The Music Note

Two months after his surprise intimate gig at The Lock Tavern in Camden, Josh Rouse returned to London last Wednesday to perform at the Islington Assembly Hall, in support of his most recent album,  The Happiness Waltz . Josh took to the stage with a full band to play to a sold-out crowd of 700 fans, a very different atmosphere to The Lock Tavern gig, in which he played a solo acoustic set in a cosy upstairs room in a pub. Since I purchased the tickets to the gig through PledgeMusic , my friend Steve and I got the opportunity to attend a meet and greet with Josh and watch him and his band soundcheck in preparation for the evening's performance. The soundcheck was like a concert in itself, with Josh playing eight tracks, all of which got us excited for the night ahead, though it was hearing the first verse and chorus of 'It Looks Like Love' that really got my feet tapping, and left me hoping that the song would be included in the evening's setlist. I always enjoy watc...

Franz Ferdinand have announced that their fourth studio album,  Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action , will be released on August 26. The album, which is the band's follow-up to 2009's Tonight: Franz Ferdinand , has a confirmed track listing of ten songs, seven of which were debuted recently at an intimate gig in Glasgow. This album will be an interesting and eagerly awaited release, especially since Tonight , quite deservedly, received a mixed response from critics upon its release. I think part of the problem with Tonight ,   was that it was previewed as a heavy departure from the previous sounds of their 2004 debut Franz Ferdinand  and 2005's follow-up You Could Have It So Much Better , with the album promising Jamaican influences, along with elements of electro. Upon release however, it was clear that aside from one or two tracks,  Tonight pretty much sounded like any other Franz Ferdinand album, which would have been great if the material on it had o...

  Released as the second single from their 2006 album Ganging Up On The Sun , I initially found this Guster track to be somewhat of a grower, especially in comparison to the rest of the album, the majority of which I warmed to almost immediately upon the first few listens. However, there is something so subtlety endearing about the song, a quality that perhaps refreshingly, isn't glaringly obvious on first impression, that over time the track gradually featured more and more frequently in my Guster listening marathons. All aspects of the song - vocals, lyrics, instrumentation, tempo, structure - all contribute to an overall captivating listen, with verses that feature lines of "Shining like a work of art / Hanging on a wall of stars / Are you what I think you are" leading into choruses that offer up equally dreamy lyrics - "You're riding with me tonight / Passenger side, lighting the sky / Always the first star that I find". Though, the defining moments occu...

Last week, Everything Everything appeared on Later... with Jools Holland to perform a few songs from their current album Arc . The band played 'Cough Cough' and 'Kemosabe', both of which highlighted their penchant for interesting hooks and falsetto vocals, while tight musicianship and unison backing harmonies provided further proof of why they are such a unique and exciting band - both live and on record.

Michael Jackson's music is so widely known and admired, that it is debatable as to whether any of his songs can be classed as underrated, especially for hardcore fans of his work. That being said, I do think there are certain tracks that fly under the radar and are often overlooked in favour of the universally recognised classics such as 'Thriller', 'Billie Jean' and 'Man In The Mirror'. Below is a list of what I feel to be underrated Jackson songs, most of which have been selected based on listening to Jackson's catalogue as a whole, while others have been chosen because I feel they are underrated on the specific album on which they appear. 'I Can't Help It' ( Off The Wall ) On Off The Wall , an album largely made up of uptempo disco tunes, 'I Can't Help It' is an understated gem. Co-written by Stevie Wonder, the soulful track is dominated by an irresistibly seductive bass line that draws the listener in from the start. ...

Last Tuesday, Josh Rouse played an intimate solo acoustic gig at The Lock Tavern in Camden, London.  The free admission show, which had only been announced two days earlier, was an unexpected treat for fans like myself, who are eagerly awaiting Josh's UK tour at the end of May.  On arrival at The Lock Tavern, I was surprised but thrilled at how small the setting was - this wasn't like the venues I was used to seeing Rouse in, instead it was a cosy upstairs room in a pub, packed full of people enjoying their drinks and looking forward to an evening of live music. The performance coincided nicely with last week's release of his tenth studio album The Happiness Waltz , with Josh explaining he was in the UK for the week doing promo for the album which led to this last minute gig.  He then proceeded with the hour long set, which included a healthy balance of material from the new release, along with much loved classics from previous albums. Josh opened the set with th...

Josh Rouse's delicate cover of 'The Perfect Girl' couldn't be in further contrast to The Cure's original version of the song.  With soft piano and a relaxed tempo that finely compliment Rouse's signature smooth vocals, the overall result is a beautifully unique, yet classic cover of a great track.  This version appears on Rouse's Singles, Covers And Demos Collection Vol. 1 , that is available to download from the Bedroom Classics Closet Archives page on his website.