Yo Majesty have delivered the most striking album this week with ‘Futuristically Speaking… Never Be Afraid’. Hold on tight for a fast paced Electro Rap romp.

It sure is exotic among all the measured, carefully thought out albums we’ve come across over the last couple of weeks. One big, noisy, sloppy party album. “Sh****t, what is this? It’s what it is,” as the Majesties would undoubtedly say themselves.

Once you regained your sanity, come down easy with Lambchop’s country soul ballads, Simon Star’s lounge jazz or Keane’s safe and sober hommage to 80’s pop.

Moving swiftly on, do you realise that Halloween’s almost upon us? Time to dig up those maggot-eaten, scary records. Let us know what ghoulish song gets your thumbs up for Halloween. Click on the ‘Vote’ button underneath the results. You’ve got a maximum of three votes. If you experience any issues voting below, please visit the poll’s home in the bottom right-hand corner of the site.

Album Of The Week
Yo Majesty ‘Futurisically Speaking… Never Be Afraid’
If you like Gangsta Rap, then Yo Majesty are the antichrist. Hip Hop’s hot tempered brats spit on bling and designer schmutter, giving you nasty rhymes and dirty Electro beats instead.

For starters, Shunda and JWL are two Lesbians who dress like they’re straight out of the local Walmart rather than the Playaz Lounge. For a main course, Yo Majesty have given up on the smooth beats and the glossy studio production. The music is fast, trashy Electro stuff that sounds like it was knocked out on a $100 keyboard - Electroclash meets Space Invaders.

Curious? Watch Yo Majesty Perform Live

For dessert, they take the mickey out of Hip Hop stereotypes. Big time. All that pimpin’ and booty callin’? Forget it, Yo Majesty turn the joint upside down. Bragging ‘gangstaz’ sweat and stink under their leather jackets and utter cringeworthy chat up-lines before being put down with a ‘but I might fancy your sister’.

The result is an album that sounds as close to a ’70s Hip Hop jam in a Bronx community centre as you are likely to get these days. (No, I wasn’ there, I’ve heard the bootlegs.)

Dip straight in there with ‘Party Hardy’ and ‘Club Action’. Then get sucked in further by the fast Electro of ‘Take It Away’ before singing along to ‘Leather Jacket’.

Listen To Yo Majesty Now!

But even when the girls slow down the tempo you can feel the energy. ‘Get Down On The Floor’ and ‘Buy Lxxe’ are slow paced jams that can still tear the house down.

And here comes the Health Warning: ‘Futuristically Speaking’ will not be everybody’s cup of tea.

Thin digital beats, often lacking in bass, plus shouted vocals hovering on the brink of distortion make for uneasy listening. It’s a great party record when you’re in the mood, but a total stinker if you’re not.

Personally, I think Yo Majesty’s best tracks aren’t even on the album, but on the ‘Kryptonite Pussy’ EP which was released just before the album. Heavier beats, totally dope material: ‘Hey There Girl’ and ‘Kryptonite Pussy’.

Readers from the UK and Ireland can download ‘Futuristically Speaking’ and the ‘Kryptonite Pussy EP’ here from iTunes UK.

US Readers - Buy Yo Majesty On CD Or Vinyl Here!

UK And Ireland Readers - Buy Yo Majesty On CD Or Vinyl Here!

#2: Lambchop ‘OH (Ohio)
Lambchop are the closest you can get to the Soul ballads of Curtis Mayfield or Isaac Hayes these days.

Hiding behind Wagner’s plaid shirts and dairy co-op caps is a tender, often bitter sweet soul that comes out in ballads like ‘Slipped, Dissolved And Loosed’ and ‘Please Ride’. There is a hint of the Tindersticks here, but Lambchop skirt around much of the opulence and the drama, playing it cool and restrained instead.

Listen To ‘OH (Ohio)’ Here:

When Wagner and his band up the tempo, they can pick up quite a groove. One of my favourite tracks on ‘OH’ is ‘Of Raymond’, a quiet but insistent piano and guitar workout that carries a lot of rhythm. A bit more energetic still is ‘Sharing A Gibson With Martin Luther King’, which doffs a cap at Indie rockers The Smiths of all unlikely inspirations.

