Five albums under consideration.
SNOW PATROL
A Hundred Million Suns
Friction/Polydor
After global success, multi-platinum selling albums and copious lighter-raising anthems, what's left for a band to do? Not much, judging by this fifth Snow Patrol record. We wouldn't condemn them for delivering something so similar to previous efforts if it was any good (Coldplay have made a comfortable living doing that). But it isn't.
Recorded in Grouse Lodge and Berlin's Hansa Studios, A Hundred Million Sunsdisplays a frightening lack of breadth. The Golden Floorresembles a Sting-penned dirge and Lifeboatssounds like any Jack Johnson song. That should be sufficient warning. Even the 16-minute, three-part The Lightning Strikeis grandiose for the sheer sake of it. Perhaps Gary Lightbody always wanted to make rock music for Westlife fans. In his heart, though, he must know that this is the sound of five musicians on autopilot.
www.snowpatrol.com
BRIAN KEANE
Download tracks:Crack the Shutters, Set Down Your Glass
DAMIEN JURADO
Caught in the Trees
Secretly Canadian
Jurado, an American indie-folk singer-songwriter, is like Raymond Carver crossed with a Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen. He's also a non-mainstream kinda guy in the mold of Elliot Smith, but if he keeps releasing albums of this quality, he could well fit right in there with the likes of Conor Oberst, M Ward and Micah P Hinson.
Jurado has been teetering on the fringes for more than 10 years, non-strategically pitching his creative tent somewhere between superlative Americana grunge (2002's And Gathered in Song) and downright beautiful, minimalist roots (2006's And Now That I'm in Your Shadow). Caught in the Treescannily blends both - memorably melodic, lyrically sparse but insightful, and yet another step forward for this quiet, likeable and persistent artist.
TONY CLAYTON-LEA
Download tracks:Coats of Ice, Dimes, Best Dress
ONE DAY INTERNATIONAL
Blackbird
Independent Records
These Dublin newcomers (with one Kiwi in their ranks) have produced a thoughtful, meandering debut, a calling card that's definitely a keeper. Vocal comparisons may be drawn between Lunson and Rufus Wainwright/Jeff Buckley, but such are the soaring heights to which One Day International rise that such comparisons should be taken as flattery.
At times it's as if they've thrown the kitchen sink at the arrangements, and Black Is the Bird, a lyrically strong song of excess and loss, sacrifices its edge to such indulgence. But in between the clutter there's much to relish. Orgasmic pleasures are treated to popsicle-friendly melody lines on Little Death, while Miss Your Mouthhints at emotional depths yet to be plumbed fully. A slow-burning whisper of finer things to come.
www.onedayinternationalmusic.com
SIOBHÁN LONG
Download tracks:Miss Your Mouth, Shiver
THE HEDGE SCHOOLS
Never Leave Anywhere
Independent Records
In hazy brushstrokes that suggest the soft-focus photography on the album's cover, Never Leave Anywherepaints a thoughtful portrait of Patrick Barrett's recovery from a brain aneurysm. Fellow ex-Ten Speed Racer Joe Chester produces while Barrett, strumming Chester's elderly first acoustic guitar, sings with the sleepy optimism of Badly Drawn Boy - stargazing instead of shoe gazing.
The album was recorded in a Dublin studio chosen for its old Hammond organ and piano, and the instruments lend a sense of space. Simplicity is the heart of Never Leave Anywhere. Rather than over emote, Barrett cradles notes, allowing songs to find their own emotional targets. It's this simple stuff that makes the album sound like candlelight in a large dark room, a flame smiling a dreamer's wistful smile.
www.myspace.com/thehedgeschools
DEANNA ORTIZ
Download tracks:Day One, Kansas, In the Morning
JACK L
Burn On
Dara Records
There's something strange about hearing Jack L's baritone taking on Randy Newman's deliciously demented back catalogue. Lukeman is always at home with beautiful melody lines; he is less conversant with the dissonance inherent in most of Newman's searing satire. Sure enough, his phrasing lacks that essential southern homeboy quality that inserted more twists into Newman's tales than in a hillside of hairpin bends. Still, there's an originality and invention (and timeliness) to Lukeman's dissembling of If You Need Oiland his live take on God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind).
Ironically, Jack's version of the Sinatra-rejected Lonely at the Topsoars on the back of Alan O'Connor's pirouetting piano. Forensically detailed sleeve notes (with contributions from Michael Hill, Randy's own sleevenotator) make this a definite for Newman and Lukeman completists alike.
www.jacklukeman.com
SIOBHÁN LONG
Download tracks:Falling in Love, Let's Burn Down the Cornfield
