Album Club - July Pack

Again I cannot complain - The club's been good to me

White Denim - Fits + Mix from the band - 9/10
Tony Allen - Secret Agent - 9/10
Miles Bnejamin ANthony Robinson - Self-titled - 9/10 - however I bought this one already from the rough trade shops so I found it only fair to exchange it for

Valerie & Friends - a compilation of new french electronic artists

I'm happy!

Rough Trade Album Club - June Pack

After May's slightly weak selection I was pleased to see that June's package compensated me well. As I hoped Veckatimest was the core album and that definitely made my day. Here's what I got :

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest + 4 track CD - 9/10
Joker's Daughter - The Last Laugh - 9/10 - Marvellous stuff
Sleepy Sun - Embrace- 8/10 - A grower, In a month's time I'll appreciate this more. I find slightly heavier albums a bit difficult to take in at once.

I'm hoping that The Emperor Machine will feature in July's package - you never know!

Rough Trade Album Club - May Pack

So this month's selection is not as strong as the previous 4 months but I am pleased

The Horrors - Primary Colours + mixtape compiled by the band - 8.5/10 - considering that I thought that their debut was boring, this comes as a nice surprise.

The Felice Brothers - Yonder is the Clock - Last year I received the debut by these Dylanesque folkies and I liked it although I thought it was overlong. This is much better. They definitely will have a classic album in them in the near future - 8/10

Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Twice Born Men - for me this is what the album club is about - discovering these treats. I would have never bought this on a whim. In essence it's laptoptronica but oddly catchy - 8/10

I am hoping that Veckatimest will feature in the June pack

Rough Trade Album Club - April Pack

My fourth pack of the year and the consistency is still high! Here are my treats :

Fever Ray - Self-titled + Three track remix cd 10/10
Terry Lynn - Kingstonlogic 2.0 - 10/10
The Whitest Boy Alive - Rules - 8/10

Great Great stuff! What will I get in May???

Album Review - The Boy Least Likely to

The Boy Least Likely to - The Law of the Playground (2009)
Too Young to Die

TBLLT's debut, The Best Party Ever was one of the most whimsical releases of 2005, if not of the '00's however it seriously lacked energetic tracks in order to make it fully enjoyable.

Thankfully after a long four year wait the band are back and dutifully they have remedied every glitch that their debut contained. Not only do the songs sound more confident but at the same time there's a certain bounciness which there really was before, or at least was used sparingly (at the moment Be Gentle with me, papercuts and Warm Panda Cola come to mind). Also the songs have more orchestration (The Boy Least Likely to is a Machine. although basically every track has it's own type of flourish) which makes them more full.

Mind you there are some things which do not change and Jof Owen's penchant for writing twee lyrics, he still is the shy, child-like, slightly bumbling dreamer that he protrayed in 'The Best Party Ever' but there is absolutely nothing wrong with this as it provides a nice contrast with the record's upbeat feel.

It is also an instantly likeable album. There is a certain immediacy that makes you want to embrace the record in a split second. True it is cute and cuddly but it also danceable as seen in 'Balloon on a Broken String' or 'I Box up all the Butterflies' and there's quite a few anthems in Law of the Playground. Opener 'Saddle up' will instantly make one pay attention. Standout I keep Myself to Myself should be used as the official theme song for some edition of the Indie Pop Olympics and 'When Life Gives Lemons I make Lemonade' will make you salute to the sky.

Despite the long duration of The Law of The Playground, TBLLT have managed to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump and come up trumps with stronger album. In the track Stringing up Conkers' there's quote which sums up the band's oeuvre

I just want to change the world in whatever little way I can

with two good albums under their belts they'll soon achieve world domination....soon

Rough Trade Album Club - March Pack

I've been a member of this club for three years now but I have to admit that so far i've been going gaga over past few packs. March was definitely no exception. Here's what I got

The Low Anthem - Oh my God Charlie Darwin - 9/10
The Boy Least Likely to - The Law of the Playground + bonus cd of rarities 10/10
Joe Gideon and the Shark - Harum Scarum 8/10 - I was surprised with this one.

just fantastic.

roll on April!

Rough Trade Album Club - February Pack

Andrew Bird - Noble Beast + 9 track live in Montreal Disc - 10/10
Dirty Stop Out - Cuntro Classics - 7/10
Harmonic 313 - When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence - 9/10

Second great month in a row!