Tuesday, August 28, 2012

pop*eye...Noisettes—Contact (2012)








POP*EYE
***




from London


Noisettes
Contact (2012)


*I proud to highly
Recommended!*

There's no nice way to say this: Noisettes just aren't very cool. Their second album, Wild Young Hearts, went gold back in 2009, but this follow-up hasn't attracted much buzz.

Snobbery is probably playing a part: that second album was much slicker than their 2007 debut, What's the Time Mr Wolf?, and they got their break on a TV advert. Three years ago, if their stomping single Don't Upset the Rhythm didn't make you consider a sporty Japanese hatchback, it wasn't for lacking of trying.

It could also be because Noisettes are difficult to pigeonhole. Pop music is tribal and this London-based act don't slot into one genre or scene. Since the release of their last album, they've slimmed down from a trio to a two-piece, but their tastes have become even more varied.

Contact begins with a 30-piece orchestra and ends with a stripped-down ballad on which singer Shingai Shoniwa is backed solely by Dan Smith's acoustic guitar. In between, they try out different styles like a toddler rummaging through a dressing-up box.

Inevitably, there are several attempts to match Don't Upset the Rhythm's disco thrill – and actually, they're not too shabby. Elsewhere, Noisettes flit from electro-pop (I Want You Back) to Motown (That Girl) to country (Ragtop Car) to something that belongs on the soundtrack to an 80s action movie (Never Enough).

Acid jazz and bossa nova are also on the menu. There's even a kitsch cameo by Deborah Evans-Stickland, the plummy singer from The Flying Lizards' 1979 novelty hit Money (That's What I Want).

Why do Noisettes get away with being so eclectic? Partly because their songwriting is strong, but partly because Shoniwa's smoky vocals can impose themselves on any musical setting. There's also a consistent positivity to the subject matter, though this occasionally grates. A song called Ragtop Car has a hook that sounds like a bumper sticker from said sporty Japanese hatchback: "Keep the rain behind you and the sun straight up ahead."

However, a little bit of cheese is a small price to pay for an album this likeable, accomplished and charmingly unfussed about being cool.
Words Nick Levine
Porta's Rating
8 of 10
Dan Smith and Shingai Shoniwa know good pop when they hear it and, when they hear it, they're pretty good mimics!



*Porta's favourite!*

"My personal favorite
artist always!"


.........................................................................................


“A likeable and accomplished third set from the London pair!”


the portastylistic




Friday, August 24, 2012

pop*eye...Lawrence Arabia—The Sparrow (2012)







POP*EYE
***




from New Zealand


Lawrence Arabia
The Sparrow (2012)


*I proud to highly
Recommended!*

Following up an album as infectiously appealing as Chant Darling must have given James Milne a few sleepless nights. The New Zealander’s second record, released in the UK in 2010, had enough hooks to make a colossal squid squirm with envy.
The Sparrow, Milne’s third set as Lawrence Arabia, partly avoids the obvious in favour of a more considered, instrumentally rich approach to songwriting.

Aside from the swooning violins and 50s-style arpeggios of Travelling Shoes, there’s nothing as immediately accessible as Apple Pie Bed. But The Sparrow is still a lovely, lushly arranged album, which finds the artist maturing artfully.

Milne is apparently drawing inspiration from the work of Scott Walker in the late 60s – by then, Walker had moved on from his pop roots towards a more esoteric creative headspace. But, thankfully, there’s no gratuitous weirdness.

Milne still sounds a little like John Lennon in places, and revels in the odd panted falsetto in others. And he can still write things as funny as The Bisexual: “Why don’t you come over / So you can hear me / You’re a snake in the grass / I don’t want you near me.”

This is preceded by the ambitious, sinister shuffle of Early Kneecappings, which marries a nervy, suspenseful wall of strings with atmospheric piano and drums.

The instrumental treats keep unfolding through the woozy brass saunter and tumbledown piano of Dessau Rag; and by the bittersweet coda of Legends, you realise this bird has wings and, boy, does he fly gracefully.
Words Jon Lusk
Porta's Rating
9 of 10



It’s part Bacharach, part Barrett, instruments tripping lightly under Lawrence’s silken vocals!




