was released on the 28th of 

July 2015, and their second single 'Plastic' was released on the 16th of September 2015. Their 10th studio album also includes guest vocals off; Elly Jackson (La Roux), Iggy Pop, and Brandon Flowers (The Killers).

The first track on the album was the first single of the album to be released, and it is called 'Restless'. Surprisingly, this song is quite slow; on the contrary it is extremely catchy. The song is introduced by Gilbert on the keyboard. This track is very baffling; however the message that I received from it, is that somebody is fighting for something that they want, but they keep failing. Resulting in them being so focused on one thing that they are completely oblivious as to what else is going on around them.

"I feel so restless and in this changing world, I am lost for words."

I think that the lyrics are perhaps aimed at the younger generation being caught up in popularity and getting 'the girl' or 'the boy' of their dreams. Instead of focusing on growing up and developing a career and a life for themselves as adults, and as a result of being scared of the future they are 'restless' due to being unprepared for adult life.

"I feel so restless ain't got no interest, I couldn't care less cant be a success."

Their second track 'Singularity' has a long one minute intro which is gradually accompanied by a concoction of a variety of instruments. All of New Orders songs are lyrical master pieces, but I particularly like this one.

"Winter came so soon, like summer never happened."

The opening line above, attracts your attention immediately. This track has more of a dynamic upbeat compared to the previous song, which makes it sound more electronic.

"I care so much for you, I crawled a thousand miles through deserts full of sand, my love in every land."

Their third track - 'Plastic' was the second song released, and it was released 9 days before the album. This is the second longest song on the album and it features Elly Jackson (La Roux). This track has a very eary electronic introduction which gradually builds up and the beat drops at one minute. The song is immediately intense due to the long 1 minute and 32 seconds intro. This song is blatantly about a man who fantasises over a girl who he can't have, and when he gives up on her - his perception changes of her and he sees that she isn't as perfect as she first seemed.

"Cause you're like plastic, you're artificial. You don't mean nothing baby, so superficial."

Their fourth track also features Elly Jackson (La Roux) and this song is called 'Tutti Frutti' - which stands for 'all fruits' in Italian. Like a lot of their songs, it has a very funky 80's inspired dance introduction; however the intro and outro are accompanied by Italian vocals. The intro translated from Italian (according to freetranslation.com) means;

"All the fruit my love, all fruits. No it's not yet time to enter, it's not yet..."

New orders fifth track; 'People On The High Line' is the last one to feature Elly Jackson (La Roux). This one includes the 80's dance vibe to it again, and sounds similar to the likes of Happy Mondays on some parts; for example...

"I'll keep trying, I can't get any higher. There's nothing I desire."

Their mid-album track features Iggy Pop, and it's called 'Stray Dog'. However I am not a big fan of this track as it's basically just Iggy Pop speaking over the dance background in two halves. However their next track called 'Academic' is brilliant! It's less electronic and more alternative rock, and it distinctively shows off Sumners vocal ability and the guitarists talents instead of the main focus being on the keyboards.

"Cause your heart is cold and your blood runs dry. You'll never see, or hear the crashing of the sea."

'Nothing but a Fool' is another alternative track like 'Academic'. Another catchy track is 'Unlearn this Hatred' which is their ninth track. This song starts off alternative rock; like the previous two songs, and after the opening line repeats itself twice, the typical dance beat begins to kick in.

"Two steps forward and one step back." 

The second to last song on the album is called 'The Game' and it is a mixture of both alternative rock and the electronic dance genre that New Order are apart of. However the electro dance beat is not as intense as the first couple of tracks and is more similar to 'Unlearn this Hatred' and the alternative edge is similar to 'Academic' as it shows off Sumners vocal ability again. The last song to cease the album is called 'Superheated' and it features Brandon Flowers (The Killers). The intro is quite speedy, however as the song progresses the track gradually slows down to the melody of Flowers' voice.

In conclusion I would definitely recommend this album as all of the 11 tracks have been very cleverly put together and the lyrics are fantastic. I especially liked how the whole album wasn't the same genre and they mixed it up a bit. With their dynamic keyboards and mesmorizing poetic lyrics, New Order have won me with this incredible album. The only song that I wouldn't necessarily recommend is the track in which Iggy Pop features as 'Stray Dog' doesn't particularly do anything for me personally. I think that they should have just not used that track and stuck to 10 tracks for their tenth studio album. Other than that, I can't really complain. I am surprised to say the least.

9/10