Inside Nokia Music

Quite unintentionally, two themes emerged in the batch of new music I pulled from the mailbag this week: firstly, there’s a preponderance of album covers that are brown. Secondly, there’s an old world feel to most of the albums I picked out. All the music this week feels as though it’s been lovingly hand carved from a single piece of wood. There’s quite an organic quality to it all – certainly no digital sequencers, effects or overdubs – and nary an electro beat in sight. Anyway, what this all means is that from henceforth this week will be called Wooden Week.

Jamie Lawson – The Pull Of The Moon
Oh those crazy kids with their nocturnal imagery. If it’s not vampires then it’s moody, pensive, stripped back acoustic rock songs about mysterious love, bottomless despair and killing folk. Well, sometimes. But it’s certainly applicable to Jamie Lawson who, according to the gushing press release, lives in a caravan by the sea in Cornwall. It’s funny to think that other places in the world like that can give rise to the sunny contemplations of a Jack Johnson; judging by the tone of The Pull Of The Moon, Jamie’s seen more than his fair share of wet and windy summertimes. Still, it’s done with a certain panache and, if you fancy some well crafted, mellow folksy vibes to accompany your sullen introspection, this pulls all the right heartstrings.

Pete Molinari – A Train Bound For Glory
Molinari, for his part, brings a 1960s US rockabilly style to Wooden Week proceedings, which is a little weird if you’ve ever been to Chatham in Kent, which is where he’s from. But hey, it’s all good fun, right down to the backing singers adding vocal harmonies to the chorus on tracks like the opener, Streetcar Named Desire. Some of the ballads are rather saccharine for my tastes (which is saying something, given my fondness for old Dean Martin records), but they’re authentically twangy. Heck, you can probably smell the denim, dungarees, cowboy boots and teary-eyed good ol’ boys from there.

Ed Harcourt – Lustre
This is Harcourt’s fith studio album and first one on his own label. And the experience shows – it’s a polished, almost unbearably lightweight sound that might drift out the window if it weren’t tied down to your speakers. That’s not to say it’s without substance – there’s a twinkly, ethereal quality to the first single, Do As I Say, Not As I Do, which combines what sounds like a xylophone, jangling guitars and tinkling piano keys. But listen to the lyrics and you’ll soon understand that there’s more to it than a four minute fluff track. It was recorded in Washington state in the US and a kind of bleakness does overcome some numbers. But Harcourt’s gentle, persuasive voice pulls you in regardless, despite your better judgement and the niggling thought that on a couple of tracks (most notably Killed By The Morning Sun) he does sound like a male version of Norah Jones.

My album of the week:

Ska Cubano – Mambo Ska
Maybe it’s the sun burning strong in the sky outside. Maybe it’s the fact it’s Friday. Maybe it was the mojito I had for breakfast. Or, quite possibly, it was that this album had been lying around unopened for a couple of weeks and its cover was brown, enabling me to tenuously carry on with my self-declared Wooden Week. Whatever, Mambo Ska is the Mike’s New Music Medley official Record Of The Week. It’s a great big scoop of toffee fudge ice cream on the wafer cone of life and can’t fail to make even the most neglected back garden feel like a little slice of Cuba. Well, alright, that might be stretching a bit but Ska Cubano’s latest release is so infectiously sunny and fun that it will at least make you forget about mowing the lawn for ten minutes. If you’ve not heard of Ska Cubano before, the band’s name tells you everything you need to know – it’s a heady cocktail of Ska and Latin music with the focus firmly on catchy, party-friendly tunes that don’t require taking too seriously. Even if you wouldn’t normally turn your ear to this sort of thing, the music seems almost genetically programmed to be appealing like a young puppy or kitten. Yes, not liking Ska Cubano is like kicking a kitten. There, I’ve said it.

And with that, I declare Wooden Week open. As ever, feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments. All the music mentioned here is available on Nokia Music Store now and is free to Comes With Music members.

Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment

Adam Lambert could only really exist right here and now. In this place in time where theatricality and showmanship are reclaiming their place in pop. Only now; in a post-Gaga world with GLEE, the self-proclaimed freak flagship bringing spangly show tunes into people’s living rooms every week, could someone so flamboyant and unapologetically melodramatic ever be a winner.

But of course he wasn’t. Adam Lambert did not win American Idol, the US version of Simon Cowell’s pop-star machine franchise, in 2009. However, he’s probably better off anyway, reality-TV success has often proved to be a double edged sword; the shows winners often fading away into obscurity, over managed by cautious executive types and forgotten about by the viewing public who are already looking forward to the next series’ sob stories.

Not so for Lambert, the life-long performer (he appeared on stage and in musical theatre since a pre-teen) who made sure he wasn’t going to be forgotten after he sashayed into America’s consciousness emulating the great rock front-men and combining their swagger with the kind of vocal histrionics usually reserved pop’s divas; not to mention raiding their makeup bags and nicking their heels.

Yup, whilst a pop-star coming out after having already proven themselves and built up a loyal fan base is nothing new (especially here in the UK where Will Young did just that after winning the original series of Pop Idol, now some nine years ago) being outed, and seemingly willingly, whilst still courting the voting public’s favour was a lesson in acceptance for the notoriously conservative America.  But the viewers proved they were (almost) ready for an openly gay Idol by voting him into the final and supporting the album after its release. And judging by the positively rabid response he got on ‘ole Wossy the other week there are plenty of fans here in the UK who are giving him and his album, ‘For Your Entertainment’ a warm welcome.

