Album Review: Demi Lovato - Here We Go Again

Unless you've sat through the cringe-worthy Disney cheesefest of Camp Rock, you're unlikely to know who Demi Lovato is. It's a shame really, because the half of her 2008 debut Don't Forget that wasn't co-written by the Jonas Brothers showed some real promise, and spawned three cracking singles; one of which, the spunky 'La La Land', even made a small dent in the charts here in the UK. And now the follow-up is already on the shelves on the other side of the Atlantic, just ten months behind its predecessor.

Here We Go Again opens with a triple-whammy of pop-rock anthems, indicating that despite the potential, Lovato isn't cutting all ties with her Disney background just yet. The titular lead single is a cuter version of Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone', a radio-friendly pop-rock nugget that breaks no new ground whatsoever but is likeable enough to warrant a second listen. 'Solo' and 'U Got Nothin' On Me' follow in similar fashion; both boasting relatable lyrics and hints of a raw, edgy quality that could develop into something really special in albums to come. It's like Lovato has jumped off the Disney boat into a sea of musical genius, but done so attached to a safety rope for fear of drowining. Note especially 'Quiet', a track which sounds like it would be alot better without a commercially-conscious record label executive keeping it on a lead.

The mid-album grit of 'Got Dynamite' is the closest the album gets to shaking off the Hilary Duff/Vanessa Hugens/Ashley Tisdale stigma altogether. By far the darkest song on the album, it's the track which best represents the type of music Lovato should be singing. 'Every Time You Lie' is completely different but equally outstanding, boasting a jazzier sound not dissimilar to Don't Forget highlight 'Behind Enemy Lines'. 'World of Chances' (which Lovato wrote with John Meyer) is an endearing down-tempo highlight with lines like "You've got the face for a smile, you know?". One of Lovato's strongest qualities is her ability to sing like she means it, and this is no better flaunted than on the amazing 'Catch Me'. A dissarmingly moving confession of being afraid to let your guard down ("I'm falling, but please don't catch me"), this is the track that deserves to get Lovato noticed, and not just for her vocals - she is the only credited songwriter for this one too.

Unfortunatley the album is not without its duds. 'Falling Over Me' amounts to nothing and is actually pretty boring, and 'Gift Of A Friend', which opens with a string arrangement reminiscent of a B*Witched ballad, is just plain awful. Some tracks are far from dire but smell a bit like filler - 'Stop The World' is considerably lacking in Wow, and 'Remember December' never quite lives up to its promising electro-ridden introduction.

Lovato - or rather Lovato's A&R team - still find it too soon to completely cut away from the Disney-friendly pop-rock that the majority of her fan-base lap up, but this time the sound is alot edgier and the production much more stripped back than her debut. The result is an album that, although not as groundbreaking as it perhaps should be, is at least a step in the right direction. Her voice is powerful but never shouty, her songwriting is honest and believable, and the majority of the music is a breath of fresh air - a bit more tweaking and she's really on to a winner. She's not achieved perfection yet, but this is at least the best album ever to be released by a breakout Disney star. Don't tell Miley.

4/5

DROP EVERYTHING!

Little Boots' video for the brilliant 'Remedy' has finally premiered on the BBC website. It's simple, it uses alot of kaleidoscopic effects, and the whole triangles theme that's run throughout the 'Hands' album campaign is really prominent. 'Remedy' is a highlight from the briiiiiiilliant album and hopefully will top the No13 peak of 'New In Town' when it's released on August 17th.

Less a battlefield, more a quiet disagreement

Fightstar in their Live Lounge sesh did a cover of Jordin Sparks' 'Battlefield' (BESTSONGOFTHEYEAR) yesterday. Bit of an anticlimax to be honest... Would have been more interesting if they did it as an almighty rock version; this acoustic version is severely lacking in POW, and POW is exactly what makes 'Battlefield' brilliant.



The original AMAZING Jordin Sparks version meanwhile is hammering on the door of the top 10 AGAIN in the midweeks. Its chart run so far is 21-11-14-20-11-15, so smacking its head on the glass ceiling of the Top 10 for a third time would be pretty damn frustrating for a song with so much acclaim and general all-round amazingness. But, in better news, the album of the same name (which came out on Monday... STILL DON'T HAVE A COPY) is on course to chart in the Top 10 on Sunday, a significant improvement on the No17 peak of last year's self-titled debut.

