Foxy Shazam

Band: Foxy Shazam

Album: Foxy Shazam

Release Date: April 13^th 2010

Band Members: Eric Sean Nally, Loren Daniel Turner, Daisy, Schuyler Vaughn White, Aaron McVeigh, Alex Nauth

Better late than nrver they say. Merry Christmas from 5-A-Side Review

Enjoy x

Nick

45 minutes of unabashed, euphoric, wild sounding but tightly executed rock n roll, this album is a homage to classic rock featuring testicle clenching high vocals and tasty, memorable guitar licks that bore your way into your brain and stay there as stubborn as a tumour. The highlight is The Second Floor, four minutes of fist pumping, head banging, melodic anthemic goodness. Teenage Demon Baby is delightfully cheesy with a chorus that almost steals a vocal melody from Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart while tracks like Wanna be-Angel just grab you by the ears and drag you along on a frenzied aural journey at breakneck speed. Unlike other shameless exploiters of rock n roll clichés (remember The Darkness?) these guys know how to write a song; the soaring melodies and interweaving guitar and piano licks are almost reminiscent of Queen, a comparison helped by the sheer delightful pomposity of songs such as Unstoppable.

Having said that this album is nothing new and, one suspects after a few listens, rather shallow. These songs will probably wear out quite quickly through repeated listening. This happens to all pop songs but some, such as many on this album, have a shorter shelf life than others. Tracks like Oh Lord and The Only Way To My Heart… are already starting to grate a bit in their insistence on loud, brash, dumb fun. However, right now I don’t care that much; right now this album still feels fun, fresh and full of life and I’m going to enjoy that feeling while it lasts.

Favourite song: The Second Floor

Sounds like: Early Queen, Aerosmith

Which historical figure needs to hear this album? One of the more decadent party animal monarchs. George IV perhaps.

Liam

What can I say? I love this album. It’s the kind of fun, electric pop music that makes me smile and my bus trips that little bit more enjoyable in the mornings.

At first listen you may think that the lead singer, Eric Sean Nally, is the son that Freddie Mercury never had but this is more of a nod to a hero rather than a shameless copying of vocal styles. And spot on they are. Eric plays his natural instrument perfectly hitting notes even eunuchs would dream of.

The rest of the band is all very good at what they do too. The ensemble has the manadatory guitar, bass and drums but also includes horns and piano. The piano and horns work really well to drive the fast paced verses into full gear and give the chorus a real kick that make you join in the energy they exude with a shout or jump that really makes you feel like you’re enjoying it.

Stand out songs like ‘Wanna-be Angel’, ‘Unstoppable’ and ‘Second Floor’ are pure pop perfection that need to be sung arm in arm with your friends at the end of a good nights binge drinking. The albums second half tries to diversify style a little. While change is usually a good thing some of the final songs are a bit hit and miss. ‘Connect’ may be a little too understated for some and the cocky swagger of ‘The Only Way to My Heart...’ may seem to grate.

The one thing that is missing from this album is the rock ‘n’ roll mainstay of the extended guitar solo. You’ll be hard pressed to find one here which keeps this album strictly pop. But then ‘The Darkness’ did become pretty damn annoying pretty damn quickly.

If you like you three and a half pop songs with a bit of bite, energy and balls out fun then I can’t recommend this album enough.

Favourite Song: Wanna-be Angel

Which historical figure needs to hear this album? Lord Cardigan. Just because ‘Unstoppable’ should have been bleared on loudspeaker during The Charge of The Light Brigade

Rob

It’s difficult to compare Foxy Shazam to any one artist because their influences are so broad. The passionate vocals of Eric Nally have been likened to Freddie Mercury (particularly in Unstoppable) and he certainly shares that passionate and ambitious tone. From soul to Springsteen their third album effectively combines a variety of styles in an upbeat fashion that will get you hooked in minutes.

The sound is muddled at points and sometimes there’s just too much going on. However this can be forgiven to some extent because Nally’s voice dominates the score so well. It’s important to recognise the talent of the band as a whole, including the pianist Sky White whose catchy pop melodies augment the band’s appeal.

