Album Review

Week 33: Hozier- Unreal Unearth

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Who could forget 2015 when Hozier went toe-to-toe with James Bay for the anthem of the year? I am trying to remember who won precisely, but both anthems are now somewhat iconic. That was the beginning of Hozier’s already lengthy career. We might not have heard of him until then, but he was in a band before and did several live performances as a backing vocalist, et cetera. His anthem, ‘Take Me to Church’, finally got him noticed. The whole album was good, and the songs performed live were quite celestial. According to an interview with Jools Holland, “Unreal Unearth”, his third studio album, is inspired by literature, such as Danté.

What I found somewhat surprising is Hozier has written only two songs on the record, and the rest are co-written. You would think Hozier wouldn’t find this necessary, as he has shown he is a great songwriter on many occasions. As you can imagine, the two he wrote are by far the best work on the album. One of them would be seen as controversial over here as it details how the Irish citizens suffered at the hands of Britain during the invasion. Particularly the holocaust, which is dressed as the “famine”. The track in question is called ‘Butchered Tongue’, and over this plucked acoustic tune, Hozier gives a fiery vocal delivery about the injustices. If you can’t handle sheer honesty in the song, then don’t listen. He doesn’t hold back. It was also refreshing to hear a Gaelige song that introduces the album—further stamping his Irish identity. The second, written by him, is towards the end of the album ‘Unknown/Nth’, an ethereal track riddled with metaphors.

Another of my standouts are songs I had earlier in the year when he performed on Later…with Jools Holland. ‘Eat Your Young’ is quite a disturbing track. Still, it has some fantastic guitar work by Hozier and then ‘Francesa’, a highly emotional track about someone dying of an incurable disease. The vocal delivery on both are raw and sung with absolute conviction. Hozier’s lyrics go from biblical references, to the outlandish naming of car parts. It is beyond insane as the record progresses. The biblical references kind of blend in with the whole Danté-inspired premise. 

In the Spring edition of Later…with Jools Holland this year, Jools felt the album was eclectic, and Hozier agreed. Indeed, this record has funk, soul, Celtic, and rock, to name a few. As well as having co-writers, Hozier also did an indie-inspired track called ‘Damage Gets Done’ with Brandi Carlile. Then there is a jazz track, ‘All Things End’. You would be forgiven for detecting a metronome, but it is surprisingly finger clicks, complete with a gospel choir in the chorus. 

It was disappointing to find Hozier acquired co-writers for this album, and you feel cheated knowing he did. Yes, co-writers can write, but they need help understanding the meaning of your songs. As mentioned earlier, Hozier, in his own right, is a great songwriter, so this decision seems odd. Hozier is known for writing passionately about things he is interested in or his life. I can only think the record label browbeat him into using co-writers because they would be able to stem his creativity on what can be controversial opinions. The real test is how they hold up live. Although the album might be slightly manic with the genre-hopping, I still find it quite a good listen.

Song recommendations: ‘Francesca’, ‘Butchered Tongue’. ‘De Selby Part 1’

8/10

Week 32: Liam Gallagher- Knebworth 22

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It is no secret that I’m not too fond of Liam’s solo material and the fact he hangs onto yesterday. Oasis is done, and he should move on. All good artists evolve, but the lad who burst onto the scene sounding vocally like a blend of Ian Brown( Listen to the really early stuff, and he sounds almost identical) and Tim Burgess is still stuck in his ways and won’t move away from the Oasis sound. It also makes me laugh how he slags his brother off at every turn, even getting his little sheep ultra parka monkeys to pile on, then plays only the Oasis classics written by his brother. Liam has the likes of ‘Meaning of Soul’, ‘I’m Outta Time’, and ‘Songbird’, to name a few. 

He is so nostalgic that at the venue where Oasis broke the attendance record in the 90s, he did it again as a solo artist and pulled in just over half of the attendance from 1996. You will recall he wore a white jumper to begin with before taking it off to reveal a white shirt. This time, he wore white again in the shape of a lightweight hooded jacket—however, this time with lightly tinted sunglasses on, if I recall correctly, a wet two nights.

Unfortunately, due to the abuse of his voice, the vocals are not as strong anymore. The last time we heard Liam sing with strong vocals was in 2001. As the “Heaven Chemistry’ tour of 2002/03 got to the halfway point, it was evident his vocals were going. He puts this down to how he delivered, but I have heard many vocalists who project their voice more, for example, Tom Jones, who also smokes and drinks as much as Liam did, and his vocals still remain strong. It appears to be an excuse, and he hides behind neglect.

