Siobhan Wilson's 'There are No Saints'

Rolling Stone review – ‘One of the most stunning collections of songs to be released in a long time.’

Siobhan releases her second album 2017, 'There are No Saints' to top reviews.

I’ve heard Siobhan Wilson at two vastly different – but equally perfect and apt settings – the first at the Speigel tent at EIBF (Edinburgh book festival) and the second under colourful and hippy-like décor at Mugstock festival.

She appears a child of nature with a captivating and engrossing magical voice. Her songs on this album area address issues such as loss, morality and faith. While producer McGory gives space and lightness to the overall sound. Highly recommended. 

Siobhan Wilson is from Moray, spent five years busking at open mics in Paris and is now studying composition at the RSC. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/siobhanwilson
https://www.amazon.co.uk/There-Are-Saints-Siobhan-Wilson/dp/B071DR94D4

Review Sarah McLachlan's new album 2014 -'Shine On'

Canadian singer songwriter Sarah's music provides subtle mood changes.  Her music is intensely moving and full of both sad poignancy and hopeful joys.  While several of her song titles sound full of sad heartbreaks this new album does indeed shine. I enjoy her arrangements and her piano playing which always serves the song firstly.  On this new album some of the backing has a more updated feel, with slow trumpet,  discordant soaring guitar,  gentle ukulele and long note keys.  She has a wide ranging expressive voice and songs that linger. 

I particularly like the new songs - Broken Heart, Brink of Destruction, Beautiful Girl.  I am not as keen on the arrangements on the song Monster however. 

I have of course enjoyed her previous albums Afterglow (2003) and Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993)

I know she is wonderful live going by several YouTube clips - so I hope Sarah you might play over here in Scotland very soon!  Hint hint.   

 http://www.sarahmclachlan.com/

Her song, "One Dream," was the official theme song of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Sarah McLachlan has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards (out of four nominations) and four Juno Awards. She founded the Lilith Fair tour, which showcased female musicians on a scale that had never been attempted before. The Lilith Fair concert tours took place from 1997 to 1999, and resumed in the summer of 2010. On May 6, 2014, she released her first album of original music in four years, titled Shine On.

ALSO...

It has been wonderful so far this year with some of my favourite artists releasing new albums -  Sarah McLachlan, Cara Dillon (A Thousand Hearts), Dougie MacLean. 

Plus some exciting new artists I've seen on the Jools Holland show - including White Denim from Austin Texas.  Goodness no wonder the genres are blurring these days!  White Denim is a four-piece rock band from Austin, Texas. Their music draws influence from dub, psychedelic rock, blues, punk rock, progressive rock, soul, jazz, experimental rock with home based recording, jamming approach, intense looping work and unusual song structures.

 

Haim's Days Are Gone

The three LA Haim sisters grew up with rock n roll and so their sound draws heavily from 70s and 80s pop rock. 
I like that they are playing basketball in their Save Me video and that they look good without having to totter around the stage in enormous heels the way most girl bands do. They actually play instruments too (!)  - Este plays a mean bass guitar, Danielle energetic rocking guitar and Alana dynamic fun rhythms on percussion, drums and keys.  

Their first album title, Days Are Gone, has been receiving mostly good reviews. They are strong vocally and all four singles are quality funky indie rock pop (Don't Save Me, Forever, The Wire, Falling). The track Go Slow shows a bit of an XX influence. The later tracks veer slightly into a poppy sound and with Let Me Go reminiscing for 70s rock. 

  

Otherwise the girls write and produce their own material and do it well. I would prefer that they stuck to the raw rock sound that they play live. I like their fun energy and new sound vibe.

I saw them play an upbeat and cool gig at Glasgow's SW13 venue last May, where they did a rocking version of early Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well. They also played Glastonbury 2013 and other UK festivals and they topped the BBC's Sound of 2013.  I noticed them firstly on the Jools Holland tv show earlier this year and I thought they played a distinctive rhythm that made them stand out.   http://haimtheband.com/

Haim at SW13 Glasgow

Aoife O'Donovan at Celtic

Great review of Aoife O'Donovan's new album in Sunday Times. 'Fossils' signals the arrival of a serious talent! — with Aoife O'Donovan and Bruce Molsky.

Aoife sang with the band Crooked Still at the Transatlantic Sessions.
Photos of Aoife at Celtic 2013.

Karine Polwart Oran Mor 19th Sept 2012

Polwart is one of Scotland’s best loved songstress with her beautiful voice and relevant moving songs. 

Many folk artists fill the folk clubs but not so many can fill halls the size of the Oran Mor church auditorium. Her pure softly soothing voice captivated the full house in the clear acoustic church setting with its ornate stained glass windows and with Scottish artist Alastair Gray's colourful mural ceiling.

