"An undeniable good book" by Nicola Trentin

"An undeniable good book" by Nicola Trentin reads like a ...good book. I mean: she tells wonderful stories in pretty little songs. Just a little girl with a piano, and a little voice. She sings with a bright voice and has brilliant ideas. Her lyrics are autobiographical and tell about young girls' adventures: boys, girls, kissing in the park, skinny dipping, naiv dreams and shortsighted ambitions but honest feelings. Nicola's first album is a sweet trip through a young girls heart ...it's like going through a diary. (You shouldn't read it! But do listen to this album...)

"An undeniable good book" by Nicola Trentin

"A light and a power" by Minuscule 56

There's not much to tell about "A light and a power" by Minuscule 56. This is the first album by this Skandinavian dance project. They're rather obscure and released this debut on their own Minuscule Records label.
Without any doubt they're influenced by Dead Can Dance but their biggest hero is the Dutch DJ/producer Armin van Buuren. And they did their own production. Brave, and absolutely worth listening to to!
Works on dance floors, but in your own living room too.

"A light and a power" by Minuscule 56

" A tableau of crimes and misfortunes" by Alexander Nuno Alvaro

Alexander Nuno Alvaro could be discribed as the new Holly Johnson but without a band. He is obviously influenced by Jack Shears (of the Scissor Sisters) and he sure has a kinky image.
Very gay, very trendy and very explicit. But that makes " A tableau of crimes and misfortunes" such a fun album. You already know the single "You R me" but the CD is stuffed with very danceable and hilarious songs.
This is humor you can dance to.

" A tableau of crimes and misfortunes" by Alexander Nuno Alvaro

"Jailbreak" by Thin Lizzy

One of the best rock LPs of 1976 was "Jailbreak" by Thin Lizzy. Wikipedia says: "The album proved to be Thin Lizzy's commercial breakthrough in the U.S. The singles include "Jailbreak" and "The Boys Are Back in Town", the latter being Thin Lizzy's biggest hit. The band originally wanted to release the more pop-oriented "Running Back" as the first single, which may account for the song's accessible arrangement and production."
One of the best TV shows of 2005 was "Prison Break". Wikipedia says: "Prison Break is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring (...) The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other, a genius, devises an elaborate plan to help his brother escape prison."

But what's in a name. And imagine if Thin Lizzy would've made the soundtrack...

"Jailbreak" by Thin Lizzy

"A succession of ordinary days" by Johnson Diversey

Johnson Diversey was one of the original bass players in the first line-up of Oasis. We all know what Oasis did, but Diversey never got over the fact that he missed this succesfull boat. Since the eighties he tried a couple of times to break through with his own albums, but none of them really made it to the album charts.

"A succession of ordinary days" is Diversey's third album in 15 years and it is still an attempt to bring britpop to a wider audience.

But isn't that exactly what Oasis is doing?
This could well be his last album with his current record company.

"A succession of ordinary days" by Johnson Diversey

"Out of focus" by Goldplating

This is the era of ecclectism. There are no boundaries, no restrictions, or no clear rules or fashions. Goldplating is one of those bands that use multiple influences. Be it sympho rock or hard rock from the legendary dinosaur bands from the seventies or be it the furious rock from punk bands in the eighties...
The album "Out of focus" bares Nirvana-like echoes from the nineties and Green Day-samples from this century too.

The result is a heavy CD with no real original profile, but it's a fun game to find out how many typical influences you can recognize...

"Out of focus" by Goldplating

"Eat anything" by J.Hutchinson

J.Hutchinson was huge in the nineties. But she only made one album. After some years it couldn't be bought anywhere, but true fans were willing to pay ridiculous prices for the album. That's over now, because her record company decides to re-issue "Eat anything".

On one hand that's a pity for collectors because that will bring down the price of this rare album, on the other hand the whole world can witness that this exceptional powerfull punk/rap phenomena is still as urgent and convincing as she used to be.

"Eat anything" by J.Hutchinson

"Never dry up" by Sheryl Plouffe

Sheryl Plouffe has a classical education. She started off with opera, then turned to musicals but now decided to follow the pop path. Her first commercial album is full of covers but she made tastefull adaptations. It's very brave to make a new version of Kate Bush's "The Man with the Child in his Eyes", and not everyone would dare to cover Rickie Lee Jones' "Chuck E's in Love". Plouffe treated even Tori Amos and Tony Braxton with respect.

Give her a chance and listen to this wonderfull debut.

"Never dry up" by Sheryl Plouffe

"I've got so much to give" by Jack Black

If colour is an issue to you, we can always swap them. White becomes black. Black becomes white...

Barry White would become "an American actor, comedian, and musician. With his friend Kyle Gass, he makes up one half of the comedy and heavy metal music duo Tenacious D. The group has two albums and a full-length film. His acting career is extensive, starring primarily as bumbling, cocky, but internally self-conscious outsiders in comedy films" (...) like "School of Rock"...

"Jack" Black would be known "as an American record producer and singer-songwriter. A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his rich bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring hit soul, funk, and disco songs. Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million"...




"I've got so much to give" by Jack Black

"Some people never go crazy" by Beta Israel

Let the summer begin!

The album "Some people never go crazy" by the Spanish singer/dancer Beta Israel is an incredible energy boost. Okay, she can't sing and her accent is horrible, but this dance project is just about looks and rhythm. Indeed Beta Israel is gorgious to look at. And althought her success won't last longer than one summer, the music is so energetic that I could listen to it for hours and hours. Day after day.

Baile, baile!

"Some people never go crazy" by Beta Israel

"Opinions" by Viktor Tikhonov

The band Viktor Tikhonov looks like a trendy industrial rock band that plays electronic body music...

But actually they're a clever concept with a big marketing plan. Everything has been thought of in advance, and managers have made decisions: what to wear, how to look, what kind of music they're going to play, what the stage act is going to be...

So this is one big money machine. The album "Opinions" is ironically just the opinions of a bunch of big shots from the music industry. The musicians are nothing more than actors...

There are better ways to spend your money.

"Opinions" by Viktor Tikhonov

"Isn't it?" by Isabel Province

Isabel Province is one of those petite chanteuse with a childlike voice and naive songs. She's a living French cliche. I wonder if the French audience will accept another non-original lo-fi singer, and I don't know either if foreign countries will like the fairytale-like songs.
Using an accordeion and a strong French accent and playing a lolita might fool some people...
But remember, you can fool  some of the people all of the time, and you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. Isn't it?

"Isn't it?" by Isabel Province