Of course, as well as those craving for the return of Oasis due to them likely not being born or too young to attend, there were those from 1996 who returned. As you can imagine, the setlist was choc-full of iconic songs by his former band, and even some numbers like ‘Roll it Over’, which is relatively obscure.

I’ll give him his due on the performances; his vocals sounded better, but if I want to hear Oasis songs live, I will go on YouTube to watch them and remember I was fortunate enough to have seen them before their demise. Many asked me if I was planning on getting tickets for Knebworth Park last year, and I said, “If I want to see Oasis live, I’ll just go on YouTube’. I moved on from Oasis a long time ago. It’s time some of you did and let it remain with its legacy intact. Oasis did it all. This is different from the Stone Roses, who have unfinished business. If Oasis did return, it wouldn’t be the same. Oasis was a time and a place. Sorry if you missed it.

Song recommendations: ‘Champagne Supernova’, ‘Rock n Roll Star’, ‘Supersonic’

6/10

Week 31: Cian Ducrot- Victory

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I had no idea who Cian Ducrot was, but when I heard him, I thought he was a cross between Dermot Kennedy, Lewis Capaldi, and Danny O’Donoaghue. The Cork native has been around since 2018, and this is his debut album, which saw the teaser ‘All for You’ reach 5 million streams to date and ‘I’ll be Waiting’ that top inside the top 20 of the singles chart over here.

The opener is none other than the title track, which is thought-provoking, to say the least. It also leads you to the concept of the record being about strong and damaged relationships and how, in both kinds, we mature and learn from them. His vocals, not only on this but throughout, with that unmistakable Cork lilt, have a soaring ache.

This album has been eagerly awaited, and you can tell he has invested a lot of time in the studio because it has taken him since his inception to release his debut. He had even promoted this before it was even released by supporting Ed Sheeran on tour, where he garnered more fans, and doing intimate gigs at the tail-end of June. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the record takes you on a journey of how we can grow from situations, no matter how bad or good, and we can adapt to them accordingly.

Look at the lyrics to ‘I’ll be Waiting’:

If you ever wanna fall in love, if you ever wanna bet on us, if you ever wanna be my one, I’ll be waiting.

From these lyrics, you can see that Cian is talking personal where someone is hesitant about committing to a relationship with him, and even though he is doing his thing, he is open to a relationship if that specific individual is willing to commit.

‘Heaven’ is a highly emotional track, where he talks about his solid relationship with his brother. This piano ballad is accompanied by loving lyrics about how they will carry each other through thick and thin.

’Thank God You Stayed’ is another exquisite track exploring all the qualities and flaws of lovers in a relationship. There are also other highlights, which are deeply personal about his father and mother.

This album was a pleasure to listen to; I can only see him going from strength to strength. It’s going to be hard to improve on such an outstanding debut.

Song recommendations: ‘Heaven’, ’I’ll be Waiting’, ‘Victory’

9/10

Week 30: Travis Scott- UTOPIA

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I have heard so much hyperbole surrounding Travis Scott, and he has been featured on some songs by other artists/bands I am fond of. Unfortunately, this was utterly shit. I liked ‘Modern Jam’ because it resembled the hip-hop I heard in the 90s. It was nice and chill, and there was no autotune in sight. Unfortunately, be it Travis, or the collaborators, autotune was used excessively. I hate it. It ruins music and makes an album with so many songs unlistenable. Why do producers still like to incorporate it into the artist’s music? Please stop it. Stop listening to these little idiots, who do not even make music, but think it’s “Edgy” and “Cool” to listen to autotune music. It’s shit

No rating

Week 28: J Hus- Beautiful and Brutal Yard

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I was looking forward to hearing this after “Big Conspiracy”, but it was utterly unlistenable. What would have been a great song with Jorja Smith was ruined by shitty autotune. I enjoyed three songs because none of them used autotune: ‘ Come Look’, ‘Cream’, and ‘It’s Crazy’. Very disappointing. That’s all I have to say. Roll on Blur next week.

Song recommendations: ‘Come Look’, ‘Cream’, ‘It’s Crazy’

2/10

Week 27: Taylor Swift- Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

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Here is another instalment of Taylor reworking her original albums after…well., you already know from the last reviews she was being held to ransom over her masters and found a way around it thanks to her solicitor and someone asking permission to use one of her songs, from the originals on television. I have enjoyed what is known as “Taylor’s Version” because everything is better. The vocals, the matured vocal delivery, the production, the professionalism, and the overall clean audio.

The opener is ‘Mine’, and immediately the album catches my ears for how much cleaner it sounds compared to the original, and I like Taylor’s more mature delivery. There is no teenage angst. The reworks stand out more because Taylor has collaborations, and Hayley Williams from Paramore is on ‘Castles Crumbling”.One of my favourites is ‘When Emma Falls in Love’- a soft piano ballad with tender but heart-aching vocals.

