WHEN THE GRAMOPHONE RINGS POST: Honours - 'Blue Light'

It’s safe to say we’re a little bit excited about up-and-coming London trio Honours. After the release of teaser track ‘Ready to Run’, filled with pulsating energy, ‘Blue Light’ stumbles forth – quiet, sedate, and dramatically different to the group’s first offering.

‘Blue Light’ is a track filled with subtlety and character. Deep, brooding, padded bass mingle with a handsome piano part. This delicate, all-encompassing piano offers perfectly constructed chord progressions that compliment the track’s fragile, introverted vocals, that develop together quietly for an impassioned yet palpably pained performance.

These vocals, rich with reverb and melancholy are the star of the track, with their smooth timbres and saddened lyrics. This is the first time we have heard such a modest vocal style from this group, and needless to say, we like a lot.

Clearly masters of subtlety, Honours have here released a slow-burning gem, which really develops in musical and emotional intensity, as calm and cold as the blue light of the track’s title.

See this at When the Gramophone Rings here: http://whenthegramophonerings.com/2014/03/25/video-day-honours-blue-light/

THE GIRLS ARE POST: Lily Allen - 'Air Balloon'

‘Air Balloon’ is the second single to be taken from Lily Allen’s forthcoming record, Sheezus. Following on from her controversial comeback single ‘Hard Out Here’, ‘Air Balloon’ sees Allen offering a more light, bubble-gum style of pop, which although catchy demonstrates little of the purpose or clarity of intent that audiences have come to expect from the singer.

Allen’s return to pop at the end of last year saw more of her charismatic style of crass social commentary, offending seemingly everyone with her unapologetic jab at certain sexist spectrums of the music industry. With ‘Air Balloon’, however, Allen offers a nonsensical single filled with vacuous nursery rhyme lyrics of no discernable quality. This is accompanied by her classic light, sing-song style vocals. This vocal style is typically one of Allen’s fortes – the juxtaposition of pretty, sweet vocals with cutting acerbic lyrics is at times truly noteworthy. With this single, however, sweet vocals combine with empty lyrics to create an excessively saccharin concoction.

That is not to say ‘Air Balloon’ is devoid of any endearing qualities. The chorus is certainly catchy, and the presence of an interestingly deep saw-wave synth bass line lends the tracks a degree of curiosity and edge at times. The track is also well produced, which may seem like an obvious statement with such a major artist, but there is actually a surprising amount of lack lustre production in contemporary pop (see Miley Cyrus’ recent Bangerz).

‘Air Balloon’ is out now on CD and download. Lily Allen has no tour dates scheduled at present, although she has confirmed she will be playing at Glastonbury Festival this June. The release date for her third studio album is set for later this year.

See this at TGA here: http://www.thegirlsare.com/2014/03/04/review-lily-allen/