On the record - Jet prepare for take off

Sep 7 2009 By Polly Weeks

What's hot and what's not in this week's new releases.

Aussie rockers Jet return with their third studio album Shaka Rock - will they be able to break into the UK's top 10 for the first time?

Elsewhere, Sean Kingston launches his second album Tomorrow, indie veterans Yo La Tengo release their 12th long-player and a comprehensive remastered Beatles collection hits the shelves.

Jet - Shaka Rock

Although critics sometimes dismiss them as a band lacking original ideas, Aussie rockers Jet rather refute that suggestion with this uniquely ballsy blend of the best bits of Brit rock history lashed to a distinctly Antipodean sense of fun. With worldwide album sales topping 4.5 million since 2003, when they landed the opening slot on the Rolling Stones' Australian tour, Jet have built a loyal fan base. The group's energy is truly relentless for the duration of a dozen tracks on this latest offering. Beat On Repeat and Goodbye Hollywood display their frenetic swagger particularly well, and while not quite matching the full singalong glory of their earlier hit single Are You Gonna Be My Girl, there can be no denying that She's A Genius finds this promising quartet firing impressively on all cylinders.

Rating: 6/10

(Review by Patrick Gates)

The Hickey Underworld - The Hickey Underworld

Combining the sounds of lo-fi, grunge and hardcore with the obligatory gothic symbolism and impeccable artistic sensibilities, Antwerp's The Hickey Underworld have forged a reputation for uncompromising integrity that their debut album, big (as they say) in Belgium, aims to uphold. Reported comparisons to an early Nirvana may be a little hopeful, but even though the oh-so-cool angry cynicism of Younes Faltakh's lead vocals repeatedly threaten to fall as flat as his homeland, there's always something lurking beneath the surface to drag you in. A minimum of production has left these 10 songs as untainted and as virtuous as the devil is quite nasty. The screeching, discordant guitars never quite lose melodies that surreptitiously stick in the brain, and on songs such as Blonde Fire and Mystery Bruise, the cutting riffs are even reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand. Not that there's any art-school feyness here, what with all the angsty shouting and heavy drums, but there is clearly more substance to this band that should defy any post-punk/alt-rock pigeonholing.

Rating: 6/10

(Review by Rob Wells)

Sean Kingston - Tomorrow

It's been two years since Sean graced the charts with his worldwide hit, Beautiful Girl. Now, returning with his second album, you can expect more of the same. It's a mix of dancehall, hip-hop, R&B and, erm, europop. The tunes are annoyingly catchy, and try as you might you'll find it hard to forget them, humming along without even realising it. Emo band Good Charlotte make an appearance on the tune Shoulda Let U Go and ex-Fugees member Wyclef features on Ice Cream. Fans of Sean's will be impressed. Everyone else will simply be annoyed, but hold a begrudging respect for the Jamaican.

Rating: 5/10

(Review by Polly Weeks)

Turin Brakes - Bottled At Source: The Best Of The Source Years

When Turin Brakes quietly exploded onto the scene in 2000, they were rightly heralded as one of Britain's best bands, at the forefront of the made-up New Acoustic Movement, along with the likes of Starsailor, Travis and I Am Kloot. A Mercury Prize nomination for the London duo's 2001 debut The Optimist LP duly followed, but from there on in they were never quite able to live up to expectations. Radio 2 hits came in the shape of 5 Mile and their second album Ether Song's big hit Painkiller, but interest dwindled even more by the time of JackInABox and Dark On Fire, both of which understandably scarcely represented on this two-CD, presumably contractually-obliging retrospective. A shame how it's ended up for the duo, but that doesn't stop Underdog, State Of Things and Mind Over Money being minor classics.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

Florence Rawlings - A Fool In Love

Mike Batt, music industry honcho and the man behind many a memorable theme song (Watership Down, The Wombles, The Hunting Of The Snark) plucked young Londoner Florence Rawlings from obscurity to perform a set of "raw southern soul grooves" on his Dramatico label. Batt's songwriting and production show all the gritty soulful authenticity you'd expect from a former official Conservative Party composer, while Rawlings' voice would better suit sanitised pop. A couple of rock'n'roll covers (from Ike Tuner and Chuck Berry) also fail to convince, but most offensive is the mangling of Allen Toussaint's Riverboat. In short, awful.

