Biffy Clyro - The Myth of the happily ever after

 "The Myth of the Happily ever after" is the ninth studio album by Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro.  Although I still maintain it's their 10th album as the soundtrack "Balance, not symmetry" was basically a Biffy album.  "Myth of the Happily ever after" comes relatively quickly after releasing their previous album "A celebration of endings" just last year (August 2020).  For me that was an absolute belter of an album and one of their best.  Which is saying something as they have released so many good albums up until this point.  They have always been a band pushing their own sound and trying new things.  On "Celebration of endings" they got more people in and there was strings along with other instruments out with guitar, bass and drums which has been the staple of the rest of their albums up until "Celebration".

Obviously, the main reason why this album was so quick to follow its predecessor was because they couldn't tour the last album due to covid which was a real shame.  So, like many bands they have used that spare time to get back in the studio and record more.  But I have read that another reason it was so quick is that they had a load of extra tracks from the "Celebration of endings" sessions but in addition to this they wrote several new songs for the album.  You can see from the cover art that "Myth" and "Celebration" go hand in hand.  The albums have very similar artwork with the difference being that "Myth" has red as the dominant colour and "Celebration" has blue.  So, it's clear that these albums are meant to go together and for me fit into the same era. Which is something, to my knowledge, Biffy haven't really done before.  

It's kind of a bit like what Taylor Swift did last year with "folklore" and "evermore".  She just kept writing after "folklore" came out and produced quite a similar album in the form of "evermore".  But I think what Biffy have done with "Myth" is something quite different to "Celebration" to an extent which has left me quite confused as to why they didn't use fresh artwork, symbolising a new era for the band.  Yes, the strings and piano appear in places again but not as dominant as they did on "Celebration of Endings".  And yes, they have some great singles on here in the "A hunger in your Haunt", "Denier " and "Haru Uraua".  But most songs on "Celebration" are 4-minute tracks or their abouts minus the 6-minute epic which is "Cop syrup".  Whereas "Myth" has 2 tracks about 5 1/2 minutes and 2 tracks which are 6 minutes plus.

This changes the dynamic of the album and they have let their ideas really flourish on these tracks.  I was surprised they released one of the 6-minute tracks as the first single off the album, "Unknown male 01".  I think there are better suited singles on the album that should have been released.  This is much more of a album track in my opinion.  It grew on me more once I heard it in the context of the album. "Witch's cup" is not far off 5 minutes either and works so well sitting beside "Holy Water" which are probably my 2 favourite songs off the album at the moment.  

They also have nailed the opening and closing tracks of the album. "DumDum" starts and builds and builds.  While "Slurpy Slurpy Sleep Sleep" has great quiet and then intense moments which combine to a very satisfying climax to the album.  

Overall although I realise this album did come hot off the heals of "Celebration of Endings".  This is a fantastic album and for me the artwork is almost a red herring as this is not "Celebration of endings 2".  I love how they have longer songs on here.  They have a great balance of songs on the album, some rock hard, some more gentle, some songs go in all different directions which keeps you guessing as to what way they will turn next.  To still be this relevant and this big in today's music scene shows a band who have that creative spark and are still going from strength to strength.

Coldplay - Music of the Spheres

"Music of the Spheres" is the 9th studio album by UK rock/pop outfit Coldplay.  They have been going since the late 90s and propelled themselves pretty much from the off into an arena sized band and it wasn't long till they were filling stadiums and headlining major festivals.  "Music of the Sphere" is the follow up to 2019 "Everyday life" which was arguably their most ambitious album to date.  It's a double album which I have mixed views on. On one hand I do think it's Coldplay's weakest album in their discography. But on the other it features my favourite song Coldplay have ever done in the form of "Arabesque".

I always had a theory since "Everyday life" came out as to what their next album would be like.  This stretches back to "Mylo Xylto" which came out in 2011.  This was a pop rock record which was born for mainstream success. Then in 2014, they released "Ghost Stories", sure it had the anthemic, sing along of "A sky full of stars" but in general it was almost like a chillout album and was a bold and experimental move for the band.  Then in 2015 you have "A Head full of Dreams" which sees them return to the all-out pop rock record.  Then in 2019 you have "Everyday life" which was more experimental record.  See a pattern emerging? - Pop/rock record, more creative record, pop rock record, more creative record.  So, on paper I expected "Music of the Spheres" to be a pop rock record.

