Song Of The Year 2011

The winner of Music Madness' song of the year 2011 is:

Coldplay - Charlie Brown

Despite not having been released as a single yet (it's set to be in the new year), Charlie Brown boasts an infectious guitar line, driving power from the bass and drums, and an all-round sense of grandiosity. Mylo Xyloto (the album it is taken from) may not have been the #1 album of 2011 for me, but this song will never grow old. Absolutely mind-blowing.

The song will remain in the 'Songs of the Week' section of the blog until 2nd January, when we'll be back to normal weekly service.

Blog Update: Labels

The 'Album', 'Single', 'Tracklist', 'Lyrics', 'Artwork' and 'EP' tags have all been removed from the blog as there was no real reason to have them.

Other than that, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Maccabees Post New Song Online

Go here to hear a song from the Maccabees' new album, Given To The Wild, due out January 9th. The song is called 'Feel To Follow' and is the third track on the new album.

The song follows first single Pelican, which will receive a release on 2nd January, and can be heard here.

Best Of 2011: #1

#1 - White Lies - Ritual

Original review here.

Firstly, Merry Christmas! Now to business... Who'd have thought that the first album I bought this year would end up being the favourite. Doing the opposite to this year's runner-up Coldplay, White Lies missed out on being #1 for me in 2009 (I know they were gutted, this is such a prestigious award...or not) but now they've claimed it. Ten practically perfect songs that have aged well and have never made me think there's something wrong with them. I loved it on first listen, and I love it even more now. The greatest of the songs are Is Love, which starts quiet and then BAM! - it gets absolutely massive, and the chorus is huge (well, all 10 songs have massive choruses), Strangers, the greatest one on here, with its thunderous electronic rock vibe, Bigger Than Us, the first single, whose chorus should have crowds mesmerised (especially when it appears five times!), and Holy Ghost, maybe the heaviest thing here, with a more industrial sound than we're used to, but with yet another storming chorus. They really know how to build up to a chorus and then they really deliver. This album is the only one this year I would happily give 5 stars to. It's almost a year old, and shows no signs of getting boring, even if iTunes tells me I've listened to it over 100 times (Bigger Than Us is sitting at 266 plays at the moment)... But there you go!

Best Of 2011: #2

#2 - Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Original review here.

The band's previous album, Viva La Vida, was #1 on my best of 2008 list, but this one doesn't quite follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, even though this one is definitely my favourite Coldplay album. Retaining the experimental vibes from the last album, but mixing it in with some more electronic sounds for the most part, Mylo Xyloto is a true masterpiece, which could soundtrack a summer (although it came out in October, so it probably won't) - especially with the grand pieces of work that are Hurts Like Heaven, which sounds like Arcade Fire on speed when let loose on synthesisers and told to include as many guitar riffs as possible; Charlie Brown, which instead has one guitar riff - but it's an absolutely thunderous one that never fails to give me goosebumps every time I hear it... as does Don't Let It Break Your Heart, with its epic wall of sound smashing its way through to the forefront after a little instrumental break. The last highlight is Us Against The World, which quietens things down but still manages to sound powerful in every sense. One of the best albums of this year, and maybe of all time for me. But there is one album greater, at least for 2011...

Best Of 2011: #3

#3 - Ladytron - Gravity The Seducer

Original review here.

The atmospheric sound of this album is a massive change from the band's previous industrial-sounding previous album, but it is a massive step in the right direction. Showing they can still produce some of the greatest electronic pop songs these days, Ladytron have made a beautiful album. I recommend you listen to the whole thing, but the greatest ones are the opener, White Elephant, which will take you by surprise if you have only heard the earlier Ladytron stuff, the darker, imagery-heavy Moon Palace, which features a rare lead vocal from the (usually) backing vocalist Mira Aroyo, and the slightly heavier Melting Ice, which evokes Pet Shop Boys at times. 90 Degrees will also leave you with goosebumps - it's truly magnificent. More of this please, Ladytron!

Best Of 2011: #4

#4 - Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See

No original review.

Arctic Monkeys should be commended for not following every other band into electronic territory, as I don't think it would suit them. They retain a guitar-based sound, but still manage to make it sound fresh and exciting. This time, they're a bit more laid back and deal more in melody than before. The greatest songs, then, are the heavy but rather simplistic first single Don't Sit Down Cos I've Moved Your Chair, the rapid Library Pictures, and the beautiful title track, Suck It And See. So, forgiving the band the incredibly uninventive album artwork, the twelve tracks on offer here still prove that Arctic Monkeys remain one of the best in their league, even if it doesn't really sound a thing like their game-changing debut album.

Enter Shikari Tease New Album

Enter Shikari have unveiled a trailer for their upcoming third album, A Flash Flood Of Colour shown below.



At a guess, the songs are:
"Meltdown" (fairly certain)
"Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here"
"Search Party"
"Stalemate"
"Arguing With Thermometers" (definitely)
"Snakepit" (definitely)
"Pack Of Thieves"
"Gandhi Mate, Gandhi" (definitely)
"Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide"

Best Of 2011: #5

#5 - Snow Patrol - Fallen Empires

Original review here.

Whilst being quite a long album, with 14 tracks, the majority of the songs on here are some of the greatest Snow Patrol songs ever created. Although they took a slightly more electronic route, like a lot of bands this year, the band haven't let it dominate the album. It's very apparent in the opening couple of tracks and maybe a few others, but it's relegated to the background and instead we're left with some storming anthems and beautiful, minimal songs in equal measure. At the top of the pile we have This Isn't Everything You Are, which starts off slower and sad and then bursts into a stadium-filler of a chorus, much like their earlier great singles, the incredibly intense masterpiece (that's so big it doesn't need a chorus) Fallen Empires, and the darker piano-led New York. This is definitely their best album, and the prospect of a new one filled with some of the Fallen Empires rejects (which has been on the rumour mill recently) will be interesting to hear.

Best Of 2011: #6

#6 - The Wombats - This Modern Glitch

Original review here.

Four years passed between the Wombats' debut album and this one, and the difference is sound is so huge you can barely tell it's the same band. But this change in sound, to a more uplifting electronic pop sound, is welcome. It's another summer-y feel-good album, filled with more hooks than you can shake a fist at. The greatest ones are speedy opener Our Perfect Disease, the massive anthem Techno Fan and the rockier penultimate track Girls / Fast Cars. But they're all big, epic pop songs at heart, and this is an album that was definitely worth the wait.