Artist: Lost Prophets
Album: The Betrayed
Label: Visible Noise
Released: 18th Jan
Reviewed By: Nicole Tiernan

3 years after the intended release, Lostprophets are back with their 4th studio album ‘The Betrayed’ after scrapping a full album last year due to Watkins’s opinion being that the album was ‘too polished’ they decided to appoint their bassist Stu Richardson to then produce the new album in the US. The Welsh 5 piece now with Luke Johnson are aiming to impress after the long awaited follow up to 2006’s no.1 album Liberation Transmission.

The addictive opening to ‘If It Wasn’t For Hate We’d Be Dead By Now’ leaves the drumming beat ringing in your ears for days, with Watkins somewhat aggressive vocals is a good but not great start to the album. ‘Dstryr Dstryr’ is probably more familiar to current fans as its reminisce of ‘We Are Godzilla..’ with harsher guitars & pounding drums with lyrics such as ‘I’ve got the rope to hang your Jesus even higher’ shows a more personal view on Watkins behalf. ‘It’s Not The End Of The World But I Can See It From Here’ and ‘Where We Belong’ the first two singles off ‘The Betrayed’ shows off a more softer side of the album with a more ‘Last Train Home’ appeal with commanding choruses which would appeal to any fan new and old. ‘Next Stop Atrocity’ is the most aggressive on the album, which reflects more of thefakesoundofprogress. However with the build up of the first part of the album is then let down with ‘He’s A Jolly Good Felon’ and ‘A Better Nothing’ though there is potential within these songs they are a bit of a letdown though with Gaze’s screaming guitar makes these tracks passable.

‘Streets Of Nowhere’ a more popier record something more typical for Liberation Transmission is a definite crowd pleaser with as many ‘la la la’s ‘you can shake a stick at, Finally the last 3 tracks are at a slower pace than the previous tracks with the uplifting syth beginning of ‘Dirty Little Heart’ the hypnotic guitars in ‘Darkest Blue’ and symphonic vocals in ‘The Light That Burns Twice As Bright’ brings a good ending to the album which lyrically show a more sentimental Watkins with such lines as ‘There’s no hope for me, ‘cause I can’t silence the sound

Overall ‘The Betrayed’ is a rollercoaster of emotion portrayed in various types of songs which reminisce of past Lostprophets albums. Though not absolutely hitting all the spots the 6 piece band from South Wales have defiantly made known that Lostprophets are back and if ‘The Betrayed’ is an indication it seems they are not going anywhere anytime soon, a definite chart topper!

Download the album now from Amazon

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Interview: Jaya! Hear if Jaya kept her new year’s resolution, how she found touring with NDubz and how she would describe herself in a lonely hearts column!! Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Listen to more Jaya at Myspace
Posted on January 30th

FIRST BRITISH-INDIAN FEMALE TO BE SIGNED TO A MAJOR LABEL DEBUTS FIRST CLUB SMASH OF 2010, WITH SUPPORT FROM URBAN SUPERSTARS N-DUBZ

It’s a milestone that’s been a long time coming - but it’s easy to see why Jaya is blazing the trail for British-Indian artists, with radio already in rapture about her debut single release ‘DJ Do It Again,’ via All Around The World / Universal Music.

‘DJ Do It Again’ is a commercial pop record of immense proportions; perfectly capturing the excitement of hearing a favourite song on the radio, it’s an irresistible synth groove with dancefloor-friendly beats and a monster chorus. Jaya says: “It’s about those moments when it doesn’t matter how tired you are, how much your feet hurt - you just want to get up and dance and have a good time.”

Following a hugely successful support slot on their most recent tour, Jaya has already found her own set of celebrity fans in the form of urban pop leaders N-Dubz. So much so that the band has remixed Jaya’s single, with Fazer offering his ‘80s inspired beats and Dappy his expeditious rhymes to remodel the song into an urban anthem, further broadening Jaya’s mainstream appeal. Dolce & Gabbana and Reebok have also taken notice of her potential, already offering exciting partnership deals for 2010.

Articulate, determined and charming - with songs that combine R&B and electropop, Jaya is a hugely appealing pop package. “Confident, creative, sexy and larger-than-life” is how she describes herself - and she’s not wrong. It’s why she’s attracted so many big names to work on her debut album, set for release in late 2010: she will collaborate with producers such as Hawkeye (Raghav, Kardinal Offishall) Jonas Jeberg (Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears) and Parker & James (Chipmunk ‘Oopsy Daisy’). “It’s going to be a feel good album,” she says. “Every track will be different, but I want people to be able to listen to it as a whole too.”

The daughter of a Hindu Priest, Jaya’s trailblazing status as the first female pop artist of Indian heritage to be signed to a major label is also very dear to her. “It’s hard to take in,” she says. “I always wanted to be the first to do something positive - to make history, even in a small way. When people think of a famous Asian woman, I want to be the name that comes to mind - for good reasons! And I really want to put Indians on the map in a commercial way, so people are more aware of who we are and what we do.”

GetToTheFront: You let your fans decide upon what will be your next single, why did you decide to leave it to a fan vote and are you agreeing with the choices your fans are making?

Oswald: We felt it was time to let fans have more of a say in what bands do. Leaving it to the fans means that when we post demos on the site we get instant feedback on our songs and can quite clearly see what they want. So far so good we have agreed with their decisions! Sometimes when you’re in a band you can’t see the wood from the trees because to me songs are like thoughts or a diary so i have loads of them and occasionally you may not do something with a song cos you’re not sure about it then maybe one night you play it somewhere on an acoustic or something and suddenly everybody is like ‘hey that’s a great song’ - so we thought it would be good to do that on a grand scale and pretty much throw everything up as we go.

