Chase and Status - No more Idols [Album Review]

Chase and Status have just about made themselves a household name this summer with some huge hits coming from the two man drum'n'bass maestros who have collaborated with a whole host of huge artists over the last year or so with names such as Plan B, Rihanna, Kano, Dizzee Rascal, Nero and Tinie Tempah each collab churning out hit after hit that has its own specific fusion of two genres put together with finesse for example the track Hypest hype with Tempah T fuses grime and drum'n'bass to make a catchy tune you might just find yourself singing along too with your mates in the car and shouting TEMPPPPPPPPPPPPPPSS on a drunken nights out.

No more Idols is such a diverse album you're never spoilt for choice with the tracks included, the listener is always kept on their toes from start to finish, the solo artists on the tracks alone are enough to pull in a vast audience to the album.

With the rise of these drum'n'bass giants perhaps the definitive era of the genre is back once again rearing its once ugly head since its heydays in the 1990s if the London pair continue to follow the path they're walking on now making tracks with top class artists and headlining festivals like they've been doing of recent they're soon going to find themselves on top of the music world in a very short ammount of time. All in all i've given this album a bloody brilliant rating purely for the fact i absolutely hated Chase & Status until i took the time to fully listen through this album.

Overall Grade: A-

David Guetta - Nothing But The Beat [Album Review]

Entrepreneur of the decks, David Guetta the frenchman who has lit the music industry on fire in the last few years churning out hit after hit thats been popular on mainstream radio and in clubs consistantly, a feat that in the long run hasnt been matched by anyone, Guetta truely is the best in the trade. In recent times Guetta has moved onto bringing out dance hits with more of an urban edge about them which is very much evident in his latest album (released today) Nothing But The beat.

Nothing But The Beat features a whole host of high profile r&b/Hip-hop artists that are all held in high prestige, looking at the tracklistings and seeing collaborations with artists such as Nicki Minaj, Flo Rida, Snoop Dogg, Usher, Will-i-am, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Akon, Jessie J, Jennifer Hudson, Timbaland, Afrojack and Sia you know you're in for a treat if you're into the Urban-dance hits that Guetta is becoming more and more renowned for.

All of the tracks on the first cd of this album seem like they could be singles of their own which is brilliant for Guetta and the fans of course, their are even songs on the album which i could see doing veryvery well if released, for example one that took me surprise was Titanium ft. Sia. Given a bit more edge and spice this could be a top track in the future. The tracks Disc 2 of this album is pretty much what you would expect of a Guetta track each sound like they would fit nicely in a crowded nightculb although they sadly dont have the edge unlike the vocal tracks on the first disc which is fairly understandable.

All in all its a quality album, although personaly i beleive theres a little bit too much crammed in at times that doesnt seem like it should be on the album (Mostly disc 2). All that being said i'm most likely being very biased as i'm a true lover of the Guettas previous albums which included more club hits rather than the urban hits featured in Nothing But The Beat.

Overall Grade: C+

Passion Pit - Manners [Album Review]

Electro-Indie is one of the evergrowing genres to grace our soundwaves in recent years with bands and artists such as Klaxons, MGMT, Darwin Deez and Tokyo Police Club hitting a global audience with some great anthems that have really stood out in a crowd of ever growing diversity on the music scene.

Passion Pit are one of the newcomers from the US who have popped up in three or so years who formed after Michael Angelakos created a few tracks for an EP on his laptop which he made as a belated valetines gift for his girlfriend, after several gigs around Boston and the addition of a few bandmembers their tracks were picked up by record label Frenchkiss and they've never looked back since.

Their debut album Manners which has blown people away have had additional exposure with their most popular hit Sleepyhead being used in several television shows and adverts (Most notably used in an episode of Skins and for the littlebigplanet 2 advert) and several more of the albums songs have been used in hit television shows such as Ugly Betty and Gossip Girl.

The Albums melodic and chilled out tracks may seem very familiar to any fan of MGMT as in my opinion they very much sound the same although Passion Pits songs somewhat have a consistancy throughout the album with each eighties inspired track flowing into eachother wonderfully. I'm struggling to find a word that could describe this album as its such an awesome flow of emotion and brilliance as stated in several other reviews of this album. I think i'd describe it as a 'Group-hug' it's an album filled with feel good tracks that put a bit of colour into todays music linear industry.

Overall Grade: A