Album Reviews:

AWWBLOT: And What Will be Left of Them?:

I saw this young indie band at ‘The Railway’—a small pub near my old university. They instantly caught my interest and I found myself grinning throughout the set. I spoke to the two lead singers after the show and they said that they knew Los Campesinos!—or, at least, that one of them was related to them? That was, coincidently, the first band they reminded me of—the second Blink-182. The same youth-energy, the male and female lead singers voices play off each other (I think enjoying male and female duo’s is becoming a habit for me—X, Wussy, the xx and, now that I’m mentioning it, Los Campesinos!). I think the lyrics (and the song-writing) could be a bit more focused/tight. A−

Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy:

Not as soulful as ‘The College Dropout’, not as meticulous as ‘Late Registration’—but certainly hard as nails. I love the flow of the album—I like the melodies and the rhymes are clever and descriptive—most of all, though, I’m glad West is finally standing up to his ego. He’s taken some time off and he’s learning that intelligence and narcissism don’t necessarily go hand in hand. He’s also decided to focus on songform (even if it’s still too stylistic)—more so than on his previous two efforts. My favourite tracks are the final five, starting from ‘Runaway’ (although I love the riff on ‘Devil in a New Dress’). I’m just glad he’s back. A