Blog: Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice

○○○○● LOUISVILLE three-piece Wax Fang's LP La La Land is a little cuckoo - but in a lovable, endearing way. The band, led by singer songwriter Scott Carney who began the band as a one-man project, play punk rock, but with a theatrical edge - for instance, to me opener Majestic has more than hints of Tom Jones' classic Delilah . But rather than piling it on, the group retain thin lo-fi sound which although while still loud and shouty never becomes a dirge, even on the more epic, politically-charged tracks like [...]

○○○○○ YOU can draw a line - or maybe a White Stripe - under this blog post, I've officially changed my mind about Jack White. I still have my reservations about the consistency of his White Stripes work, but on side-projects like The Dead Weather, whose second album Sea Of Cowards is out on Monday, you get the feeling the weight of expectation is lifted and he really flourishes. In fact, this is easily one of the best rock records on 2010 to date. Taking its cues from the likes of Led Zeppelin, T-Rex and, with [...]

○○○○○ TOTAL Life Forever , the second album by Foals, should see their names go down for posterity. Cementing the promise of their frenetic debut Antidotes , the latest LP sees a calmer approach to their complex sound - almost Sigur Ros-like at times, such as on Spanish Sahara . Into this space the Oxford math-rock group have given themselves within their music, they've grown in scope. It's an epic sound, which grows on each listen - math-rock turning into physics-rock, maybe?

○○○○● TUB-thumper Taylor Hawkins's Foo Fighters side-project, Taylor Hawkins And The Coattail Riders, sees some famous faces in tow. Appearing on his latest LP, Red Light Fever , are hangers-on such as Elliot Easton of the Cars, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, and bandmate Dave Grohl. As you'd expect from this line-up backing the drummer, the results are a straight-forward fun-loving rock record, packed with classic rock posturing and Foo Fighters hookery - as Hawkins said himself, it sounds like him "having sex with his record collection". Unashamedly derivative, Red Light Fever was [...]

○○○○● BROOKLYN based hip hop duo Javelin hit the target with their latest release No Mas . The producing pair have a penchant for the 1980s - even playing their live show through boomboxes - and it shows in their synth-soaked sound. And they clearly enjoy their work - lacing their tracks with a happy, upbeat vibe which comes across like a laid-back version of The Go! Team, or a cheerful Neon Neon. Album highlights include the raptastic Oh! Centra and the nostalgic Moscow 1980 - but nothing by Javelin No Mas [...]

DESPITE The Used having to pull out of Download Festival, 12 new names have been added to the Castle Donington festival's bill. Three Inches Of Blood, Napalm Death and Rolo Tomassi spearhead the announcement. In addition, The Virginmarys, The Plight, Kadawatha, Jim Jones Revue, Switchfoot, Your Demise, TAB and Urban Voodoo Machine have been added. A spokesman said: "Did someone say that they wanted more bands? "Ah, go on then, as we're in a good mood. "It's shaping up to be one hell of a ground shattering weekend of mayhem!"

○○○○● I'D RECOMMEND Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends , a collection of recordings by country singer-turned-actor Kris Kristofferson, to Kevin Costner. A few days ago my underwhelmed criticisms of Costner's album Turn It On sparked a debate over whether his music matches his movies - a debate I very much doubt will take place in the comments on this post. Because this collection of stripped bare early demos showcases an oft-forgotten songwriting talent who penned tracks adopted by the likes of Janis Joplin, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny [...]

○○○○● YOU, the latest release from rising star Gold Panda, mixes dreamy hip hop beats with the music of the land of the rising sun. Inspired by Japanese culture Chelmsford's Gold Panda - who echoes his namesake's reclusive nature and has not released his real name - reportedly once sold his entire record collection to finance a Japanese course and a year in the far east. And this influence is all over the exotic Eastern samples cut around his glitchily beautiful beats on You and Before We Talked , with the title track further expanded [...]

○○○○○ WARP wonder Flying Lotus's third LP Cosmogramma is out of this world, full stop. The LP by Flying Lotus, real name Steve Ellison, sees the Los Angeles-based producer knocking out 17 short and sweet nuggets of glitchy hip hop beats. Floaty rather than thumping, these ethereal drums are have a forward-thinking, freeform feel, which choice live instrumentation lends a timeless jazz quality, while guests enlisted including moody Thom Yorke and soulful Thundercat to help Lotus take the sound in other unexpected directions. A shape-shifting soundscape of unusual scope, Cosmogramma has the potential to [...]

