War Child Heroes : 8 out of 10 on AOL

AOL give the War Child "Heroes" album an 8 out 10 review!

"The latest War Child album has something of a dream premise. A selection of the greatest names in music pick out a song of theirs, and then nominate a current musical big hitter to cover it. The resulting album, which will raise money for the children who live with the brutal effects of war, sees Beck covering Bob Dylan's Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, Elbow take on U2's Running To Stand Still, The Hold Steady doffing their cap to The Boss' Atlantic City and Duffy rework Paul McCartney's Live And Let Die. Charity album or not, it's a worthwhile project, but considering where the profits are going, it's near essential"

Click here to see the review

War Child Heroes : 4.5 of 5 Album Review from MusicOMH

Music OMH give War Child's "Heroes" 4.5 out of 5!

"It's been 14 years since War Child released their first compilation album and, sadly, their work is even more important in 2009. Heroes is the fifth album released in aid of the charity which provides assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict. Considering the amount of war-torn districts across the world, their work remains vital.
As well as the noble aspects of the charity involved, War Child's albums have always managed to sound like pretty decent records in their own right. The last couple of albums have concentrated on cover versions, with this year's twist being that various legends of the music business chose their own track and selected an artist of their choice to reinterpret it.

The results are, predictably enough, a mixture of the great, the average and the bloody awful. It also provides an interesting insight into the mind of the original artists, with the obvious (Bruce Springsteen choosing The Hold Steady) and not so obvious (who'd have thought Paul McCartney would have been a fan of Duffy - then again, he's got form with young blondes...).

It's a decent gimmick to use, especially with seemingly every compilation album post-Live Lounge being saturated with cover versions. The most successful tracks here are, as is usually the case with covers, the numbers where the bands concerned have attempted to do something a bit different with the song.

So, we have Peaches turning Iggy & The Stooges' Search And Destroy into a brilliantly scuzzy grimy electro-rock anthem, Scissor Sisters raving up Roxy Music's Do The Strand, while Hot Chip manage to sound both simultaneously terrifying and mournfully sad on their reworking of Joy Division's Transmission.

Some of the more faithful covers also work superbly. Yeah Yeah Yeahs were probably born to cover Sheena Is A Punk Rocker by The Ramones and do so with aplomb here, while Elbow are the perfect band to recreate the quiet majesty of U2's Running To Stand Still. In fact, Guy Garvey and company probably come closest here to making the song chosen for them their own.

Other songs don't fare as well. The Kooks do a perfunctory run through The Kinks' Victoria and are inevitably overshadowed by The Fall's mighty cover a few years ago. Estelle, rather surprisingly, does the seemingly impossible and robs all the joy and life from Stevie Wonder's classic Superstition in her rather flat rendition. Duffy's Live And Let Die is even worse, reinventing Macca's Bond theme as some kind of lounge ballad while demonstrating some very odd vocal diction.

It's churlish to complain too much though, especially when your money is going towards such a good cause, and the majority of the tracks are excellent. Lily Allen, for instance, breathes new life into The Clash's Straight To Hell, helped by Mick Jones himself on guitar and backing vocals. The Hold Steady are also a notable highlight, transforming Springsteen's Atlantic City from a stripped down ballad into a full band version that the E Street themselves would be proud of.

The idea of an album filled with the biggest stars in the music world coming together for a good cause may not as unusual as it was 14 years ago - indeed, Heroes has the ill-fortune to be released on the same day as 4AD's similarly star-studded Dark Was The Night compilation. Yet the worthiness of the cause and the exclusive nature of much of the material here makes this another essential War Child release."

Read the full review here

War Child "Heroes" BBC Album Review

The BBC review War Child's "Heroes";

"Yet another charity cover versions album, War Child: Heroes adds novelty by asking the original artists to choose who should revive their songs. The results are predictably mixed: Mick Jones' choice of Lily Allen to add sugar and cream to The Clash's Straight To Hell proves surprisingly inspired, while Paul McCartney once again picks the wrong woman, with Duffy suffocating Live And Let Die with coy mannerisms.

As with all covers, the best songs here revere the original (is there anything more dispiriting than an ironic cover?) but add a new dimension or perspective, As well as Allen's chimingly lovely version of Straight To Hell, her sweet vocal making the lyrics bite even harder, Peaches brilliantly re-invents The Stooges' Search And Destroy as sleek, dark electropop and Scissor Sisters streamline and discofy Roxy Music's Do The Strand.

