Album Review: Don't Stop - Annie

Following up on yesterday's review of Dragonette's latest album BlackPlastic takes a look at Annie's long-awaited second album, Don't Stop.

In constrast to Dragonette's Fixin' To Thrill, Annie's looooong awaited second album takes a bit longer to love. Perhaps it's fitting, since it has taken years to get released, with false starts and internet leaks and at times it felt like it never would see the light of day.

With a tracklist that has seen more changes than the line-up for the Sugababes there are four producers (and that is on top of Annie herself) in Xenomania, Paul Epworth and previous collaborators Richard X and Timo Kaukolampi. With a few tracks (the Epworth efforts) being added at a later date and at least three producers well known for their distinctive styles it is unsurprising that Don't Stop feels a little like a taster menu.

Yet with a but of time invested it becomes clear that Annie still got it. Whist it isn't strong in the traditional sense Annie's voice remains distinctively irresistible - the auditory equivalent of some sort of candy floss / ice cream / chocolate combo that feels sweet, fun and sexy all at once.

Admittedly the album may not flow as well as it would under one (or indeed two, or even three) producers, the individual tunes themselves more than make up for it. 'Songs Remind Me Of You' still feels like perfect Richard X - a re-imagining of the Human League and synth pop for our times. Whilst at least some of the Xenomania tracks shine - 'My Love Is Better' for example - it is Epworth's work that defines the album. Opener 'Hey Annie' breezes with confidence and self-assurance and boasts a depth of sound and detail that sparkles whilst 'I Don't Like Your Band' is the most fantastic put-down record, delivered in a cool and condescending way that just makes Annie seem even cooler:

"Don't get me wrong, I like you - but I don't like your band, your style, your sound"

From Annie's lips it's a pretty cutting line. As we approach the tenth anniversary of Annie's breakthrough single 'Greatest Hit' it seems a shame that we have had to wait so long for new material. It also seems frankly ridiculous that earlier singles 'I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me' and 'Anthonio' got cut from this album in an effort to make things fresh since they would comfortably provide highlights here and are hardly over-exposed.

Ultimately though? Annie oozes so much class you can't help but simply revel in her return. BlackPlastic just hopes the next album comes quicker and has Epworth and Richard X at the helm.

Check out 'Songs Remind Me of You' below:

BP x

Out now, available on CD, LP and MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate links].

Album Review: Fixin' To Thrill - Dragonette

BlackPlastic doesn't cover as much pop as we would like but there are two recent releases that deserve a mention. Both of these releases have been out for a little bit - one for quite some time, albeit in another form - yet they are both too interesting to skip over.  BlackPlastic will tackle one now and the other in a few days.

Dragonette's sophomore album Fixin' To Thrill is a bag o' nails pop record that jostles along at a pace that makes it quite evident that it doesn't much care what you think. BlackPlastic first warmed to the Aussie four-piece after hearing their snarky cover of Calvin Harris' 'Girls' (re-titled 'Boys') and the killer track 'I Get Around' (the Van She Tech remix of which remains BlackPlastic's favourite Van She remix).

And Fixin' To Thrill easily live up to those expectations. This is pop music turbo charged. Keep Madonna. Keep La Roux. Keep Boots. Keep Gaga. Dragonette manage to outshine them all, particularly on the muted but slinky 'Easy' or the perfectly infectious 'Pick Up The Phone'.

This is a taste of pop music not as it often is (insipid, watered-down) and not the mass-produced, stamped-out from a cut-out template type affair. In the UK we now have a famous Facebook group campaigning to get Rage Against The Machine to number one for Christmas in an attempt to disrupt the usual dominance of the charts that 'talent' show juggernaut X Factor holds at this time of year. BlackPlastic says forget that - vote for pop at Christmas, just make sure it's good: Vote for Dragonette.

BP x

Fixin' To Thrill is out now, available on MP3 at Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].

Album Review / MP3 Download: FabricLive 49 - various mixed by Buraka Som Sistema

Judging by FabricLive 49 Burakama Som Sistema are a goddamn cussing noisy bunch. Make no mistake, this album feels like being tied to the front of Alton Tower's biggest rollercoaster (is that still the Oblivion?) for an hour or so with an emotionally epic hangover.

