Rihanna
Loud
Island / Universal
Her last effort Rated R may have been the album Rihanna ‘needed’ to make, but it just wasn’t the album her fans wanted to hear. Despite the ubiquitous hit ‘Rude Boy’, the moody, morose LP failed to satisfy her fans pop-lust. With Loud, Queen Ri-Ri has quickly backtracked to reclaim her throne – and this time she means bid-ness. Loud is a bona-fide pop album dripping with monster hits like the irrepressible Only Girl… and the dancehall-tinged What’s My Name. Ri saves the best for last though – Love The Way You Lie Part II taps the same vein as her epic hit Umbrella, revisiting the synth-drenched drama that cast her as the formidable force she is. – Andrew Searle
*
Antony & The Johnsons
Swanlights
EMI
Thank god for Antony & The Johnsons. Just when music was sounding dreary and a little bit dull along comes this moment of sheer brilliance which literally transports you. Where to begin? Ghost, naturally. An accelerated arrhythmia of longing, this track propels you into Antony Hegarty’s ethereal voice, setting course for the edge of everything, the point of the glooming, when daylight is delicately consumed by the night, giving itself over. Swanlights engulfs, Thank You For The Love tugs, but the real gem is Christina’s Farm, a reverberating nostalgia shimmering and collapsing in on itself, poignant, bold yet heartbroken. This album will make you ache, as it should. Give in: the rewards are hauntingly beautiful. – Scott-Patrick Mitchell
*
P!NK
Greatest Hits… So Far!!!
Sony
Dear P!NK, I honestly think you could wake up in the morning, slightly hung over, roll out of bed, take a swig of bourbon and growl into a microphone… and it’d still sound f’ing brilliant. Here, the first lady of punk lesbian pop brings together 21… count them, 21… stellar tracks, three of which are new, the rest highlights from her catalogue. Opening with the hallmark Get The Party Started this album propels you through her best bits. The bonus pack comes with a DVD featuring all the singles plus three new ones and behind the scenes footage. Excuse me for a moment, my inner lesbian needs to sit down and scream like a fan girl. – Scott-Patrick Mitchell
*
Ministry of Sound
Clubbers Guide to Spring 2010
MOS
If you’re a club kid then I am sure you own 1,000 of these compilations. And why wouldn’t you? Mixed by some of Australia’s top producers – Sydney club queen Anna Lunoe and Melbourne maestro John Course and featuring the freshest of house and electro club tracks – this compilation is jam packed with tooshy shaking delights. I am loving Kickstarts by example and Gotta Make a move by Hook and Sling sick and the future of dance music is definitely going to be an eclectic one – with indi and electronic music coming together nicely. Spring is upon us so down your antihistamines, don your fluro sunnies and get ready for the Summer festival season! – DJ Cinnamon
*
The John Steele Singers
Tangalooma
Universal
Trumpets and glockenspiels and cowbells get me very excited. For anyone else who feels the same, look no further than The John Steel Singers debut album, Tangalooma. Tangalooma is actually an island resort off the Brisbane coast. Boring sidenote aside, this Queensland sextet has crafted an exciting cocktail of indie pop almost haunting at times. Vocals soar up into synth-like highs, backed by soft, echoing choruses. The instrumentals are the most exciting piece of this awesome pie; trumpets and trombones roar with alarming urgency while the piano and glocks tinkle delicately alongside the rest of the band. – Benn Dorrington
*
Warpaint
The Fool
Rough Trade
If effortlessly cool indie girl-groups are your thing, this has been a good year for you with the likes of Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls and Beach House sending critics into a hipster frenzy. The Fool comes in at the tail-end of 2010, but it is no doubt one of the year’s best. Terms like ‘dream-pop’, ‘shoegazer’ and ‘psychadelic pop’ have been bandied about to describe Warpaint’s sound – but what’s so delicious about them is their unpredictability. Throughout the sprawling 9-tracks, front-woman Emily Kokal’s ethereal vocal harmonies float over swirling psychedelic guitar riffs, suggesting menace lurking somewhere beneath the hazy surface. This intoxicating debut LP is nothing short of a blissed-out masterpiece. – Andrew Searle
*
Grouplove
Self-Titled EP
Dew Process
Grouplove have been touted as a new band-to-watch for 2010, but besides their passing resemblance to breakout stars Mumford and Sons their debut EP does little to support the hype. About 30 seconds into the first track – the grating sing-along Colours (which is also the EP’s strongest song) I could have sworn I was listening to the 90’s slacker-rock group Weezer. Midway through the second track – the inane beach jam Naked Kids, (featuring lyrical nuggets like: ‘We’re rolling up to sand / take your shoes off man’) I realised Weezer never would have written something so bereft of wit. In short, I can’t think of a good reason to ‘watch’ Grouplove. Sorry. – Andrew Searle