. 

Karine sang the flowing harmonies and melodies of her story-telling and honest songs. She had her usual two backing musicians, her brother Steven on guitar and Inge Thomson on accordion, plus for this larger event - percussionist Iain Sandilands who added depth and energy to the new songs along with a wind section that included flute and clarinet.

She performed songs from her well received third album Traces - Strange News, We’re all Leaving, Tears For Lots Wife, Salters Road and Sticks and Stones.

One highlight was a lovely duet of the song Solstice with the guitarist Craig from the Scottish band Unwinding Hand. Another set highlight was a haunting solo song from Inge Thomson. 

The set included songs from Polwart's new album Traces. The song Tinsel Show was written about the lights of Grangemouth which shone in the night sky near to where Karine grew up in East Lothian. Karine also included a few of her classic well loved songs from previous albums - Daisy, Rivers Run.

She spoke of her fascination with birds and how many of her songs reflected this. One stand out song from Traces was the song King of Birds. For an encore she sang Follow The Heron. Her new album has her classy songs and a more intricate depth to it.  

Karine said that as she wasn’t an Indie artist she wouldn’t simply come on and play the album songs and leave and that as she had come up through the folk circuit she would play two full sets with an interval and a raffle! 

I’ve heard Karine at several of those smaller folk venues, as well as her leading a Celtic Connections concert on Scottish songs at the Glasgow concert hall. This was another perfect setting for her intimate songs. 

I have met Karine a couple of times and just a week later at the Lake of Monteith Hotel Bar the night before my son's wedding!  She recognised me by name which made me feel just that little bit famous!. She is such a genuine person and this reflects in her music. 

I recommend checking out Karine Polwart's fourth studio album 'Traces' - http://www.facebook.com/karinepolwart/

Emeli Sande heads back up the UK Album Charts

Scottish singer songwriter, Emeli Sande heads back up the UK Album Charts - After performing at the Olympic closing ceremony Emeli Sande heads back up the UK album charts with her debut album Our Version of Events. I have followed Emeli’s (she was known as Adele oddly back in 2007) music career since she attended medical school here in Glasgow and I took photos of her ep launch gig Oran Mor in 2007.  She hails from Aberdeenshire. I have a selection of images from her gigs here in Glasgow at King Tuts, Oran Mor and Old Fruitmarket the past 5 years here -  http://www.musicfootnotes.com/2012/03/emeli-sande-photos-2006-to-2011.html

Emeli sang Lennon's Imagine at the Olympic Closing ceremony.

*My Favourite Album Covers

DYLAN Freewheelin

Beatles Revolver

U2 Joshua Tree

*Lana Del Rey - 'Born To Die' album Review

'Hollywood sex kitten siren via a very carefully grafted persona.' 

Lana Del Rey - 'Born To Die' album released Janaury 2012 review.

.. of Lolita glasses, flowered petticoat dresses, waved Rita Hayward hair and pouty red lipstick. Her image takes me back to those soft sell fifties days of high-winged Buicks, neat furniture and men in ties....

I'm all for imagery as an artist and many of the best musicians in the past (while not all!) have created art around their music - the best examples are the Beatles album covers, Dylan's freewheelin, Queen's opera, Radiohead's videos, more I am sure... 

Her music is full of cinematic strings and her distinctive caressing voice.  

Some good moments in her album Born To Die with songs such as Diet Mountain Dew, National Anthem, and her singles Video Games and Blue Jeans. Weaker moments too with the slightly soft pop of Carmen, Radio and Dark Paradise. Also in my view the production at times can be somewhat stitled and overdone.  

She shouldn't feel the need to emulate Amy Whinehouse as on Million Dollar Man. Her music works best when she has the sexy purr of Video Games and the slow husky voice she does so well. Plus there is no doubt that she has taken such a cool name! This is a good debut and I wish her well. ‘Born To Die’ is presently at No 1 worldwide. 

"Born To Die" is the major-label debut by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey was released on January 30, 2012 through Interscope Records and Stranger Records. Del Rey's first single from the album, “Video Games” received huge interest on Youtube, now with over 40m hits, and brought about the singer's popularity. Born to Die reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart and became one the fastest-selling albums of the year selling 116,745 copies, the biggest first-week sales of 2012.

*So Who is Lana Del Rey?

I thought I’d join the Lana Del Rey debate!  If art is measured by the controversy we create then she is already a winner!

Firstly the way the industry works today there is all this beavering away ‘behind the scenes’ in the studio writing and recording with producers. Fair enough. However there appears to be little emphasis on live music, even as live music and festivals become an ever bigger part of the music industry.

