MARK OWEN - Makin' Out
Now I loved Mark's album of last year, but lyrically it was really bleak, almost off-putting, in the sense that nearly every song was about being manipulated, used, abused and generally miserable in some form. It was clever, though, and it was sad that it tanked horribly.
This should improve his average chart placing slightly, as the same sharp, crisp guitar pop formula is mined, but there's a little optimism. "And you say shut up, shut up, every time I say it", he goes in the verses, and I suppose that makes this his
China Girl as Mark streams through a list of tasks that being in love involves - being beside her in the photograph, holding the door - again dealing with the concept of love in a way that attempts to make it tangible, which he did so well on In Your Own Time, and this time a warm piano pops up to add a bit of colour to proceedings.
The song's a bit slower than most of his recent rockers, but the chorus is a catchy one, and when he's multi-tracked and harmonised as much as this you can't notice his various speech impediments - which I always found endearing anyway. But the fact that it's come less than a year since his last comeback single and on top of an unceremonious record company dumping shows he's on a hot streak artistically. [
MP3]
While EBM does not consider itself to be really an MP3 blog, it's obvious these are one of the appeals to people, and as such we were very excited by You Send It, and were planning on making extensive use of the format and posting more things. Unfortunately, that looks less likely now. Still, instead of weekly updates of 4 MP3s, they will be posted singly more frequently.
But I've got 2 up at the moment, more later. Links will last a week or so, and the current songs up for download will always appear on the sidebar, so when it vanishes from there, it's gone.
A*Teens - With Or Without You
Another track off their best-of. Not fantastic, but sounds like a well-above-average Atomic Kitten ballad. Sort of like
The Last Goodbye I suppose. I loved that, but even when they were shit I had a soft spot. (Update: link now works..)
Javine - Best Of My Love
Reviewed
here. I thought that despite her complete aceness (I'm betting her album will feature in my top 10 this year), she was very much a second-tier artist popularity wise, but I see there's a big campaign of fakes on Emule, of all places...
GIRLS ALOUD - The Show
Firstly, anyone who is still worrying that it sounds like
Jump based on the rumours can rest easy. Of course, they may be somewhat worried to hear that it sounds rather like the last Holly Valance album mixed with The Cooler Kids'
All Around The World, but that would be silly, because that's a winning combination in my book.
Lest you need any more reassurance, the rapid-fire gang vocals of the opening salvo, "Should have known, should have cared/Should have hung around the kitchen in my underwear" is both maddeningly addictive and tantalising. The pre-chorus - well, I'm calling it that even though the song clearly has two distinct choruses - is great, and the woooh-tastic bit toward the end that leads into the last chorus, which is actually the
first chorus is virtually impossible to avoid singing along to. The bassline throbs and farts in a wholly enticing manner as well, nodding its head toward GA's underrated album track
All I Need (All I Don't) and the whole thing makes absolutely no sense at all. What "the show" is is pretty unclear, it's probably some sex thing, but it doesn't seem important.
