Hello Moto

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AUSTRIAN dance DJ Clara Moto's minimal dance album Polyamour has lots to love about it.
Never full on, Moto - real name Clara Prettenhofer - has a subtle house sound that could easily get swallowed up in a DJ set - on first play it may come across as set-list filler rather than dancefloor filler.
But the album from the DJ, who has a musical background in classical and jazz which helps raise her compositins above the formulaic, rather than grabbing the listener gradually sucks them in, like a nice hug.
And this delicate touch makes Polyamour the perfect soundtrack to the calm after the storm, an hypnotic comedown-soundtracking joy.

Wave Pictures new album

WYMESWOLD band The Wave Pictures have released a limited new album, Susan Rode The Cyclone.
The 10-track LP will be a limited release, with only 750 copies available worldwide on white vinyl and mp3 download.
A band spokesman said: "The Wave Pictures do not tire of playing their contagious cheek on whatever stage allows them to do so, in fact they make the most of the quiet moments between tour and tour to go into the studio and come out with a collection of cheeky and playful songs in which folk and pop come together in completely naturally."
To mark the release, the group will be playing dates in Germany and Austria, as well as playing the Italian gigs cancelled due to the recent volcanic ash disruption.
A further release, the Sweetheart EP, is set for a June release alongside UK tour dates.

I should CocoRosie

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DON'T be fooled by the God awful cover art - CocoRosie's Grey Oceans is worth 'seaing' through.
The duo of sisters Sierra Casady AKA Rosie and Bianca Casady AKA Coco weigh anchor and set sail on a voyage through a fantastic landscape - as in, a world of imagination.
For instance Smokey's Taboo is new age hip hop, Hopscotch revolves around a 1920s piano trill, Lemonade mixes orchestral indie with electro beats and squelches, Grey Oceans is delicate introspective singer songwriter shtick, Fairy Paradise has an almost techno beat, and so on.
Bursting with invention and enthisiasm, CocoRosie's Grey Oceans is well worth a dip.

Maia-be, Maia-be not

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WRITING a review of Maia Sharp's Echo is one of the hardest I've had to pen for this blog - and not because it's the first I've attempted since the birth of my new baby girl.
Even listening to the LP while grouchy, knee-deep in nappies and with bleary eyes, the Sheryl Crow-esque LP has few faults - Sharp's vocals are crisp and distinctive, her songwriting is clever, the production is excellent.
On paper, it's great.
But on reflection, Echo is just too safe and too middle of the road to excite me - I don't know why, but Sharp doesn't cut it in practice.

Sound Advice joins Sound Cloud

EYES right this morning and you'll notice Sound Advice has a new orange button to press.
The site has now signed up to the Sound Cloud social network alongside Facebook, Last.FM and Twitter, and is accepting musical submissions.
Anyone is welcome to drop tracks in my box for consideration and they could end up reviewed or posted on the site.
Also, later today, expect a few home-cooked tracks to be uploaded...

Kevin Costner's Turn It On a turn-off

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WATERWORLD we live in, where Hollywood A-listers can just fandango into the recording studio and put together an album willy nilly, whereas the likes of me continue to languish in obscurity.
But enough of my struggle.
Some of these stars, musically, are untouchables - Juliette Lewis's Juliette And The Licks, Jared Leto's 30 Seconds To Mars - but others, like Kevin Costner And Modern West, see the actors merely chasing dreams.
Turn It On, the group's second, sees them turn out derivative Bruce Springsteen-style country-tinged rock and roll - pub rock if you will.
And while the group play it to the bone, the material just doesn't make the cut.

Listen to new Young Knives material

A DEMO of a new Young Knives track, ILoveMyName, has been posted on the internet.
Henry Dartnall, the Leicestershire group's frontman, uploaded the track, saying: "Demo of a new track which will almost probably be on our new album maybe."
ILoveMyName (demo) by helpmedarling

On OK

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FORMER 9 Lazy 9 member Funki Porcini's new album On isn't a complete turn-off, but it is a little disappointing.
The album opening of the not-so-hilarious musical joke Moog River followed the excellent jazzy downbeat beats of This Aint The Way To Live is a microcosm of On.
Because when Funki Porcini, real name James Braddell, is on it, he's simply awesome, lounging with the best of them.
It just needed someone to see off the not so thrilling moments - such as Robert Crumb's Natural Gait - before the album was finished.

Dap-Kings a royal treat

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I LEARNED The Hard Way is a blast from the past.
Following the success of 100 Days, 100 Nights, Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings don't rock the boat for this follow-up - they continue to funk and soul it.
The '70s-sounding funk band backing are the perfect vehicle for the Motown-esque pipes of Jones, who is a joy on grooves like Better Things To Do and Without A Heart.
So if you're not yet educated in the ways of these revivalists, let this be a lesson to you.

Lodger bodged

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DON'T expect Flashbacks, the new LP by The Lodger, to take up permanent residence in your collection.
Because the Leeds band's latest LP seems to hark back to the dying days of Britpop, when every Tom, Dick and Travis could make themselves at home in the charts.
This may be a little harsh on The Lodger, who have some delightful moments, such as the Wave Pictures outro to Flashbacks.
The problem is their music tends to keep itself to itself, and as a result, the album underwhelms.

