The Maccabees 'Given To The Wild' album review (for kevchino.com)

The UK’s favorite lads the Maccabees are back with their highly anticipated new offering, Given to the Wild. With such fine efforts given previously in Colour It In and Wall Of Arms, the band set the bar quite high and have failed to disappoint.

There’s no question Given to the Wild differs greatly to their previous offerings and is a much more intricate album. The tracks have a lot more depth and weight to them involving an eclectic range of instruments, lots of layering, and some great production. The album has an almost esoteric sound, like the whole band went on a month-long Yoga retreat to find themselves, and what they found was utterly creative and inspiring.

The first single from the album, “Pelican” is pretty much the only solid-sounding rock song present. It’s punchy, poppy, and has the Maccabees’ usual edge to it. The remainder of the tracks play like a soundtrack that run into one another in a dreamlike state, ebbing and flowing across a rich musical landscape. The starting track, “Given to the Wild (Intro),” opens almost like a soundtrack with minimal vocals and soft instrumentals, leading into “Child,” which starts off slow, but eases into a faster finish with the band’s signature disco drums and high-paced guitars.

“Glimmer” does just that, with sparkling guitar riffs and floating melodies, followed by the eerie and macabre “Forever I’ve Known,” which features less of the higher-toned vocals you hear throughout the album and more of the old English-accented vocals we’re used to. “Went Away” is one of the more electronic-sounding tracks on the album, an upbeat piece with good solid drums and sweet dripping guitar melodies. “Go” is another electronic-based track with nice fades, interesting bass lines, and some beautiful guitar solos.

Given to the Wild is by far the most complex album produced yet by the Maccabees. It takes you places you never thought they’d go, and they do it well. But one can’t help feeling they’ve lost a little of their musical innocence on this album, which was part of their allure and charm on previous albums. The vocals and guitar effects are much more heavily produced, and the little simplicities of the previous two efforts that brought them such critical acclaim have been lost. That said, all bands must grow up at some stage, and the Maccabees are surely one you can take home to Mum. They have definitely matured beyond their years musically and created an album already fit for the top ten of 2012.

Alex Turner 'Submarine' OST review (for kevchino.com)

See the original article posted HERE!

At times music can take you away to another place, providing a personal soundtrack as you float off to an atmosphere of imagination, into a world all your own. Alex Turner's latest effort, Submarine, does just that on many levels.

The six-track EP is the soundtrack penned by Turner for the feature film Submarine, the directorial debut of Englishman Richard Ayoade (most well-known for his role as computer geek Maurice Moss in the hit UK TV show The IT Crowd). The film centers around fifteen-year-old Welsh schoolboy Oliver Tate and documents the ups and downs of his various coming-of-age experiences—his first love, familial issues, and discoveries of the world's hard truths.

Turner has provided an aptly fitting melancholy soundtrack containing dreamy, mellow, delicate guitar, for the most part, coupled with brooding angst-ridden vocals well fitted to the film’s subject matter. The score is deeply emotional without being overdramatic, and his usual character-filled storytelling lyrics represent the film’s main character well.

Opening with a small vocal snippet of the upcoming track “Stuck On A Puzzle,” the album eases into “Hiding Tonight,” a suiting ballad for the self-conscious and introverted: “Tomorrow I'll be faster, catch what I've been chasing after, and have time to play, but I'm quite all right hiding today.” “Glass in the Park” and “It’s Hard to Get Around the Wind” soothe your troubles with each listen with their soft, intricate guitars and entrancing vocals, the latter track having a very final, epiphanic feel to it.

The standout tracks are definitely “Stuck on a Puzzle,” with its moody elegance and intriguing lyrics, and the final track, “Piledriver Waltz,” which is also a track from the Arctic Monkeys’ last offering, Suck It and See. This version of “Piledriver Waltz” is a million times better than the original. Being a lot more toned down and having lost its original pop elements, it's almost as if the finished version of this outstanding tune was being saved for this soundtrack.

All in all, an amazing effort by Alex Turner on what can only be called a brilliantly moving and mesmerizing soundtrack.

Friendly Fires 'Pala' review (for Mesmer Magazine)

'Pala', the second full-length offering from British act Friendly Fires certainly shows their talent and diversity when it comes to differing sounds and genres. The album has a real 80's feel to it, reminiscent of British act Tears For Fears at times, with heavy use of synthesizers and soft flowing vocals. Throw in some latin and disco beats, a hint of R'n'B and add an edge of funk and you have an album that's definitely hard to listen to sitting down.

However this does cause the album to come across as very over produced at times. There's so much going on some things tend to get lost in the mix leaving a few tracks sounding confused and overdone. Towards the end of the album the songs start to run into each other due to overuse of similar effects and beats. 'Show Me Lights' opens with a great R'n'B dance floor bass line and heavy beats but these get lost under numerous layers of synth, guitar, lighter vocal loops and steel drum sounds. 'Pull Me Back to Earth' and 'Chimes' both have a disco and funk lean but fade into one another with use of similar techniques.

That said, opening rack 'Live Those Days Tonight' jump starts the album well with it's superb dance beats, lead-in verses and climactic chorus'. 'Hawaiian Air' whisks you away with it's good tribal drum beats, fresh airy sound and Nintendo-like synth sounds. And 'Running Away', 'True Love' and bonus track 'Strangelove' take you back to Friendly Fires older, original style with funkier baselines and quirky guitar riffs matched well with echoing glittery synthesizers. Slower and more romantic interludes are provided by the album's title track 'Pala' and the slow funk piece 'Helpless'.

While overall a stand-out album it seems the band need to reel it in and centre a little with their next release lest they literally lose themselves in the music. It's all well and good to be musically apt in various genres but not when it comes at the detriment of a flowing album. Taking it back a notch would let Friendly Fires' true originality shine through while also letting them present a much less-produced, much more distinct sound.