Panic Room - Free Download - O Holy Night

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What better way to end the year and celebrate Christmas than with a free mp3 download from the outstanding band Panic Room!  A special Christmas recording of "O Holy Night" can be found via the band's official website at http://www.panicroom.org.uk/home.html 

You can also hear it on the YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q51E2TEtSq0 

You can also download a sampler of their 2010 album "Satellite" via the band's website http://www.panicroom.org.uk/home.html although you should already have treated yourself to a copy!  I expect great things from this band in 2012.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Albums Of The Year 2011

1st Place: THE DEVIL'S BLOOD - THE THOUSANDFOLD EPICENTRE

Album of the year for me.  This one keeps getting better and better.  An epic 74 minutes of state of the art metal.  Gorgeous hooks, melodies and outstanding musicianship.  Features the single "Fire Burning".  See my full review at:http://trisectorman.blogspot.com/2011/11/devils-blood-thousandfold-epicentre.html

2nd Place: VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR - A GROUNDING IN NUMBERS

A beautiful and engrossing album from Hammill, Banton and Evans.  I still miss saxman Jackson, but this is a great album guaranteed to give many hours of listening pleasure.  Features the single "Highly Strung".  Full review at:http://trisectorman.blogspot.com/2011/05/van-der-graaf-generator-grounding-in.html

3rd Place: ESBEN AND THE WITCH - VIOLET CRIES

A real grower and a goth pleasure.  For a debut album, it's astonishing.  Features the singles "Chorea", "Warpath", "Hexagons IV" and "Marching Song".  Read my full review at: http://trisectorman.blogspot.com/2011/04/esben-and-witch-violet-cries.html

Brian Eno - Thursday Afternoon

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I'm so glad I bought a copy of this.  

I've been a fan of Eno since 1972 and those early heady days of Roxy Music.  I remember my brother asking me if there was an LP I'd like for a (Christmas or birthday) present, and I replied that I'd like "No Pussyfooting" by Fripp and Eno.  I think he bought a copy for me in London record shop where it was "filed under Eno".  He was a bit freaked out by the gatefold "mirrored room" sleeve and even more so when he heard the album!  I remember too that "A Collage Of Extracts" from it appeared on the b-side of an early Eno 7" that I still have somewhere - possibly the notorious "Seven Deadly Finns"!  I remember listening to "Pyjamarama" in a record shop in Germany.  I remember the shoddy LP pressing of "Discreet Music" I used to own.  Hard to believe all this was around 40 years ago!

Anyway, back to the disc in question.  It's pretty much all keyboard and synths of course, despite the presence of Daniel Lanois.  Brother Roger Eno is also onboard.  I was recently listening to this piece on YouTube.  I knew I had to buy a copy!  This is one of Eno's gorgeous ambient pieces.  It's just over an hour long, and was released to exploit the then fairly new CD format.  I find it incredibly relaxing and yet musically rewarding at the same time.  I've bought a couple of extra copies for Christmas presents this year!

I prefer this to the more critically acclaimed "Apollo".  If you don't know this piece, I recommend giving it a listen via YouTube or wherever.  If you do know it, chances are you may have forgotten just how good it is.  Time for a refresher! Time for a purchase!

Sankara - Enigma EP CD

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Sankara is a new band featuring ex-The Reasoning keyboard/vocalist Gareth Jones and drummer Vinden Wylde.  Also onboard are two members from defunct outfit Bluehorses (about whom I know very little) - guitarist Jay MacDonald and bassist Rhayn Jooste.

To start with, I was underwhelmed by this first release, a four track EP available from Amazon and as downloads on the band's website http://www.sankara.co.uk/

But what we have here is a real grower.  Four extremely strong songs, superbly played and sung.  Why was I underwhelmed then?  Well, it's the production which is only adequate at best.  I would love to hear this material produced and/or mixed by someone like Bob Clearmountain.  For what we have here is AOR which could be absolutely huge stateside, and maybe over here in the UK too.  I am thinking Journey/Fleetwood Mac levels of popularity.  There is a pop sensibility here entirely beyond the prog roots of the band.  Gareth's voice is really distinctive and has star quality, although I do find it rather strange that his voice is used as backing vocals in addition to lead.  It creates an odd effect where perhaps female backing vocals would complement and enhance Gareth's lead.

Title track "Enigma" is piano-led and has a hypnotic hook.  It's the best song here.  Gareth's vocal is very choirboy like on this.  Rhayn's bass playing is characterful and Jay's guitars range from tasteful to commanding.  I couldn't get this tune out of my head the other day!

Second track "Exalted Star" is an altogether rockier affair.  Naturally, this stars Jay's electric playing and an  interesting solo part.  Chorus is strong and catchy.

Third song is the slower "As They Lay My Body Down".  This makes the most of Gareth's spiritual vocal style and Jay's acoustic playing.

Final track is "Full Flow" where Vinden's drums can be heard most effectively and at times the combination of Gareth's vocal and Jay's guitars reminds me of Led Zeppelin.

You can listen to the whole EP on the band's website.  Downloads are also available for purchase, but take my tip and treat yourself to the CD as the sound quality is  superior - drums, cymbals and vocals sound so much clearer.  Despite the production, I still rate this disc highly and have given it the full five stars as I think I will be playing and enjoying this for many months to come.

The band are playing Cambridge Rock Festival 2012.  A sometime haunt of The Reasoning and Panic Room, of course.  No doubt there will be other chances to catch them.  It's good to be in at the start with this band - I think they will be very popular.

Annie Lennox - A Christmas Cornucopia

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Cornucopia?  Cornucrapia more like!  This is a truly dreadful album.  I am posting this review as a warning just in case you are tempted to buy it while in a festive spirit! Make sure you listen to the samples at Amazon before you take the plunge.  Maybe you too will hate Annie's murdering of beautiful carols such as "The Holly And The Ivy", "In The Bleak Midwinter", "Coventry Carol" and "Il est né le divin enfant".  Annie's singing here is dour and doesn't suit this joyful material.  

Lennox has previous form for this sort of thing.  There was that awful covers album where "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" among others was dumped upon.  Further back, Dusty Springfield fans such as I will never forgive The Tourists and their rockist trashing of "I Only Want To Be With You".

The artwork is rather nice which is the only reason why the album gets as much as one star out of five.  Beware of the "Limited Edition" which has only a little more packaging (but no extra songs) for a lot more money.  There is also a green vinyl edition.  Tasteful!

I wouldn't want you to think I am a Lennox hater.  Some of the Eurythmics stuff was rather good.  I'm thinking particularly of early albums like "In The Garden" and "Sweet Dreams".  But this really is the pits...