Yonass Feat.Mandie Davis - anY Mad noises (Chordvine)

Based in the Charente Maritime region of France, the collaboration between French composer Yonass Bignon and English vocalist Mandie Davis, assisted by two additional musicians in a live setting, has given birth to an album featuring an assortment of songs varying from trip hop to adult contemporary, occasionally bordering on lounge.

On receiving this lo-fi record in the mail, I was initially struck by the bands apparent willingness to tackle taboo subjects like alcoholism, anorexia and bondage in their music, something not commonly prevalent on a debut album especially in the pop realm.

The album starts off with notable irony as the opening words of the album mention ‘ghosts’, akin to Mandie’s distinguishable ghost like wispy vocals throughout the album. Kicking off with a song clearly based on the experiences of anorexia, ‘Under my Skin’ provides with its simple keyboard refrain and processed beats a simple but delicately moving melody. By the second song of the album ‘A Seed’ it becomes clear that the albums stock in trade is intimacy often creating the sense that the music exists for the listener's ears and for listener's ears only. Such intimacy makes their music incredibly romantic, in addition to being incredibly gorgeous.

With a sound and line up similar to Bristol’s most acclaimed, comparisons to Portishead is inevitable but what differentiates them from the trip hop’s elite is the adoration of texture and sonic depth seen in standout tracks like ‘Accroché’ , with its compelling angelic vocals backed by processed beats complete with percussive breaks ‘and ‘Zephyr’ featuring syncopated rhythms indicating that for all the trip hop and lounge influences this album borrows from, this is for the most part a percussionist’s album utilizing impressive and eclectic instrumentation.

While the first four songs are more indicative of the mood of the album as a whole displaying a varied range of colors from a seemingly limited palette, the latter part of the album takes a downturn crossing the perimeter into a soporific, sleepwalking kind of haze. Some songs like ‘Colour of Pain’ and ‘Blink’ clearly miss the mark exposing the shortcomings of the album as the relative lack of versatility and tightness of structure letting the songs to meander on past their health.

Although the track ‘Sweet November’ offers an interesting take on pop music, a nice digression from the melancholy of the remaining songs, it does nothing to resolve the monotony of the setting album which in support of such tough subject matter calls for harder edged rhythms and more pronounced hooks.

Clearly stated this album is not one that will appeal to a wide audience but for the open minded few, it offers what it promises, a stripped down, nuanced, late night mood one conducive to long drives. Ultimately the duo does exhibit a lot of promise laying down a solid foundation which hopefully can be built upon in future albums.

Muse - The Resistance (Chordvine)

Armed with possibly the world’s second most famous falsetto after Thom Yorke, vocalist Matthew Bellamy along with Christopher Wolstenholme on bass and Dominic Howard on drums, better known as the trio that form the highly acclaimed English alternative band Muse, offer up a politically charged atmosphere rich in paranoia and conspiracy theories in their fifth studio album ‘The Resistance’.

Better known for their complex style and introducing new concepts to their sound in every record, Muse start off the album with the relatively simple ‘Uprising’, a song that in its anthemic nature is really a call to arms against corrupt corporations. By means of a repetitive melody and a low and rhythmic deep end, the untypical sound is very heavy and dense, as a result of mounted synthesizers.

Following is the title track with its haunting introduction and catchy chorus with lyrics inspired by Orwell's ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’. The song ‘United States of Eurasia’ shows the band wearing their influences, namely the legendary Queen proudly on their sleeves as they call to mind the classic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by featuring a blend of Arabian styled orchestral interludes, a ‘We Are the Champions’ style guitar under melody leading into the chorus, and finally chanting at the end of the track with heavily overdubbed ‘Freddie Mercury’ like double tracking’s.

The momentum gained by the album in the earlier tracks however, does not carry onto songs like ‘Guiding Light’ with its 80’s inspired arena sing along power ballad feel and the lack in pace of the French sung and soon to be featured in the new twilight movie, ‘I Belong To You’. The organ intro to ‘Unnatural Selection’ and the fuzzed out synth of MK Ultra clearly uncover the art rock pretentions of the band.

Nevertheless, Muse never cease to surprise with their innovation, this time presenting a three part compilation of classical symphonies with rock flourishes in the ‘Exogenesis’ series which unquestionably lives up to the grand promise of their titles. Sweeping keyboards, grand pianos, synthesizers and electric guitars turn this 14 minute album closer into an all out rock orchestra.

Musically a step in an experimental direction, the album may seem indulgent and lacking in consistency over a few listens; however for true Muse fans it all but proves their versatility and deserves no less praise than their previous albums.

Tough on Tobacco - The Happy Goat (Split)

After nearly a decade of handling percussion for one of India’s most acclaimed and beloved bands Zero, Sidd Coutto at the height of their popularity watched his band slowly dissolve. This provided an ample opportunity for the drummer to showcase his skills as a singer/songwriter in the relatively short lived but almost universally praised quintessential Indian rock super group Helga’s Fun Castle.