With An Axe is probably the stand out song where Nally showcases the versatility of his voice box and becomes a diva. The lyrics are often tongue-in-cheek (Bye Bye Symphony) but ultimately contribute to the cheeriness of the record. I definitely prefer the second half of the album, where notable influences include Meatloaf and The Killers.

Although unintentionally comical in places we have a great record here and I will look forward to hearing what this band does next. With more musical direction and consistency, they could be far more successful. I will be listening to this album for weeks to come. It is a must.

Favourite song: With An Axe

Which historical figure needs to hear this album? Ludwig van Beethoven (for want of a better answer)

Jamie

Well Foxy Shazam are an interesting band. I happened to see them support Motion City Soundtrack in August and they provided a lively, exciting and very eccentric atmosphere. The album does the same, the front man has a very distinctive voice and attitude, the emphasis of the music is focused around the piano and the rest of the band provide a powerful punk and glam rock inspired sound.

The over all style of Foxy Shazam combines the rock ballad style of Queen, a hint of Michael Jackson (Count Me Out) and pop-punk/emo style of bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall out Boy. It’s an original sound and shows that this band want to fit in with the contemporary rock bands but at the same time play music that makes use of their own influences.

After the strange intro we get four really powerful and in my opinion the standout tracks “Bombs Away”, “Wanna Be Angel”, “Count Me Out” and “Unstoppable” each making use of catchy choruses, interesting lyrics which tell stories or provide insights to the singers life (“and all you hipsters say I’m gay/but I’m not gay at all!”) and guitar and sometimes saxophone solos. The rest of the album carries on in a similar fashion and we also see some more relaxed pop style ballads.

So if you like fast music that isn’t too heavy, but is clever and entertaining at the same time (especially if you like a good sing along!) then check these guys out , even if you’re not into pop-punk/emo.

If you like this check out:
Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life
Lostprophets - Liberation Transmission
New Found Glory - Coming Home

Favourite song: Count Me Out

Which historical figure needs to hear this album? Salvador Dali, he would have enjoyed painting his surrealism to this exciting music.

Steve

Few know my truly despicable trade secret, something so dark and twisted it makes grown men shriek, children weep and family pets spontaneously die. I detest Queen with a passion. When the new year comes, it heralds the arrival of ‘We are the Champions’ to which everyone gets a kick from, except me, while revellers frolic to the hearty tune, I stand alone in the corner looking more awkward than usual.

So for me Foxy Shazam is something I should loathe, seeing as their influence is clearly Queen, however, these guys sound like they’re having the time of their lives. It’s this passion and enthusiasm that stops me from lobotomising this album. Truthfully, I feel like an outsider; I don’t get it, whatsoever. The realm of joyous Queen is enchanting and this is when you can really get embroiled by the singles, ‘Unstoppable’ and ‘Oh Lord’ which do an amazing job of hooking you in. The other high point is ‘Wanna Be Angel’ and ‘Killin It’ which have just the right balance of sombre music and rising choruses. On the flipside, songs like Second Floor, have mediocre lyrics and tempo which no amount of post-production can save.

So to summarise, I’ve found that post Queen sounding Queen can be good, but sadly my prejudices just prevent my narrow mind from branching out. While this definitely isn’t my music, I do enjoy it when a band sounds like they are having fun and Foxy Shazam makes for merry, care free listening.

Which historical figure needs to hear this album? Hitler, lighten up mate.

Er...

Sorry...

Looks like it wasn't only to football that's been delayed due to the snow

In a change from our usual Monday schedule your team of intrepid writers will be releasing their latest review tomorrow.

Reason for the delay? Too much Glühwein in Berlin.

See you tomorrow - Love 5-a-side
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Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns

Band: Linkin Park

Album: A Thousand Suns

Release Date: September 8th 2010

Band Members: Chester Bennington, Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdan, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn

Team 5-a-side tackled the mighty Linkin Park this week. What was the score?

