![\"\"](\"http:\/\/localhost\/rockhaq\/wp-content\/uploadsnew\/2012\/03\/middleman.jpg\")
I’ve never reviewed…anything before this…<\/p>\nI’ve never reviewed…anything before this…<\/p>\n
Well, that’s a lie, I did review the film Predator<\/em> once but that was for a University assignment so\u00a0it\u00a0was something I had to do, not necessarily something I wanted to do (but I did enjoy it either way).<\/p>\n So why do we review the things we like?\u00a0more interestingly why do we review the things we don’t like?\u00a0This is a question I’ve pondered a lot lately since RockHaq entered my day-to-day life.<\/p>\n Personally I feel it’s important to reflect on the art we consume and experience, especially those which bring to the surface a strong emotional response. It’s fantastic to be aware of what it\u00a0is you actually and specifically enjoy about music and other arts and being able to express and communicate these feelings is one of the\u00a0many\u00a0steps to\u00a0developing your written language skills (now I may sound teacher-like here but bear in mind I’m writing this in ‘my’ time, I’m just Dave ATM\u00a0– not Mr. Watts :-P).<\/p>\n Music is amazing!\u00a0It\u00a0provides the soundtrack to my morning walk to work,\u00a0my\u00a0early eve\u00a0walk back home from work, my\u00a0lesson planning,\u00a0my marking… well, practically any moment there is an opportunity to listen to music,\u00a0you can\u00a0guarantee I’ll have my headphones plugged in and will be\u00a0blasting out some tunes.<\/p>\n For the past year I’ve discovered some amazing music, I usually\u00a0tend to jump in and out of different genres and expose myself to as much variety in my music listening\u00a0as possible. However I’ve firmly stayed put in one particular genre since listening to the album I’ve decided to review first – that is – Middleman’s debut Spinning Plates.<\/p>\n Middleman are a 4 piece band originating from Leeds and have been releasing material for some time now.\u00a0Spinning Plates is their first album and it’s an awesome listen,\u00a0at first\u00a0they remind me of a kind of popular new ‘voice’ in British dance and pop\u00a0that started years ago with acts like The Streets and later Hadouken! Fuse these new wave sounds with bits and bobs from the punkish\u00a0Enter Shikari and the hip hop inspired\u00a0Gorillaz and you get Middleman.<\/p>\n Spinning Plates clearly exhibits lead singer Andy Craven Griffiths’ talent\u00a0with words\u00a0– both in his content and in his delivery. Each song is\u00a0very\u00a0unique and subjects vary between describing a night out clubbing from a hangover’s perspective (Snap Shots)\u00a0to stressing the difficulties\u00a0of enjoying life in Britain today (Spinning Plates). Griffiths’ strengths are explicit as I find myself not just casually listening to his delivery, but clinging onto every word he\u00a0says\u00a0and following his, if you will, poetry with absolute focus. This to me, is the sign of\u00a0good music and\u00a0highlights the brilliance of hip hop’s key ingredient – the\u00a0content\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0how its delivered. Griffiths’ voice and words are fascinating,\u00a0simply comparing life’s woes\u00a0to that of spinning plates is easily understood and his description of life ambitions\u00a0facing reality is well put (‘I though’t I’d paint a masterpiece I thought I’d swim the English Channel… but no, as I’m too busy spinning plates, getting dizzy but can’t stop\u00a0incase one breaks’). The track One Hundred and Thirteen – although being quite slow in comparison to its surroundings on the album (and a bit soppy lol), has unique interpretations of love and attraction, describing\u00a0his interests beauty in new and articulate ways – \u00a0‘dying the air almost Hitchcock’.<\/p>\n The music is very lively, big bass lines accompany heavy drums which (aside from the mentioned One Hundred and Thirteen) usually include\u00a0a catchy riff and\/or a catchy\u00a0chorus to sing and dance along to. They’re one of those bands that make you ‘bop’ your head to the music; they know what music will get people dancing and use it to their advantage\u00a0– if ever they come to Leicester I’m there on the front row waiting.<\/p>\n On the whole the album is great, each\u00a0song stands out on their own and\u00a0there is a Middleman individuality to their music which can only continue to develop (hopefully :-)). Key tracks are Spinning Plates, Snap Shots, Good to be Back and Chipping Away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’ve never reviewed…anything before this…Well, that’s a lie, I did review the film Predator once but that was for a University assignment so it was something I had to do, not necessarily something I wanted to do (but I did enjoy it either way). So why do we review the things we like? more interestingly why do we review the things we don’t like? This is a question I’ve pondered a lot lately since RockHAQ entered my day-to-day life.<\/p>\n Personally I feel it’s important to reflect on the art we consume and experience, especially those which bring to the surface a strong emotional response. It’s fantastic to be aware of what it is you actually and specifically enjoy about music and other arts and being able to express and communicate these feelings is one of the many steps to developing your written language skills (now I may sound teacher-like here but bear in mind I’m writing this in ‘my’ time, I’m just Dave ATM – not Mr. Watts :-P).
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