Franz Ferdinand "Blood"

Franz Ferdinand released their third studio album Tonight in January and here is a remix album to follow up. Blood features 9 dub versions of tracks from Tonight. Some limited edition deluxe packages of Tonight included the dub cd when it was first released, but was only available in Europe. Now Franz Ferdinand's label Domino Records has released Blood internationally as a stand alone album.

The producer of Tonight had a lot to do with the conception of the dub remix record. According to an interview with Billboard, Franz Ferdinand vocalist Alex Kapranos spoke of the producer of their latest album saying, "He's coming from that Jamaican perspective - there's much more space; the bass guitar leads a lot more on this record than anything else."

CD Universe | Domino | Myspace

Sugar Ray's New Single "Boardwalk", new album due 7/21

Sugar Ray is releasing their first full length studio album since 2003's In The Pursuit Of Leisure. The new album is titled Music For Cougars and the first single "Boardwalk" is now available on iTunes and can be heard on their Myspace.

Favorite Female-Fronted Bands Part 2

1. Garbage

Garbage's music is not garbage. With 7 grammy nominations and numerous hit singles such as "Special" and "Stupid Girl", the band is fronted by Shirley Manson and includes drummer/producer Butch Vig, who produced Nirvana's Nevermind and Smashing Pumpkin's Siamese Dream. They peaked shortly after their debut and kept the hit albums flowing throughout the 90s, and after a hiatus and greatest hits compilation entitled Beautiful Garbage, the band is back together.

2. Blondie

This band was probably an influence to many of the others on my lists of female-fronted bands. Fronted by Debbie Harry, Blondie reached fame and success in the late 70's with the 1978 album Parallel Lines that was driven by the hit single "Heart Of Glass". Parallel Lines was declared platinum and Blondie went on to have many more hit singles and 2 more platinum albums in the U.S.


3. Sixpence None The Richer

You have to love the late 90s sensation that performed the unforgettable hits "Kiss Me", and the covers "There She Goes" and in 2002, "Don't Dream Its Over." They play music that makes you smile, and their songs have receieved plenty of movie and television synchronization because of it. They released a greatest hits compilation in 2004.


4. The Cranberries

Wonderful band from Ireland fronted by Dolores O'Riordan. They produced many great hits, though they are mostly known for the single "Zombie". The Cranberries have been on hiatus since 2003.

Favorite Female-Fronted Bands Part 1

(in no particular order)

1. Letters To Cleo

One of my favorite 90s female-fronted rock/punk bands, also somewhat unheard of and underrated. Fronted by Kay Hanley, they appeared in the film 10 Things I Hate About You as Kat's favorite band. They performed at the high school prom and during the end credits atop of a building on campus covering Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me", which is on the soundtrack.

Original drummer for Letters To Cleo, Stacy Jones, has gone on to form American Hi-Fi as lead vocalist/guitarist. They scored a hit single in 2001 called "Flavor Of The Weak".

2. No Doubt

No Doubt is just a classic. With multiple hit-bearing albums such as Tragic Kingdom and Return Of Saturn, No Doubt is probably one of the most popular female-fronted rock bands of all time. Singer Gwen Stefani is a world class front woman and has the best look and style a band could wish for. Progressing with the band through new styles of music and going solo into the pop world has proven her to be a one-of-a-kind artist.

3. Noisettes

This is a sweet rock/punk/pop-rock group from London fronted by Shingai Shoniwa. Check out my review of the band and their newest album, Wild Young Hearts.

4. The Primitives

Take it back to the 80s for this classic underrated pop-rock group fronted by Tracy Tracy. Check out my Retro Review of the band here.


5. The Sounds

A great modern synth rock/new wave band from Sweden fronted by vocalist Maja Ivarsson. Check out my review of their newest album, Crossing The Rubicon.

The Wallflowers Announce Summer Tour

The Wallflowers played a few shows off and on for the past few years and last year hit up a few festivals over summer, but now they are going out on a full summer tour with 25 dates listed on their site. Check it out.