*
Jamiroquai
Rock Dust Light Star
Universal
It’s been a long five-year wait between albums, but Jamiroquai is back with their seventh studio album. While their last album was a tad disappointing, the group’s lead vocalist Jay Kay has taken back the reigns writing all 12 tracks on this one himself and bringing the group back to its organic funk sound. White Knuckle Ride is the track that exemplifies this move back to what the band does best – creating tracks that are both groovy and cruisy at the same time, while Blue Skies is a beautiful ballad featuring glorious melodies. With its awesome, catchy beats this is a return to classic Jamiroquai and an absolute treat. – Amy Henderson
*
Stephane Pompugnac
Hotel Costes 14
One World Music
Pack up your kaftan, grab that cabaña boy and stick a stylish poolside turban on your head… it’s time to escape to the continental luxury of Hotel Costes. The charm of this compilation is that it captures the opulence and dripping decadence of Eupropen style with a seamless charm, an effortless sashay. All the tracks tumble into each other with a salubrious ease, big drink in hand, bigger sunglasses on the face. Of particular note is Melbourne based Flight Facilities, whose gorgeous spring track Crave You featuring Giselle rounds out proceedings. Worth it just for that. Somebody get me a bloody big yacht, now. – Scott-Patrick Mitchell
*
Eliza Doolittle
Self Titled LP
EMI
If you can get past her gag-worthy moniker, Eliza Doolittle is an endearing folk-pop export from the same gene-pool as Lily Allen and Kate Nash. Lazy comparisons aside, her debut album brims with breezy harmonies, acoustic guitars, tinkering bells and that chav-ish lyrical frankness that only the Brits can get away with. On the horny ‘Skinny Genes’ she states: ‘I really don’t like your skinny jeans, so take them off for me – show me what you’ve got underneath so we can do this properly’ – a sentiment I think we can all relate to. Her voice is deep and, at times, surprisingly rich – without ever trying too hard. Is it too late to rethink the stage name? – Andrew Searle
*
Science and Faith
The Script
Sony
Something about the Script really appeals to me. For a group of Irish boy band rejects they write beautiful melodic love songs with poignant words. 2 million people agreed with me about their debut album and as with every band, the follow up to a successful debut is always tough. If anything Science and Faith’s problem is that it is too much of a muchness. As someone about to embark on a working holiday to Ireland, this album is also a stern reminder about where Ireland is ‘at’ economically. Recession, Unemployment and alcoholism and their affects on relationships are certainly a running theme. Highlight for me is definitely Nothing another beautiful break-up song – what the Script seem to do best! – DJ Cinnamon
*
Bon Jovi
Best of Bon Jovi
Island
Bon Jovi needs no words! The boys from New Jersey have over the years grown from being just one of the many big haired, stone wash jeaned 80’s groups, to one of the biggest rock bands in the world today. Who hasn’t been caught at the lights screaming out to Living on Prayer, You Give Love a Bad Name or Always? 2 huge discs covering a body of 30 years work. This is definitely the ultimate best of collection for any Jovi fan to unleash their inner blaze of glory whilst lying on a bed of nails! – DJ Cinnamon
*
James Blunt
Some Kind of Trouble
Warner
The king of melancholy is back with his third album release, Some Kind of Trouble. James Blunt still sounds like he is about to crumple into a sobbing mess even in the record’s upbeat summer single, Stay The Same. But Blunt does bring a fresher acoustic pop sound to this record, a little more toe-tapping and a little less weeping. At times the record shifts down into easy-listening but the album generally shakes up the pop-rock genre with his trademark solemn timbre for which Blunt has been praised. Another perfect break-up album; just add chocolate. – Benn Dorrington
*
Cee Lo Green
The Lady Killer
Warner
Cruisy, cool and cheeky, Cee Lo Green is gonna be huge. Wait, he already is. With a voice as big as his outrageous persona, Cee Lo brings us the perfect summer funk and soul album. It includes both the sanitised commercial radio/Glee version of his hit Forget You alongside the much more fun to sing along to version, Fuck You. The second track, Bright Lights Bigger City is getting a lot of airplay at the moment and has to be my favourite of the album. Some of the lyrics are a bit sexist at times, only to be expected with a title like this, but on the whole it’s thoroughly enjoyable. – Amy Henderson