Rating: 4/10

(Review by Steve Kerr)

Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything To Nothing

Sophomore LP from a band who, despite their name, have nothing to at all do with Manchester - hailing, in fact, from Atlanta, Georgia. The presence there of OutKast and sunshine does little to raise their spirits, however, and Mean Everything To Nothing is comprised mostly of sub-Cobain adult alternative angst courtesy of lead singer and guitarist Andy Hull. Fans of guitars will no doubt find something to get their teeth into here, either among the Bright Eyes-style acoustic-introspective numbers (The River) or in the rocky, hooky loud-quiet-loud of In My Teeth.

Rating: 6/10

(Review by Steve Kerr)

Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs

Twelve albums and almost 20 years on from the release of their debut, American indie stalwarts Yo La Tengo are still plugging away to the eternal delight of their small but dedicated following. The group are famed for the eclectic nature of their LPs, and this latest offering proves no exception - from the chugging indie rock of Nothing To Hide and retro funk of Periodically Double Or Triple to the wistful When It's Dark, there's plenty of genre hopping going on. While technically impressive, the album strays into the realms of tasteful background noise far too often. One for the diehards only.

Rating: 5/10

(Review by Simon Harker)

Killa Kela - Amplified!

Beatboxer and multivocalist Killa Kela continues to move further away from his hip-hop roots towards an upbeat radio-friendly rock-dance crossover sound. If that sounds bad, it is. Witness the vacuous Rage Against The Machine gone drum'n'bass angst of Get A Rise, and Kela's almost comically lightweight rhymes ("I listen closely to the times that you speak/It's like a jigsaw I can't complete"). To be fair though, this is really all about big dumb hooks and production chops. To that end, Alan Braxe's disco gloss on Crouch Touch Pause Engage and Everyday provides the highlights here.

Rating: 5/10

(Review by Steve Kerr)

The Beatles - Remasters

After a lengthy wait, they're finally here - each of The Beatles' 12 canonical albums plus Magical Mystery Tour and Past Masters Vol I and II in glorious, digitally-remastered glory. As you might expect, the bosses at Apple Corps haven't skimped on the quality, with the process of transferring and remastering arguably the finest music of all time taking a team of technicians four painstaking years. But can you tell the difference? Yes, is the short answer. The long answer would be that the Fab Four's earlier material benefits most, with songs from Please Please Me, A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale sounding especially clean, spacious and polished. Each of the albums boasts a documentary about its making, as well as expanded sleeve notes and rare photos, making this one not just for the hardened Beatlemaniac, but for everyone. Perfection just got even better.

Rating: 10/10

(Review by Andy Welch)

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Fruit

Despite being billed as Scandinavia's best psychedelic pop group - a tag as promising as Flight Of The Conchords' tongue-in-cheek 'fourth best Kiwi folk band' - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are a wonderfully refreshing listen. Off-kilter rhythms and child-like vocal hooks abound, but despite these consciously leftfield reference points, a hummable melody or inviting horn section is never far away. Being picked as recent touring partners for Katy Perry gives a further nod to the band's mainstream intentions, while Morcheeba are an obvious inspiration on the slower, trippier numbers.

Rating: 7/10

(Review by Rory Dollard)

Singles By Polly Weeks

:: Muse - Uprising

They're one of the biggest British bands, and Devon three-piece Muse show why on their new single. It's guitar-riff heavy with a nod to the 1980s and Depeche Mode.

:: Mika - We Are Golden

The camp popstar is back with another annoying pop tune and batch of B-sides and remixes. This is exceptionally irritating.

:: Pixie Lott - Boys And Girls

The latest female pop singer on the block offers this dance-friendly song - it should be a hit for the Kent songstress.

On the road

Upcoming tours

:: Irish indie legends Ash announce what is perhaps the most novel tour ever, playing an A-Z of UK areas. They begin at Aldershot's West End Centre on October 19 and finish at Zennor Village Hall on November 23. For full details visit www.ash-official.com.

:: Following on from the September release of his new album My Way, Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown will be heading out on a 16-date UK winter tour. Beginning at the Leicester De Montfort Hall on November 29, he finishes up on December 19 at the Manchester MEN. See ianbrown.co.uk for more information.