Blog: Musick

Lady GaGa – The Fame Monster From prospective one-hit wonder to the world's biggest pop star in the space of twelve months, Lady GaGa has straddled 2009 in a way that's made all of us feel slightly uncomfortable. Whilst most people would be happy with a debut that features two of the biggest selling singles of the year, Lady GaGa wasn't content until she'd recorded an extra eight songs, four of which could be singles, one of which features Beyoncé and all of which must [...]

The Maccabees – Wall Of Arms Drafting in Arcade Fire's producer Markus Dravs and adding a whole load of shimmering guitar lines does not a band make, of course, but on The Maccabees' second album it makes for a far more dynamic album then they mustered with their debut. Built around those towering guitars and Orlando Weeks' swollen, yelping vocals, the "indie also-rans" (source: just about every music journalist, circa 2007), have taken a massive leap towards building a lasting career. Plus, 'Love You Better' is properly [...]

Cold Cave – Love Comes Close Hailing from Philadelphia, Cold Cave is less a band and more a one-off experiment. Featuring members of bands with names like Xiu Xiu and Prurient, the whole thing could easily whiff too strongly of arty intellectualising, and yet, for all its icy detachment, Love Comes Close is a beautifully human album. Cloaked in synths and simple drum programming, its nine songs are paeans to life in sprawling cities, with deceptively simple choruses at the heart of each one. Key [...]

The other day we were queuing in the Post Office when who should we see but Missy Elliott , standing there in her (slightly tatty, it has to be said) gold tracksuit. Now, regular readers to Musick will know that our relationship has soured somewhat following a nasty argument about money and a mildly negative review of some of Missy's recent output . With that in mind, we approached cautiously, keeping a small pack of Cadbury Snacks at hand just in case our offer of an apology wasn't accepted (Missy loves her chocolate). Thankfully, Missy seemed to have [...]

We've featured these two acts a couple of times of late, but they're both back once again with the renegade master, which is nice. First up are Hot Chip who recently gave us this and have now come back with this, their first single from their new album of the same name: Apologies for the static, it's what Parlophone have determined appropriate for the visuals before the video is finished (they started filming it today, fact fans). It's a rather wonderful single, no? It's got all your favourite Hot Chip [...]

As the yuletide approaches, it's getting harder and harder to find any music to recommend, unless the new Westlife album floats your boat, in which case the virtual door is that way. So, this may well be the final New Musick Monday of 2009 *stunned silence*. So, let's, for one last time, do a little recap on last week, shall we? Brigadier Ambrose performed well given the fact the album is self-released and wasn't available in shops (that happens in the new year), whilst Rihanna's album somewhat under-performed by entering outside the top 10 (although the [...]

This song came out in America about six months ago, but we've only just stumbled across it because, frankly, we're massive idiots. It's called 'Best I Ever Had' and it's by Canadian rapper/singer, Drake . It's the kind of low-slung, sex jam (ewwww, what an awful phrase) that before you listen to it you need to perform some kind of inner monologue in which you pretend to be the presenter of a West Coast radio show. "This joint right here is for Kanesha, you know who you are baby. You're the best I've ever had, for real". [...]

Drum roll please... We are pleased to announce Musick's first every competition! Whoop, whoop. Now, we're not asking you to draw us a picture, right us a poem or take part in an elaborate pyramid scheme in the hope of stealing your money and running away to live in Antigua. No, all we ask is that you, er, send us an email. Those kind people at Island Records are giving us two free tickets to see 'bound to be big in 2010' Swedish singer, Erik Hassle . If you're unfamiliar with his work you should [...]

We've done a few things on Theophilus London before, but so far all his songs have either been appearances on remixes or songs that heavily feature some sampling or chunks of other songs . 'Humdrum Town' is his first song 'proper' and it's every which way amazing. Here's the song in question: Once again, the guy's struggling with the whole concept of making money from his music and is allowing you, the lucky listener, to download the track for free from here . DO [...]

Kelis is back!!! Not just back like when she came back on this occasion , but back properly, with a new single taken from a new album. 'Acapella' is produced by David Guetta and is quite literally the best thing she's done since 'Milkshake'. In case you're still wondering, yes it is a massive club banger. Expect this to be everywhere in the discotheques early next year. We can't wait to shake our groove thing to this.