WHY do new artists such as Del Rey (aka Lizzy Grant) have to ‘pretend’ she sat at home playing guitar, when she simply was picked up by a label a few years back. This fairy story that it all happens by ‘magic’ is nearly non-existent these days. (unless you want to believe those pretend reality tv shows?) Many young people now ‘train’ at music colleges or study music at school. With instant Internet inspection the norm these days the minute an artist puts their music online there really is little room for any errors the way it was back in the 6os.  Back then it was even Ok to sing covers, goodness(!) while now to do so you have be a tribute act …..

All this good exposure online also has its drawbacks!  

Lana is clearly used to singing alongside a piano and on the Saturday Night Live YouTube clip she looked lost with the rock band. There are and should be all kinds of performers; those on the big stage and those on the small intimate stage. Lana plays the intimate stage perfectly. She has a unique husky subdued voice. Lovely. 

 Here she sounds pretty good with acoustic piano and one guitar -  actually strings would be good in there too!

(I also enjoy her retro fifties feel of her look and image.) 

Lana Del Rey's National Anthem

'National Anthem' is a song from Lana Del Rey's forthcoming debut album 'Born To Die'. . http://popcrush.com/lana-del-rey-national-anthem-tracks-girls-songs 

Lana Del Rey (formerly known as Lizzy Grant) has built up a huge following on YouTube in 2011 with her song ‘Video Games’ and was tipped for big things in 2012. She has appeared on the BBCs ‘Later With Jools Holland’ and she is on the cover of Q magazine January 2012.  

DIY Blog likens the song ‘National Anthem’ to the band All Saints and sees the song as a potential chart hit. Quote:” As a pop song, capable of breaking into the charts - and this is the context we should be putting Del Rey in… it’s a potential no.1 hit.”  

Quote Kicksnare blog – ‘Leak after demo after leak has hit the net. The latest ‘National Anthem’ is the first track to really catch me since ‘Video Games’….. Her beautiful and unique voice sometimes doesn’t seem to fit the tempo of her music, but ‘National Anthem’ is brilliant… Lana channels a westcoast vibe that takes me back to the days when slow, soulful and gritty westcoast hip-hop ruled my radio – perfectly showcasing her brazenly seductive attitude. So take into account this is a leak and know the final mix will only be even more spectacular Ok Miss Del Rey, you have finally done it, I am under your spell.’
http://kickkicksnare.com/2012/01/06/lana-del-rey-national-anthem/

 

Good Reviews for Rebecca Fergusson and for X Factor Runners-Up

On a different note - Both Olly Murs and Rebecca Fergusson’s albums have had good reviews in the Sunday Times, even though both are X Factor graduates and Runners-up! 

I went to listen to Rebecca's album and it is really rather good and authentic. She was a favourite of mine in the show in 2010. 

Rebecca's debut album 'Heaven' has been receiving top ratings and reviews in both the press and radio. The Independent gave Rebecca a very positive review, claiming "By the law of averages, talent-show telly has to throw up at least one genuinely serviceable talent every ten years or so, and Rebecca Ferguson is surely that one." I thought this review somewhat poignant and are these 'experts' realising at long last that their prejudices against Reality artists are in fact based on ignorance?  Interestingly she insisted on writing her own songs so she might be authentic and Syco let her!  http://www.rebeccaofficial.com

For the winners of these 'reality' shows the label fixate on the 'demographics' that slot people into a 'Type' and  the importance of targeting who their music will supposedly appeal to . By contrast the 'Runners-up' have less pressures on them from the label and from the controlling voice of Simon Cowell. 

It is all too easy to slag Reality tv off and it does have many flaws, while many bands and artists are 'put together' behind the closed doors of the industry and this 'developing' artists has gone on for decades, ever since the recording industry started.  I prefer some fresh raw talent to the 'over-polished formula' of the Guildford school graduates. The mantra should be about hard work and effort. 

The X Factor is another Promotional Tool for the Music Business.  

Rebecca Ferguson Review -  Telegraph,"After 12 years, reality TV has finally turned out someone who not only has the hallmarks of a real star, but is also an artist in her own right." Quote Rebecca, "Syco have been really brilliant – as soon as I put my foot down they back off completely. I just wanted songs I'd written on the album. At first I was going into sessions with writers who'd pretty much got all of the songs done already. But I told management they needed to let me write it because otherwise no-one's going to think I'm a credible artist. Then they let me just go into sessions on my own – I couldn't believe it.

What does scares me with music today is the ‘big American Media Conglomerates’ such as Warners and the damage they inflict on real music. Those XFM American radio Playlists and their cheap mindless sounds – all about gimmicks, dancers and pyrotechnics….