KT Tunstall, Athlete, and Shout Out Louds Cd Reviews

01. Little Favours
02. If Only
03. White Bird
04. Funnyman
05. Hold On
06. Hopeless
07. I Dont Want You Now
08. Saving My Face
09. Beauty Of Uncertainty
10. Someday Soon
11. Paper Aeroplane

KT Tunstall's second album Drastic Fantastic is totally split in half. The first half is awesome rock with the electric guitar or just with some pace. The last tracks are very slow acoustic tracks that make you want to fall asleep. Her 1st album Eyes of the Telescope was fairly poppy but had a little better depth. Clearly KT needs to rock out with an electric guitar and a full band! No more acoustic guitar! Awesome vocals that sound even better than Mellisa Ethridge. Hope she'll be back in the cities very soon, hopefully this winter with her full band!

Download-"I Don't want you now", "Funny Man", and "If Only"

6/10 or 3 stars

KT Tunstall-Hold On (Live At AOL Sessions)


Athlete Beyond The Neighboorhood

01. In Between 2 States
02. Hurricane
03. Tokyo
04. Airport Disco
05. It's Not Your Fault
06. The Outsiders
07. Flying Over Bus Stops
08. Second Hand Stores
09. In The Library
10. Best Not To Think About It
11. This Is What I Sound Like

Athlete has unfortunately turned very mainstream, and I don't know why? They've always been with a major label in Astralwerks (EMI) , so it's not like they've sold out to a major label. Vehicles and Animals was their debut album in 2003 and the song, "Shake Those Windows" was a big reason why I got into all kinds of U.K. bands. Tourist followed in 2005, and following a 2 year trend of album releases, Athlete releases Beyond the Neighborhood. Joel Pott's vocals are top caliber in my book. His voice saves this band, but I don't understand why they keep declining. This album has 3 decent tracks and the rest all sound the same, slow pop tracks that everyone is tired of. I love this band to death and I'll never stop listening to their first two records but this one sucks folks. They'll be in the states in November with stops in Toronto, New York, and even the empty bottle in Chicago. Unfortunately no Minneapolis yet. I've never seen this band live along with Doves, those two bands are on the top of my list to catch ASAP.

Download- "Second Hand Stores" and "In The Library"

3/10 or 1 Star

Athlete-Hurricane (Popworld 7/7/07)



1. Tonight I Have To Leave It
2. Your Parents Living Room
3. You Are Dreaming
4. Suit Yourself
5. Blue Headlights
6. Impossible
7. Normandie
8. South America
9. Ill Wills
10. Time Left For Love
11. Meat Is Murder
12. Hard Rain

So many good Swedish bands! Shout Out Louds second release (Our Ill Wills) follows up Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, a top 10 album from 2005. Very high expectations after their energetic 1st album. They tone it down a little bit on this one but still keep some great harmonies and lyrics. Yes the vocals sound like The Cure a bit. Shout Out Louds present a wide range of variety on this album with a cowbell, different keyboard mixes, and of course xylophones, tambourines, and all sorts of shakers. Bebban on keys, sings on two full tracks. More female vocals help add even more to this already great album. Bjorn from PB and J helped produce this record. I recently talked to Bjorn and he wasn't entirely satisfied with the outcome of the album. I think it sounds great and the band carries on from their great debut album in 05. Can't wait to see these guys at the Fineline Thursday Oct. 18th!! Get Ready!!

Download - "Impossible", "Normandie", and "South America"

8/10 or 4 stars

Shout Out Louds-Impossible