Steve

Let’s see here, we’re discussing Linkin Park so, nostalgia, Check, angsty singing from Chester Bennington, check, inevitable panning by reviewer? Not quite. Around ten years ago, Linkin Park released the commercially successful Hybrid Theory, which for anyone who was a teenager at that time, was the holy bible of rock and possibly among many people’s first album brought. That of course was then, but what about now? Fast forwarding to this year, a Thousand Suns was released with much more anonymity than its predecessors, as the Linkin Park project staggers on, which is possibly dare I say it, past it’s sell by date.

A Thousand Suns is a concept album about a dystopian future, which is possibly a sign of Linkin Park not having its finger on the pulse of contemporary music as this concept has been done to death in recent years by better bands. Whereas, however, the concept is not creative, its music content is, and several tracks will unexpectedly impress. For me, the tracks that really stand out are Wretches and Kings, Blackout and When They Come for me, the songs with real attitude. In fact I would go as far to say that these songs are excellent and really drag the album out of the Bad Lands of negative reviewing.

Ironically, the songs that the band is trying to peddle as the creative progression of Linkin Park, and the album’s singles, just don’t work. Waiting for the End is just soppy rubbish. Strong words, but this song in particular is like an arrow missing the mark, past the mark and into the eye of a child spectator. Similarly, the Catalyst is devoid of creative content with bland vocals and a repetitive rhythm which really damages the respectability of the whole album.

So as an opinionated music listener, how does this album fair? Somewhere in the fog of mediocrity will do. Somewhere I think this limbo prison will contain Linkin Park for many years to come.

Favourite Song: Wretches and Kings

If you had to make some kind of speech to the people of Earth, which track off of A Thousand Suns would you use for your entrance: When They Come For Me

Nick

I didn’t like it. Nu metal when it’s young, cocky, bratty and revelling in its juvenility is great for shits and giggles. Who doesn’t love head banging to Papa Roach’s Last Resort or emulating Fred Durst’s particularly abysmal attempts at rapping while, semi ironically, making vaguely rudeboish hand gestures? Such music has two equally valid purposes, to act as a genuine form of expression for anyone under 13 and as a source of embarrassing but entertaining nostalgia for anyone older. Linkin Park have been attempting to make grown up Nu Metal since album number two, and now just produce bland alternative rock with vague hip hop and electronic influences. It doesn’t help that Chester Bennington still sounds like a 13 year old who refuses to tidy his room. The odd catchy chorus (Robot Boy) and sonic variation (The Catalyst) does not stop this album from being a complete non entity.

Best song: Robot Boy

Sounds like: A band running out of ideas

If you had to make some kind of speech to the people of Earth, which track off of A Thousand Suns would you use for your entrance: None, it’d make me sound like a complete tit.

Jamie

I have been a Linkin Park fan since 2002, own all their albums and have seen them live three times, but do not think this is the reason that A Thousand Suns is my album of 2010. While it still sounds like Linkin Park vocally, the band have experimented with a wider range of sounds and styles of music. LP have always been a rock band with a bit of rapping and the odd use of electronic sounds and beats, but on this album they really pushed the boat out and combine the live sound with the electronic production.

So what makes this album different? Heavily synthesised and booming bass lines, overly distorted guitars, African style percussion and electronic drums. The typical layout of a Linkin Park song doesn’t exist on this album either, especially in “When They Come For Me” where it is mainly African style percussion and the chorus is purely a chant. It’s only the booming bass and Mike Shinoda’s aggressive and comical raps that keep this song from being a rain dance. “Blackout” uses the typical screamy shouty vocals of Chester Bennington but to the backdrop of a slightly more chilled out and guitar free sound. But the structure of the song changes from heavy to soft and then back to soft.
“Wretches and Kings” uses the old Rap verse/Singing Chorus formula, but the music is 100% electronic and the guitar is purely distortion and feedback. Chester’s vocal style has a heavy metal meets Reggaeton style to it which is unlike anything he’s ever done. “Waiting for the end” also uses the old Rap verse/Singing Chorus but combines bleak with uplifting and energetic and also has a bit more of a Reggaeton feel to it. “The Catalyst” is one of the most epic songs that LP have ever done and the powerful driving electronic beat and the synthesisers make me feel like I’m in a post apocalyptic war.