Mixed bag today, 'Battlefield' fans. Mixed bag.

G-G-GET SEXY RIGHT NAAAOW.

You know what, seventeen days later and the new Sugababes' single is a bit of a grower.

The Right Said Fred bridge is still a tiny bit cringeworthy, and Heidi still sounds uncomfortable ("In a two piece at the beach they say hey sexy"..?!) but the vodka kick chorus gets more addictive with every listen; and, as I've said before, it is mainly down to Amelle. She was quite wobbly at T4 On The Beach (even with a clearly audible backing track of herself) but, that aside, she can really pull off the whole "G-G-GGET SEXY RIGHT NOW NOW NOW NOW N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-etc" type of thing. The "If I had a dime..." bridge is a bit amazing really.

It still seems a bit try-hard when you line it up next to the likes of About You Now, Hole In The Head, Too Lost In You etc, but the 'babes have a tough market to crack now with Girls Aloud, The Saturdays and the arrivals of Girls Can't Catch and Mini Viva to contend with.

It'll be interesting to see how this one charts, and indeed what the video looks like when it comes out in a couple of weeks. Bearing in mind the whole "stand, sing and pout" thing is pretty much the extent of the group's dance experience, that may be quite an interesting watch.

Siarin? Noirvash?

WHERE DID SIAVASH AND NOIRIN COME FROM?! Was their mysterious conversation at the end of tonight's Big Brother about a possible romance between them?! Why has this gone unnoticed up until now?! Random coupling, though considerably less so than Noirin and Markus which, to be honest, has always been a ridiculous concept. Even as friends.

Also: Charlie and Rodrigo's firey rowing is clearly based in love, bless them. And Bea, who is fast becoming one of the most likeable housemates of the series, made Kenneth look remotely likeable in her dissection of him. Quite an achievement; well done Bea.

Film Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Seven months late and two years after the last book was published, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince took an impressive £19.7 million at the box office. It's not surprising really, seeing as throughout the decade Potter films have consistently appealed to thousands upon thousands of movie-goers. But why is such a popular series so often recieved with average reviews and little acknowledgement at prestigious awards ceremonies?

It's probably because it's near-impossible to make a cinematic masterpiece out of the franchise without causing major upset to the die-hard fans. Alot has to be cut from the books as it is, and this time horcruxes are reduced to a passing explaination, the character of Scrimgeour is cut altogether, and Ralph Fiennes' Voldemort is nowhere to be seen. Even so, HBP still feels awfully rushed, and that's no mean feat for a film that runs to over 150 minutes. Not for the first time in the series, the film just doesn't feel concise enough to become truly (excuse the cliché) spell-binding. But all things considered, it would be difficult to tell the story any other way without prompting the die-hard fans to stage a boycott. The haunting climax is genuinley chilling whether you know what's coming or not, and the ending is surprising in just how powerful and moving it is. Don't be surprised if you need a few tissues.

Patchy story-telling is more than made up for in visual wow-power, which is, frankly, amazing. Some of the cinematography here is more than worthy of an Oscar nod, with some really powerful shots and genuinley awe-inspiring special effects from beginning to end. The real tour-de-force is when Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) parts his self-made battlefield of fire in spectacular Moses-like fashion, but there are so many moments of quality directing that shine through, from passing shots such as Ron (Rupert Grint) falling off the back of a chair in the background of an otherwise normal frame, to full set-pieces, such as when a much-loved Potter institution is destroyed by Death Eaters.

The acting is, as ever, temporamental. The "adult" cast pull their weight effortlessly, especially the ever-deadpan Alan Rickman as Severus Snape and the amazing but criminally under-used Helena Bonham-Carter as nutcase Bellatrix. Daniel Radcliffe still has a tendancy to take acting tips from planks of wood, but at least he gets the chance to show some potential as a comic actor. Bonnie Wright struggles as Ginny, especially with the romantic side of things, which sadly makes for a very cringe-worthy scene where she and the bespectacled one share a kiss. But decent performances are turned in by the reliably funny Rupert Grint (Ron), the blossoming Emma Watson (Hermione), and, most surprisingly of all, Tom Felton. His portrayal of Draco Malfoy takes him out of the realms of cliché school bully and into the meatier territory of tormented anti-hero. The newcomers are of a particularly high standard this time as well, with Jim Broadbent perfect in the role of returning teacher Horace Slughorn, and the young actors playing young and teen Voldemort both giving unnervingly sinister performances.

