Bumper Album Review Post – Part One!

There are so many albums coming out at the moment, I haven’t time to do full reviews on them all, so I’m just going to give you my opinions on them in a paragraph each. Today’s bunch are Alcazar, Ballas Hough Band and Pet Shop Boys:

Alcazar – Disco Defenders
This is definitely my favourite of the new albums. Every song is fantastic, and, quite unbelievably, it is worth the 6 years we had to wait for it. Some immediate highlights include typical Alcazar anthems Burning and From Brazil With Love, and the slightly different but equally poptastic Put The Top Down and Thank You. The latter is particularly special, as it is a tribute to ABBA, and I reckon someone who didn’t know ABBA as well as us Scandiphiles could be easily persuaded that it was a long lost track by them. They’d be amazed that something so ace wasn’t considered an ABBA classic. The 4 singles from this album have all been fab, and I can’t guess what they’ll release after Burning, because there are so many great songs to choose from. If it were my choice, I’d go for Thank You.

Ballas Hough Band – Ballas Hough Band
Their single Do It For You is one of the best songs around at the moment, and although it’s the clear standout of the album, there are plenty of other ace tracks. Actually, there’s not one I particularly dislike, although Fall is a little on the rocky side. The sound is very varied, mixing rock, r&b, and (mainly) pop into a collection of songs which does admittedly seem a bit dated, but will please any fans of good old-fashioned pop music. It’s not trendy, but it’s a great, consistent album with something for every taste… as long as you like pop music! All the songs are growing on me as I listen for the second time, and I think I may get to really love this album in time.

Pet Shop Boys – Yes
The fact that the PSBs sound is so distinct means that they are able to keep up with the pop trends, while keeping to their own style. Of course it also makes it hard to win over anyone who decides they don’t like them – if you didn’t like their hits in the 80s/90s, you probably won’t like this either, but if you did, you’ll love it! I’ve only listened to the album once so far (and you can do so too, here) and I feel like it’s not quite up to the standard of their last one, but I hope I’ll grow to love it equally much. There’s no Integral, Sodom and Gomorrah Show or Numb, but this is classic ace PSBs stuff, and I’m looking forward to getting to know all the songs better. A few which immediately stood out were Pandemonium, which is great fun (and funny too), and All Over the World, which you’ll probably recognise from their Brits performance.