So is it any good? Well, perhaps surprisingly, yes actually. I don’t say surprising because of its reality-TV heritage or because of any doubt of Lambert’s vocal ability, but instead because of its odd provenance.  Written and recorded whilst still touring the US with the other Idols it nonetheless manages to boast one of the most impressive rosters of featured writers and producers seen on an album in the last few years.

This is noticeable right from the get go, opening track ‘Music Again’ written by The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins features his trademark falsetto warbling mixed in with a bouncy Mika-esque refrain; “You make me want to listen to music again”. This is followed by lead single ‘For Your Entertainment’, a spiky, whip cracking bit of glam rock (the video for which is below, and if his writhing makes you a bit uncomfortable, just imagine it’s your lady pop starlet of choice; essentially it works exactly the same). Next up is the power ballad ‘Whataya Want From Me ‘penned by P!nk; another catchy tune with a few smart lines; even if it is a little too easy to imagine that it was donated to him after being left out of P!nk’s own album. ‘Strut’ is a powerful, thudding motivator made for stomping it out on fashion runways. You can practically hear Tyra Banks cheering him on (“Fierce darling! Smize!”)

But the collaborations don’t stop there, in fact ‘Soaked’ might just have you doing a double take; yes that is more than a hint of Muse you’re hearing. It’s unmistakably Matt Bellamy, in fact he has recorded it himself and it’s a mere question of personal preference as to which is better. I’d argue that whilst Matt might own the song-writing talent Mister Lambert is absolutely pulling his weight fronting the track, his voice just copes better with the kind of notes that Bellamy aims for but often mangles.

Alas the album can’t be all “I was born with glitter on my face, my baby clothes made of leather and lace” (’Sure Fire Winners’) and there are low points, namely the oozy-woozy ‘A Loaded Smile’ written by Linda Perry – who, maybe it’s just me, but no longer seems to be contributing the album highlights that she used to.

Max Martin lends his trademark electronica to ‘If I Had You’, in which he insists he would give up the money, fame and rock star lifestyle if given a chance with a certain someone. Sorry Adam, but I’m not convinced. ‘Pick You Up’ starts off sounding a little familiar but somehow ends up sounding like it belongs at the climax act of a big Broadway musical, maybe reflecting more of Lambert for once than co-writer Rivers Cuomo.

Even Mummy Monster, Gaga herself donates a track in ‘Fever’ (simply replace “Po-Po-Poker face” with “Fe-Fe-Fever”, job done.) and Sam Sparro fiddles the knobs (as it were) on the suitably languid and sultry feeling ‘Voodoo’. There are a few others that can be skipped over: ‘Sleepwalker’ I could Sleep through and unfortunately ‘Time for Miracles’ wouldn’t do much to save the movie soundtrack it featured on, (Roland Emmerich you owe me seven quid and two and a half hours for ‘2012′.)

But eventually there are a couple of tracks which do more believably seem to have come from Lambert, the defiant ‘Masterplan’, and the closet door smashing ‘Aftermath’ - “Wanna scream out, no more hiding, don’t be afraid of what’s inside, gonna tell you, you’ll be alright, in the aftermath”.

Overall it’s an enjoyable and catchy album, but only by being the sum of its parts. The help gone into it by the legion of writers and producers combined with Adam’s undeniable vocal talent and theatrical presence is what makes it work. I hope that having this support from other artists will buoy his confidence and teach him some tricks that so he can rely less on their contributions have more input of his own on the next album.

For Your Entertainment is available to download at the Nokia Music Store.  If you’ve got Comes With Music download it for free!

Two moments, two eras, give me the same buzz

Elvis – Just can’t help believin’

I just can’t help admitting that I’m always drawn to the Elvis ‘fat in Vegas’ era. There was a grandness about it, an honesty in its dishonesty. The two moments in this song are at 22secs when for some reason the crowd cheers and applauds in recognition. Hackneyed now, honest and responsive back then, the drama, the energy. The other moment is 3.07, when he tells the backing singers to ’sing the song baby’, then 4.31 ‘take it’. I just love it, one of the lines that sprouted a thousand impersonators.

Radiohead – Lucky

One of the most finely crafted pieces of music you’ll ever hear. The pay-off moment is two thirds of the way through (3.30) as the guitar screams in your earphones like an angry cat in a dark forest lit up by a strong torch, moments after killing a robin red breast.

Today is, or at least would have been Elvis Presley’s 75th Birthday depending on whether or not suspicious minds believe “The King” actually still lives.

One way or another, his music still lives on according to research from Nokia Ovi Music into music fan’s listening habits across 22 countries. The research revealed that “The King” is the worlds 8th most downloaded male solo artist and is most popular in Brazil with a staggering 25.45% of Nokia Music Store downloads.

With 9,680 songs Elvis has the second largest song collection on Nokia Ovi Music behind Frank Sinatra who tops the list with 153 more. At an estimated $1 per download, it’s a collection that would cost nearly $10,000 but is completely free to ‘Comes With Music’ subscribers.