Lights is the debut album by Ellie Goulding. Goulding won the Critic’s Choice Award in 2010 at The BRITS, becoming the artist to look out for in that year. Florence Welch won the same award in the previous year, so there was definitely speculation whether Goulding could step up to expectations and prove that she would be the talk of 2010. So did Goulding steal the spotlight with Lights or did critics go barmy yet again?
Every once in a while a music fan gets to have the great, rare pleasure of saying “I liked them before everyone found out about them”. I am predicting that within the next year or two I will be saying that here because Napoleon’s new four track EP is proof that they are the next big thing.
Jack White said that he would never start working on a solo album until ‘The White Stripes’ were to ever break up. When they did in 2011, White did just that with ‘Blunderbuss’.
Do you like your metal with a bit of brains behind it? Or even concepts within concepts? Then Mastodon is a band I’m sure you’re going to love. Sludge metal quintet Mastodon have always been a clever band by typical metal standards. Rather than singing about any old subject, Mastodon like to mix it up a bit.
American roots-pop rockers Train have maintained an impressive career, albeit one that appeared to be propped up by their universal single of 2001, Drops of Jupiter. But the surprise runaway success of Hey, Soul Sister in 2009 and 2010 changed that, and the group is evidently reinvigorated, with the Drive By single seeing them bravely playing with brand new territory.
There was uncertainty surrounding The Horrors tour last week as four shows were cancelled in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Oxford and Bristol due to issues with lead-singer Faris Badwan’s voice. They successfully resumed the tour with shows in Portsmouth and Brighton without a hiccup, so Nottingham had a recovered Faris now in top form and back to his best tonight.
Riot! is the second album by Paramore. Their predecessor All We Know Is Falling has become a sensation because of how well it was received by fans and critics. All We Know Is Falling was different because it’s innocent, emotional and very down-to-earth rock which made it appealing and unusual among the pop-punk genre. So will Riot! prove to be a worthy contender after All We Know Is Falling?
Soul goddess Nina Simone may have sung about the 22nd Century, but we’re still in the 21st century. And school rewards systems should involve more than stickers and badges, right? It may not be obvious at first glance, but rewarding students for their music reviews is one of the central features behind the Rockhaq school music journalism community.
A$AP Rocky is an upcoming hip-hop artist from Harlem, New York. The A$AP stands for ‘Always Strive And Prosper’. A$AP are also a rap collective from Harlem who have also been creating a significant buzz since 2011, especially Rocky, who has now broken out to release his own single. Named after hip-hop star Rakim, Rocky has definitely been gifted with true hip-hop blood.
The one really shocking thing I learned from tonight’s show is that Drake has some racist fans. Yes, you read that right. Racists will pay good money to go and see a black guy rap. No joke. When we sat down in our seats, two idiots behind us were staring at audience members and muttering “Get the n**-n**s out of here!”
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