*Porta's favourite!*



"My personal favorite
artist always!"



.........................................................................................


“A finely honed paean to the art of the songwriter!”


the portastylistic




Saturday, August 4, 2012

Portastudio Playlist: A COSY SOUNDTRACK FOR WEEKEND+Live Session 105



 
A COSY SOUNDTRACK
FOR WEEKEND

+LIVE SESSION 105




portastudio

.........................................................................................

SPECIAL A COSY*NIGHT+live
CELEBRATE WITH
'THE 2012 LONDON OLYMPIC'

Around the table to hear must-cheer during the Olympic themed days ahead,
below are our picks of what to do, see and listen to if in London this weekend.

An exclusive focus on A Cosy Soundtrack to hear our favourite music
while the Great English piano rock band live music from great success
in the United Kingdom upon release and very high sales worldwide:
their multi-award-winning debut was the best-selling
British album of 2004 and their follow-up sold 222,297 copies
during its first week on sale in June 2006.
It's time to find something special for your loved ones.
The Artist of choice this week
to the show to perform
+live music set to make your cosy*night (or day).
The Cosy weekend playlist brings together exclusive live music

from our favourite Artists around the world throughout for you listen to,

the London Olympics are either going to mark the end of a certain era for all.

 [date-header-bg.gif]
ARTIST
THIS WEEK IN PLAYLIST

Keane
Keane is an English piano rock band, first established in Battle, East Sussex,
United Kingdom in 1995, taking their current name in 1997.
The group is comprised of composer, bassist, and pianist Tim Rice-Oxley,
lead vocalist Tom Chaplin and drummer Richard Hughes.
Jesse Quin joined the band on stage to play bass. He also played a large role
in recording the album itself, and he subsequently joined the band fully in 2011.
By the Soundtrack Weekend inaugural music guideline with exclusive
live music from Portastudio's playlist,
so conclude+Live music performing
at the perfect way and welcome to your life join with the cosy music
performs a set of songs on your cosy weekend night!

{01} 'On the Road' | {02} 'Silenced by the Night' 
{03} 'Somewhere Only We Know' | {04} 'Everybody's Changing'
 
{05} 'Sovereign Light Cafe' | {06} 'Bend and Break'
{07} 'My Shadow' | {08} 'Love Is The End'

{09} 'The Lovers Are Losing' | {10} 'Stop For A Minute' | {11} 'This Is The Last Time'
.........................................................................................

—RECENT +live SESSION

ARCHIVES

Catch up with previous +live sessions of A COSY SOUNDTRACK FOR WEEKEND Series

+LIVE SESSION 104
26 May 2012
...................................................................................
+LIVE SESSION 103
21 April 2012
...................................................................................
Listen to A COSY SOUNDTRACK FOR WEEKEND
ALL +LIVE SESSION REVIEW
...................................................................................
—ABOUT A COSY PLAYLIST
In 2010, the Portastudio Playlist proud to presents A Cosy Soundtrack For Weekend+live Session, Is a cosy music smart playlist and feature interviews. From our panel which also includes selected by the Portastylistic. We focus on the inaugural music guideline, Our favourite musical talent with exclusive live music from around the world to the week ahead.

This Cosy life night weekend for your experience cosy music playlist with some familiar on your cosy night in pop sensation. our panel which also includes selected by the Portastylistic.
A Cosy Soundtrack For Weekend+live Session goes live every Saturday at 8pm. Bkk, Thailand time on Mixpod and right here at theportastylistic.blogspot.com.
***
 
http://creativecommons.org/images/deed/by.pnghttp://creativecommons.org/images/deed/nc.pnghttp://creativecommons.org/images/deed/sa.png
PORTASTUDIO PLAYLIST 
A COSY SOUNDTRACK FOR WEEKEND +LIVE SESSION
BY

The
PORTASTYLISTIC


...................................................................................



EVERYDAY HAS A SOUNDTRACK!

-the portastylistic