everybody, Hurts

The covert art for "Happiness", the debut album from Hurts, was revealed today.



It's quite shit. N'est-ce pas? Merde, indeed.

It reminds me a lot of this, actually.



Which is one of the most amazing and iconic album sleeves EVER. Hurts' cover is nowhere nearly as good.

After delivering epic beauty, eye catching photography and lovely, understated design elements for the sleeves of their first two singles, who decided it was a good idea to give the task of designing the album art to someone who needed practice learning Photoshop?

I'm sure the poorly designed sleeve won't ruin the listening "experience". However, it does soil Hurts' reputation for painstakingly developing their image and design "style". Perhaps they've run over budget and decided slap any old rubbish together. Or maybe our expectations are set too high.

Thanks to XO's Middle Eight and Popjustice for alerting us to the "lovely" cover art.

The following is the tracklisting for "Happiness" which will hit the "shops" on September 6.

1. Silver Lining
2. Wonderful Life
3. Blood, Tears & Gold
4. Sunday
5. Stay
6. Illuminated
7. Evelyn
8. Better Than Love
9. Devotion
10. Unspoken
11. The Water

Freemasons have been brought in to reswizzle Hurts' forthcoming single, "Wonderful Life", for dancefloor consumption. Here's the radio edit.



AMAZEBALLS!

And here's the now classic mix by the legendary Arthur Baker.

Robbie's hits and bits revealed

RAWR! Robbie Williams looks delicious in the photo adorning the cover of his forthcoming hits collection, "In And Out Of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990-2010. The artwork mimics the sleeve of his most recent elpee, "Reality Killed The Video Star".

"Shame", the first single, is a beautiful duet with Gary Barlow which will be available from all fine "shops" on October 4.

Mr. Barlow makes a second appearance on Robbie's retrospective with "Heart And I" another fantastic Williams/Barlow collab. Seems like these two have patched things up and gotten a little cozy.

The album revisits the last two decades of RW's career in reverse chronological order. In fact, it covers every single he released as a solo artist. That's quite unusual for a most greatest hits collection as, inevitably, something is left off. The compilation is rounded off with Take That's "Everything Changes", the boyband's fourth, consecutive single to go straight in at number one in the UK way back in 1994. Technically, the album covers sixteen years rather than the twenty inferred by the album's subtitle.

With a whopping 39 tracks slathered across two CDs, Robbie's career retrospective finally includes his debut solo single, "Freedom", a cover of George Michael's hit from 1990.

"In And Out Of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990-2010" will be released on October 11. Here's the tracklisting in its full glory.

CD1

1. Shame
2. Heart And I
3. You Know Me
4. Bodies
5. Morning Sun
6. She's Madonna
7. Lovelight
8. Rudebox
9. Sin Sin Sin
10. Advertising Space
11. Make Me Pure
12. Tripping
13. Misunderstood
14. Radio
15. Sexed Up
16. Something Beautiful
17. Come Undone
18. Feel
19. Mr. Bojangles

CD2

1. I Will Talk And Hollywood Will Listen
2. Somethin' Stupid
3. The Road To Mandalay
4. Eternity
5. Let Love Be Your Energy
6. Supreme
7. Kids
8. Rock DJ
9. It's Only Us
10. She's The One
11. Strong
12. No Regrets
13. Millennium
14. Let Me Entertain You
15. Angels
16. South Of The Border
17. Lazy Days
18. Old Before I Die
19. Freedom
20. Everything Changes

It's a truly all encompassing hit collection. It includes "Kids" and "Somethin' Stupid", his duets with Aussies Kylie Minogue and Nicole Kidman, respectively. Surprisingly, it even features the singles from "Swing When You're Winning", considered many to be a side project rather than a proper RW album. Kudos and kisses to the label and RW's management for getting this one right.

fall for Ferry

While sipping a fruity cocktail on the veranda of our summer beach house, my aural senses were awakened to the distance sounds of "Don't Stop The Dance" by Bryan Ferry. It happens to be one of the finest singles among his breathtaking and extensive recorded works.

And, as if by magic, I was alerted to some juicy info regarding his forthcoming elpee which should finally hit the "shops" this fall on October 25.

"Olympia", Bryan Ferry’s thirteenth, solo longplayer and the follow-up to 2007's "Dylanesque", is a star-studded affair. The first single, "You Can Dance", has already been a club hit across Europe under the title "U Can Dance" as a collaboration with world renowned DJ, Hell. It will be released in the UK on August 2.

Further collabs include Scissor Sisters on a track called "Heartache By Numbers" and Groove Armada on "Shameless" which already appears on their album, "Black Light".

Also in attendance will be Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, former Chic frontman Nile Rodgers, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd along with Flea and Mani, singularly named bassists with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primal Scream, respectively. Impressive! N'est-ce pas?

As if that wasn’t enough, Mr. Ferry has wrangled in his Roxy Music bandmates Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno, as well.

The following is the tracklisting for "Olympia". It includes two covers, "Song To The Siren", originally recorded by Tim Buckley, and Traffic's "No Face, No Name, No Number".

