exile on main street

One of my favorite albums of 2011 is the debut longplayer from Hurts. It's a brace of solid pop songs in the late 20th century style (ie. thoughtful lyrics, muscular production with electronic flourishes). Theo Hutchcraft delivers every track with a range of emotion and a strong, immediately identifiable vocal.

Very much in the tradition of British pop in the vein of Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, et al. Not confined to being a studio concoction, they managed to fit in quite a lot of touring in order to spread the Hurts mission statement.

And now, Hurts are ready to launch version 2.0 with the release of "Exile", their sophomore effort. "The Road", the first taste from the elpee, was just delivered to the interwebs. It's a moody, thundering, widescreen track which, perhaps, hints at a darker sound for the duo.



"Exile" will hit the "shops" in March.

joy to the world

Just in time for the festive season, Tracey Thorn has delivered a video for "Joy", the opening track on her Christmas themed longplayer, "Tinsel And Lights".

Filmed in Lille, a beautiful village in northern France on the border of Belgium, the video sees Tracey wandering around the town's twinkling parade of Christmas lights. Gorgeous!



More than just a Christmas album, "Tinsel And Lights" is a rare gem. It's one of those elpees that transcends the traditional brace of Christmas songs and is an album that can be enjoyed at anytime of the year. By no means and easy feat.

"Tinsel And Lights" will likely end up toward the top end of my favorite albums of the year. Stay tuned!

the French X factor

France is not one of the likeliest places to find big pop records. From time to time, the cafe strewn streets of Europe's art and fashion hub throw up some surprises.

Enter Christophe Willem, to whom I was introduced this year when "Prismophonic", his third studio longplayer, was a hit during my trip to Paris.



It was released a little over a year ago and has had three singles plucked from it - "Cool", "Si Mes Larmes Tombent" and "Starlite", the best of the lot, IMHO, which boasts some fine mixes from Freemasons even though it regurgitates the hook from "Ain't Nobody" for the umpteenth time.







"Prismophonic" also features some of Kylie's co-conspirators. Steve Anderson makes an appearance as does Richard "Biff" Stannard and Richard X. Kylie even lands a writing credit on the song, "Pas Si Loin".

Christophe first gained stardom when he won "Nouvelle Star", a television program in the "Idol" franchise. A few years ago, he went on the French edition of "X Factor" as judge. His profile has remained quite high in his homeland while being relatively unknown in the rest of the world.

He hopes that's about to change as he prepares the launch of "Love Shot Me Down", the English language version of "Prismophonic". The first single is the title track and it has been reswizzled by none other than Richard X. The original French version is called "L'amour Me Gagne".

Christophe Willem - "Love Shot Me Down" (Richard X Remix)

And here is the English language version of "Starlite".

the price of the future

Stuart Price, one of the most in demand producers of the last ten years, has reswizzled "Memory Of The Future", the third single to be plucked from Pet Shop Boys current longplayer, "Elysium".

That's three singles in five months. At this rate, they will be on the next album, which is also supposed to be produce by Mr. Price, before the winter frost has melted.

"Memory Of The Future" will hit the "shops" on December 31, presumable to take advantage of the all important window between Christmas and the first two weeks of January when nobody typically releases singles unless they are looking for a higher than normal chart position.

It worked for ver Boys before. Remember "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk"? They tried the same tactic then and were rewarded with the only top 10 single from their "Nightlife" album and their first one of the 00s.

Let's hope their fortunes turn around with "Memory For The Future". Their last three singles - "Leaving", "Winner" and "Together" - all failed to crack the top 40. Perhaps its the one word titles.

And they are no stranger to Stuart Price. He previously produced arrangements for the duo’s brilliant 2009 BRIT Awards performance and their Pandemonium tour. He also created the “Viva La Vida/Domino Dancing” mashup on their "Christmas" EP. They were bound to work with Stuart again. After all, he's married to their manager, Angela Becker.

While tracklistings have yet to be revealed, “Memory Of The Future” will be available across four configurations - two digital bundles and two CD singles.

one world

Yes, it has been a hot minute since my last update. Without electricity and heat for nearly two weeks in the wake of Hurricane Sandy caused severe delays for many of us living in the NYC metro area. Thankfully, many of us are back on line with little damage and ready to help those less fortunate.