Director David Yates and his creative team have assumed that the audience are growing up with the characters, and the result is a film that's as much about teen angst and romance as it is about the witchcraft and wizardry. At times there's even a hint of sexual tension - note especially a hard-not-to-laugh moment in which on/off love interest Ginny bends down to tie Harry's shoe-laces. Awkward. But most of the romantic sub-plots are welcome distractions from the otherwise dark and often downright confusing main story, such as newcomer Jessie Cave's hilarious performance as Ron's girlfriend Lavender, which is one of the highlights of the whole film. Hermione's feelings for Ron will be relatable for much of the teenage girl demographic, but the Ginny/Harry romance is treated so messily and performed so woodenly that it's difficult to really care about them.

The trouble is that a Harry Potter film will never be outstanding, or rather never can be outstanding. Completely re-working the book to make a more Hollywood-friendly production would enrage the bazillion-strong fanbase, but staying strictly faithful to the bulging source material is difficult to translate into an acclaimed cinematic masterpiece. As it is, the franchise is getting by on compromise. Lots is cut, but enough remains to keep the die-hards content; and for Potter amateurs the film is told well enough to still be pleasurable, but risks being horribly confusing in places. Half-Blood Prince is the funniest and best-looking picture in the franchise yet. In terms of plot it feels a more like a prelude to Deathly Hallows than a story in its own right, but with an ending so moving, effects so stunning and performances at their best yet, enough is done to keep fans itching for their next dose in Autumn 2010.

3/5

Never mind, Pete.

T4 On The Beach doesn't really warrant the word "festival" but it's a notoriously good day out nonetheless. A series of pop acts take to a stage erected for a day on a Somerset beach, perform two to four songs with live vocals over a pre-recorded backing track, and then trot on to bigger and better things.

It's a TV show above all else - the whole day is centred around the filming for broadcast, with a guy cueing the audience applause and apologising while a presenter films an intro for the fifth time. It's all good fun though, despite the fact that some acts really aren't suited to such an atmosphere. For people like Florence + The Machine especially, it was just too big a stage and too far off the target audience. Some were surprising, especially Will Young who, in the throng of spectacular rain, actually went down surprisingly well. Metro Station's Shake It was performed just as the rain began to pour down in spectacularly aggressive fashion, and even though it gave the crowd a "FUCK IT, RAVE!" type of lift, it was still performed appaulingly, and the performance of their follow-up single, the #89 "hit" Seventeen Forever, fell ridiculously flat.

Acts who were meant to be amazing but ended up being overwhelmingly average were Daniel Merriweather, who shouted his high notes as a cunning alternative to singing them; Basement Jaxx, who delivered a set that was overall quite messy; Shontelle, who left most of the hard work to her backing singers; and The Saturdays, whose vocals were somewhat average and their performances lacking in energy and excitement. Sophie Ellis-Bextor... well, she had a go.

Kudos to Alesha Dixon for turning in solid vocal performances for her three-track set of singles and also for getting the crowd going more than any other artist, and well done also to The Noisettes frontwoman Shingai for delievering equally flawless performances of the groups' two singles. Amelle took a few notes to warm up for her Tinchy Styder duet but was absoloutley fine once she got going. Dizzee Rascal undoubtedly stole the show when he closed with four fantastic performances that got the crowd going unlike any act before him. There's surely a number one spot reserved for 'Holiday' when it's released next month.

Special mention though for Peter Andre, who's ABSOLOUTLEY AWFUL performance of his CATASTROPHICALLY SHIT new single was injected with a bit of hilarity when he fell off the stage.



Added a small amount of excitement to his performance at least.

AMAZING

The new Sugababes single sounds alot less ridiculous the more you realise how good Amelle is. This collab with Tinchy Stryder ought to confirm things nicely.

Nice one 'Tinch'.

Thoughts on Cascada's new album

'LOL'.

BBetter

This may seem farfetched.

BUT.

Big Brother is pretty good this year.