To be honest BlackPlastic was ready to slate it but instead we will say this - you will like FabricLive49 if:

• You like the sound that several travelling fair grounds would make if you put then all in the same place at once and told them to SCREAM IF YOU WANNA GO FAAAAAASTTAAAAAA!
• You hate your own head.
• You have some incredibly persistent guilty voice inside your soul constantly reminding you that you butchered your mother.
• You are on more drugs than BlackPlastic has ever tried.

There are a few better moments but, in all honesty, they are not good - they just gave BlackPlastic a bit of a breather because they didn't sound like a baby screaming.

It might be built to sound like a soundclash but to BlackPlastic it just IS a soundclash.

Download the full version of 'Kurum (Roulet Remix)' by Buraka Som Sistema, which appears on FabricLive 49 for a taste [right click, save as].

BP x

FabricLive 49 is out tomorrow, available for pre-order now from Amazon.co.uk on CD [affiliate link].

Album Review: The Repeat Factor - Portformat

BlackPlastic used to love hip-hop but these days we can't help but feel let down by the genre... Maybe we were just never real fans of real hip-hop, maybe when we spent so much time listening to those early Roots albums, the Tribe Called Quest back-cat and anything J Dilla touched we were just enjoying the stuff middle class suburban kids are supposed to dig. Maybe we weren't real.

But the truth is that if someone has made a genuinely brilliant hip-hop album in the past four years then we missed it. Even the near-universally-acclaimed MF Doom feels over-hyped.

It's with some surprise and a pang of nervousness then that BlackPlastic snuck a smile and shuffled back-and-forth to the beat on Portformat's debut album. Because on first listen it's good. Very good.

Bad news first. If you wanted to level criticism at The Repeat Factor you would be justified in complaining that the vocals fall short. Portformat's The Repeat Factor is really a demonstration of his production skill - the vocals suffer in the way that you would expect of an album that is producer, not MC, lead. They aren't bad - they just don't lead the music or captivate the listener.

What is good though is the production. With a loose, filtered feel it is vey reminiscent of J Dilla - but not the oft-immitated, vocal-sample based work he produced towards the end of his career. Instead The Repeat Factor sounds more like his work with A Tribe Called Quest on The Love Movement.

And it may be BlackPlastic's soft-spot for indie hip-hop showing again but The Repeat Factor is best when it strays into the left-field, as on 'U Gotta Find', the wonderfully textured 'Mothership' or on any of the superb instrumentals (or which particular note goes to 'Bionic Arms').

The jazzy touches and bags of space make The Repeat Factor shine. This is an album that manages to sound modern and yet still demonstrates that less IS more. It just about restores BlackPlastic's faith in hip-hop.

BP x

The Repeat Factor is released on Tokyo Dawn on 3 December 2009.

Album Review: Tarot Sport - Fuck Buttons

Fuck Buttons' début left BlackPlastic cold. For all the experimentation it lacked focus and context compared to the abstract Beach Boys harmonies of Animal Collective. Back less than two years later with follow up, Tarot Sport is sees Andrew Weatherall on production duties (for the first time in sometime).

BlackPlastic, whilst no Weatherall obsessive, can't help but think his influence is a positive one. The resulting album is more focused, exciting and ultimately memorable.

There is no escaping the fact that Tarot Sport is much more of a dance album than its predecessor. Whilst the tracks never feel like they have been made for dancing they certainly feel more rhythmic and more electronic. One moment it will feel old school, with a progressive house vibe (opener 'Surf Solar') and next hard, epic and distorted in a way reminiscent of Nathan Fake's Hard Islands release from earlier this year.

There is still plenty of experimentation but it is the stripped back minimal (whisper it) trance of 'Olympians' that really flicks BlackPlastic's switch. Mixing epic synths, acid and distortion it feels as futuristic, global and hopeful as its title suggest.

Tarot Sport feels like running away: not to another country but rather another time. It also exceeds both the ambition and accomplishments of first album Street Horrrsing.

BP x

Tarot Sport is out now, available on CD and LP from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate links].