After a-ha decided to split, it was inevitable that the voice of the Norwegian trio would strike out on his own. He didn't take long to do it. His latest solo longplayer, "Out Of My Hands", was released back in May. Only now has the owner of the world's finest cheekbones decided to lift a second single from the album.

"I'm The One" is the follow up to "Scared Of Heights". Of course, it sounds quite a lot like something a-ha would release. No surprises there.

A video has been lensed for it. It features Morten's passionate performance against the backdrop of the daily life of a transgendered/transsexual man. Throughout, the man gets himself ready to head out to the venue at which Mr. Harket is singing, eventually sitting next to him on stage at the end of the video.

It shows the ordinary side of transgendered life. We all put on our trousers one leg at a time. Or, in this case, our bra straps on arm at a time.



Slowly, the world is realizing we are all the same, it's just the outer shell that mutates with each passing day. Inside, we all share the same hopes, desires, triumphs and challenges.

"I'm The One" will be available from all fine, digital retailers on November 23.

step into Christmas

Now that all the whining and whinging is over, let's get back to what Steps do best. Time for a cracking pop song.

"Light Up The World" is the first new Steps track since their useless cover of "Dancing Queen" when the reformed last year after a ten year break. Their latest, the title track of their forthcoming, Christmas themed longplayer, is a gorgeous, widescreen pop bauble.

Thankfully, they haven't messed with their formula with some jittery electronic track with a dubstep breakdown. "Light Up The World" keeps them firmly stood in the tradition of classic pop songwriting.

The single will hit the "shops" on October 22 while its parent album will be released on November 22. All of this will be heralded by a brand new Christmas tour of the UK and the launch of a completely unnecessary fragrance called "Guilty Pleasure". I wonder if it smells like Lee's sweaty jockstrap.

tearing up my heart

Flamboyant songstress, Paloma Faith, has recorded a cover of "Never Tear Us Apart", originally recorded by INXS. Her version of the "Kick" classic will be used as part of the current ad campaign for UK retailer, John Lewis.

It stays rather faithful to the original. Pardon the pun. Well sung. Hard to beat the gritty, emotional performance which Michael Hutchence delivered way back in 1987.

No word on weather the song will be stripped onto her current longplayer, "Fall To Grace"

la petite fleur

Today, Kylie Minogue, everyone's favorite Aussie pop rocket delivered"Flower", the first single from her forthcoming longplayer "The Abbey Road Sessions".

A tender, sweeping ballad which was originally scheduled to appear on "X", has been given a new lease on life. Re-recorded for the current Abbey Road project, "Flower" sees Kylie eschewing her penchant for uptempo bottom wigglers in favor of a mature and sophisticated sound complete with gorgeous orchestral arrangements.

The video also sees a more demure Ms. Minogue floating through the black and white vignettes like a forest pixie spreading peace, joy and love throughout her soft focus countryside. Gauze and linen alert!

One wonders what other K25 celebratory goodies she has in store for the Minogue minions.

from the hip

One of Glasgow's finest, Deacon Blue, are back with "The Hipsters", their seventh longplayer since their auspicious debut 25 years ago.

First single, the the title track, is a panoramic, string driven number which beautifully details the interplay between Ricky Ross' urgent rasp and Lorraine McIntosh's gorgeous bell tones.



Lovely! Definitely up there with some of their finest singles which harkens back to the magnificence of some "Raintown" era epics.

"The Hipsters" is out now from all fine "shops".

bright light in Brooklyn

Bright Light Bright Light recently dropped the vid for his forthcoming single, "Feel It", which is from his spectacular debut album, "Make Me Believe In Hope".

It features a cameo from Scissor Sisters member, Del Marquis. Watch as they throw some shapes on the streets of Brooklyn. Perhaps it's a little tribute to "West End Girls". You decide.



It's got that 90s vibe. Visually, some of the graphic sections remind me of videos from Black Box. And we finally get to see Mykal Kilgore, the person responsible for the diva pipes on the track. His voice give me goosebumps and finger tingles!

"Feel It" will hit the "shops" on October 29. As mentioned, BLBL commissioned a remix from yours truly and it will feature as part of the single configurations.