As you know from the originals, there was a lot of pent-up anger in her vocals. Still, on the reworks, she has changed that with tenderness and empathy, which is clearly on display in ‘Ours’, and her vocal delivery is done with more meaning now on ‘Enchanted’ as the track arrives at the bridge. There are even lyric changes, as found on another of my favourites, the full-on rock attitude of ‘Better than Revenge’ where she changes the song’s perspective to make the male the antagonist, rather than the female who originally was where she was slut-shamed. 

There is also a collaboration with Fall Out Boy on ‘Electric Touch’ where Taylor exchanges verse with Patrick Stump( Who also plays the guitar) before they sing the chorus together. There is room for the National’s Aaron Dessner to play multiple instruments across ten tracks. He also co-wrote ‘Electric Touch’ and ‘Foolish One’. The producer is, once again, Jack Antonoff, who made a mess of “Midnights” but gets the production on point this time. He plays multiple instruments on the record and even does some backing vocals.

I also enjoyed ‘Back to December’ and ‘Dear John’ simply for their vocal maturity. After all the shit she has been through with Scooter, you wouldn’t be surprised if her vocals displayed raw anger, but no, she has done these reworks like the mature songwriter she now is. Another thing worth mentioning on the above tracks is the new arrangements where Taylor can show more vocal diversity now. ‘Sparks Fly’ is the only track where Taylor could have improved. The rest of the album is brilliant, and I cannot recommend it enough. I love these “Taylor’s Version” and am only a fan of her country days. That speaks volumes to just how good they have been so far.

Song recommendations: ‘Better than Revenge’, ‘Dear John’, ‘When Emma Falls in Love’

9/10

Week 26: Nothing but Thieves- Dead Club City

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I had heard of the name before but never listened to their tracks. A lady called Roxanne, who I speak to, is a fan. “Dead Club City” is their fourth album and the first time I listened to the band.

The record begins with the leading single, ‘Welcome to the DCC’, and straightaway, my ears prick up as I was not expecting a band with such a name to have a Jungle-esque track, let alone beginning to an album. I loved the feel-good groove to the opener; as I mentioned before, it reminded me of Jungle.

I thought this album would be all-out indie, but it is laced with disco, indie, rock and psychedelia. Elements of some of the songs had a Tame Impala feel to them. Then we have the Jungle-esque groove of ‘Keeping You Around’ and ‘Do You Love Me Yet?’. The latter has some mad guitar solo, which I unfortunately discovered was the outro, so the track fades out when the solo should have played until its conclusion. They missed a trick by not doing that.

There is even room for ballads on the record. The standout is ‘Green Eyes:: Siena’, where Conor Mason’s tender vocals accompany the acoustic. The lyrics are quite deep, too.

The album closes with ‘Pop the Balloon, an all-out assault on your ears for the majority, but then there is a complete drop in the tempo, which happens without any indication it is approaching. “Dead Club City” isn’t bad for my first introduction to the band. I know some purists may not like this diverse record, but honestly, it kept me interested, and I will now listen to more of their material in the future.

Song recommendations: ‘Do You Love Me Yet?’, ‘Welcome to the DCC’, ‘Pop the Balloon

7/10

Week 24: Tom Grennan- What ifs and Maybes

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Well, as you will recall, I had the pleasure of reviewing Tom’s previous album, “Evering Road”, which I enjoyed for his maturity and ability to show humility for all the things he had done wrong in past relationships. This time, he is back with “What ifs and Maybes”, which was tactically delayed to avoid a battle with Foo Fighters, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds—then postponed another week to avoid a fight with Niall Horan. This week, despite the competition, it was easier for Tom to take the top spot with his 80s-inspired album that echoes that of Abel Tesfaye, Coldplay, and Ellie Goulding of late.

The record opens with ‘How Does it Feel’, one of the teasers. It is an uplifting 80s synth-pop track that makes you want to dance. The second track, ‘Remind Me,’ is quite peculiar. I believe it’s a song about Tom’s forgetting lyrics when performing. Has this happened at all during performances? Tom fans, let me know. Also, what is apologising for? Something has happened in his life? Or forgetting lyrics during a performance? Going by “Evering Road”, I’d say the former.

