Elliot Minor

Elliot Minor

The debut album from the rocking choirboys is certainly not what I was expecting, apart from the fact that I was certain that I would discard it after one listen, but after a little bit of procrastinating I gave it a whirl and pleased to say that it's not as bad as I imagined and is a safe distance away from the sin bin.

There's some aesthetically pleasing songs that are so easy on the ears that I shockingly even had me press the repeat button, there is of course some not so good songs that I would safely skip, but you can't have it all. These boys seem to have managed to combine classical and rock music without it sounding too cliché but I can't help but think that if Simon Cowell manufactured rock bands he would be licking his lips with the sheer thought of Elliot Minor. The album seems to have an eclectic mix of sounds at time although at times yet seem to have songs that sound the same. I think the running theme is that it's a bag of contradictions.

They certainly seem to fill in gaps to impress a cross over of listeners of varieties of generations, they seem to bring a retro classic rock quality to the music without sounding like Metallica with an orchestra. The song "still figuring out" is particularly tight, the vocals and instruments are almost sporadic but all blend together nicely, anything that combines keys, guitars and Irish pipes is bound to be interesting! The one thing I have discovered from listening to this is to never judge a book by its emoness, and thanks to Elliot Minor this is a lesson well learnt.

Stacey Adams

Portman

From Here To Your Eyes And Ears

With song titles such as 'Who Watches The Watchmen' and 'We Are Nihilists Lebowski' I had high hopes for Portman and their potential cultural nous. However, those hopes were dashed upon listening as I found that any savvy implied in the titles is conspicuous by its absence in the songs. Or at best it doesn't come across. Not that they are not necessarily saying anything. It's just that if they are it failed to reach these ears. Quite an irony when taking into account the album's title.

The chief reason being that the music is with odd exception less than compelling. And the production doesn't help either. The lyrics seem to be lost in the mix making it hard for me to engage with the words properly. And the vocalist's delivery also contributes to a real lack of depth, just sounding like some guy singing nothing in particular. So I pretty much lost interest lyrically quite early on.

All is not lost, though. The Lebowski track is one of the stronger tracks, although what it has to do with His Dudeness escapes me. And 'Back To Default's cello is another highlight. The pick of them for me is final track 'Last Broadcast (Outro)' – a stylistic change from the more guitar led earlier tracks and featuring juxtaposed snippets of dialogue from both The Great Dictator and Serenity. An eclectic mix I'm sure you'll agree and although it steers a path perhaps a little too close to pretentiousness I don't care because I like it. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the rest of the album.

Joe La Fors

Maybeshewill

Not For Want of Trying

Leicester bred instrumental rock quartet Maybeshewill's debut album, Not For Want of Trying, is an inventive, yet familiar effort drawing on any number of established instrumental groups from Mogwai and Godspeed You Black Emperor! to Glassjaw. Sounding much like a more hardcore version of the above, Maybeshewill's debut album opens with a deceptively slow paced, dramatic intro that builds from a piano into a wall of threshing guitars and melodic noise, building through a Pumpkins-esque flowing rock riff in the second track that powers seamlessly from the first. Tellingly enough, third track on the album, 'The Paris Hilton Sex Tape', is a hard fast affair, which powers through jangling rock guitars and powerful drumming, but still seems delicate, perhaps like the mindstate of the American freeloader herself...

Third track on the album seems to come over all 'Rockworld at 2am' on us, but for some reason I don't necessarily consider that to be much a bad thing in context with the rest of their album. The group's output is strong enough and varied enough in its rock experimentation to pull it off without sounding drab or pedestrian. I'd imagine the group would pull off their live shows to a considerably more effective degree, although if you just feel the urge to fill your head with noise this group can and does easily provide this service. Instrumental albums are difficult to get right, especially with the low attention span of much of the music buying public, but Maybeshewill manage hold your attention with plenty of hefty guitars and catchy hooks, using sweeping keyboard jaunts that play up and down the length of the track adding multiple layers to each song that almost make each listen seem unique.

Maybeshewill's first long player may not achieve the same level of notoriety of Mogwai et al, but they have managed to create an album that provides an excellent 'drive to' energy that'll get you fired up in no time.

Paul Walters

Freyed Knot

That Bradfunk

'Yorkshire' and 'hip-hop' are two phrases that are rarely seen in the same sentence. I was quite happy keeping it that way before I heard this record by Bradford group Freyed Kno - it's a superb fusion of funk, jazz and hip hop that you won't be able to tear your ears away from. Musically the band is super tight, providing a racy and driving backing to the intelligent and sometimes funny lyrics, which smack of realism and are reminiscent of Jurassic 5.

The tracks on the record go together well, making it feel of a piece and coherent. There isn't a bad song here either - 'Ego Trip 1' takes a slightly heavier direction, feeling more like Rage Against The Machine, but still impresses. Other highlights include 'Convince', with a refrain which will hang around in your head for days, and 'Radio Skit', which despite the fact that it's just a sample of Radio Five Live with a drumbeat over the top, is quite simply a stroke of genius. Just by listening to this record you can tell that making music is exactly what Freyed Knot love. I sincerely hope they keep on doing it.

Tom Garry

Leni Ward

Body

It starts off quite disturbingly, telling the story of the "stupid girl" Mary who got pregnant by accident might not find agreement everywhere. Mary, what could be the extension of 30 Seconds To Mars' "Buddha for Mary", is only the introduction into a world of clear-cut reduction, well-thought self-reflection and apparently not-allowed affection.

Leni Ward recorded the album completely in her own studio creating a kind of claustrophobic atmosphere with minimalist effort; all she needs is her slightly dramatic voice – glassy, clear and metallic at the same time combined with some electronic effects (reverb, voice-doubling) and a few sparsely used instruments. Body's lyrics offer your reflections about body, mind and soul of a lyrical nature that obviously struggles in being happy / self-content. It's only that you don't feel sorry; there is no pathetic self-pity that overflows the whole record. Instead, an alienating and atmospheric coldness welcomes you throughout the 10 songs.

"You've got nothing but your pride" Although you know the style of the songs and how it works after a while, you find yourself rather caught in the willing suspense of... belief that everyone is an island – self-chosen and semi-content with it. So how does that work? Catharsis through suggested emotional emptiness and undercooling respectively? Apparently. Mary was only 17 years old.

Melanie Koeppen

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