Of the bolder cover attempts, only Duffy's Live And Let Die truly falls flat on its face. Presumably, slowing down this former Bond theme was an attempt to add Shirley Bassey grandeur, but losing its abrupt, playful shifts in tempo robs it of all its former charm. Rufus Wainwright fares much better with his medley from Brian Wilson's Smile, pushing his florid, elegant vocals to the forefront.

There are more straightforward revisitings, too. Beck's version of Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat is strikingly similar to Bob Dylan's own honky tonk version, with a little added swagger, while Elbow approach Running To Stand Still with the same stately grace as U2. Sadly, TV On The Radio's version of David Bowie's Heroes is a mess, with its hard electro beats adding nothing to the futuristic perfection of the original.

War Child: Heroes is admirably more ambitious than many previous covers records, and the fact it succeeds so often is to its credit. But given the breadth of talent assembled here, you do wonder whether letting them turn in their own homework might have been even more satisfying."

Click here to see the review

Alela Diane : Noize Makes Enemies album review

Noize Makes Enemies review the Alela Diane album "To Be Still"

Alela Diane is another singer/songwriter from the folk genre. There seems to be hundreds of these artists, usually plaguing open mic nights, Diane doesn’t really stand head and shoulders above the rest but “To Be Still” has its moments that make her a little more interesting than the majority of others.

Her voice, a key part of her signature sound, is a cross between folk, yodel and Alanis Morissette. There is no denying that she can sing very well but this style has been heard a lot before so it’s hard to make anything special of it. She plucks away coyly on an acoustic guitar which, whilst it works well, blends in too well because this formula is so clichéd.

Diane uses plenty of instruments to colour the album a bit more, including a pedal steel and a mandolin to name a couple. The best track of the album, White as Diamonds, uses soft violin playing that strokes and comforts the softest part of you. However, a lot of the songs on the album just mesh into one long medley due to them all sounding too similar. “Age Old Blues” has guest singer Michael Hurley and their voices work together as well as Jim Morrison and leather trousers. They don’t harmonise enough in the song though and when they do it is for fleeting moments before Hurley goes back to ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ before finally cutting out.

The album, as with most singer/songwriter albums, has a heavy melancholy to it which quickly gets tiresome. Even the lighter, happier songs have an air of melancholy around them. There is no denying the authenticity of the songs, each word sung, each note plucked, sounds genuine and heartfelt from the very depths of Alela and her musicians, whether they are melancholic or not.

This album is quite generic, although I can see it has a lot of potential for those who are really into the singer/songwriter folk scene. There’s nothing bad about this album, it’s just there isn’t much that makes it great.

Read the full review here

Alela Diane : The Music Magazine 8/10 Review

The Music Magazine have given "To Be Still" an 8 out of 10 review;

"Alela Diane’s debut The Pirate’s Gospel was one of those albums that snuck up on you. Pleasant enough, but seemingly innocuous on a first listen, repeated spins ensured it would entrench itself in your soul and place you firmly under its warm embrace. A mix of old world folk, campfire and shanty coupled to Diane’s uniquely affecting voice; it was undoubtedly, for many, one of the records of 2007. Two years on, after a hectic tour schedule and collaboration that have included the wonderful Headless Heroes project, alongside David Holmes, she releases her sophomore effort To Be Still.

Opener Dry Grass & Shadows marks an immediate departure from her debut. Where The Pirate’s Gospel relied on the plaintive and often quirky duo of Diane’s voice and her acoustic, To Be Still sees her flexing her song-writing muscle, fleshing out the skeletal approach from her debut with traditional instrumentation including fiddles, strings, lap steel and some percussion. Where this works, the effects are enchanting; the aforementioned opener, where lap steel swaddles guitar and percussion to create an enveloping pastoral drone. The breathtaking, cello-backed atmosphere of White As Diamonds, the banjo chug of The Alder Trees and the towering The Ocean are wonderfully majestic and tear at your heartstrings rather than tug at them. On the rare occasion her song craft doesn’t hit these heights, you yearn for the bare sound of her debut, the title track in particular, recalls the overworked nature of Iron & Wine’s latest output.

However fleshed out these songs are however, Diane’s voice is still the lynchpin behind this project and it’s still wonderful, perhaps even grown in confidence, her range filling every nuance from hoarse and uncertain to effortlessly soaring. The themes of nature, so prominent in her debut are once again ubiquitous in her follow-up. Even when the themes turn to relationships, family and friends as in the ‘Rocky Racoon’-esque plod of Age Old Blues, accompanied by some hoary old wolf-hound vocals, the analogies always wind themselves back to the intimate knowledge of her Nevada homelands.