1. You Can Dance
2. Alphaville
3. Heartache By Numbers
4. Me Oh My
5. Shameless
6. Song To The Siren
7. No Face, No Name, No Number
8. BF Bass (Ode To Olympia)
9. Reason Or Rhyme
10. Tender Is The Night

For those of you that have been following the very cool remix EPs from Roxy Music, the fourth in the series was released a few months ago. "Remixes (Blue)", which features reswizzled tracks from the "Avalon" era, is worth your time simply for Disco Pusher's gorgeous, slinky n' sultry remix of "To Turn You On". It's available now from all fine digital retailers.

I was lying there, lying on the beach

We're at the mid-year point and it's time for my summer holiday. Seven glorious days in the peaceful enclave of Provincetown. The sea. The breeze. Who are we kidding? The eye candy!

Srsly, this is the moment where I dial it down. I will be comatose for the better part of a week. Recharging my batteries. So, what better time to review my beachcoming soundtrack?

Here, submitted for you perusal, are some of my favorite albums of the year, so far. Each of them will be getting quite a lot of spins on the old Victrola at the beach house this week and all summer long.

"Aphrodite" - Kylie Minogue

This is clearly going to be blaring out of every open window on the cape. Let's face facts. It's the gayest album of the year. The boys will bring the noise and this elpee, the musical equivalent of a rainbow, will feature prominently. I can smell the poppers at the Boat Slip already.

I would bet cash that the marketing "gurus" at the label figured it was best to issue her album on the cusp of Pride celebrations worldwide. I'm sure we'll be raising a glass to our little Aussie pop rocket all summer long. Chin chin!

"Head First" - Goldfrapp

This is already shaping up to be one of the finest years for purveyors of pop music. Goldfrapp, back from their pastoral wanderings, returned with a synth in one hand and a fistful of killer tunes in the other.

Another album that is sure to please the boys on the beach. I expect to hear "Rocket" and "Alive" doing the business around town at various discotheques.

"Night Work" - Scissor Sisters

Oh yes! It is a gay old year. N'est-ce pas? Sleezy, filthy, camp AND fun. Ver Scissters leave behind the honky tonk and cheeky winks of the last two albums and stretch a little.

I haven't dug deep into this, their third longplayer, but I suspect this will be the soundtrack for dark corners this week.

"Bang Goes The Knighthood" - The Divine Comedy

The audio equivalent of reading a good book on the beach. SPF at the ready. Umbrellas at a slight tilt. Maybe a picnic basket of sammies and a few cocktails.

Neil Hannon's quick witted delivery and jaunty piano numbers will enchant and delight while you soak up some sun. Even the British love a summer holiday. Close your eyes and let his lyrics paint a picture for you. Run your own little film behind your eyelids.

"Love And Its Opposite" - Tracey Thorn

This is the Sunday brunch album. This is for the comedown and the chillout. It's also suitable for an early morning bloody mary.

Thoughtful and breezy. A light, flowing, linen blouse as the sun comes up.

For the record, I think The Psychedelic Furs and some classic, pre-symbol Prince are going to be garnering a lot of play this week. I'm in the mood for some grit and a bit of funk. Read into that however you'd like.

on the edge of life

After "Better Than Love", Hurts' debut single, seemed to do a header off the side of a tall building, they are finally releasing the song we all thought should've been their entree into the shiny world of pop.

Speaking of jumping off buildings, check out the lovely sleeve artwork. It appears they've discovered the beauty of color photography!

"Wonderful Life" will be released on August 23. Apparently, it has been slightly reswizzled for popular consumption. Let's hope those Arthur Baker mixes are part of the CD format. Not much can be done with them since they've only been made available on a picture disc 12" single. Is this 1983? Enough with the picture discs! Kthx.

By the way, Freemasons have just submitted their storming take on "Wonderful Life". Quite an amazing set of mixes have been commissioned of this potential classic. Let's see how this shakes out in the charts.

Hurts' highly anticipated album, "Happiness", will hit "shops" on September 6. By "highly anticipated", I'm referring to myself and a few of my music obsessed friends.

running with the owl

Are you ready for a dreamy, breezy summer tune for those hazy, lazy days at the beach? Get the margarita machine ready.

Chicane, the nom de plume of the enigmatic Nick Bracegirdle, returns with Adam Young, the mayor of Owl City, for "Middledistancerunner". The single is from Chicane's forthcoming longplayer, "Giants". Here's a little preview.

In fact, this album has had a longer gestation period than Sophie Ellis-Bextor's long anticipated elpee. After three singles including "Come Back", "Hiding All The Stars" and the top 10 hit, "Poppiholla", the album still remains unreleased.

"Poppiholla" was even tacked on to the end of "The Best Of Chicane: 1996 - 2008" a full year after the greatest hits collection was released.

Pull your finger out, Nick!

divine revelations

If you're a frequent reader of my blog, you know The Divine Comedy is one of my fave "bands". I use the inverted commas because, like many groups, The Divine Comedy has become the vehicle for an individual.

