[Ammi]

...I listened to Zeros a week or so ago ...but I’ll listen again in the next few days to refresh etc....because the music round in the quiz and listening to 7589465867423 different tracks since Zeros has fuzzed it all a little...

[Ammi]

...I’ve listened to Zeros twice and it’s an album I’ll probably listen to some more as well and dip in and out of, because it is a good album...I hadn’t heard of Declan McKenna before, so hadn’t heard any of his tracks ever, I don’t think..I read, though, that his greatest influences are David Bowie and the Beatles...and I think both of those influences shine through quite a bit in Zeros...which is lovely, but some tracks felt a little ‘too influenced’...too much Bowie and/or Beatles and not enough Declan McKenna...so only a tiny criticism of a balance not quite right on a few tracks, I though...because he himself in his own music as an influence, has to be the ‘most notable and outstanding feature’ of any track on his album, surely...


...anyway, a lovely listen and so many good tracks....Stand outs would be for me...Rapture, The Key to Life on Earth, Daniel You’re Still a Child, Beautiful Faces, You Better Believe...those are all I can recall atm but there are probably more.../...they’re all mostly pretty lovely.....


...Zeros...a Bowie inspired 7.5/10...

[Nicky91]

who in earth is Declan McKenna

[AnnieK]

Radio X has been championing Declan for a while.

[Tom4784]

Declan McKenna

I utterly despised this. It was bland, derivative of better artists and the lyrics are just hideous. In one song, from the sounds of it, he mispronounced 'Nature' in order to rhyme it with 'Thatcher' and I physically cringed. He also likes to talk about Nike trainers a lot in different songs which shows a lack of versatile imagery in his music. The album as a whole sounds like he desperately wants to turn back time to the mid-late 00's Indie craze but he comes across as an Alex Turner tribute act with little in the way of personality or a sound of his own.

I'm going to give it a 1/10 and I'm loathe to give this waste of an album even that.

[LemonJam]

Album starts with You Better Believe which is a pretty unremarkable start to be honest sounding like any up and coming indie rock artist in the last 10 years. Be an Astronaut makes up for it with stellar songwriting. The Key to Life on Earth is a good catchy cooldown. Beautiful Faces is very catchy but feels like an homage to Arctic Monkeys. Daniel, You're Still a Child is pretty decent, but Emily feels like a much needed break from the heavily guitar based instrumentation. Twice Your Size is fine, Rapture shows off McKennas songwriting chops very well with one of the catchiest choruses on the album. Sagittarius A* has a more engaging play with dynamics and use of synths over the course of the album but as a song it didn't engage for me. Eventually Darling has plenty of interesting ideas but I don't feel any were developed fully.

The space theme is certainly there even if the references to it aren't particularly inventive. Declan clearly has talent as a songwriter and each song is fairly distinct, but I'd love to see him broaden his instrumentation further for his future releases. My biggest gripe with this album is how his influences are painfully obvious the album almost sounds like a tribute to Bowie, Queen and Elton John.

Giving this album 7.3

[Shaun]

An imminent second lockdown to see the numbers for this soar back to its April/May heights?

Originally Posted by LemonJam

My biggest gripe with this album is how his influences are painfully obvious the album almost sounds like a tribute to Bowie, Queen and Elton John.

I was just listening to 'Beautiful Faces' and trying to place what it reminds me of, and it's probably a good blend of the three you name. I'm enjoying the record somewhat, but would agree the instrumentation at times isn't particularly innovative or challenging. It's kinda 'glam rock fast food'y.

'Daniel, You're Still a Child' shows promise though; it has a slightly Tame Impala sheen and the production isn't as paint-by-numbers as some of the tracks that precede it. I didn't really know what to make of 'Emily', it felt a little all over the place and I kinda liked that about it? Similarly liked 'Sagittarius A*' a lot.

I think overall I'd give the album a 7.8

[Jake.]

Bye @ 1/10

Will review tomorrow

[Morgan.]

I’m a huge fan of Declan McKenna, and although I much preferred his debut (What Do You Think About the Car?), Zero’s was still a nice follow up. He’s only young so I can see how his influences have almost taken over his own work but regardless of that I found it an enjoyable album and I think he will definitely be one to watch in the music scene. The standard of British Music in 2020 isn’t exactly sky high, so I find Declan’s presence refreshing and seeing his growth has been nice.

It’s no surprise that the singles are the stars of the show - The Key to Life on Earth, Beautiful Faces and Daniel, You’re Still a Child are huge standouts to me and have been on repeat over the last few weeks. I see this album at a comfortable 8.5, none of the songs make me want to switch off but I wouldn’t say I’m excited about absolutely everything there. The album, however, is definitely a grower and it took me about 5 spins to fully appreciate it, you have to be in the right mood and headspace to take it in properly.

