The Black Crowes - Before the Frost

Bluejuice - Head of the Hawk: [Universal]

Here's my review prologue: Vitriol - yes, it was a brilliant song, and no, I'm not sure if the group could ever make something like it again. But that stroke of absolute genius shouldn't allow us to compare all their proceeding work against such an unfairly high yardstick. I mean, even after Exerciser, Rhubarb put out some pretty good stuff, didn't they? I'm fairly sure they did. At any rate, the point of this gratuitously long introduction is that although none of the tracks on Head of the Hawk quite match Vitiriol, the album as a whole places Problems well and truly in the shadows.

The boys have focussed here much more on their endearing pop sensibilities and lyrical finesse , crafting an album that might be less aggressive, but at the same time is more focussed, less floundering, and as a result it lands a much harder punch. Gone is the excessive bravado of Problems, and instead they've dished up pure pop pay-dirt. What remains is an album that will stay in your CD player for many more months, and in your head for much longer.

White Lies - To Losy My Life : [Fiction]

This album formed part of my homework for this year's Splendour in the Grass. The White Lies remind me a great deal of Editors and I mean that as a compliment. The album is not groundbreaking but very enjoyable. Epic songs which are perfectly suited for music festivals. Mature lyrics that manage to (mostly) stay away from the hamminess that can often plague rock songs. Death is the perfect introductory track and sets the tone for the album - guitar led indy rock. One complaint would be that the second half of the album fails to live up to the first but overall still worth a listen. Nicely done fellas.

Tinpan Orange - The Bottom of the Lake: [Vitamin]

Brother and sister Emily and Jesse Lubitz have teamed up with Alex (who can play anything with strings you can poke a stick at) in this bouncy pop collection. The sound is akin to Sixpence None the Richer.  Emily's voice is very sweet, so syrupy in fact that you are left at times with that saccharin overload feeling, like when you're on that third donut and can sense the sugar crystallising in your blood. However, there are real gems here in Chinese Whispers with its wonderful wavering chorus and Every Single Day, about the ephemeral quality of life. In the closer Saudades (Portuguese for tender remembrance of absent people) Emily finds the right mix of sugariness and melancholy. Jesse's voice provides a good foil for his sister, with a snappy little latin number in Round 'n' Round and the edgy Fitzroy Street. 

Arctic Monkeys - Humbug: [Domino Recording Co]

Letting the hype pass me by, I approached the 'difficult third album' by these once precocious teenagers with no barrow to push. But the Josh Homme produced Humbug has problems. Firstly, it sounds like the Arctic Monkeys through the Homme filter -slinky, high pitched, squeak-slide and background wobble... a sound so recognisable it's rapidly turning into cliché. Here it doesn't gel or fit. Crying Lightning is a simple tune lost with extraneous sonic waffle. My Propeller finds the right balance of atmospherics and propulsion and yet it still doesn't feel right. Pretty Visitors is practically a Songs for the Deaf throw away. Pathetic. Turner is an ambitious songwriter but these tracks all feel like co-writes with their heavy handed producer. Turner needs to wrest control back from the ginger.