To Be Still is a strong follow-up to an excellent debut. Diane’s voice still powerfully touching, while the traditional compositions add an extra dimension to her craft. While the album sometimes feels that it lacks the intimacy and endearing charm of her debut, there is no doubt that these qualities will emerge with time. This is a timeless-sounding record and whether you’re a fan or a stranger drawn in by the hype, this is certainly worth a purchase."

To read the full review click here

Alela Diane : The Beat Surrender album review

The Beat Surrender review "To Be Still" by Alela Diane;

"Alela Diane returns with her sophomore album To Be Still this week and just like it’s predecessor it’s got a really organic and honest feel running throughout it, both in terms of the music and the lyrics.

It continues in many ways where The Pirate Gospel left off so it’s hardly likely to alienate many existing fans. If people will afford it more than one listen though, they will find a deeper level to this release that comes out with repeated plays, especially on tracks like Take Us Back, Dry Grass & Shadows, Every Path and Tatted Lace, which were all strong favourites of mine on the second spin.

The other thing this album really has going for it, is that the theme isn’t varied or muddled, it’s taking you on a very definite and at times sparse journey through one womans loneliness and isolation, while that may nopt be an easy listen for some it does make for a rounded and cohesive listen in my eyes(or should that be ears!)"

To see the full feature, click here

Red Blooded Women "Enjoy The Silence" featured on Electroqueer!

ElectroQueer feature the new Red Blooded Women single, and free Designer Drugs remix;

"Red Blooded Women covering Depeche Mode? - If that isn't more hot than hot than I don't know what is? It's certainly more hip than The Saturdays covering "Just Can't Get Enough" for sure! To be fair, Red Blooded Women had their designs on covering "Enjoy The Silence" long before The Saturdays (They have been performing this live for awhile now) announced their cover - and quite frankly, I think Red Blooded Women win here.

Make sure to download the "Designer Drugs Remix" of "Enjoy The Silence" right here, right now for your taster of the hot new single which is released on March 29th with a pleathora of mighty-fine remixes by Parralox, Heads We Dance, 7th Heaven and Bassmonkeys. I'm quite looking forward to hearing the rest of the remix package now - especially the Parralox and Bassmonkey's mix - who did a smash up job remixing Antigone's "More Man Than Man" last summer.

If your as mad for Red Blooded Women as I am, make sure you check them out live on 6th March at the next Electroqueer @ Underbelly show co-headling with Sam Taylor. I ran into Liz and Candy last week at a gig and they are really looking forward to performing for you EQ readers!"

Click here to visit ElectroQueer, and see the full feature

Alela Diane : MusicOMH 4.5 out of 5 Album Review

MusicOMH give "To Be Still" a 4.5 out 5 album review;

"Alela Diane's debut album took four years to flutter into the consciousness of a public beyond the cafés of hinterland California with its sparsely arranged, post-Vashti Bunyan-esque songs of quietly bucolic travails. The follow-up comes with a much "bigger" production ("bigger" being a relative term). It's all the better for it.

Her first two albums came in home-made sleeves embroidered personally and strictly by hand by the then 20-year-old artist. They enjoyed minimal distribution, being sold exclusively at Alela Diane Menig's coffee house performances in Nevada City, a once-important gold rush centre in the hills behind Sacramento which today houses just about 3,000 souls.

New-Folk superstar Joanna Newsom lived here too, and encouraged the young singer-songwriter to perform her songs live. Even so, it took more than four years until the second of her self-produced albums, The Pirate's Gospel, via a succession of ever more professional indie labels and impressive performances in ever more prestigious venues, managed to attract the ears of a wider internationale of "wyrd folk" as well as singer/songwriter audience.

Whilst it has taken her four years to record another album of her own, her voice has not been entirely absent from the CD in-tray. By providing eerie, Mazzy Star-like vocals to songs like The Jesus And Mary Chain's Just Like Honey or Nick Cave's Nobody's Baby Now on producers Eddie Bezalel and Hugo Nicolson's cover versions project Headless Heroes, she proved that she wasn't quite the otherworldly folk-naif that the style of The Pirate's Gospel might have suggested.

On to To Be Still. The album, like its predecessor, was produced by Diane's father Tom Menig, together with Dan Elkan who was once a member of math rock bandHella, also from Nevada City. Compared to the sparse previous opus, this time the instruments are piled up sky-high, and the production is positively wide-screen.

