Lopez Blogs

Hard-Fi: Once Upon A Time…

The debut album was a delight. Who didn’t want to get ‘tied up too tight’ and experience the dark claustrophobia of that song, or thrash out to the everyman anthems such as Living For The Weekend, Hard To Beat and Cash Machine with their thumping beats and racing choruses. A nation was quickly won over. The “difficult” sophomore album is upon us all and lead off single Suburban Knights has divided fans (though debuted at 12 this week on downloads only) ~ shouty mess or slick indie pop heaven? Truth is, it’s neither, though it certainly grows on me the more I listen to it. But the good news is, it is certainly not the best tune on the album ~ Television has an amazing chorus steeped in cabaret style pianos dealing with a night in front of Kath&Kim (or whatever?!); Can’t Get Along is destined to be next years festival sing a long classic and We Need Love even has subtle shades of M5-inspired disco beats. It’s the slowies that work best for me though, particularly the piano driven Tonight and the lovely affecting Help Me Please, which was on a war child compilation a couple of years back. They may be denying the fans decent album art but for the most part the tunes are still there…(NME interview above)

Potential Singles: Suburban Knights; Television; We Need Love; Help Me Please

KT Tunstall: Drastic Fantastic…

This may be the best titled anything this year, competing with “Cowboys and Indie Fans” (adem via somewhere else) and “The Iron, The Switch and The Whore’s Clothes” (a pivotal chapter in my oh so nearly done book). Yes DF is an ace album title, but will it be an ace album? Like Hard-Fi, um yes. Almost. Lead single Hold On is a rollicking slice of peppy europhoric pop that so deserves to be doing better and is mirrored in other uptempo tracks like I Don’t Want You Now and the funky Little Favours. The debut album proved KT had a great knack for creating memorable melodies that were destined to be plundered by Idol contestants everywhere, and she hasn’t lost that touch here. The slower songs have an elegant simplicity about them that showcase her bluesy vocals. Hopeless is lovely and Beauty of Uncertainty is definitely an album highlight and future classic. Overall, a solid set of tunes that doesn’t break new ground but are charming enough to thrill you before breaking your heart…(Funnyman video above!)