○○○●● CANADIAN rocker Hawksley Workman is hoping to bring home the bacon with his latest joint, Meat , part of a double whammy of releases in 2010 alongside Milk . The album, the prolific performer's 13th studio outing, doesn't quite make the chop for me. Production values here are high - with an impressive electronic sheen lent to his slightly glam, workmanlike rock. But despite this Workman, real name Ryan Corrigan, is style rather than substance on Meat - coming across like a poor man's Bono.

○○○○● AUSTRIAN dance DJ Clara Moto's minimal dance album Polyamour has lots to love about it. Never full on, Moto - real name Clara Prettenhofer - has a subtle house sound that could easily get swallowed up in a DJ set - on first play it may come across as set-list filler rather than dancefloor filler. But the album from the DJ, who has a musical background in classical and jazz which helps raise her compositins above the formulaic, rather than grabbing the listener gradually sucks them in, like a nice hug. And this delicate touch [...]

WYMESWOLD band The Wave Pictures are set to release a new album, Susan Rode The Cyclone . The 10-track LP will be a limited release, with only 750 copies available worldwide on white vinyl and mp3 download. A band spokesman said: "The Wave Pictures do not tire of playing their contagious cheek on whatever stage allows them to do so, in fact they make the most of the quiet moments between tour and tour to go into the studio and come out with a collection of cheeky and playful songs in which folk and pop come together in completely [...]

○○○○● DON'T be fooled by the God awful cover art - CocoRosie's Grey Oceans is worth 'seaing' through. The duo of sisters Sierra Casady AKA Rosie and Bianca Casady AKA Coco weigh anchor and set sail on a voyage through a fantastic landscape - as in, a world of imagination. For instance Smokey's Taboo is new age hip hop, Hopscotch revolves around a 1920s piano trill, Lemonade mixes orchestral indie with electro beats and squelches, Grey Oceans is delicate introspective singer songwriter shtick, Fairy Paradise has [...]

○○○●● WRITING a review of Maia Sharp's Echo is one of the hardest I've had to pen for this blog - and not because it's the first I've attempted since the birth of my new baby girl. Because the Sheryl Crow-esque LP has few faults - Sharp's vocals are crisp and distinctive, her songwriting is clever, the production is excellent. On paper, it's great. But on reflection, Echo is just too safe and too middle of the road to excite me - I don't know why, but Sharp doesn't cut it in practice.

EYES right this morning and you'll notice Sound Advice has a new orange button to press. The site has now signed up to the Sound Cloud social network alongside Facebook , Last.FM and Twitter , and is accepting musical submissions. Anyone is welcome to drop tracks in my box for consideration and they could end up reviewed or posted on the site. Also, later today, expect a few home-cooked tracks to be uploaded...

○○●●● WATERWORLD we live in, where Hollywood A-listers can just fandango into the recording studio and put together an album willy nilly, whereas the likes of me continue to languish in obscurity. But enough of my struggle. Some of these stars, musically, are untouchables - Juliette Lewis's Juliette And The Licks, Jared Leto's 30 Seconds To Mars - but others, like Kevin Costner And Modern West, see the actors merely chasing dreams. Turn It On , the group's second, sees them turn out derivative Bruce Springsteen-style country-tinged rock and roll - pub rock if [...]

A DEMO of a new Young Knives track, ILoveMyName , has been posted on the internet. Henry Dartnall, the Leicestershire group's frontman, uploaded the track here , saying: "Demo of a new track which will almost probably be on our new album maybe." ILoveMyName by helpmedarling

○○○●● FORMER 9 Lazy 9 member Funki Porcini's new album On isn't a complete turn-off, but it is a little disappointing. The album opening of the not-so-hilarious musical joke Moog River followed the excellent jazzy downbeat beats of This Aint The Way To Live is a microcosm of On . Because when Funki Porcini, real name James Braddell, is on it, he's simply awesome, lounging with the best of them. It just needed someone to see off the not so thrilling moments - such as Robert Crumb's Natural Gait [...]

○○○○● I LEARNED The Hard Way is a blast from the past. Following the success of 100 Days, 100 Nights, Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings don't rock the boat for this follow-up - they continue to funk and soul it. The '70s-sounding funk band backing are the perfect vehicle for the Motown-esque pipes of Jones, who is a joy on grooves like Better Things To Do and Without A Heart. So if you're not yet educated in the ways of these revivalists, let this be a lesson to you.

○○●●● DON'T expect Flashbacks , the new LP by The Lodger, to take up permanent residence in your collection. Because the Leeds band's latest LP seems to hark back to the dying days of Britpop, when every Tom, Dick and Travis could make themselves at home in the charts. This may be a little harsh on The Lodger, who have some delightful moments, such as the Wave Pictures outro to Flashbacks . The problem is their music tends to keep itself to itself, and as a result, the album underwhelms.