There is a lot of discussion at the moment about the new female face(s) of pop, dominated by the likes of (mostly) singer-songwriters Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash and newcomers such as Adele. I'm not a huge fan of this genre, although Adele has an excellent stage presence, see post Does anyone have a website anymore?. This week, though, after my latest trip to Spillers Records, there may be an alternative. I purchased Tegan and Sara's new album The Con as well as the new Goldfrapp album Seventh Tree. Both very good on first listens, although Seventh Tree has all the hallmarks of a grower. The Con has a lot of catchy tunes (and I can't wait for Sunday's gig at The Point) and comes highly recommended. It made me think, I heard quite a few similarities with Carina Round's album Slow Motion Addict, and a certain Shirley Manson vibe. Is this the new trend, female led indie-pop with an edge? Personally, I hope so, as Slow Motion Addict has quickly become a frequent favourite and I expect The Con will follow suit. Roll on Sunday!
A jaunt en masse down to the Coal Exchange last night (23rd) to see The Subways excel again. For once we weren't massively early (in some ways to avoid the queues of teenagers) so arrived part way through the first support band. They are called Wry, from Brazil even! They were decent and will probably merit listening to further. Best option the ubiquitous myspace . Eagerly anticipated the main support, The Sunshine Underground, of whom I'd heard good words... They more than lived up to their expectations, with my only real niggle about their sound... whether it was the singer's style or sound mix I'm not sure but their show was at parts ear-splitting - explains my slight deafness today! Otherwise excellent, not an easy band to categorise, but my impressions were somewhere between Alabama 3 and the Killers' Hot Fuss album; dancing music too. Well worth going to see - just take earplugs! (or in my case, actually go out and buy some). I believe one can listen to the...
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