Well, is it? Well, when the first single came out, "Higher Power", which is an all-out singalong anthem. Then yes its going as planned.  This has got monster hit written all over it.  But then they threw a curve ball and released "Colourtura".  They made the point that this wasn't a single.  And the reason for that is that it's 10 miniutes long!  So radio wouldn't play it but this did intrigue me as to what the record would sound like as having a 10 minute track on it really does scream, this is not your conventional pop rock record.  Then they released "My Universe" featuring BTS who are a Korean boy band.  Now this is another banger.  The lyrics do feel a bit cheesy "You, you are my universe, I just want to put you first", but once you get past that it is actually a very good song.   And having BTS on the track is a masterful move, engaging with the Asian music market.  It works for Coldplay and it works for BTS.  And having them both singing in Korean in some of the versus also shows how they are embracing Korean culture too as well as doing something which is out with the norm of UK rock music.

So, what about the rest of the record.  It's clear Martin and Co have put a lot of thought into this album.  It is a spaced themed concept album where it is set in a fictional planetary system inspired by Star Wars.  It's 12 tracks with 5 tracks not having proper names but are emoji's instead.  Which I see as a creative and very imagnative move by the band.  I certainly can't recall anyone else doing this.  I would be interested to see if at concerts they announce tracks as "Now this one is the planet emoji" etc.  I would find that quite amusing.  Though it does make sense that most of these are emoji tracks are instrumentals. Three of the emoji tracks, including the intro are just 20-50 seconds long and act as nice bridges between tracks. The heart emoji track is the opposite, instead of being an instrumental.  It's purely vocals with no instruments and has some lush harmonies between Martin, We are King and Jacob Colier.

I think that's thing about the album, if you are looking for the standard hit from Coldplay all the way through, you aren't going to get it here.  There is something different around every corner of this album and I think for me is really the appeal of it.  For example, after heart emoji track you have "People of the pride".  This is like Coldplay do angst for a fair bit of it and has this bass line which runs through some of it in the way Royal Blood would rock out.  For me it's an infectious song and feels a bit different from them.

"Byuitful" is probably my least favourite track on the album.  The backing track is nice and as always Martin's vocals are spot on. But it features this processed sounding female voice which does my head in.  But I would say this is the only track on the album I would skip.  Coming back to the final track on the album "Colourtura" I was slightly annoyed they released it before the album came out in hindsight because it is the album closer.  I think you listen to a song completely differently when listening to it as a final track on an album than a track by itself.  But don't get me wrong it is a great track and ambitious for a band like Coldplay to do this.  I have heard big bands try doing longer tracks and trust me they don't always work. But Coldplay have something special here.  I like that it's a piano based track and I think the only one on the album.  I like the way it climaxes and is like a theatrical ending before having a nice fade out.

Other tracks "Humankind" is a track I would be surprised if it doesn't come out as a single. "Let somebody go" is quite a moving slow track featuring Selena Gomez.  They seem to be good at getting the A listers out with Rhianna, Beyonce and Jay Z featuring in Coldplay tracks in the past.  Now they have both Selena Gomez and BTS on this album as well as some others.   I must mention the infinity emoji track too.  It's a bit longer than the other instrumental emoji tracks and is one of my favourite tracks on the album. The drumming is superb on this track as it creates a fantastically fast rhythm.  And you can hear the chant of "Ole, ole, ole ole ole" running through it making it born for the stadium tour they are going to be embarking on next year.

Overall, I think this record which will divide people. I can see a camp of people complaining that there are not enough "mainstream" songs on here, too many instrumentals, not enough substance.  Then the other camp of people who appreciate the balance of the album between mainstream and experimentation.  Personally, I am in the latter camp. I think this is an absolutely amazing album.  It's like a proper adventure, “Higher Power" and "My Universe" reach the peaks of the likes of "Yellow" and "Viva la Vida".  "Colourtura” finishes off the album as good as they finished off "Parachutes", "A rush of blood to the head" and "A head full of dreams". And just the general creativity and imagination they have put into this album, mixed with the artists they have brought along for the ride, shows a band who are still totally relevant and deserve their place as one of the biggest bands on the planet. And long may it continue.