Tour Dates | Ticketmaster | Myspace

The Sounds - Crossing The Rubicon

The female-fronted Swedish New Wave/Rock group are back with a wonderful follow up to their successful 2006 release with Crossing The Rubicon, featuring twelve new rocked out synth pop songs that are beautiful and catchy. The album was released today and the first single "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" music video premiere.

The Sounds got huge with the release of their second album Dying To Say This To You and the hit single "Hurt You". Now with international fame, they tour Europe and the U.S., and this year will be playing a portion of the tour with another female-fronted rock group, No Doubt. What an awesome show that will be. They're playing 4 consecutive dates at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, California with 3 of the dates already sold out.

The Sounds bring together so many great worlds of music together that make for a fresh new sound. Amazing female vocalist, synth pop and new wave influences, rock and punk influences. Check out the new cd, but also get the first two releases from The Sounds, they are all great. I'm addicted to this band right now.

No One Sleeps When I’m Awake Video THE SOUNDS

Download the new album! | Myspace

The Whitest Boy Alive - Rules

The Berlin based Indie-Pop Electronic-Dance band (all those describe some aspect of their unique sound) released their sophomore album Rules in March 2009 and its a great follow up to their first entitled Dreams.

Rules has longer and more frequent instrumental sections in its songs, as well as the keyboardist using some more varying and interesting and "dance/house" sounds. The album overall has a more fun, free, and upbeat feel to it. The Whitest Boy Alive has explored new territory with their unique sound without straying completely from the sound of Dreams. Great bass hooks and synth sounds create somewhat of an ethereal landscape upon which clean guitar chords waltz, and the soft, relaxed vocals fill in the rest.

The album starts off with a few mid-tempo tunes with catchy vocal melodies, followed by the bouncy dance-esque "Courage" and "Timebomb". Then they slow it down with the more emotional "Rollercoaster Ride" similar to feel of "Don't Give Up" from Dreams. Then they combine all these elements in "High On The Heels" that sounds like a far too staccato version of a techno track. The guitar on "1517" and "Dead End" reminds me of some 70's funk. The amazing bass lines continue in "Gravity" and "Promise Less Or Do More". The album finishes with the catchy keyboard riff led "Island".

Rules flows so smoothly from one song to the next and doesn't demand any second thought from the listener. Singer Erlend Oye is also parts of the band Kings Of Convenience.

Myspace | Official Site | Bubbles For Sale (online store)

Brendan Benson - The other guy in The Raconteurs

Here's another artist that I first discovered from watching a movie. Benson's song "Tiny Spark" from his 2002 album Lapalco got on the soundtrack for Along Came Polly (2004). I found out it was an artist named Brendan Benson, and that he is awesome.

Brendan Benson is now a guitarist/vocalist in the super group The Raconteurs, but before that journey began he had already released 3 solo albums from 1996-2005. And when you give his stuff a listen you'll instantly discover the flavors that have been mixed with Jack White's (White Stripes, Raconteurs) writing to give The Raconteurs their unique sound.

Benson's first album One Mississippi didn't do so well, but it is just as great as his latter, more successful albums Lapalco and Alternative To Love. Check out all of them. I enjoy all the music equally. Any powerpop lovers should definitely love Benson, as many of the songs from his first two records a co-written by Jason Falkner, who played guitar with Jellyfish for their first album Bellybutton.

Powerpop is a definite influence in Benson's writing as well artists like the Beatles, Paul McCartney, The Who, and Electric Light Orchestra. Hes pop, and hes rock. A Rolling Stones describes very accurately that "Brendan Benson writes pop songs for an alternate universe, one where hits are still forged out of crisp guitars and Beatlesque backing vocals."

There has been announced a fourth solo record due out in 2009 and is being produced by Gil Norton whos produced bands like the Foo Fighters, Pixies, and Counting Crows. "The album is rumored for an August 2009 release." Until the new album, there is some newer material on MySpace from Benson to hear including some songs formed from collaborating with singer Ashley Monroe.