Great album and even the mellow songs and interludes work really well, If you’re an LP fan or you want to hear something a bit more experimental check it out!

If you like this check out:
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Beck –The Information
Crystal Method – Legion Of Boom

Favourite Song: When They Come for Me

If you had to make some kind of speech to the people of Earth, which track off of A Thousand Suns would you use for your entrance: Wretches and Kings

Rob

I worry about the analytical intellect of critics when they compare this record to albums like Dark Side of the Moon and Kid A, proclaiming that it must be listened to en masse. I could not disagree more. Despite the common theme of nuclear war, the amalgamation of styles is blurring and unnecessary. The constant variation between reflective, tuneful harmonies and political rants compels me to skip certain tracks in a hopeless search for continuity.

A Thousand Suns does improve somewhat towards the end. Wisdom, Justice, And Love takes excerpts from a famous Martin Luther King, Jr speech in order to emphasise the intrinsic social effects on a country engaged in war – always a topical subject it seems. So I can't condemn the album from a political point of view. It's messages are crystal clear.

Following this are the most emotive songs in the line-up. The Catalyst is a well constructed piece but only because it is written inside the comfort zone of the band, hence it's release as the first single. The Messenger and Iridescent are the stand out tracks for me.

I applaud Linkin Park for attempting something different but they clearly haven't had the conviction to pull it off and regularly revert back to old habits. Overall this leads to a disappointingly inconsistent record.

Favourite song: Iridescent

If you had to make some kind of speech to the people of Earth, which track off of A Thousand Suns would you use for your entrance: Burning In The Skies.

Liam

Nu-Metal, every fourteen year old’s favourite genre of music until emo came along, did not survive the test of time well. The bands that used to wave the banner for acne, angst ridden teenagers have either grown up and evolved or fallen by the wayside only to be added to the iTunes library out of a sense of nostalgia or guilt. Linkin Park is one of the bands that have tried to evolve their musical style. Enter the concept album.

The angst has been split down the middle and has given way to more adult raw anger in and an inward sense of fear and uncertainty. It ties in well with the albums theme of impending cataclysm. The more ‘classical’ Linkin Park songs have taken on tribal beats and reggae styles that get my head bobbing in a good way. The sorrowful laments of Chester Bennington that make up the spaces in between are well structured, lyrically decent and will get you singing along after a few beers. A strategically placed speech here and there reminds us why we came. To witness Armageddon to face palm ourselves for letting it happen.

As an album I think it works well. Although some may feel a little cheated that the fifteen tracks listed on the back are not all fully fledged songs with some being speeches and others just interludes it does keep the album flowing reminding you of the recurring theme of impending doom and destruction.

As said before the album is split in two. For every decent ‘hell yeah!’ song we have an introspective, melodic ‘why me?’ song. While this isn’t necessarily a bad album it’s not Linkin Park’s best. Their previous album, Minutes to Midnight, didn’t feature enough of Mike Shinoda’s rapping skills but it did have strong, anthemic, mosh-pit inducing songs. Songs like ‘Faint’, ‘Given Up’ and ‘In the End’ are not to be found on this album. Maybe they were hoping that ‘Blackout’ would be that mosh-pit educing song but it plods on a bit too slow and just gets horribly distorted toward the end with the obligatory DJing given to us by Mr Hahn.

In all I recommend this album. If you are a Linkin Park this album will please you. It won’t shock or awe you but if you have listened to their previous albums the progression from ‘Hybrid Theory’ to ‘A Thousand Suns’ will not surprise you

Favourite Song: When They Come For Me

If you had to make some kind of speech to the people of Earth, which track off of A Thousand Suns would you use for your entrance: The Messenger

XX - The XX

Band: The XX
Album: XX
Release Date: August 17th 2009

Band Members: Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith, Baria Qureshi

This week the team sat down and listened to the debut album from The XX.

