A God-awful Small Affair

Being a fan of the Killers in the past 5 years has been a tempestuous relationship. 'Day and Age' of course proved a little divisive in its experimentation with the beepier side of the musical spectrum, and whilst achieving some negligible success it felt a little half-baked: what was to come next wasn't much better. As much as I could waffle on about how much I fancy the pants off Brandon Flowers, last year's Flamingo really was average at best. So the times are a little bit worrying for someone who holds Sam's Town as his favourite record of the noughties - but fear no more, another of The Killers is going to tackle a solo record. Sort-of. Drummer of the American giants, Ronnie Vanucci Jr., has teamed up with Taylor Milne and former Weezer/Tegan and Sara bassist Matt Sharp for this, a loud country-rock assault. If you don't like Springsteen you'd probably be better off looking elsewhere. It kicks off tremendously with 'Katzenjammer', a heavyset r...

Do you remember when Destiny's Child split up and Kelly Rowland surprised everyone by proving that two members of the group could sustain a successful solo career? Well despite no real monumental success, Rowland is still going - but has she sold her soul to the devil that is this squalid vat of shite eurodance-cum-guest spot from Pitbull/Lil Wayne? Short answer: Yes. I'm afraid the woman behind some of the early 2000s' surprise hits (and good hits, at that) such as 'Stole', 'Can't Nobody' and Nelly's 'Dilemma' has, after some brief flirtations in 'Like This' and 'Work', become a soulless drone of the David Guetta persuasion. Because, whilst last year's comeback 'Commander' was one of the French DJ's high points, it only goes downhill from there. So tuck yourselves in, this one's going to be nasty. We start off with 'I'm Dat Chick' which straight away ditches any sense of vocabulary: "I...

Just when you think you've heard enough synthpop this year to last a lifetime, along comes a debut record that could, quite arguably, be the very best of the lot. Georgian (as in the state, not the country, although I've now got a craving for some Eastern European synths) soloist Washed Out has already amassed some considerable praise for this, his first record, after a handful of EPs and free downloads. But for Ernest Greene, this success has possibly come out of nowhere. And let's face it, it's rather difficult to stand out as an electronic artist at the moment. Even down to the fundamental pop successes where seemingly the least talented are most rewarded (Guetta, Chase and Status) but in the indie environment too, where even I (and I consider myself to be in the shallow end of the online pool) have probably reviewed 50 electronic albums this year. But even if it's for the artwork, Within And Without is one such stand-out. Opener 'Eyes Be Closed' could f...

In the same week that PJ Harvey, Adele and Anna Calvi were announced as, amongst Katy B, Mercury Prize nominees I find myself with the increasingly common task of assessing a solo female's debut: but fear not, because the term "Kate Bush inspiration" can probably go largely untouched here. Because in today's world of extroverted chanteuses with a penchant for lace and sepia photography, Alice Gold is refreshingly inspired by some more straightforward greats. Press releases allude to Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix; big words indeed but at least it's different. Then you notice that it's been produced by Dan Carey, the man behind records from the likes of Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand and Lily Allen. The latter is certainly evident on the adolescent whinges of tracks like 'Conversations of Love' or 'End of the World', but there are genuine moments of edge in amongst all the Xenomania tweaks and alt-pop frills. The record certainly starts off in the pop...

Something about pre-enlightened Shaun (that's me, just in case) had placed The Horrors in amongst a big list of what I'd like to call 'name bands'. The ones who you've heard the name of but all seem to blend together in one large dollop of NME-approved boringness. I was probably initially turned off by their image: they'd appeared in the Mighty Boosh and they looked like the Russell Brand variety of goth-lite weirdos. So now that I've probably insulted them with two senses, let's pay a little more attention to the former. Their third album now, 'Skying' has delivered the band with their first UK top-ten position (an impressive #5, in fact) and some of their strongest reviews. Indeed things begin with a very much en vogue sonic - 'Changing the Rain' has a blustery brass introduction which eventually filter into a percussion loop and gritty vocals, not unlike this year's Battles album (especially with the chorus' Doves-like optimis...

Sideprojects. Mostly fun, often a little disappointing compared to their day job, and in the most famous cases a little bit frustrating (Last Shadow Puppets, Beady Eye, Kele Okereke and Brandon Flowers' solo albums). They've also got a bit of a tendency to revel in some classical influences - and this is certainly the case here. Frontman of The Horrors, Faris Badwan, has teamed up with Canadian-Italian Rachel Zeffira to form one of the most common outfit types: the boy/girl duo. Indeed, with such recent domineers as Cults, (the main force of) Bodies of Water and jj, it's beginning to feel like a gimmick - an immediately cute default that can quickly conjure twenty rumours a day of "are they a couple?" or "which one's the creative force?" Here at GSA Reviews we consider ourselves a little above such personal shit, so let's dive in to the album. It follows an EP released in February (just a month or so before the release of this), which gathered a ...

Those who are unaware as to just how this young lady got a record deal need only hear: Amy Winehouse is her godmother (I know! Her! An authority figure!) She released an album of cover versions of soul standards (Mama Said, Ain't No Mountain High Enough) in 2009, Introducing Dionne Bromfield , that I completely ignored because I'm bored of people covering such tracks (great as they are). Skip two years and she's finally got her own stuff in motion, or rather a team of people's stuff. But those hoping for someone as uniquely spectacular as godmum Amy should probably look elsewhere. In the age of child stars such as... um... I should probably pay more attention to Britain's Got Talent ... and it's unfair to say Justin Bieber or Rebecca Black. But yes, there appears to be a zeitgeist where any kid with a decent set of lungs is immediately heralded as a marvellous talent in lieu of songwriting ability or unique star quality. Don't get me wrong, she has a lovely ...

Most new bands today are faced with the difficulty in establishing their name and identity, and most ways in doing such often involve an excruciating "Hi we're from ____, we like ____, this is Dave on drums". Not for World Unite! Lucifer Youth Foundation , though, who have been a little bit eccentric in their quest to stardom: their Facebook manager is 'War God', they self-produced this record in a church and it took a while for even the band members' names to filter through. Whether this was all a gimmick or not, it's worked, and they find themselves with some rather weighty support. So, pointer #1 for the uniquity column? Well there's Ellery Roberts' voice. Somewhere inbetween MGMT-modern psychedelia and Bruce Springsteen, it takes a while to adjust to. Must kill his throat though, poor guy. From start to finish the roar-pop is a little bit manic, but behind all of that there're bounteous sublime moments. Opener 'L Y F' combines some ...

Those looking for something dark and daring would be foolish to come to this band, so it's with some surprise that you continue to read slating reviews about them - particularly from the NME, whose criteria for a good album is how shaggable the lead singer is, and who's heard of it. Because the Feeling have never been cool or indie, they've always been on the Scouting For Girls, Hoosiers side of things and whilst I loathe those two bands entirely, there's something endearing and likeable about Dan Gillespie Sells and co. Singles such as 'Fill My Little World' and 'Sewn' have been pretty great pop songs in the past, and 'Rosé' is a favourite if ignoring the subject matter. However, it's a little surprising that they've endured to a third album, even ignoring the impressive chart positions of the first two (#2 and #1 respectively). Considering their sound has varied little, 'Set My World On Fire' doesn't come as a shock as the f...