Thursday 31st March

I went to London today for a conference through work, and although a two hour train ride there and back, plus trekking round London may have its downsides, the great bonus is that it lets you play a tonne of albums as you go.

Rather than playing new stuff though and listening to some of the latest material out there, I elected to go back to a few older releases contained on my ipod.

I surely fit into a category of one (I must!) but on the way down there, I kicked back early doors with the third Taylor Swift record, Speak Now, after seeing her twice in the last week or so, and then followed that up with a double header of Bring Me The Horizon albums, There Is A Hell. . . and Suicide Season.

To say that they are a severe contrast in styles would be a massive understatement.

As for the Taylor Swift album, I have waxed lyrical on that repeatedly in this blog, but it is STILL a phenomenal record and one that you can come back to again and again. It simply doesn’t get old, and it just a stunning collection of work. Each time you listen to it, you fall in love with it over and over again, and it will be one that I listen to for a very long time.

She has mastered her craft as an emotive and effective singer-songwriter, and the music she has put to record has been a different class over the past few years. It is not difficult to see why she is such a global phenomenon, as her work is of the highest of standards.

Utterly flawless.

Bring Me The Horizon really upped their game on There Is A Hell . . . and let’s face it, it is just a lesson in sheer sonic brutality, that is mesmerising and enthralling all the way through. Heavy, brave, and sheer perfection for mosh pits up and down the land. You can’t fail to love it as a fan of heavy music, and you can totally see why it changed the game for them.

They are clearly no longer a band that you can ignore, and one of the best records of the last 12 months still sounds absolutely massive when you listen to it. It evokes memories of their impressive sets are Sonisphere 2010 and their support slot with Bullet last December, where they completely slayed everything before them. They are onto something big here, and this record only compounds that fact in a frighteningly heavy and monstrous way.

Following up from that though, listening to Suicide Season was a great choice, as it sounds just as brilliant, and I have come to love it as a separate body of work, having initially ignored it when it first came out. Once more it is stocked full of brutal metalcore anthems, and is the perfect showcase of aggression and angst.

The Sadness Will Never End, Chelsea Smile, The Comedown, Football Season Is Over, and Diamonds Aren't Forever all sound immense, and this is a record that I have really grown to love now that I have given it the chance to wow me, and floor me, like it did a lot of their critics on its release.

Sure the haters will still hate, but BMTH have morphed into a powerhouse Brit metal band, and this was the start of that evolution for them.

Essential.

By the time I got off the underground I was pumped for the day ahead, Taylor having chilled me out, and then BMTH getting me all fired up, and wanting to take on the day.

On the way back, my eclecticism hit in, and I listened to a mix of stuff.

I finally listened to Eliza Dolittle’s eponymous debut album, which was strange, as I didn’t even know I had it on my ipod!! God knows where or from who I picked up that from! I genuinely wish I hadn’t really bothered as it was pretty dire, the only two half decent songs on there being the singles, which was a bit of a disappointment. Sure she is pretty cute, but will that take her to the big leagues? Probably not with material like this.

It is the lowest common denominator of pop music, and at times she comes across as a poor man's Lily Allen, which is a shame, as on interview, she comes across as really lovely, but for now, her music is not of a standard to enable her to break out to superstardom. However, she has done well for herself, especially on the back of the success of Skinny Genes, and Pack Up, and can sell tickets well, so people must be lapping this up. For me though, it was a pretty poor effort for a debut release, and is not one that I will be coming back to again and again.

Sick Puppies' Dressed Up As A Life album soon followed which was a nice departure from everything else I had listened to, with their grunge rock stylings being immensely enjoyable on the trek back to Crewe. Deliverance in particular was a celear favourite from the album, and the other tracks went down really well, and I am pleased that this album was an enjoyable listen, after enjoying their latest offering Tri-Polar so much. This one may not be as good as that album, but it is certainly a great record, and I did enjoy listening to it.

They could have a really bright future over here if they catch on, and with tracks as catchy as these, they should be able to break through into the mainstream conscious as well. They are a big deal in the States, and it could be just a matter of time before they replicate those levels of success over here.

I followed that up with the second Red Jumpsuit Apparatus album, Lonely Road, which is still as disappointing now as it was when it first came out. As I will no doubt detail in a forthcoming spotlight feature, the debut from RJA was immense, and they were one of the next big things in my eyes, as Don’t You Fake It was one of the best debut records I had heard on its arrival. I had huge expectations from Lonely Road, but it was such a huge departure from the sound of the scintillating debut that it just fell short of the benchmark.

Another listen some months later still does nothing to improve it to me. I did enjoy later track Senioritis, but everything else is just poor when you think of the brilliance of the tracks from Don’t You Fake It.

It is a shame, as when they first came out, they were an immensely exciting prospect, but at the moment, they seem to have gone off the boil somewhat.

I finished off the day by listening to the debut album from Hey Monday, Hold On Tight, for the first time in ages. I absolutely love this record, and it just reminds me of my time in Nottingham in 2009 when I uncovered this beauty, and played it to death. It was this album, along with the self-titled We The Kings debut that completely defined that year for me as I hammered both of those records consistently at full volume.

Hold On Tight is still a classic, and was (and still is) a refreshing album from start to finish. How You Love Me Now? and Run Don’t Walk are still huge pop-punk anthems, and Candles is still one of the best lighter waving pop-punk ballads around. Arizona is also still one of the best pop-punk tracks ever written, and all in all, this was a real fun way in which to end the day, getting back to reality on my arrival into Crewe, as the Hey Monday album reached its climax.

Gotta love long train journeys!