Placebo - Loud Like Love (2013)

Placebo's seventh album will probably not make new fans and may disappoint some old fans but the album is refreshingly good, updating the band's sound, heading into a new direction, whilst remaining true to Placebo. The band has matured, it has softened but there's plenty to like here.

Album opener Loud Like Love is classic Placebo and it's a brilliant and catchy song. Too Many Friends is a beautiful piece of pop-rock music. Other songs worth mentioning are A Million Little Pieces, Begin the End and album closing Bosco. But the best song in the album must be Hold on to Me. Stuck towards the middle of the album, it shows the more introspective and mellow sound of the band and it's a resounding success; beautiful and uplifting. 

Overall, this is a solid effort from Placebo. Some songs offer more of the same and the feeling that you've heard this before but better creeps in. It must be said though that the album have no fillers. No song is a waste. I can't see myself fast forwarding any track, not now and not in the future.

Best of all though, the songs mentioned above are real standouts and point to a new direction; a band that is at its best when it gets introspective with a more mature, mellow, gentle and uplifting sound.

Rating: Heavy Rotation

Karl Bartos - Off the Record (2013)

Karl Bartos joined Kraftwerk in 1975 and left the band in 1990. He is credited in some of the best Kraftwerk songs and was an integral part of the best years of the band. This new release is made up of old songs that Karl apparently found in a diary he had written at the time. So yeah, it sounds retro. 

Most of the songs of the album don't break with Kraftwerk and explore similar sounds and territories. The single, Atomium (see the video below) is an example of this, a song that could've easily been in a Kraftwerk release. 

The album is uneven and it some forgetful moments, particularly The Binary Code and Musica Ex Machina right in the middle of the album. But the album doesn't just look at the past and it's at its best when it explores new territories.

My particular highlights are International Velvet and Without a Trace of Emotion which go into more electro-pop territory, The Tuning of the World with its metaphysical questioning, .

Kraftwerk fans should find a lot to like here and whilst uneven the album holds up pretty well with occasional moments of brilliance.

Rating: Good Vibrations

Mesh - Automation Baby (2013)

Mesh is a seasoned synth-pop band and their latest release is arguably one of their best. The album starts strongly with Just Leave Us Alone, an incredibly catchy, infectious, dance tune and, from that point, it never lets you down.

Automation Baby delivers great song after great song. The band have managed to write a good number of very varied songs that flow between synth-pop, electro-rock and little touches of EBM. In fact, considering the CD packs 14 songs, with eight tracks more in the bonus CD, this is an incredibly generous offering. Mesh were clearly inspired in the making of this album.

The band really has gift in creating catchy hook and anthemic choruses that never feel obvious nor formulaic. An excellent album that has a huge number of potential singles.

Rating: Heavy Rotation

Yo La Tengo - Fade (2013)

This is a band that I have followed since the release of Painful in 1993 and, since it is one of my favourite bands, I thought I'd start the blog with it. 

Their music moves between sweet folky pop songs, experimental noise pop and indie rock. They have often been compared with Velvet Underground.

Fade is not their best album and it doesn't bring anything original to the table, but it delivers consistently great songs in a style that only Yo La Tengo can.

Rating: Good Vibrations