Watch Lambchop Perform ‘The One’ Live

Lambchop have a baker’s dozen of albums to their name at this stage and there is a certain sense of comfort and routine about ‘OH’. That makes it a very mellow album, but one that lacks moments that burn themselves into your memory.

‘OH’ is predominantly a ‘mood’ album. If you like the melancholia of The Tindersticks or the easy going vibe of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, then you’ll knock good use out of ‘Oh’. It’s fair to say, though, that Billy’s ‘Lie Down In The Light’ from earlier this year has a more sketchy, rawer edge to it. ‘OH’ could have used a bit of that edge.

I’m curious if Kurt and the guys loosen up on stage and strip some polish off their songs. Lambchop are on tour this autumn. Check dates and buy concert tickets online!

Readers from the UK and Ireland can download ‘OH (Ohio)’ here from iTunes UK.

US Readers, Buy ‘OH (Ohio)’ On CD Here!

UK And Ireland Readers, Buy ‘OH (Ohio)’ ON CD Here!

#3: Simon Star ‘Blue Lights To Saturn’
‘Blue Lights To Saturn’ is a curious album of ambient style music propelled by jazzy, often surprisingly crisp drum breaks. Star sees himself as a drummer first, with a style firmly rooted in Jazz Fusion. Not much around in this particular style recently, so this is quite unusual.

Think Giorgio Moroder film music laced with the percussive intricacy of, say, Roni Size. Rhythms and tempi remain on the conservative side, however. It’s ambient with breaks, not the other way around.

Check out ‘Pipe Dream’ or ‘Radiance’ with its almost Roy Ayers inspired vibe. ‘Vallis Run’ is pure trashy Moroder style film music, while ‘Stimulus’ goes for female spoken word vocals over drums.

Use the MP3 player below to listen to samples from ‘Blue Lights To Saturn’. Readers from the US can download tracks in DRM-free MP3 format directly from the MP3 player.

Crate diggers with a soft spot for the the kind of loungey jazz breaks style propagated by Munich-based label Compost Records should take note. If you like the Trueby Trio or Beanfield, ‘Blue Lights To Saturn’ could have the odd useful break in store for you.

‘Blue Lights’ is also worth checking out for fans of library music and those of you who were into the Vienna sound of Patrick Pulsinger or Tosca.

Readers from the UK and Ireland can download ‘Blue Lights To Saturn’ here from iTunes UK.

To order ‘Blue Lights To Saturn’ on CD from Amazon.com, please click on the ‘Buy From Amazon’ button below:

#4: Keane ‘Perfect Symmetry’
Apparently, Keane have roughed it up a bit for their new album. Which means they no longer sound like a cocktail bar band with piano. Instead, they now sound a bit like one of those 1980’s bands stuck in no-man’s land between Pop, Rock and New Wave, you know, like Crowded House or Fischer Z.

I do like ‘Better Than This’, which is a not so subtle take on David Bowie’s ‘Ashes To Ashes’, stripped of its Blitz Kid glamour and played as a straight rock song. ‘Spiralling’, meanwhile, hovers somewhere between contrived and catchy. Check out the seriously 80’s influenced video below.

Watch The Video For ‘Spiralling’ By Keane

The rest of the songs doesn’t really do it for me, I’m afraid. ‘Perfect Symmetry’ is too buttoned-up for my taste.

I don’t get Keane at all, but listen for yourself. Just flick through the tracks on the MP3 player below.

If You like what you hear, try and catch Keane in concert. Check dates and buy Concert Tickets online.

To my ears, ‘Perfect Symmetry’ sounds wooden. If I want a sensitive ballad, I prefer listenting to somebody who actually goes out there and bares their soul. Try Micah P Hinson for that, or Lambchop or the Fleet Foxes. If I want clever pop songs, I’d prefer the Cold War Kids who loose the rag, get in a sweat and generally show more of a temper.

A bit of artistic temper, that’s what I like in a band, otherwise I might as well watch the X-Factor.

Readers from the UK and Ireland can download ‘Perfect Symmetry’ here from iTunes UK.

US Readers - Buy Keane On CD Here!

UK And Ireland Readers - Buy Keane Now From Amazon!