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OPERATOR PLEASE — YES YES VINDICTIVE (Brille): Australia’s Operator Please fitted right into 2007’s Nu Rave scene with their magnificently-deranged single, Just A Song About Ping Pong, which sounded like CSS overdosing on E-numbers. It’s present on Yes Yes Vindictive, along with the band’s two earlier — and equally fun singles — Get What You Want and Leave It Alone. Apparently, the band only formed to take part in a school Battle of the Bands competition a couple of years back, which possibly explains just how they’ve managed to capture the sound of youthful exuberance so successfully. There’s nothing deep or cerebral on here, but if feelgood, deranged dance beats are your thing then Yes Yes Vindictive should be on your shopping list this year. Feb 24 2008
MORRISSEY — GREATEST HITS (Decca): No Interesting Drug or We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful? What goes on? Oh, I see. These are Morrissey’s greatest hits insofar as they are the singles that charted the highest, rather than a best of compilation. I’d imagine that any self-respecting Mozz fanatic would already own these songs in one form or another, which is probably why two previously-unreleased tracks have been included here. Leaving aside the breathtaking chutzpah involved in putting unheard songs on a greatest hits collection, this is still an entertaining album, albeit one that doesn’t quite tell the full story of Steven Patrick Morrissey. more
BLACK TIDE — LIGHT FROM ABOVE (Interscope): Heavy Metal . . . whether you love it or hate it, you have to admire its resilience as an art form. Feb 10 2008
Although Miami’s Black Tide are a very young band — one of them is still only 14 — they’re incredibly talented musicians, completely steeped in the classic 1980s metal tradition, right down to covering Metallica’s Hit the Lights, while Warriors of Time has more than a flavour of vintage Iron Maiden. All opener Shockwave needs is slightly screechier lead vocals and it could easily be from Motley Crue’s debut album. Signed to Eminem’s label, I’d gamble on Black Tide becoming as big as Slim Shady, especially in America, where this kind of live fast, die young rock has always gone down a storm. more
Sunday Sun Stereo Feb 3 2008
MALCOLM MIDDLETON - SLEIGHT OF HEART (Full Time Hobby): It’s been less than a year since A Brighter Beat, the last album from Malcolm Middleton, and Sleight of Heart comes across like a more reflective, mostly acoustic companion of the 2007 first release. more
Sunday Sun Stereo Jan 13 2008
DEVIAN — NINEWINGED SERPENT (Century Media): This nine wings business is confusing me . . . surely if a serpent had an odd number of wings it would just flap round in circles all the time? more
Does X mark the No1 spot? Dec 16 2007
SHAUN — and Vic — will have some tough competition to beat if they are to clinch the coveted Christmas number one slot. more
Sunday Sun Stereo Dec 9 2007
THE HOUSEMARTINS AND THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH — SOUP (Mercury): Although this CD is touted as being the best of both bands, the Housemartins don’t come out of it too well. more
Maximo mystery Dec 2 2007
TOP North band Maximo Park are offering fans the chance to win a magical mystery bus tour of their favourite city ahead of their homecoming gig. more
Sunday Sun Stereo Nov 18 2007
VARIOUS ARTISTS — RADIO 1’S LIVE LOUNGE VOLUME 2 (BMG): I’d imagine most casual music listeners will find this double CD enjoyable and annoying in equal measure. more
Sunday Sun Stereo Nov 11 2007
LEONA LEWIS — SPIRIT: So what does the debut album from last year’s X Factor winner Leona Lewis have to offer? As you might expect from her performances on the show . . . epic ballads galore. more
Sunday Sun Stereo Oct 28 2007
ATHLETE — BEYOND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD (Parlophone): Athlete picked up an Ivor Novello award for best contemporary song in 2006, for the haunting Wires, inspired by the near-death of frontman Joel Potts’ prematurely-born baby. more
Sunday Sun Stereo Oct 21 2007
ALI CAMPBELL — RUNNING FREE (Crumbs): Although this is technically a solo album from the UB40 front-man, only six of the 14 songs collected here feature Ali singing on his own. more
Sunday Sun Stereo Oct 14 2007
JEANS GOES POP! — IN GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOUR (LARR): Jeans Goes POP! is perhaps better known to his parents as Paul Jeans, a Northumberland-born singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays, well, pretty much every instrument on this album. more
Stereophonics are back to their best Oct 7 2007
“THIS is the best album we’ve ever made,” coos Kelly Jones, describing Stereophonics’ forthcoming sixth LP. more
Sunday Sun stereo Oct 7 2007
O’Death — Head Home (City Slang): Imagine Neil Young and Nick Cave whacked out of their respective gourds on moonshine whiskey. more
When all the young dudes grow older Sep 30 2007
IF you’re planning on going to see former Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter playing the Newcastle Academy next month, I’ve got a top tip for you . . . get there early and check out the support act. more
Sohodolls are Lords of glam rock Sep 16 2007
HANDS up if you remember a band called The Lords of the New Church . . . anyone? more
Sunday Sun Stereo Sep 16 2007
Status Quo — In search of the fourth chord (Fourth Chord): Looking at the knowing title and the Raiders of the Lost Ark-style sleeve art, it’s clear that Status Quo have entered the 21st century with their wry sense of humour very much intact. more
Proclaiming their Soul credentials Sep 9 2007
THE recent resurgence of interest in the Proclaimers just goes to show that you can’t keep a good band down. more
Erasure back at pop best Sep 7 2007
Entertainment Editor GORDON BARR catches up with Erasure singer Andy Bell for an EXCLUSIVE interview more
Steady flow of folk talent Sep 7 2007
GIVEN the record-breaking amount of rain we have seen this year, it is entirely appropriate that a band whose name translates as “water” should wash up on the banks of the Tyne. more
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