Happily, this works to the advantage of both songs and voice. Mandolins, banjos, fiddles and even drums are applied with a touch that is both sure and sensitive. No instrument forces itself into the foreground, each touch is applied strictly in order to add nuance, emphasis and texture. These arrangements throw a new light on Diane's clear and still-water-deep voice, making it appear much more three-dimensional than on the previous album.

Melodically, too, To Be Still is both more sophisticated, more confident, and, above all, more convincing (if encountered in a less than fan-like frame of mind, the previous album could appear more than a little monotonous). In this respect, opener Dry Grass & Shadows with its peculiar, descending verse melody, accompanied by the brightest shimmer of a pedal steel guitar, makes for a breathtaking start.

The care and attention lavished on the minutest detail throughout the rest of the album means that no song sounds like any other. However, utterly dominant throughout is the voice. Unhurried, completely sure of each move, it glides across these eleven songs with a complete disregard of the laws of gravity."

Read the full review here

Alela Diane : The Line Of Best Fit 72% Album Review

The Line Of Best Fit give Alela's new album "To Be Still" a 72% album review!

"Anyone familiar with Guy Garvey’s radio show will know that Alela Diane is currently sitting pretty as Garvey’s artist du jour. She’s a regular on the playlist, and often on the other end of the phone for a guest appearance and to soak up the compliments.

But just in case Guy Garvey’s stamp of approval isn’t enough to shift the units, To Be Still has got the goods that should see it flying of the shelves. Or at least making it into the odd Amazon basket.

This album is like a collection of short stories in song form, some personal, some in the third person. Each track has its own narrative, to make up a bigger picture of either Alela Diane’s life, or something pretty close to it. Mainly accompanied by an acoustic guitar, it’s the highly crafted song writing in which the talent lies in. There’s a mix of traditional folk melodies (’The Alder Trees’, ‘Take Us Back’) with more percussive numbers (’Dry Grass and Shadows’) and modern tales of the self (’My Brambles’).

Alela Diane’s vocals are a melting pot of female singer songwriters past and present, from Joni Mitchell to Jenny Lewis to Laura Marling. Despite her American provenance, there’s a hint of an English accent in the way she sings in her deep, at times slightly coarse, voice.

Nature is a strong theme throughout To Be Still, from animals to landscapes to the elements. The lyrics almost read like a Ted Hughes poem at times - “Last year’s antlers/Mark the trail” - and are unlike anything written by her contemporaries. She seems to write songs in the way people like Leonard Cohen to - with time, consideration, thought, and many re-writes. Not just a few clichés strung together.

There’s a lot of female singer/songwriters about at the moment, but Alela Diane stands head and shoulders above them all. And let’s face it, were we expecting Guy Garvey to be wrong?

Read the full review here

Music Week : Tomorrow Never Knows For Sky

Music Week gave us a quick call yesterday to talk about our Sky News feature!

"Online music PR team Tomorrow Never Knows is keeping readers of the Sky News website updated on the effect of the economic downturn on the music industry in a new weekly column.

Ritch and Bally Ames, the husband-and-wife team who run the online pr and digital marketing company, have been contributing the feature to the business pages of the site for the past five weeks. Their articles detail what it is like to be a small company in the music business during the economic decline.

“It’s about economic developments and how they affect us as a family and as a business,” says Ritch Ames. “If you take away all majors, the music industry is made up a lot of very small companies and many of them are facing the same problems.”

The Ames run their business from the top floor of their home in Guildford and are both actively involved in writing the Sky News feature.

“We have a lot of heated arguments about what to include,” Ames said. “But I think Sky chose us because we can talk about the music too and that adds a bit of glamour.”

The article goes online at the end of each week. The most recent article detailed the effects of last week’s snow."

See the feature here

War Child "Heroes" MySpace Global Exclusive

MySpace launch the War Child "Heroes" album today, with a global exclusive, in advance of the full release on Monday 16th February - to hear all 15 tracks in full, including Beck's version of Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" and TV On The Radio's version of Bowie's "Heroes" click here!

Melody Gardot "Who Will Comfort Me" Record Of The Day!

"We featured the brilliant 'Goodnite' from 24-year-old Philadelphia artist Melody Gardot's debut album 'Worrisome Heart' last year. That record was released to critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. This is taken from forthcoming follow-up 'My One And Only Thrill'. Who Will Comfort Me heads up a fine collection of songs. It's a quality mix of contemporary jazz and blues, as always delivered with Gardot's irresistible voice. London gig: March 11, Union Chapel N1"

Other Melody Gardot news;

On February 5th, Melody performed a special and intimate showcase of her up coming album My One And Only Thrill at New York's Soho Apple Store on Prince Street.