 

Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams

"A Head Full of Dreams" is the 7th album by UK rock band Coldplay. Released in 2015, "A Head full of Dreams" was the follow up to 2014's "Ghost stories".  That's right due Coldplay choosing to do a 5-date world tour for "Ghost Stories", they pressed ahead and took just a year to record and release their next record.  This was mainly due to "Ghost Stories" being such a different record for Coldplay and although it was successful and had big hits on it such as "Magic" and "A sky full of stars".  The songs didn't really fit the bigger stage.

Whereas many of the songs on "A Head full of Dreams" really were born for the bigger stage.  This album is the much more natural follow up to their 5th album "Mylo Xylto".  And due to the similarities between them I would even call them sister albums.  For me I would say "Mylo Xylto" is the slightly better album.  I think the singles are stronger and as a whole it shines brighter.  But "A Head full of Dreams still has highlights and the singles still fit into their live set nicely.  The title track kicks off the album and sets the bar high.  "Hymn for the weekend" and "Adventure of a lifetime" are the other great singles.

Going deeper into the album "Everglow" is a superb piano led track.  It has an early Colplay vibe about it and would have fit well on "Parachutes" or "Rush of Blood to the head".  It's slower but has a great impact on the listener.  The album does take a bit of a nosedive in the middle with "Fun" and "Kaliedescope" being some of Coldplay's more forgettable tracks.  It gets slightly better with "Army of one".  Then a bit better again with "Amazing day".  But you get the feeling they are a bit on cruise control at this point. Not really trying anything out of the ordinary and creating songs that are just good enough and not ambitious enough to really push themselves any on the creative side.

I would say one song which does stand out in comparison to "Mylo Xylto" is the closing track "Up & Up".  For me the only thing wrong with "Mylo" was the last track wasn't as strong or as appropriate for a closing track as other Coldplay albums have been.  But here on "A head full of Dreams", they have finished this album off spectacularly and as much as I love "Everything’s not lost" and particularly "Amsterdam".  They do go out on a slightly lower tone.  Whereas this is all about positive both in lyrics and music. It has this long, amazing bridge through first a piano section, then the guitar solo.  For me it is the best closer to an album they have done.

Overall, I would say this is a fairly good album.  I have compared it to "Mylo Xylto" a lot in this review and I stand by that.  In comparison to other albums, I would say it would appear quite far down my list.  But it is still a good album which shows how good Coldplay are.  It just feels like they are a bit on autopilot with this album when you compare it to the creative spark that was "Ghost Stories" I expected something a bit more creative but got something very safe.

 

Orla Gartland - Woman on the internet

 "Woman on the internet" is the debut album by 26-year-old Irish singer songwriter Orla Gartland.  Although releasing her debut album in 2021 you would have thought she is quite a new artist. However, she has been plugging away and gaining more and more recognition for years. Her first EP was released way back in 2011 called "Laughing at my own jokes" and has released 3 more since.  She also has a very popular You tube channel with over 21 million views to date where she has posted many covers.

The album starts off with "Things I have learned" which is a great introduction to the album. It has this hypnotic beat at a perfect tempo and the vocals much like the rest of the album are superb.  Although Orla is clearly the star of the show here.  There are plenty of other people helping her on this record to make it a real gem.  You've got guitar, bass, drums and synths on every track.  Second track "You're not special, babe" has a great chorus. Not only because it has that upbeat, chirpiness of the first track but again the vocal performance is superb.

3rd track "More like you" continues the momentum of feel-good anthems and is currently her most popular track on Spotify and has 5 million streams. In fact, it looks like there is only one track of hers which streams more which is "Heavy" which is not on the album, and I think is a cover of the Linkin Park track. Recommended listening.  4th track "Over your Head" continues the momentum.  It feels so massive and built for playing live.

But my favourite track on the album is track 5 "Zombie!".  First, why don’t more artists use the word "zombie" as it’s such a fun word.  Again, another upbeat chirpy number.  This track and the tracks leading up to this are just so fun and carefree and that's what I like about her the most.  Track 6 "Madison" takes the tempo down a little and is more of a stripped back track.  While I would love for the momentum of the album to continue the way it was going. I suppose mixing things up every now and then isn't a bad thing.  Track 7 "Do you mind?" is another downbeat track and whereas the previous tracks although synths did appear were more of guitar led tracks, this is a piano led track.  