With such an impressive resume one would rightly assume Sidd Coutto’s next musical venture labeled ‘Tough on Tobacco’ to draw from the pop and funk tendencies of his previous bands which this album does occasionally flirt with, but mostly, he takes the record in a completely unexpected direction-- and when he does, he leaves the listener far behind. Sidd Coutto entered the studio with a set of credible musician’s to record this album, including the likes of Niranjan Dhar and Gaurav Gupta on guitars, Johan Pais on bass, Jai Row Kavi on drums and multi instrumentalist Neil Gomes playing violin, sax and flute. On paper this line up would probably seem the most striking band in the scene today, unfortunately in reality it resembles a group of friends jamming without any scope of a productive result, allowing the compilation of half baked ideas into an entire album.

‘The Happy Goat’ fails exactly where Zero’s second album ‘Hook’ succeeded brilliantly, nailing melody driven pop rock melodies into hook filled choruses. This album it turns out is neither an instant favorite nor a slow grower but rather a collection of unimaginative ideas that can be best described as drab, drawing on without any real focus or purpose. The ten odd songs notably found for free download see the band unable to find its footing in any sense, proving that lack of commitment to a specific genre doesn’t always translate into a good thing.

A few listens to the opening songs is all it takes to establish a sort of catch-22 that Tough on Tobacco can write songs poppy and childish enough to be memorable however for completely the wrong reasons. ‘The Happy goat’ opens with the subdued ‘Voices in My Head’, a song completely in a cappella. The second song ‘Already told you’ may still be forgiven with its twisting hooks and strong rhythm section which evoke his previous works. However the album then leads into ‘Concert Piano’ through which the vocalist offers up a brief glimpse of a series of styles and moods, but makes no real effort to help us understand them or to see them through his eyes. ‘Consuella’ may have the snappiest hook on the album but every other part of the song plays out like a half-assed version of a techno song.

Eclectic to say the least, the album draws from a variety of genres, the most noticeable of which being reggae, evident on tracks like ‘Forest of Doom’ and the song supposedly taking over the country ‘Happy’. The reggae tinged pop rock style and sing along melodies however give the impression of Bob Marley rejects and do not compensate for the overall lack in depth. ‘Taxi Song’ comes closest to imitating the rhythmic tendencies of Dave Matthews Band, a jam band Tough on Tobacco borrows heavily from, however unlike the multi instrumental genre bending rock of DMB ,this lacks that sense of purpose and melodic structure required to send it through the rafters.

While some songs still feature Coutto behind his drum kit banging out those influential rhythms that he is so well known for, that is probably the only saving grace for this train wreck of an album, as even in those fleeting moments when there is actually something to sink your teeth into, the band seems to be more involved in satisfying the necessities of a specific genre leaving the songs soulless as a result.

Fake praise by the likes of critics and musicians may surround this album already, however it'd be fibbing to say that the bands personnel is not the precise reason to laud this passable attempt at music. Ultimately it falters under the weight of its own influences, begging the average rock fan to ask the age old question, whether to judge an album based on the artists previous more innovative and acclaimed output or based solely on the albums merits.

Yoav - Charmed & Strange (Chordvine)

With a back story that would make any music journalist dizzy with glee, Yoav Sadan who simply goes by Yoav is an Israeli born musician of South African descent that has been a rising star on the charts and a club favorite since his inception into mainstream America after slipping his music demo into the purse of a powerful record executive. His debut album ‘Charmed & Strange’ manages to develop a unique sound presenting a broad spectrum of styles, from pop to light via soft rock and electronic rock.

A unique name to match a truly esoteric sound, Yoav manages to create a set of songs based just on his vocals and an acoustic guitar, however unlike typical singer/songwriters he doesn’t strum or play his guitar, rather he teases, taps, beats, feeds and loops effects to create a sound more closely linked to hip hop. Compared to artists like Beck, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead and Damien Rice, the folk element in his songs gives way to a sound derived from the dance floor.

Throughout the album’s 11 songs, he reinvents the use of an acoustic guitar altogether, processing and reprocessing sounds to create almost unrecognizable electronic beats, played on a loop using a pedal.

The most popular song off the album ‘Club Thing’ is a club hit featuring these electronic beats layered with Yoav’s soulful voice, a track that could have been performed by Justin Timberlake. Another track ‘There is Nobody’ highly resembles Bronski Beat's 1980s hit “Smalltown Boy," while the guitar solo on the second single off the album ‘Beautiful Lie’ is notably inspired by U2 guitarist Dave Evans' performance on the group's album "The Joshua Tree."

Sadan's album closes with his moving cover of The Pixies' "Where is My Mind”. Chosen for nostalgic reasons, he stays true to the albums experimental motif while at the same time delivering an emotional and heart wrenching performance of this critically acclaimed song.