With her debut album Worrisome Heart, Melody Gardot displayed her instinctive gift for transforming the traditions of jazz and blues with "her personal kiss of life." But even her most ardent admirers will be amazed at the giant creative leap forward she has taken with the follow-up, My One And Only Thrill.

Click to watch "Quiet Fire" (Live in Paris) and click to watch "Worrisome Heart" (Live in Paris)

Mixing Latin rhythms, finger-snapping blues and deep, smoldering torch songs, it's an album that seems to have been shaped from several lifetimes of love, loss and longing. Though she's still only in her early twenties, the rapturous reception accorded to Worrisome Heart by fans and critics meant that she suddenly found her life moving at triple speed, as Melody and her band bounced between gigs, hotels and airports as demand blossomed across several continents.

These eleven songs, covering a wide range of emotions, are all her own except for an irresistible, Brazilian take on "Somewhere Over The Rainbow".

Melody commented "I love Brazilian music, it's one of my favorite genres…Stan Getz bossa nova years, Getz/Gilberto, Jobim, Caetano Veloso… some amazing music has come from there. I think there is a sentimentality that's very specific to the Brazilian culture itself. The voices are soft and hushed, and the lyricism is dripping with metaphors and poetics."

To see a short film about Melody Gardot, click here

Sky News Business "Snow Makes Change For Small Firm"

The fifth part of our Sky News feature is now live on the Business homepage:

"This week the Bank Of England cut the base rate to 1%. It doesn't sound right does it? 1%? All those on variable rate and tracker mortgages will be rubbing their hands with glee, those of us on fixed rates are green with envy.

So what are these people who have seen huge drops in their monthly repayments doing with this sudden windfall? Nice holidays? New kitchen? Brand new car? Putting it away as savings?

No - the people we know are being prudent because of the recession, so they are overpaying their mortgages!

Without savings, building societies can't dish out mortgages - which means it's pretty much stalemate.

That said, the Halifax have announced that house prices rose 1.9% last month. I'm still finding economics a bit confusing, Mrs Smith!"

Read the full feature here

Alela Diane "To Be Still" 4 / 5 Subba Cultcha Album Review

Subba Cultcha give Alela Diane's "To Be Still" 4 out of 5;

"Into the groove. Alela Diane’s still waters run valley deep.

As I’ve said before, Californian songstress, Alela Diane, makes anachronistic, chilly, melancholic acoustic folk, singing for today with the voice of a bygone generation. Tapping into the same sultry, sexy, oppressively humid, tone that Eva Cassidy evoked, Alela plays tumbledown porch music like a broken, abused, fallen angel, whistling an ironic mirthless ditty to her finger-plucked dirge.

To Be Still further explores Alela’s ability to bring butterflies to bellies, and with this new release you can almost track her transformation from homegrown local singer/songwriter to touring recording artist. Right from the get-go, first track, Dry Grass & Shadows, laden with it’s country steels and indelible sense of wide open plains, finds us pulling out of some backwater truck-stop at 2am, leaving Barstow on Interstate 15, head resting against the glass, Alela’s songs of desolation and still waters ringing in our ears.

In the wake of anti-folk and all those who have assimilated the guise of folk musician, Alela Diane’s record seems genuine, bare, honest. It’s not tinted with the cynical, affected pseudo-psychedelia of recent folk outpourings, feeling more like a long ramble through cornfields and across babbling brooks with a mysterious, beautiful, simple stranger, rather than an evening snorting nutmeg off a rusty cooker with some charlatan in a tie-dyed kaftan. Do you see what I mean?

She’s a musically literate Scout Niblett, a fledgling Nina Nastasia, a lone rival to Anni Rossi for release of the month. She’s really rather good."

Click here to read see the full review

Pete Hammond's Retro Mix of "Chemistry" featured on Chart Rigger

Chart Rigger feature the Pete Hammond mix of Velvet's "Chemistry"

"Swedish broad Velvet is getting the full-on Pete Hammond/PWL (now PWE) treatment for the April U.K. release of her single "Chemistry."

We all recall how Alphabeat's "Boyfriend" got a similar mix, and it shot poptastic tingles down our pants for about the first 56 listens until we were so sick of it we never wanted to hear it again ever and it didn't even make the Chart Rigger Best of 2008 list except in a "special" category? (Repeat that sentence five times fast and win a gold star!)