Track 8 "Copendancy" sends the album back into upbeat mode with a heavy guitar line as the intro to the song.  The way the guitars come in and out of this song and mix with Orla's vocals is superb and shows the great level of creativity Orla puts into her song writing. I really feel that this brings such a freshness to Orla's sound.  Track 9 "Pretending" is another glorious track and Orla's voice soars more than ever on this track and making it another stand out moment on the album.

Track 10 "Left Behind" is a stripped back slow piano ballad.  Then the album finishes on "Blood Line/Difficult Things".  "Blood Line" has a really funky beat brought out by the bass and yet another great chorus.  You can see why she has shot to fame.  Such great hooks to so many of her songs.  The second part of the song "Difficult things" closes the album nicely rounding off with an acoustic ballad.

Overall, I feel this is not only a great effort for a debut album.  But Orla has showed such creativity and injected great freshness into not only her own music but the music industry generally.  This is exactly what people need currently. Something upbeat that you can move around too while also having that balance with those poignant ballads.  Someone to look out for in the future. She is seriously talented.

Tremonti - Marching in time

 

"Marching in time" Is the fifth album by established metallers Tremonti. Fronted by former Creed and current axe wielder for Alter Bridge, Mark Tremonti; this album sees the band make the most of their time off from touring due to the pandemic by channelling their focus into this new album.  I have been into Tremonti for several years now and have been lucky enough to see them live a few times.  I thought their last album "A dying machine" was the best they have ever done. And that's saying something considering the standard on some of their other albums like "All I was" and "Dust".

But how would "Marching in time" stack up against this.  Tremonti released 4 tracks on the run up to this release, all of which I thought were great.  I'm always interested to see where the singles line up on the album and in this case, they were tracks 1-3 and then the album closer.  I am a bit obsessed with how bands open and close albums and this album is no different.  I find it fascinating that he not only opened with a single he released but also released a single which is the last track on the album.   Opening track "A World Away" for me is the "Take me with you" of the album which appeared on "A dying machine".  Not only has this got sublime guitar work all the way through but it has the best chorus on the album as it is so catchy and memorable.

In a live setting it is quite common for bands to open with one of their stronger more well-known tracks to really bring the crowd in. And I think that's what Mark is trying to do here with the album. He wants the listener to really be brought into the album immediatley and pay attention.  And it works.  This is a different approach to albums Mark has done in the past, particularly with Alter Bridge.  Tracks like "Slip the void" off "ABIII" and "One Life" off "Walk the Sky" are by design are natural intros to their respective albums and would only really fit as the first track on the album.  But "A world away" could appear anywhere apart from the last track.  It is just that good it needs to be on the album as for me it is one of the best tracks.

The last track "Marching in time" is my other favourite track on the album as well and is an interesting choice for that position on the album. Looking back at even Tremonti's own albums "Unable to See" off "Dust" and "Found" off "A dying machine" were natural closers, gently closing off their respective albums.  Whereas here, "Marching in time" sends the listener into one of the most epic track Tremonti has ever made.  And I know he made "Blackbird" by his other band Alter Bridge.  But this is his attempt at doing an epic 7-minute track Tremonti style.  Some of the shredding and guitar solos on this are incredible.  I think with these tracks sometimes it is better to put them at the end of the album as the next track will always sound weaker in comparison.

But this is a 12-track album so what about all the other 10 tracks in between? Well, these tracks are really solid and to a high standard.  I would say in comparison to other Tremonti albums a lot of tracks do have a heavier feel about them, particularly the intros to the songs which really do send out a statement.  I also think that technically, the guitar playing on this album feels more complex and advanced than before and I don't think that's just down to Mark but also the very talented Eric Freidman too.  I would say there aren't as many anthemic songs on here as "A dying machine". As in real sing along chorus songs.  But that in turn gives the album a fresh dynamic and separates it from other Tremonti albums.  My other favourite songs on the album are "Thrown Further", "Bleak" and a takeout the lighters song waiting to happen "Not Afraid to Lose".

Overall, this is a fantastic album and one of the things I love about Tremonti is that he keeps advancing and challenging himself.  All the songs on this album work well together and can be set apart from previous albums.  Mark is such an established act on the circuit now through Creed, Alter Bridge and Tremonti and such a hard-working artist.  It's hard to see when this steam rolling music machine is going to stop. Hopefully with this output it is no time soon.