Album Results
Album Reviews
The music industry isn't exactly known for its patience. A flop single, an underperforming album, or a lacklustre comeback is sometimes all it takes for an artist to be dropped and never heard of again. Birmingham born Jamelia has had all three during her short four-year career (three of her seven singles have failed to reach the UK Top 30 and debut album Drama sank without trace) and yet somehow she's still here. The faith invested in her by her record company is admirable in this fickle day and age but with her second album, Thank You, it's been totally justified. Taking two years off to raise her daughter, the MOBO Award winner has obviously used the time well, raising her game to produce a record bursting with potential singles. Whilst partly influenced by the US production-sound of the moment, Thank You, unlike countless other UK R&B albums, never forgets its roots either. So the Neptunes-alike production of the title track, a female empowement anthem about domestic violence, sits comfortably alongside "Off Da Endz," a frenetic grime duet with So Solid Crew's Asher D. As does "Cutie," featuring a Kanye West-style helium-voiced chorus, next to the grinding, dirty basslines of "Taxi," written by Alisha's Attic's Karen Poole. Indeed, the best track here is quintessentially British and a masterstroke in fusing R&B with the modern rock establishment. "See It In A Boy's Eyes," written by Coldplay's Chris Martin, is a beautiful, slinky piano-driven ode to understanding the opposite sex. It's one of the best things Martin has done but it's also the most blatant indication of how Jamelia has matured as an artist. She's just as at ease when she moves outside her comfort zone. "Superstar," the single that rescued her career, was originally a hit for Denmark's Christine Milton, but Jamelia makes it her own to produce a simple but effective pop classic. Whilst final track "Antidote," a haunting, quirky ballad smothered in a glossy, electronica production, promises a bolder, different direction for the future. Overall, Thank You is a confident, imaginative record which oozes with personality and should be a lesson to record companies everywhere that patience can sometimes reap the biggest rewards. ~ Jon O'Brien, All Music Guide
Track Listing
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The Holy Pictures David Holmes |
| Four years in the making, since venturing into the rugged rock-jazz-blues arena with The Free Association; to prepare his fourth proper album David Holmes has put aside Hollywood commitments that began as the soundtrack composer for Steven Sorderbergh movies and has nearly become Holmes main activity as forthcoming soundtracks for the Bobby Sands biopic "Hunger" and "Five Minutes of Heaven" undeniably prove. "The holy pictures" is named after the pub his father was a regular of and conceived as a tribute to the city of Belfast and its people. On it our favourite North Irish DJ gives another lecture on eclecticism and takes a 180 degree turn towards the trendy road where shoegazing and krautrock meet. Next to his cinematic instrumentals, the main surprise here is Holmes singing for the first time, in a not too different manner to Jesus & Mary Chain's Jim Reid. Best example is the first single "I heard wonders", helped by Martin Rev, one half of 70s icons Suicide. Other highlights include the closing track "The Ballad Of Jack and Sarah" dedicated to his parents. Altogether, is a beautiful and rewarding record; his most personal to date. | |
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