Well, here's the "Pete Hammond Radio Edit" of Velvet's (real name: Jenny Marielle Petersson) "Chemistry." Let the similar naughty jolt ensue! (*Note: The video's trash, but the mix takes an interesting turn at 2:11 in.)"

See the full feature here

September featured on ElectroQueer

"Call her the "Barbarella of Technopop". I call her absolutley stunning and I'm loving the new sci-fi video revamp to "Can't Get Over" which is released on March 9th in the UK. We're hoping to get some more facetime with September in March actually, so if you have any burning questions for the Swedish sensation, then by all means email us on eq@electroqueer.com.

I want one of those Wall-E-esque robots to help me get dressed in the morning too - tre handy! I'm absolutely loving September's new look as well. It must be said, for after the jump, you'll see our lady-of-the-white-hairdo sporting a set of trousers that even Lady Gaga would max out her Mastercard for..."

Alela Diane : AOL One To Watch

AOL have added Alela Diane as "One To Watch"

"Who is she? Alela Diane is an acoustic folk singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California whose sound has been described as "campfire gospel", with a lilting lyrical delivery comparable with Joanna Newsom and Gillian Welch .

Alela Diane's forthcoming album To Be Still, released on 16 Feb is the follow-up to her critically-acclaimed 2006 debut The Pirates Gospel.

Recorded in Nevada City and Portland, Oregon, it's a gorgeous sonic expansion of her sparse debut, featuring pedal steel, violin and rustic percussion, with lyrics tangled up in brambles and foxtails and wind-whipped sea cliffs. From the woozy folk flourishes of opener Dry Grass & Shadows, to the heart-shattering final track, Lady Divine."

Read the full feature here

September "Can't Get Over"

Here's the video for September's new single "Can't Get Over"

Heat World feature Coldplay & Killers War Child Show

Heat World feature the amazing news about the 15th Anniversary show for War Child;

"The Killers and Coldplay regularly sell out ginormous arena, but the two huge bands have just announced that they’re teaming up for an intimate charity gig. Both bands will take to the stage at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, which holds just 2,000 people, in aid of War Child. The gig will take place on 18 February, straight after the Brit Awards, and tickets cost £50. They’ll be available through a lottery system which opens here at 9am this Friday. “In our eyes, War Child is one of the world's most important charities, and The Killers are one of our favourite bands, so playing this concert is an absolute pleasure for us,” said Coldplay (yes, all four of them talking at once). The Killers added that it’s “an honour” to be performing alongside Chris-Cross Martin and co. Will you be trying your luck at getting tickets or are you happy to sit at home watching The Brits on TV instead?"

Coldplay / Killers / War Child / O2 Shepherds Bush

Amazing coverage for this incredible event - tickets will be available through a lottery, applications will open at 9am Friday 30th January.

In no particular order;

BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat, Q Magazine, NME.com, Uncut, The Sun Online, The Mirror, AOL, MSN, ITV, Virgin Media, XFM, Yahoo!, Music Week, Metro, This Is London, Teletext, Ananova, Heat World Clash Music, Digital Spy, Subba Cultcha, and Click Music amongst others!!

Alela Diane "White As Diamonds" on My Chemical Toilet

My Chemical Toilet review Alela's "White As Diamonds"

"The esteemed editor of Shiny Shiny, Susi Weaser, writes:

Posting duties for this song have been passed on to me by the infinitely lazy Stuart, presumably because the phrases 'violin and rustic percussion' and 'woozy folk flourishes' appear in the press release. Just reading those terms has brought him out in armpit hives, while they've done something altogether more pleasant to me.

"White As Diamonds" is by someone called Alela Diane. I suggest you say that name aloud right now. Personally speaking, it's probably the most pleasing thing to have come out of my mouth since I half-swallowed a wasp and then coughed it up. But of course that was pleasant because it was so unpleasant having it in there - I have not been hiding Alela Diane (say it!) in my mouth all this time. (Er, good to know - Ed)

So. The song (how many times are you supposed to listen to something before it becomes OK for you to make an opinion public? I played it safe and went for three).

Violins; beautiful lyrics (albeit it a slight over-extension of the 'morning like diamonds' metaphor); lots of folksy wailing; a reference to something called 'snorrow' (could that be something akin to "sorrow"?); obligatory pirate-y drowning broken hearts reference. And for extra folksy points she chops her own wood, according to her blog.

"White As Diamonds" comes from her forthcoming album To Be Still, which is released on 16th February. You can download the track for zilch right here, and find out more info at Names Records' brand spanking new blog."

