Single Review
30 Seconds to Mars – Kings And Queens
Release Date – 30th November 2009
Propelling themselves even further towards their well deserved “rock-god” status, 30 Seconds to Mars explode out of their four year hiatus with Kings and Queens, the first single to be released from the eagerly anticipated third album, This Is War.
Kings and Queens is an epic slice of anthemic, stadium rock.
Perfectly composed, catchy choruses are beautifully built up to by the verse’s tight drum rolls and amazingly layered backing vocals, showing the world how talented they are as songwriters and producers.
It is however, the eruption of raw power that is front man Jared Leto’s voice that makes this song the stadium anthem it deserves to be. His stunningly pure vocal talent mixed with his ability to create a coarse, spine tingling growl leaves nothing more to be desired from a rock song, making this, one of the best hard-rock singles of 2009.
We may have had to wait four long years for this release, but the 5 minutes and 47 seconds of Kings and Queens was worth every secondGig Review
Julian Casablancas @ The Stage, Leeds Met Student Union
Since the release of his debut solo album Phrazes for the Young, the effortlessly cool Julian Casablancas has been working relentlessly hard. From gigs all over the world to practising and writing new material with the Strokes, Casablancas has been very busy these last few months.
Tonight, he is set out to prove that his techno-pop-rock tracks are not just great blasting through headphones but can also triumph live, and that his calm, cool and charismatic nature can bring success to his debut solo work as it did to the Strokes.
The band take to the stage and kick off tonight’s show with track one off the solo debut, Out of the Blue.
Seconds later, the man himself, New York
His tender yet almost lazy vocals that make him the great front man he is reverberate around the room and the crowd go crazy.
During the amazing set he then proceeds to play, there is a mixture of album favourites such as 11th Dimension, a Strokes “cover” as he wished to call it, which goes down an absolute treat with the audience, and even a Christmas song, making the whole event a massive success for all.
Throughout he frequently thanks the crowd for making this a sensational night for all and for obviously making this gig a special one for him. As the first British night of his solo tour this kind of behaviour from a crowd was obviously unexpected, and not that he needed it, or even looked like he needed it, but I’m sure tonight’s reception gave Mr. Julian Casblancas a massive confidence boost.
Album Review
Alicia Keys – The Element of Freedom
Release Date – 14th December 2009
Twelve time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys is set to once again storm the album charts with her recently released fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom.
Due to the huge success of her three previous albums, Songs in a Minor, The Diary of Alicia Keys and As I Am, she had set herself a tough challenge. For this album to even be mentioned in the same breath as the previous, it must be a masterpiece.
This album however, is nothing more than average for the R&B songstress. Songs such as Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart, Distance and Time, and Love Is Blind are still better than any other R&B songs out there, and do rightfully deserve their place above any other R&B artists in the charts, but for Alicia Keys, they are nothing more than mediocre, and classic hits such as Fallin’ and If I Aint Got You are still the reasons why we love her, and why we always will.
