Sunday CD Project

This album is digital-only, so is not strictly a CD, however if it were a CD, I wouldn't have bought it until a fortnight's time, so that's a good thing I suppose. Edit: So, I had difficulty posting this last night, so here it is very late indeed!

On Joyful Wings - Seven Swans Reimagined

"Oh no!" I hear you cry, "it's a compilation!" But fear not, dear readers! I would not have purchased a compilation/cover album unless I thought it was fully necessary. So basically, this is a load of artists re-hashing Sufjan Steven's first album Seven Swans.

The track that really stands out for me is (as with the original album) The Transfiguration, the covering artist for this song being David Crowder and his band - of whom I have previously openly felt little love for. But as well that one, there are some other extremely well.

Two other quick additions to a list of reasons to buy this album: it's for charity (yay), and the front cover is one of the most beautiful pieces of album artwork I've seen in a while. On that front, I actually wish it was a physical release as well, just to see what else the artist has come up with. That's just by the way.

A final reason to listen to it, which leads to my conclusion, is that this album is free to stream (as well as buy and download as MP3, FLAC, or whatever else) here: http://onjoyfulwings.bandcamp.com/album/seven-swans-reimagined

Sunday CD Project

Oh my gosh, I forgot! Sorrrrrrrrrry! This will be the last Sunday CD for a while, as I am on holiday and moving around a bit. The next will be when I am back in Guildford again.

Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

The latest offering from the English experimentalists has been four years in the waiting since the absolute stonker that was 2007's In Rainbows. Sound-wise, I'm putting it somewhere between In Rainbows (for structured beats and stuff) and Kid A (for weird noises that make me happy). Both of those albums are great, and this one is pretty good too. However, it lacks the little touches that would make it great. There are no instantly-recognisable riffs, beats, or sounds, and nothing that makes me want to go "I flipping love Radiohead" in the same way that tracks like Reckoner, Pyramid Song, and Everything In Its Right Place do.

In short, it's worth a listen, probably worth buying in fact, but if you're considering the forthcoming newspaper edition, I'd save your cash. Buying those super-awesome boxsets is only cool when the album is awesome (trust me; I bought the pricey edition of Biffy Clyro's average-at-best Only Revolutions and while I still like it, I wish I hadn't spent £30 on it.)

j.r.

Sunday CD Project

Sorry it's so late, gang! [[Edit: Warning! This is a really boring review. Sorry about that]]

PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

I only got into PJ Harvey within the last year or so. If you're not aware of her work, she is neither an American man, nor a rapper, as her very male-American-rapper-sounding name would suggest. Some of her past albums are superb, others are a bit meh (in my opinion).

I'm glad to say that this new record is one of the better ones. The album operates as a sort of concept album about England (as the title would suggest); not a Sgt Pepper-epic sort of concept album, mind you, but literally an album where all the songs about England or being English.

Don't worry, it's not pro-BNP or anything! To me, it's just a woman who's good at writing songs, and who is proud of being English, and has put the two together with pretty good results.

It's nothing mind-blowing, if I'm honest, but it's a good, solid album, and it makes me very happy to be English (which is something I don't feel for a fair portion of the time).

I'm no longer doing the 1-5 rating, as I can't objectify well enough. Sorry @lucytrew!

j.r.