If there is one trope in the music writer's handbook that is too often viewed as a subtext heavy shorthand for "Their last album wasn't much cop", then it is - or a variation thereof - "a real return to form". Except, in the case of our long time fave, Olly Murs, it absolutely applies … Continue reading Album Review: Olly Murs (@ollymurs) – “Knees Up”
Alexis Strum was one of my best kept music secrets for many years. Hopefully, with a new album on the way, she can be yours to discover too...
This album wasn't actually supposed to happen at all. In the press and interviews for Hi, the tenth studio album from Texas, Sharleen Spiteri has said that they were actually working on an entirely different project; namely, the 30th anniversary of their debut album Southside from 1989. In the process, herself and songwriting partner Johnny … Continue reading Album Review: Texas – ‘Hi’
15th November 2010. That was the last time, almost 10 years to the day, that McFly last released a full studio album. Said album - Above the Noise - is probably still up there with Spice Girls' Forever and The Human League's Crash as a potentially brilliant but wonkily executed tap into an unexpected territory … Continue reading #CrazyStupidAlbum: McFly (@mcflymusic) – ‘Young Dumb Thrills’
There are many things about 2020 that we'll all be quick to try and forget about once it passes. But one positive thing is that for the first time in a very long while, where pop music is concerned, it has caused everyone involved to pull their socks up a little. In short, this year … Continue reading #CrazyStupidAlbum: Little Mix (@LittleMix) – ‘Confetti’ / Kylie Minogue (@kylieminogue) – ‘Disco’
If you had said to anybody this time 20 years ago that the Spice Girls would still be a bankable interest - whether in group or solo efforts - they would have laughed in your face. That's not meant in a glib way, you understand. Next week's The Story of Pop: 2000 entry will cover … Continue reading #CrazyStupidAlbum: Melanie C (@MelanieCmusic) – ‘Melanie C’
Now here's the thing. Under old circumstances, this review would have been up when this album came out three months ago. Alas, with its release coming just as the world literally stopped, old circumstances have given way to new ones since then. Ones that I haven't really coped with all that well on a wider … Continue reading #CrazyStupidAlbum: Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) – ‘Heartbreak Weather’
If 2019 is going to be remembered as the year of anything music wise, it'll be of those unexpectedly brilliant pop comebacks from bands and artists that many thought were lost to time forever. Busted? Delivered the best album of their career. Jonas Brothers? One of the catchiest modern pop singles of the year with … Continue reading #CrazyStupidAlbum: Westlife (@westlifemusic) – ‘Spectrum’
The covers album seems to be that most frequent hot potato to bash where pop music is concerned. Somehow, years of elitist rock critics have had open season, pouring scorn on such releases for being a mark of coasting on a 'safe' or more commercial banker at the expense of being 'cooler' or more worthy … Continue reading #CrazyStupidAlbum: Emma Bunton (@EmmaBunton) – ‘My Happy Place’
If there's one thing you can be guaranteed of with Dido, it's that you're usually in for a long wait for new material. 2013 was when we last heard from her, with her fourth studio album 'Girl Who Got Away'. And the album before that, 'Safe Trip Home', arrived in 2008, a whole five years … Continue reading #CrazyStupidAlbum: Dido (@DidoOfficial) – ‘Still On My Mind’
The Niche Reference 