Read the full feature here

Alela Diane is touring the UK in March;

Popjustice sneak peak at Cahill "Sex Shooter" video

Following on from yesterday's Song Of The Day, Popjustice feature a shot from teh forthcoming video;

"You won't need a 2:1 in Media Studies to deconstruct this video's complex semiotic. In yesterday's Song Of The Day blurb - for Cahill's quite excellent new version of 'Sex Shooter' we noted that "if the video doesn't feature some sort of dance routine featuring pretty ladies making gun shapes with their hands and 'shooting' 'sex' with their fingers there is going to be BIG TROUBLE".

Well, the video hasn't been sent out yet but Cahill's people have now been kind enough to send us a screengrab.

Sometimes it really is impossible to underestimate the world of commercial dance music."

Click here to see the full feature

Cahill "Sex Shooter" Sun Exclusive!

The Sun Online feature the brand new video for Cahill's "Sex Shooter"

"SNOW may be forecast for this weekend, but these girls will heat you up from the inside.

The sexy video from Liverpool DJs CAHILL - named after Everton's goal scoring hero TIM - casts a host of hotties playing with laser guns and squirting each other with oodles of neon paint."

See the feature here

War Child presents Coldplay & The Killers at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

War Child are proud to present a once-in-a-lifetime concert, a unique opportunity to see two of the planet's greatest rock bands in one of London's most intimate legendary venues.

The Killers and Coldplay are coming together in aid of War Child for an exclusive concert at the newly renamed O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, in front of just 2,000 lucky music fans.

The event will follow that evening's Brit Awards and each band will be bringing the highlights of their full set to the smaller stage in special 45 minute performances.

The night celebrates War Child’s 15th Anniversary and the release of their new album ‘Heroes’ (released on February 16 on EMI’s Parlophone label). War Child are supported for the evening by O2 to mark the launch of the O2 Academy venues.

General sale tickets to the event are £50 and will be available through a lottery system. The opportunity to enter the lottery will begin at 9am, Friday January 30 through http://www.warchildheroes.com

All profits will go to aid War Child's work to protect the most marginalised children in war zones, who would otherwise be overlooked: street children, child soldiers and children in prison.

Quote from Coldplay:
“In our eyes, War Child is one of the world's most important charities, and The Killers are one of our favourite bands, so playing this concert is an absolute pleasure for us.”

Quote from The Killers:
"Coldplay were one of the bands that gave us hope when we were just four boys in a garage. To share the stage with them for the War Child cause is an honor."

Quote from War Child:
“This is a really special way to mark War Child’s 15th birthday – and a once in a lifetime night,” said Ben Knowles, Music Director of War Child. “War Child are proud and very excited by Coldplay and The Killers’ amazing generosity. The impact their support will have is huge.

Our upcoming album ‘Heroes’ has brought together the 15 greatest music legends of the 20th Century. Now it is a great thrill to be able to welcome the two biggest bands of the 21st Century to the same stage

We’d also like to thank O2 for supporting us in bringing such amazing music to the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.”

Quote from O2:
“We can’t think of a better way to launch the O2 Academy venues than through supporting this special event,” said Alistair Johnston, Marketing Director at O2. “It’s an unrivalled line-up and a great cause which we’re very pleased to support by hosting this event at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.”

HOW TO GET TICKETS
General sale tickets are £50 and will be available through a lottery system which will open at 9am on Friday 30th January.
For how to register visit www.warchildheroes.com
Registration will close at 5pm on Tuesday 3rd February.
Applicants who have won the chance to buy tickets will be notified by Friday 6th February.
Maximum 2 tickets per entry

Cahill "Sex Shooter" Popjustice Song Of The Day!

"Cahill's 'Trippin' On You' was one of last year's most brilliant - and beautiful - club tracks and this cover of 'Sex Shooter' makes up in amazingness for what it lacks in subtlety. There are remixes from about 800 different people but we quite like the normal version. Can we just state right here that if the video doesn't feature some sort of dance routine featuring pretty ladies making gun shapes with their hands and 'shooting' 'sex' with their fingers there is going to be BIG TROUBLE."

Click here to see the feature

Tomorrow Never Knows Feature on Sky News Business Homepage!

The third part of our small business blog has gone live on the Sky News website, and is currently the main feature on the Business Homepage!!

"We had a lovely text message yesterday from British Gas telling us that average gas prices were dropping by 10%. Any reduction is great news, although starting this price drop towards the end of winter is a little questionable, as is the speed they passed on the prices rises last year when the price of oil peaked at almost $150 a barrel.

