Byrnesys Blabberings

Kate Harkus (My Mate Kate!) came up last week and we spent what felt like a whole in a car!…but while I despaired as my iPod tape convertor wouldn’t in my mitsubishi colt courtesy car which only had a CD player (Humbug to technological innovation!) Kate came to the rescue with a big case of CD’s and we trecked off to Loch ness near Inverness, didnt see any monster though.

Seeing as I have no spare "do reh me" right now due to the rigours of house owning and crashing a car, combined with being annoyed at allofmp3.com for tempting me with cheap music and then not letting me reload a balance I have been new musicless, which is a word I have just made up! So here’s a quick run down of my audiophonic discoveries.

- Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City

  This is a hard one for me, as I really liked Bloc Party’s first album silent alarm, but this album for me, has succomed to the second album sickness. The point is I like Bloc Party’s band dynamics, interesting riffs, busy drums but the songwriting and composition is misguided in almost all the songs. The the leadsingers voice is pretty annoying, whereas it had an endearing quality in the other albums.

Kate offered me the album for free because she didnt like it and I didnt even take it, I think says enough. I did think the musical quality of track 5, Uniform, and track 9, I still remember deserved a mention, one to listen to but not to buy.

*/*****

- Kings of Leon - Because of the Times

I have loved Kings of Leon’s sound throughout their last two albums, and this one seems to be displaying the same great ingredients and easily contends for their best Album. The guitar licks and bass are amazingly tight with the brilliant and offbeat drumming. The whole album includes intense and slower songs which really work well together. I havent had a chance to see them live yet, but after a 3rd great album, I will definately be looking out for them.

*****/*****

Hillsong United - All of the Above

This is Hillsong United’s first studio album, for me this move detracts from everything which has made Hillsong United such an amazing band, their amazing live sound, tightness, and the extra raw passion that comes with a live recording, in saying that I am certainly not writing the album off. I havent been able to listen to it much since I heard it for the first time, but the songs didn’t feel congregational, which again is what was made so great by the band, that they played songs with musical intracies which still kept everyone singing along. As yet I am undecided about this album in contrast to the last 3 live albums which have been excellent.

**/*****