With the recent release of their magnificent longplayer, "Bang Goes The Knighthood", Neil Hannon, the expertly tailored, infinitely intriguing leader of TDC, is running the PR gauntlet by giving interviews on radio, talking to newspapers and magazines, playing solo shows and giving fans lots of gloriously interesting web clips.

Check out the four part set of vids below from DCHQ. Neil offers up some solo performances of a three songs from the album - "At The Indie Disco", "The Complete Banker" and album opener, "Down In The Street Below" - all prefaced by his thoughts on each track. The fourth clip is a bonus interview. Across all four vids, he discusses everything from lyrical inspiration, sonic structure, musical references and recording techniques.

It's fascinating stuff. My only complaint is that I wish he had shot a clip for each song on the album.

losing faith

Was this necessary?



What is the point of shoehorning Gostface Killah into this brilliant tune? Someone at the label needs to be shot for this. How deliciously apropos that would be.

For those who care, the single will be rereleased in the UK on August 1.

Hey baby, it's the 4th of July.

From the obvious to the obscure. Happy 4th Of July, kittens! Feel the heat.

"4th Of July (Fireworks)" by Kelis.



"Fireworks" by Roxette.



"4th Of July" by X.



"Fireworks" by Siouxsie And The Banshees.



"Living In America" by James Brown



"I Love America" by Patrick Juvet

Norwegians on ice

Everyone's fjordsome threesome, a-ha, have been busy beavers. Their farewell tour has been packing venues to the rafters all around the globe. They're about to release deluxe editions of their first two longplayers, "Hunting High And Low" and "Scoundrel Days".

There's even a new single about to hit the "shops". It's called "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" which will be available as a digital download on July 5. Then, on July 30, they will release it as a CD single in Germany. Snap your grubby, little hands on a copy of it ASAP because it's sure to be a tough one to find.

"Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" is also the lone, new track featured on "25", their forthcoming, career retrospective. The double CD set will be released in Norway on July 19, in Germany on August 6, and in the UK on October 4. It is their third hits compilation following "Headlines And Deadlines - The Hits Of a-ha" from 1992 and "The Singles: 1984-2004 which was first released six years ago outside the US. For some odd reason, the latter just received an American release this month.

The tracklisting for "25" includes 33 of their 36 singles lovingly placed beside six of the band's favorite album tracks. The missing tracks are either remixes or live recordings which would have meant three songs would have been included twice.

There are a few surprises. For instance, the second mix of "The Blood That Moves The Body" from 1992, which was released to promote their first greatest hits collection, makes its first appearance on an a-ha album. Its inclusion is favored here over the original single version from 1988.

It's nice to have the single versions of their most recent releases, "Nothing Is Keeping You Here" and "Shadowside", which differ greatly from the ones that appear on "Foot Of The Mountain".

However, it isn't clear from the tracklisting if "Dark Is The Night For All" and "Angel In The Snow" are the single versions. Both tracks were retitled as "Dark As The Night" and "Angel", respectively, when they were issued as singles from their parent album, "Memorial Beach", back in 1993.

Lastly, the original 7" single of "Take On Me", which appears on CD for the first time on the deluxified edition of "Hunting High And Low", is missing from "25". I can certainly live without it on this new retrospective now that it's finally available in a beautifully remastered bundle of zeros and ones.

The following is the tracklisting for "25" in its full glory. Morten, Mags and Paul are ending on high note, indeed!

CD 1

1. Take On Me
2. The Blue Sky
3. The Sun Always Shines On T.V.
4. Train Of Thought (7” Remix)
5. Hunting High And Low (7” Remix)
6. I've Been Losing You
7. Scoundrel Days
8. The Swing Of Things
9. Cry Wolf
10. Manhattan Skyline (Edit Version)
11. The Living Daylights
12. Stay On These Roads
13. Touchy! (UK DJ Edit)
14. There's Never A Forever Thing
15. You Are The One (7" Remix)
16. The Blood That Moves The Body (Two-Time Gun Remix)
17. Crying In The Rain
18. Early Morning
19. Slender Frame
20. I Call Your Name

CD 2

1. Move To Memphis (Single Version)
2. Dark Is The Night For All
3. Cold As Stone (Remix)
4. Angel In The Snow (Edit)
5. Shapes That Go Together
6. Summer Moved On
7. Minor Earth Major Sky (Niven’s Radio Edit)
8. The Sun Never Shone That Day (Radio Edit)
9. Velvet
10. Forever Not Yours
11. Lifelines
12. Did Anyone Approach You?
13. Celice
14. Analogue (All I Want)
15. Cosy Prisons (Radio Mix)
16. Foot Of The Mountain
17. Nothing Is Keeping You Here (Single Remix)
18. Shadowside (Single Edit)
19. Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)

Note to trainspotters, the versions of "Touchy", "Cold As Stone" and "The Sun Never Shone That Day" on "25" mark the first time they are being made commercially available.