Not even snow could cancel this kick off.

Enjoy xx

Steve

Much has been made of the XX, a trio of strange young upstarts, bursting onto the music scene to much fanfare and cheering. They've had their accolades, most notably from NME and even swooping in to pick up a Mercury Prize. Their debut album is definitely something not to be missed, not necessarily boisterous or the holy grail of alternative, but ethereal, chilling and creative.

Infuriatingly, the melodies are fiendishly simple yet effective, a fairly quiet, timid guitar does the hard work, while the two voices of Romy Croft and Oliver Sim sing quite sterile vocals. Yet this platypus of an album works incredibly well, every song lasts as long as it should and it extrudes charm like it were second nature.

When cycling through the songs its easy to be drawn by the singles, Islands, Crystallised and Basic, which to their credit are good songs, but venturing from the trodden path you can find an menagerie of easy listening, Infinity and Heart Skipped a Beat to name a few. Even its introductory song is note perfect, and is perhaps one of the best beginnings I've heard in an album for a very long time. All in all, this is a solid piece, from a group of talented young musicians, though I'm very curious to see what they do next.
Favourtie song: Infinity

Recommends: Radiohead, The Cure, Delerium, Postal Service

If this album were a vegetable it would be: it grows alot in the woods, symbolising, its popularity with alternative music listeners and its tasty, but hardly makes the zest in any dinner.

Jamie

My opinion of this album is quite mixed really, I think it relies on its listener to be in a certain mood and combines dark, depressive melodies with easy listening and relaxation.
I really like the intro and am disappointed that this is probably the most powerful track on the album; normally an intro provides a set up to the rest of the album. While I appreciate that these guys have tried to do something new with the stripped down sound, I feel that the Intro, Crystalised, Islands, Heart Skipped a Beat and Basic space are the only songs worth listening to, the rest are either too dull or too similar.

While I like the vocals and the use of this chilled out, yet moody sound, I feel that there is a lot of similarity on the songs and the guitar is probably just one recording that’s chopped up and used differently on each track. There’s not a lot of energy on the album either and I feel myself about to drift off while I’m listening to it, and while the singing is soothing it doesn’t have that sing along quality, as even at the loudest volume the albums a bit too quiet. Maybe this just isn’t for me but I think if you like the use of stripped down electronica with singing over the top listen to Gorillaz, at least every track is different!

On a side note check out the mash-up of the album intro with “X Gon’ Give it To Ya” by DMX, works really well! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zScY9Ys3S-Q

Favourite Song: Islands

If this album were a vegetable it would be: A cabbage. Not my favourite but cooked a certain way can be a little better.

Recommends: Gorillaz, DJ Shadow, Unkle

Liam

I dislike the Mercury Prize. I’m not a fan of any music awards really but the Mercury Prize particularly annoys me. Mostly because I believe it’s just an excuse for 30 something Guardian readers to snap their fingers and make themselves feel like they’re down with the kids.

That said I shouldn’t discredit The XX just because they were given an award a year after release. Surely they hit the public eye on they own merit.

The album starts with an intro. I don’t mind albums giving you a little something something to get you into the mood. This doesn’t disappoint. It’s groovy, it’s brooding, it’s melodic and it promises the next

ten songs take you on a journey. Until it fades and the album proper kicks in, that is.

The production on this album is impeccable. All the instruments blend seamlessly into one another. The bass drives songs on with perfect timing with the keyboards and guitars complementing each other superbly. The percussion is slow, meaningful and used sparingly to great effect. Seeing as this album is self produced it is the band’s talent that has made everything sounds so perfect.

The vocals, however, often seem lost behind music. The lyrics are instantly forgettable or in my case usually unheard over the pretty din. To me it becomes apparent rather quickly that Romy’s vocals are preferred to Oliver’s who seems to deliberately sing in such a disjointed manner to clash or blend with his bass lines in a tedious way. Most notably on the song ‘Infinity’.