I’m (assuming Covid allows) seeing him live in April so I’m really interested in seeing how this album translates to a live production as I can’t say I’ve seen too many of his live performances, bar the off TV chat show guest slot.

[Jake.]

Zeros Review

Declan’s first album contained some great tracks but felt a bit underdeveloped. Zeros feels far more polished with a bit of a more “grown-up” production. The Key To Life On Earth, Beautiful Faces & Daniel You’re Still A Child are all well made pieces of indie pop and set the bar for the album, so it’s a bit of a shame that there’s a slight dip in quality afterwards.Nevertheless, it’s still a pretty great album and makes for easy listening.

Highlights: The Key To Life On Earth, Beautiful Faces, Daniel You’re Still A Child, You Better Believe!!!

Album Rating: 8.2/10

[Shaun]

After six reviews, Declan McKenna ends up with a score of 67. Which is pretty decent given someone can't review fairly

Our next album - "Ungodly Hour" by Chloe x Halle - is being edited into the OP soon. Which is annoying because today marks the release of new albums by Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes and Idles

[Gstar]

Originally Posted by Shaun

Our next album - "Ungodly Hour" by Chloe x Halle - is being edited into the OP soon. Which is annoying because today marks the release of new albums by Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes and Idles

Better late than never

[Tom4784]

I can't help the fact that I thought the album was irredeemable ****, Shaun!

[Ammi]

...I do see Dezzy’s review as well...some of the songs were too ‘influenced’, so it made it difficult to feel the artist in what he brought to his music...poor Dezzy, he wasn’t here for karaoke night...

[Ammi]

...digging a hole, digging a hole...

[Ammi]

...maybe Shaun, try choosing better albums if you want better reviews...did you ever think of that...

[Ammi]

.....

[Shaun]

Just listening to Ungodly Hour now. I am liking it but I'm not slain.

Forgive Me and Ungodly Hour are both fantastic - I especially liked the noticeable but not OBVIOUS production by Disclosure on the latter - but some of the others meander along a little too monotonously... 'Lonely' in particular left me feeling rather bored. But there are other moments that really are intoxicating: 'Don't Make It Harder On Me' is like a slice of 1990s feelgood R&B that is just gorgeous from start to finish, and I really enjoyed the change of tone between that and 'Wonder What She Thinks of Me', this weird siesta moment that hovers between spanish guitars and full blown strings. It's probably the best showcase of their vocals, too.

I'm a little confused by 'Do It' being their best-performing single - it's nice but nowhere near their best - but I guess the radio is all about repetitive, minimalist production lately. I think overall I'd give the record a 8.3. It's on the verge of being great but there're still a few duds holding them back.

[MB.]

My brain is mush today and I can't string a sentence together, but 9!

[Tom4784]

Chloe X Halle

I have to admit, I felt a bit wrong footed by this album, the opening and Forgive Me has kind of this epic, almost classical feel to it and I was hoping that kind of sound would be more present throughout the album as such a mix is something I rarely hear in RnB music but it's not and it feels quite derivative because they aren't doing anything all that special outside of Forgive Me and Ungodly Hour. The rest of the album passed me by like background music really, pleasant enough but nothing that demands your attention or time.

It's not bad but it doesn't excite me. It's just a decent middle of the road album, really. Not bad, not great, just purely middling.

5/10

[Gstar]

Ungodly Hour is my favourite album of 2020 so far. I like the unique sound to their music along with the heavenly vocals and innovative arrangements.

My favourites are Tipsy, Ungodly Hour, Lonely and ROYL. Could of easily picked more but just narrowed it down to four. Special shoutout to “Do It” (of course)

I love how they’ve really blown up this year and hope they’ll continue to bless us with more music as time goes on. I will give this a 9/10

[Shaun]

With 4 reviews, Chloe x Halle end up with a score of 78.

I think we're long past queued suggestions now so I'll just jump in with a new release for a change. This week's album will be Roisin Murphy's "Roisin Machine". For anyone unfamiliar with her, you might recognise her as the vocalist from Moloko ("The Time is Now", "Sing it Back") at the turn of the century. She's done solo stuff for yonks now and this is her first album since 2016 (and her fifth overall). It's been getting pretty universal acclaim so let's test it in the TiBB waters

[Ammi]

...I give Roisin a 10/10....well okay, I’ll listen to it if you insist..you’re such a pedantic...

[Tom4784]

Scott to actually post a review for this one?

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

Scott to actually post a review for this one?

...not A review, Dezzy...THE review...he’s been perching his whole life...