We all knew last week would be a success, in fact, we made sure of it. Echo sold over 160,000 copies in its first week, to debut at number 1, but that's about half of what her last album sold in the same period. Now, we're not suggesting that the wheels are falling off Leona 's career per se, but what she lacks that a lot of other pop stars have is a definite personality. Songs like 'Happy' don't help matters. Speaking of personalities, Will Young's best of crashed in at, er, no. 9, which is hardly [...]

This story makes us very nervous and excited. Lest we remind you that last time Lady GaGa performed live she was left hanging from the rafters covered in fake blood . PLEASE can we let this happen again in front of the Queen. If not, we'd like these scenarios to occur: - Lady GaGa comes out dressed as the Queen before stripping off to reveal a dress made of £50 notes - Lady GaGa comes out dressed in nothing but [...]

This is the video for Vampire Weekend 's new single 'Cousins'. It turns out that this was just a 'teaser' or 'taster' for their new album, Contra, which is a shame as it's far more interesting than this. When that familiar guitar figure kicks in at the 45 second mark we felt a strange sense of sadness and disappointment, like when Bambi's mum died.  The video is much more interesting, what with all the camera work and face-changing technology (well, they use masks, which is probably the least technological aspect about the [...]

This is the frankly incredible new video for the Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck duet, 'Heaven Can Wait': This is another version of the frankly incredible new video for the Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck duet, 'Heaven Can Wait': There are so many highlights it's impossible to point them all out. What we do wonder is how the hell they pitched the idea for this video? Director: "So, there will be a man with pancakes for a head, a guy in a giant [...]

Björk - Björk!!! - has contributed a song for the soundtrack to the new Moomin movie - MOOMIN MOVIE!! The song is called 'The Comet Song' and was co-written with Sjon. There's more here . We are very excited - EXCITED!! - about this.

We weren't expecting great things from our selections last week, so, as you will see from this week's picks, we're going all out for the chart glory this week. Amerie was our most bankable bet and she was nowhere, Joe Goddard 's album probably sold about 11 copies and the Girls single missed the top 75 too. We're trying not to be too despondent, but it's difficult. BUY THIS FOR YOUR MUM THIS CHRISTMAS Echo by Leona Lewis [...]

Penguin Prison has been blogged about a lot recently, but not by us. That's because we're lazy and notoriously behind the times. This doesn't make this single any less great.  Perfect for a depressingly grey Friday afternoon. One of the blogs that does feature him a lot is called Neon Gold Blog (the label also releases his music), and it's so much better than most blogs out there that it's kind of depressing. You can download a [...]

This is a song by Beyoncé featuring Lady GaGa . It's a bit shit. This is it:  Reasons it's bad: 1). It wasn't a great song when it appeared on I Am...Sasha Fierce over a year ago and, unsurprisingly, it hasn't grown into a good song over night. 2). Lady GaGa doesn't really suit it and her vocals have obviously just been tacked onto it rather quickly (they even sound louder in the mix then the rest). 3). Videophones are a bit creepy aren't they? Not as good as telephones. [...]

Alicia Keys has a new single out. It's shit. This is it: Reasons it's bad: 1). The sentiment is basically "I've got so much money and wealth and luxury goods but if I haven't got a boyfriend then it's all meaningless". Boo-hoo, Alicia. If only you hadn't brought the third plasma screen in your bathroom, he might have stayed. Also, being rich and lonely is better than being poor and lonely so please move on. 2). It sounds a lot like her last top 10 single, 'No One', so is quite cynically a [...]

Lady GaGa is like marmite. That's what people say, right? That you either love her or hate her? Well, we're allergic to marmite, so that makes no sense. We don't break out into a rash when 'Just Dance' comes on, or slowly start to choke when the 'Paparazzi' video starts. By strutting around in her pants for the cameras and seemingly being EVERYWHERE she's become the pop star that everyone's heard of and got an opinion on. This is a good thing, given that these kind of worldwide megastars are increasingly rare and who wants a pop star that [...]