An insight into music today...

There appears to be a bit of a renaissance erupting in the world of popular music. Bands are releasing sophomore albums layered with soul and adventure while this years pop princesses are no longer the Britney’s of the world.

It seems that there’s a few artists that once flew the flag for NME's template of indie blandness have broken free of the supposed “path of commercial destiny” and released material that exudes quality and genuine substance. The artists I am highlighting in this case are the likes of The Horrors, Jack Penate and The Maccabees.

When The Horrors released their debut album “Strange House” in 2007 it was most definitely a case of style over substance. Their gothic punk boudoir of clothing and hairstyles distracted the NME following from the notion that their tunes were a tad uninspiring. Their recently released second album shocked a lot of people as they found the new material boasted involving and relevant sounds. “Primary Colours” is laden with swooning and vast guitar sounds with pulsating drumming. It truly is one of the albums of 2009.



Jack Penate's debut album “Matinee” on the whole was an entity of unimaginative indie dribble it has to be said. It lacked bite and any sort of uniqueness. What he has followed that album with is another surprise to the musical world. His new album, aptly titled “Everything is New” sees a dramatic shift in direction adopting a whole array of worldly sounds that complement a focused melodic understanding.



Like Penate’s debut The Maccabees first outing lacked ambition and thirst for the extraordinary. Their material fit the indie template set out by NME tone by tone; safe song compositions with an altogether indie aesthetic. Their follow up “Wall of Arms” has seen the group morph their output into a beautifully intimate and decadent tapestry of sound seeping with emotion and substance.



These bands have gone from creating music that plays by the rules to actually delving into their souls and releasing material that means something and displays genuine substance and thought. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for bands/artists like those mentioned above who are in the NME foothold i.e. The Klaxons (who had to return to the studio under the label bosses orders upon hearing their work for their new album)

In terms of the ladies it’s the likes of Little Boots and La Roux are invigorating our airwaves with deliciously infectious pop tunes. These two are delivering quality tunes that are radio-friendly and actually propel involving lyrics as opposed to the American branded muck that we are subjected to on a regular basis. Our airwaves are slowly but surely emitting interesting pop tunes and it’s the ladies mentioned proving to be the honourable catalysts.