Myspace

The Primitives

They emerged in the mid to late 80's from the UK and ended after 1991, most notably leaving behind the top 5 single "Crash", which you've heard if you've seen Dumb and Dumber. "Crash" is a great song, the first one I heard from the band, but it only lead to a passion for most of the Primitives' catalog. I'm a fan of many rock and pop bands with female vocalists, i.e. No Doubt, Letters To Cleo, Blondie. The Primitives vocalist Tracy Tracy has such a nice soft voice that fits perfectly with the guitar chord based structures in the songs. The electric guitar played a lot of arpeggiated guitar leads and chords similar to the style of R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, with most of the hooks being in the vocal melodies. Picture light-hearted soft pop/alternative/rock that is catchy, simple, and fun.

They released 4 studio albums during their career, but I suggest starting out with one of their greatest hits compilations if you are into rock bands with female vocalists, 80s music, especially indie 80s.

The Primitives Fan Site | Short interview from 1988 | Buy greatest hits

Lily Allen - "It's Not Me, It's You"

A beautifully smooth and innocent voice singing sassy and honest lyrics create a fun sound in pop music. Lily's not afraid to speak her mind. The British singer/songwriter released her second studio album in February with "The Fear" becoming her second #1 single in the UK. There are many moods to the album including electronica tastes "The Fear" and "Back To The Start" to the jazz loops in "He Wasn't There", all with vocal melodies and lyrics that keep you interested until the songs are over. The contrasting moods of her fun melodies and sometimes bratty lyrics sung by a sweet, soft voice are appealing. "The Fear" contains words which inspire deeper thought, while "Not Fair" somewhat comically speaks of a great boyfriend who's only lacking in one aspect of the relationship. Much respect to a pop artist who is writing their own songs.

Check out Lily's official site where Remixes are available for to listen to that fans have submitted. Buying a copy of her new record allows you to access exclusive mp3 clips of individual tracks from the recordings to encourage remixes. Click here.

Official Site | MySpace | Tour Dates

The Noisettes - "Wild Young Hearts"

Unique. Evolving. Amazing live show. With a single that peaked at #2 in the UK driving the recently released second full length album, "Wild Young Hearts", its a great time to check out a band that can re-invent themselves while keeping their intriguing unique identity. From London and started in 2003, Noisettes are led by Shingai Shoniwa who brings beautiful vocals, solid bass lines, and an awesome energy on stage. Dan Smith's sick guitar solos and catchy riffs with the drumming of Jamie Morrison complete the Noisettes.

The charts prove that the new release is more mainstream friendly than their debut album "What's The Time Mr. Wolf?" that was released in early 2007 and had two singles that only got a small taste of the UK charts. Extensive touring followed their debut album in Europe and in the U.S. with bands such as TV On The Radio and Bloc Party. I got to catch the Noisettes open for TVOTR in August 2007 in at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville and both bands rank high in my favorite live performances that I've ever seen.

"What's The Time Mr. Wolf" has more punk and rock influences with driving bass and sweet rocked out guitar solos, highlighted by songs like "Don't Give Up", "Sister Rosetta (Capture The Spirit)", and "Scratch Your Name". Its a great listen with plenty of parts to head bang to. The new "Wild Young Hearts" strays from that style by being more pop and just showing a different set of influences. The songs "Never Forget You" and "So Complicated" are reminiscent of early Motown hits, while "Beat Of My Heart" remind me of some classic 80s pop rock. Shoniwa has a sensual soultry voice and she's been compared to Billie Holiday, but she'll also belt out a fun and raspy shout at times.

Some great bands like the Noisettes show up on UK charts but not on any in the US, so keep an eye on the UK charts now and then. Here's a favorite from the first album, and links to stream both albums and an EP.

Wild Young Hearts | What's The Time Mr. Wolf? | 3 Moods - Check out "Signs"