Obviously very few of them are actually likeable, but their relationships with eachother are quite interesting. Markus and Noirin's relationship has been prominent for ages now but is still strangely fascinating, and even the plainer housemates like Sophie (Dogface?) are becoming interesting to observe. Viewing figures may have nose-dived to below half what they normally are, but they are steadily improving again and that's probably because it's actually really interesting this year to watch fourteen oddballs get on with eachother. Kind of feels like a social experiment again, like it did in the old days.

Kudos also on the new eviction format. The celebrity guest who is almost always too Z-list to even appear on a Celebrity series seems pretty pointless, but the addition of a behavioural expert/psychologist to proceedings provides a variation on Davina's good-but-tiresome interview habits.

Of course this slight (SLIGHT) rise in quality is unlikely to bring the show back up to its ratings successes of yore, but at least it's been consistently watchable for the first time in a good few years.

KUDOS FOR ALL.

The new Lily Allen video

'22', the third single to be lifted from Lily Allen's 'It's Not Me, It's You' album, has had its video premiere. Musically it's a happy medium between 'Not Fair' and 'The Fear', and the video is sleek, arty, and flaunts Lilz' nifty new hairdo. It's quite a good track and the video is simple and effective without being too fancy and fast-paced.

Well done everyone.

FINALLY. Diana Vickers leak o'clock.

Diana Vickers tweeted earlier tody that one of her tracks had been leaked, so the first course of action was, naturally, to sprint over to YouTube and see what the fuss is about.

Conclusion: Amazing.

The distinctive tone to her voice is still present and correct, and it really suits this bright and breezy gem that apparently isn't even going to be released a single. Those who wanted to shoot the poor girl during her X Factor stint are unlikely to be swayed by 'Jumping Into Rivers', but those excited to hear what she'd get up to next are unlikely to be disappointed.

Kudos, Diana.

Album Review: Little Boots - 'Hands'

Something’s not quite right about the Little Boots marketing campaign. Named the winner of the BBC Sound of 2009 poll at the beginning of the year, Boots – real name Victoria Hesketh – became one of the most hotly tipped artists in the industry. Instead of using this blaze of publicity as a launch pad, she has instead remained dormant, putting the finishing touches on her debut album whilst not-that-dissimilar newcomers like Lady Gaga and La Roux have fired to the top of the charts in her place. Now all of a sudden the charts are packed with artists aboard the electro-pop bandwagon and poor Hesketh has a lot of work to do to show what all the fuss was about. To top it all off, the fierce critical acclaim has put her in real danger of becoming inaccessible and over-hyped. It’s a shame really, because 'Hands', the debut album in question, is easily one of the best albums you’ll hear this year.

Its simplicity is what makes it so brilliant. Hesketh never tries too hard to be clever, she just is. And what really shines through, fluffy as it sounds, is her endearing belief in love. The overwhelming majority of the songs are about relationships, and each one is a lot more accessible than you might think. Across the duration of the album she finds herself falling in love beyond her control ('No Brakes'), suffers a bit of unrequited love ('Ghost'), and realises the perfect relationship isn’t so perfect after all ('Click'). 'Tune Into My Heart', a track about long-distance relationships, is one of the most adorable songs in recent memory.

Lead single 'New In Town' is a perfect demonstration of Hesketh’s ability to pen a good chorus; and there are so many more of them scattered about the album. Radio-friendly 'Remedy', set to be released as the next single, is equally irresistible, and the euphoric 'Earthquake' holds the potential to get pop’s harshest critics on the dancefloor.

Hesketh doesn’t voice her heartbreak through Kelly Clarkson style yells or Leona Lewis’ inter-octave leaps; in fact her voice is really quite gentle. It isn’t overly powerful or quirky, but her soft vocals are a perfect match. These are songs that Clarkson and Lewis would probably sound ridiculous on. The critically acclaimed 'Stuck On Repeat', released as a promotional buzz single late last year, sets her haunting vocals against a fierce synth-heavy backing to create one of the most original pop songs since Girls Aloud started arranging verses and choruses in bizarre orders.

Since debuting inside the top 5 and swiftly free-falling to the bottom end of the charts, 'Hands' has slowly gathered some more upward momentum; an encouraging sign that the genius of Little Boots is beginning to make itself known. With several festival dates lined up and a brilliant new single in the pipeline for the next few weeks, hopefully the long-term career of Project Boots will look a bit more secure in the near future.

5/5

HAVEN'T POSTED ANYTHING IN FIVE MONTHS

Fail.