Do the Hustle

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TRANS-CONTINENTAL band Gogol Bordello's Trans-Continental Hustle straddles genres like the group straddles borders.
The New York group led by moustached Ukrainian Eugene Hutz, who spent time living in Poland, Hungary, Austria, and Italy before moving to America, mix high energy gypsy folk music with acerbic punk rock, performance theatre and confrontational Brechtian caberet.
The rabble-rousing results are energetic and eclectic, with Hutz - who sounds like a drunk Serj Tankian - exuding real star quality, making up for any jarring moments with the gutsy bravado to yell and growl and moan through it.

Avi look at this one

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THE self-titled album from youthful Californian band Avi Buffalo, led by singer songwriter Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg’s distinctive vocal, has a sun-bleached feel to its indie folk sound.
The LP has a dreamy, sleepy feel that makes listening to it like sinking into a worn armchair.
If I didn’t know that it isn’t out until Monday, I’d think Avi Buffalo was an obscure ‘60s gem dug out of a dusty crate found in a forgotten attic.
A pleasing strummer for the summer, Avi Buffalo’s Avi Buffalo - I suggest you buy, son.

Son Luxury

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SON Lux is aiming to shoot up the charts with a new EP, Weapons.
The genre-straddling American producer, real name Ryan Lott, has crafted a variations on a theme of Weapons, a track from his 2008 album At War With Walls And Mazes.
And with an arsenal of classical strings, trip hop beats and atmospheric production at work, as well as a helping hand from remixers Polyphonic and Nico Muhly and rapper Alias, the EP hits its target.

New Download acts uploaded

NEW names have been 'leaked' onto the lineup of the official Download Festival website today.
The 14 new acts added to the Castle Donington festival are Genitorturers, Killing For Company, Godsized, Max Raptor, The Morning After, Ben Poole, Funeral Party, Imicus, The Humour, The Dead Lay Waiting, T-34 and Esoterica.
Festival spokesman Andy Copping said: "Fill your boots."

Icelandic Volcano scuppers tour

THE mighty Eyjafjallajokull volcano has forced local band the Wave Pictures to cancel their European tour dates.
A spokesman for the Wymeswold band, who were due to play Milan, Pordenone, Pescara, Ravenna, Molfetta and Ferrarain Italy this month, said: "Very regrettably, The Wave Pictures Italian tour has been cancelled due to transport problems caused by the Icelandic volcano.
"We hope to have new tour dates soon."
Meanwhile Basement Jaxx, whose Felix Buxton went to school in Loughborough, are trapped in Dubai after their flights were cancelled following a Middle Eastern gig.
According to reports, the dance act have been deep-sea fishing, played golf and have been to the Royal Mirage hotel.

Download will be Bullet For My Valentine's day

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WELSH metalcore band Bullet For My Valentine should get the temperatures rising at this year’s Download with Fever, their latest LP.
Because the album, their third studio outing, is their most stereotypically epic hornthrowing trad metal effort to date, and deserves to be turned up to 11 at the spiritual home of metal music, Castle Donington.
Without trying to be too clever by experimenting with their sound here, Fever cements Bullet For My Valentine's place as the biggest British straight heavy metal band around in 2010.
With added accesibility - and a few power ballads - they do run a gauntlet of cheesiness, occasionally raising a cringeworthy moment lyrically in amongst the relentless guitar grooves, driving drums and tinkling solos, such as on title track and lead single Fever.
But when they hit Donington Park this Summer, headlining the Second Stage on Friday, providing they keep the ballads to a minimum, Fever’s tunes should prove to be mightily infectious.

Ouh knows what's going on

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PAN-European synth-punk-popsters Stereo Total have a child-like quality to their music on Baby Ouh!.
Because for large swathes of their 10th album, the French/German duo sound like their the house band on a Saturday morning kid's TV show.
Probably their other biggest influences are student drama productions, and maybe a splash of LSD.
Because the subject matter, as far as my stilted French and German can tell, is a little odd - all comicbook robots and bearded men and having metal arms and god knows what else.
These recordings can seem a little forced as a result, but I bet they put on a good live show.

Bootyful

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I IMAGINE Poirier’s gigs shake more booty than a pirate with Parkinsons.
Although Canadian, the Montreal electro dancehall producer’s sound on Running High is more evocative of the Caribbean, with fast paced tracks like Coco Drunk and Warehouse impossible not to move to.
The only problem with is the beat and bleep and bassline riddims are all too computerised and clearcut - from time to time something is needed to blur the edges.
Luckily the guest vocalists prove this point and solve it, with the tracks with contributions from the likes of Burro Banton, Face-T and the improbably-deep voiced MC Zulu breaking up the tracklisting.
Poirier’s stock should be running high on this form.

Holmes coming

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FOR fans of electronica, Holmes is where the heart is.
Over the past 20 years, when the Northern Irish DJ hasn’t been soundtracking feature films, running hugely influential club nights or helping rock bands produce their albums, he’s been churning out endless tunes that are cooler than a frozen cucumber.
The Dogs Are Parading is a best-of collection, 29-tracks strong, which is a perfect snapshot of Holmes work - strutting through the chaotic early work such as My Mate Paul to the atmospheric likes of 69 Police and on to the slicker new material like You’re On Fire (Too Fat), as well as a glut of remixes.
So head out on walkies and fetch yourself a copy of The Dogs Are Parading - it’s a dance fan’s best friend.

Chart toppers at Loughborough University

MR HUDSON, the man behind one of the Albums Of The Year 2009, Straight No Chaser, has announced the support acts for his Loughborough University gig.
Appearing alongside Mr Hudson on May 1 will be Pass Out star Tinie Tempah, as well as Midlands MC Tenny Ten.
For more information on the gig, which is open to the general public, click here.