My only complaint with the record, including on the Apple Music Edition, is that most tracks need to be longer. You get going with the uplifting melody, cancelling the melancholic lyrics, and then the song ends. I am trying to remember any song being over five minutes. The longest is over four minutes.  Some might moan that melancholic lyrics over uplifting melodies don’t work, but it’s been done for centuries and is still being done. How anyone can take issue with it is a right miserable bastard who doesn’t understand that art is abstract. ‘Crown Your Love’ is one of the slower ballads where Tom brings melancholy lyrics with an optimistic delivery, and why not? Not every ballad has to have a vocal delivery that matches the nature of the lyrics. It is pretty refreshing. He also adopts this on ‘Here’. It was nice to hear Tom move on from “Evering Road” with a more uptempo album. I like his take on 80s synth-pop mixed with slow ballads and, of course, conscious lyrics.

If you listened to the Apple Music Edition, as I did, you will like the club banger ‘Lionheart(Fearless) featuring Joel Corry. I have heard it in a FIFA game or something. Anyway, it is uplifting club music. I gave the album 7/10 for the tracks being too short and that some sounded like they were put on the record to add more tracks. Some even sound like B-sides.

Song recommendations: ‘How Does it Feel’, ‘Lionheart(Fearless)’, ‘Crown Your Love’

7/10

Week 23: Niall Horan- the Show

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The most talented individual from One Direction, but Niall Horan is somewhat in the shade regarding former band members who have excelled. Harry Styles has had the most success as a solo artist, with Niall being the second. They always say the nice guys get overlooked, and that’s the case with Niall. He is more reserved than Harry, and even though he has got another No. 1 album under his belt, it passes without much fanfare. When Niall releases music, it flies under the radar of the media. They are more interested in the extroverted Harry Styles. Seeming to follow his every move.

Although he may not sell out stadiums, Niall is doing enough to carve out a solo career. Rather than attempt to be more rock n roll, Niall has elected to be more pop with synthesisers on this record, which, surprisingly, coming from a love of Indie, is more suited to his songwriting style.

The only time you will hear a guitar in full flow on the album is ‘You Could Start a Cult’, a song about looking through a relationship with rose-tinted glasses. It also features a harmonica solo. I don’t know if Niall is a fan of Johnny Marr (He probably is.), but it reminded me somewhat of the guitar legend. In all honesty, I wasn’t a fan of the track. I don’t know. There appears to be a sense of mediocrity to it. Save for the harmonica solo. On ‘Must be Love’, Niall discusses his insecurities about falling in love but confesses that you cannot hold back love if it feels like it, no matter how hard you try to resist

He cannot let that thought go even on the cheerful ‘Heaven’ where he is expressing feelings of being in love but also fears that everything will go pear-shaped over bouncing piano keys with sultry vocals. There is a reverb effect on ‘If You Leave’, and I was disappointed with ‘Save My Life’ because it sounds like something the 1975 would churn out.

I don’t know if I liked the record because it captures your imagination and then doesn’t. Sometimes it’s the lyrics, and sometimes it’s the instrumentation. I call the album safe and tidy. Niall is more comfortable writing these types of songs. I cannot wait to hear him write Indie to see if he can pull it off.

7/10

Song recommendations: ‘Heaven’, ‘It Must be Love’., ‘If You Leave’

Week 22: Foo Fighters- But Here We Are

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Was it ever in doubt that the Foos would be number one? Despite being locked in a week-long battle with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, no one save for the Beatles was stopping them from getting to the summit. They had the intrigue of what they would sound like post-Taylor Hawkins and if the new drummer Josh Freese was good enough to take over from the late drummer. The last time Dave Grohl suffered a band member loss was in 1994 when Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain died, and he hit the studio to record what would become the debut album of Foo Fighters. He called it Foo Fighters, so no one would watch wind of who was behind the then-solo project. Although Dave was hurting from the loss of Kurt, the sound in 1995 was more a celebration of life over hardcore rock.

This time, however, the loss of Taylor is etched all over the album, also released over a year after his bizarre demise. You can especially hear this in ‘Under You’, where Dave reminisces about the good old days with someone no longer with us in some form. It is obvious what the song is about, but Dave leaves it open to interpretation through his words. It sounds more like a couple splitting up than the obvious. ‘Rescued’ also expresses how Dave felt at the recording. Of course, the record is littered with songs ready to be blasted in stadiums and belted out by the crowd. That’s what the Foos are good at. ‘Somehow’ features his daughter Violet and is a beautiful ballad and one of the slow moments on the album. ‘Teach Me’ is a track that lasts just over ten minutes, which fools you because there is a sustained silence before the track returns. That track itself trickles along rather than catches your imagination. Of course, another great track closes the records in ‘Rest’, which again is about Taylor, except this time, it is far more apparent as Dave says the drummer can rest in the chorus. The song builds from acoustic to the entire band wading in to end the music how they would complete a show with Taylor going tonto on the drums.

Song recommendations: ‘Rest’, ‘Under You’, ‘Somehow’

7/10