So why are prices still so high? The cost of wholesale gas has fallen by 50% in the last couple of months, but they've only passed on a measly 10% to they loyal customers. What will Centrica's (British Gas' parent company) profits be this year, when they rose by 40% last year? Can't the Government clobber big businesses that supply vital utilities with a windfall tax to stop them doing this? And how did they get my mobile phone number?"

Read the full feature "Always Read The Small Print here!, click here to read the first blog "We Can Work It Out" and here to read the second part "A Hit? An Album... And Mandelson"

Kid Cudi featured on Bebo Music Homepage

Kid Cudi vs Crooker's "Day N Nite" is featured on the Bebo Music Homepage!

NME.com Exclusive - Lily Allen's cover of The Clash's "Straight To Hell"

NME.com feature Lily Allen & Mick Jones's version of The Clash's "Straight To Hell" for War Child's "Heroes"

"When she was a kid, Lily Allen knew her stepdad as "Uncle Joe", the benevolent, whisky-glugging neighbour who was always hanging out with her dad Keith.

Uncle Joe was, of course, Joe Strummer, ex of The Clash. Years later, Lily Allen cribbed some of The Clash's moves for her debut album. Like them, she delivered second-wave ska in a demotic London accent, guided by an instinct for a sweet pop hook (though with the politics scooped out).

So it makes sense that she's now hooked up with another Clash member, Mick Jones, for a cover of 'Straight To Hell', one of the band's most passion-filled, yet seldom heard, songs.."

Click here to read the full feature and listen to the track!

Kid Cudi: 'I've always been ahead of the curve' The Guardian Online

The Guardian Online get a rare interview with Kid Cudi;

"With the remix of Day'N'Nite entering the singles chart at No 2, Kid Cudi is the hottest tip yet for 2009. We talk Kanye, Dizzee and Crookers with the latest rap sensation.

Congratulations on the chart hit. Did you expect the Day 'N' Nite remix to be such a success?
I remember when I recorded it, I told my homeboy 'O Dot, who produced the track: "This is going to be a No 1 track in some country. I don't know what country, but it's going to take off somewhere." He was like: "I don't know about all that. It is a good record – but No 1?" I believed in the track but it was still my dream that it would take off in the way that way it has. It ended up blowing up not because of any label, investment or corporations pushing it, but because it created a buzz on its own. That's the best feeling, that people naturally took to the record, they connected to it. It's overwhelming, but it's also a dream come true.

When you say No 1 is some country, did you not anticipate America taking to it?
Well, yeah because it was different. I really felt nobody in America was going to rock with it and then I started to have doubts about putting it out. I'd rather be known as an MC and I was worried that if I put this out first then they wouldn't see me like that because I was singing. That was me being self-conscious about what people would think. Ultimately, I decided "fuck that" and did what I wanted to.

Like the Kanye mentality?
Yeah, but this was pre-808s & Heartbreak and pre-Graduation, pre-Stronger. I recorded it before anything that was the next level in hip-hop, especially on an underground level. I've always been ahead of the curve when it came to trying new stuff in the underground scene. I've always felt that because I'm from Cleveland, which isn't recognised as a place for hip-hop, I needed to step it up if I wanted to make myself known. I worked things out and I've found my vibe – although I'm reinventing myself with every new song.

Kanye has said in interviews that you inspire him. That must be flattering?
Yeah, yeah ... it's dope because Kanye has really been helping out. It's overwhelming how supportive he's been. People always have negative things to say about him. And now when I hear those negative things, I take that shit personally. I'm like, "Nah, you're wrong, this dude is seriously cool".

Read the full interview with Kid Cudi here

Popjustice Homepage "Eight important points regarding the new Scissor Sisters song"

Popjustice talk about the Scissor Sister's cover of Roxy Music's "Do The Strand" on the site's homepage;

The Scissor Sisters have done a new song!

1. It's called 'Do The Strand'.

2. "'Do The Strand'?" think Popjustice's pensionable readers. "As in the Roxy Music song of yesteryear? The opening track of their iconic second album 'For Your Pleasure'?"

3. Yes, that 'Do The Strand'. Scissor Sisters have quite literally covered 'Do The Strand'.

4. They've covered it for War Child, who've got a new album out. The whole point of this new album is that a load of old duffers ('legends') have delved into their back catalogues and picked tracks for The Youth to cover. In this instance we find Roxy Music selecting 'Do The Strand' for Scissor Sisters.

To see the feature in full and read the other four points click here!