GTTF: Now, the fans chose ‘Flying To The Ground’ to be your next single, can you give us 5 words to describe the single?

O: Dark, upbeat, soaring, dirty, vitriolic

GTTF: You guys have been compared to many bands, which comparison did you take as a compliment and which comparison did you feel was a total misfit?

O: ummmm - pretty much being compared to things like bowie, coldplay and killers is great. As for a misfit… you’ll laugh but quite often i just don’t get the U2 thing (although i think they’re amazing) but I’ll take being compared to one of the biggest bands ever on the chin.

GTTF: As a band you are very in touch with your fans you; blog, MySpace, and tweet to your fans. Do you feel it’s important to communicate through these social media sites with your fans?

O: Absolutely - it’s the life blood of any band. It’s important that you are accessible and willing to keep people involved if they are going to the effort of listening to your music and coming to gigs not to mention buying singles etc. It’s great that people can have direct contact with each other in this way as it builds a bond between us and our fans. It’s great way of letting everyone hear, see and participate in what we are doing and vice versa.

GTTF: Talking about fans, have you received any funny or strange tweets/comments?

O: I have had marriage requests which was strange, um some dodgy pictures emailed to me (dodgy in a good way haha) also I got this one message from someone who I obviously went to school with cos school was mentioned in the message - now i got bullied pretty badly at school and this guy (obviously a guy cos it was in big man language) sent me an email telling me to go f***k myself, he hated me at school and referred to the hard time i got. He hoped i failed miserably and said that my lyrics were full of sh*t . I loved that message i still have it haha the thought that my tunes pissed an ex bully of mine off so much that he had to blurt it all out years later in an email was hilarious.

GTTF: Can you give us one Fact about that band that no one else knows yet?

O: Tom chipped his front tooth on a mic when singing “devious girl” live and refused to have it fixed afterwards cos bizarrely he reckons it improved his voice.

GTTF: Do you have a tip for a band or artist that we should look out for in 2010?

I love this singer songwriter called Kurt Vile - check him out - brilliant.

GTTF: We are going to ask you a series of ‘Who is’ questions and would like you to answer with the band member’s name;

- Who is the most likely to be stressed before a show?

We dont get stressed - we love gigs. I may occasionally get tetchy if i don’t get a proper soundcheck but im not so bad now. Ants cant get stressed it’s genetic impossibility. (TOM)

- Who is the loudest member of the band?

Me by a bloody mile! Unless Ants has a bottle of red or more than 4 pints of Guinness - then it’s a contest. (TOM)

- Who is the most likely to fall off stage?

Actually only once have i nearly fell of a stage. Wasn’t drunk just misjudged it when i was leaning to the crowd got to the end of my guitar solo and realised i had about 1 bar to get back to the mic to sing a chorus. Ants can’t fall it’s a genetic impossibility. (NEITHER)

- Who is the last one to leave the party?

Both of us. We’re animals haha (ants and tom)

- Who is the most likely member to miss the bus/plane before a show?

Nether of us. In that sense we are spot on. Never has happened never will. We only miss it after the show.

GTTF: Finally what can Oswald fans expect from you guys in 2010?

O: They can expect us to write the best music we can and to do as much as possible to involve them in everything we do and listen to what they have to say.

Here more from Oswald on Myspace

Visit the bands Official Website

What: Brand New
Where: Wembley Arena, London
When: 23rd Jan 10
Reviewed by: Becky

I was happy to find that the arena was packed with standing filled to capacity and most of the available seating full. The waiting crowds were treated to a 30 minute set from support bands in the shape of Thrice and glassJAw who did a great job of warming up the expectant fans.

The arena plunged into darkness as Brand New took to the stage with the crowd going berserk. Opening with the instrumental “Welcome to Bangkok” the lights slowly pulled up to reveal a very modest stage set with just a few white lights and a white background, which was later used to project somewhat strange images in keeping with the music.

The band went on to play “Sink” from their most recent album “Daisy” which went down well, but it wasn’t until they played “Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t” that the crowd really got into the full swing of things. We were then treated to a slightly different version of the fans’ favorite “Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades”, followed by “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows”. Despite playing five tracks off their new album their older stuff was the highlight of the night as the audience joined in, going crazy for “Jude Law and a Semester Abroad”.

As the gig came to an end the band left the stage except for front man Jesse Lacey who was joined by the lead singer of glassJAw, Daryl Palumbo, for the finale “Play Crack the Sky”, a beautiful end to a career spanning gig.

(9/10)

Order the new album ‘Daisy’ now from Amazon

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Reviewers: We are being contacted by Promoters to feature live reviews and albums on the site, if you would like to get involoved with attending shows for us all over the UK and/or reviewing albums/ singles for us, Please get in touch via gettothefront@gmail.com

Artist: Emily Barker & The Red Clay Hal
Single: Nostalgia (Main Theme For Wallander)
Released: Feb 8th
Reviewed By: Nik

Taken from Emilys recent album ‘Despite the snow’ is single ‘Nostalgia’, Stripped Back to basics to amplify her georgous voice and chilling strings, a perfect folk song to kick back to, You may recognise the single from the BBC drama series ‘Wallander’ where Kenneth Branagh runs around the Swedish countryside solving crimes and looking moody, strapping a set headphones to his ears and listening to this haunting, melodic folk piece should help his cause.

Catch them live across the UK in Jan, Feb and early March

Download the single now from Amazon

< Back to Reviews

Reviewers: We are being contacted by Promoters to feature live reviews and albums on the site, if you would like to get involoved with attending shows for us all over the UK and/or reviewing albums/ singles for us, Please get in touch via gettothefront@gmail.com