The album plods along at a ramble and sometimes even breaks into a canter. The more energetic songs such as ‘Islands’ (which might be considered a relative jog) do tend to run out of puff half way through but make me thing this band could be onto something good if they tried. I can’t imagine when I would find a decent moment to sit down and actually enjoy it. Not in the car, not while dancing and I’d definitely feel daft listening to it in female company. The album comes and goes quietly. Almost like a comet. It’s pretty to listen to but I won’t miss the XX while we wait for the second album. Hopefully by then they would have learned a new formula for a song.

Favourite Song: Basic Space

If this album were a vegetable it would be: A butternut squash. I'm not sure what to make of it.

Recommends: The Postal Service, Placebo

Nick

I wish I could like this album more than I do. I put off writing this review because I was convinced that all I would need is one more listen before it ‘clicked’, before everything made sense and I would rightly acclaim it as the masterpiece that nearly everybody else declares it to be. However, the deadline has come and gone and that moment never came.

There are moments of pure joy, the plaintive chorus melody of Islands, and for that matter female lead Romy Madley Croft’s vocals in general which rise and fall throughout the xx’s sparse soundscapes in a state of blissed out yet fragile euphoria. The music is elegantly and competently executed throughout and in tracks like Heart Skipped a Beat, Night Time and the last minute of Infinity, we are guided through peaks and troughs of synthesised melody with heart stopping grace and precision.

However, ultimately this album feels empty, a textbook execution of indie synth pop, stylish and spacious but with nothing behind it. While its cold, detached sound lends itself well to the snow covered urban landscapes I’ve been surrounded by when listening to it, at best this is a mild aesthetic pleasure rather than a feeling of genuine excitement or emotional resonance. The desire to experiment with space and sonic fluctuations descends into navel gazing on songs such as Fantasy, a track which seems to last much longer than its actual two minutes and 38 seconds.

The lyrics, made up primarily of lovers’ dialogue between Madley Croft and, male lead, Oliver Sim, are engaging enough but Sim’s flat, stoned sounding delivery soon begins to grate and just becomes another background sound in an album which is primarily made up of background sounds.

If I’m being honest, this is probably a good album. It’s well written and executed, and extremely tasteful. However, ultimately there is neither a depth of feeling nor a calculated attempt to remove feeling completely (which would have been interesting in itself) just a sense, at the end, of “is this it?”

Favourite Song: Islands

Sounds Like: A chilled out Camera Obscura. Chilled out to the point of parked

If this album was a vegetable it would be: A cucumber, tasty enough but too insubstantial to be truly satisfying.

Rob

This record is a breath of fresh air in a fog of over-orchestration. It's old-hat musical ideas are stripped back to their bare bones and executed in a way that forces you to notice them. Syncopation of the bass and lead guitars in Crystalised gives the song a distinct edge above the rest.

The vocals similarly boast a range of simplistic but effective techniques such as canons and imitation which when combined with a wispy timbre produce a tranquil and hypnotic ecstasy. I love being able to hear the crispy twang of the guitar completely transparently through a number of tracks. Night Time and Heart Skipped a Beat are uncluttered and clear in their musical intent. No part of the arrangement is redundant!

However, this album is chronologically (and unfortunately) split in two by Fantasy; undoubtedly the weakest song on the album. If it's meant as an interlude, then it's self-indulgent and otherwise it's simply out of place. With all other songs at a similar tempo, this track ruins what could otherwise be called a concept album. Even if singing about love for eleven tracks is cliché.

What this album lacks is excitement and I mean that both musically and inherently – it's relaxed style fails to stimulate in way that makes it memorable and thereby many of the tracks blend into one. Although I appreciate xx, it's apparent laziness and lack of variation is holding it back from being a truly great album.

Favourite song: Crystalised

If you like this, you might like: Two Door Cinema Club, Florence and the Machine

If this album was a vegetable it would be: a parsnip because of it's sweet but subtle taste. Although no one thinks of it as a favourite.

That's that for now. Please feel free to comment and discuss.
Next week: A Thousand Suns - Linkin Park as chosen by Jamie.
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