Best albums of 2015

Twenty Fifteen it is and here we go,

Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly

What an amazing album, I got his last album and loved that but this takes it up a notch and I do not mean just his career I mean the whole style. So refreshing and utterly needed right now.

Torres, Sprinter

Loved this album from day one, little like PJ Harvey but she has her own sound and a very good direction. Looking forward to more from this artist.

Zombi, Shape Shift

They have been here before so won't go on too much, like John Carpenter soundtracks? Well love this.

William Clark Green, Ringling Road

Great cross of country/Americana and almost pop music here. Not too much of any one of them as well. A great fun record worth many to give a listen.

New Candys, As Medicine

Totally blinding album, the feeling and atmosphere on here is so intense. Makes you hit repeat near as soon as it is done and then you will near every listen hear something new and like something else for any number of reasons.

Gaz Coombes, Matador

Cracking album and a bit of a surprise, his first solo was pretty good but he has let himself run riot here. So much not like his past and better for it (not that their is anything wrong with his past music)

Hardcore Superstar, HCSS

Great classic rock n roll but in a kind of alt rock slant. Not boring like the grunge thing can be or too straight forward like Pixies but a little more adult in a way, give it a go.

Backyard Babies, Four by Four

Classic band I loved when I was young and they have done a great album here. No messing about with arty farty song writing some classic rock tunes and some nice good old ballads as well, close my eyes and it could well be 1997 again.

Drumcorps, Falling Forward

One man band or shall I say more a studio sound. The start of the album is very much a drum and bass feel and sound but keep going for some utterly amazing music and so innovative as well. It is shocking only one person made all this. Seriously if you like alt music and something different give it a go.

Idlewild, Everything Ever Written

Got this in January and still listening regularly. Glasgow band have done well here and what a fantastic listen. An album for a sunny day or a bus ride to work to keep the spirits up.

Nightwish, Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Yet again another brilliant album, new singer fits in well and the band pretty much do the same thing again routine. But worth it for the closing song at 24 minutes and the rest is pretty high quality. Press were not too happy with it but more listens are needed here to really get into it. Managed to see them live in Denmark in a smaller venue and they were stunning. If you get a chance to see them do it.

Allison Moorer, Down to Believing

Love this album, been a fan for a while and loved all of her past work but this is the best to date. Real great tunes that reflect on her personal life but it is not all that depressing. Some nice pop gems here.

Ginger Wildhearts, Clout EP

Given away as a bonus to his latest pledge project it for me is an amazing bundle of songs, simply an EP of music he has been sort of messing about with on a computer. Giving you a little bit of an insight into his personal political views and like any great book you also learn something. It is really done as a bit of fun but looking at my play count its here for a reason.

Tom Russell, Rose of Roscrae

Double album in a kind of country musical style, a story of a near kid (mid teens) moving from Ireland to the USA and all the stories in doing so. Great mix of many musical styles taking in Irish and American. Great song writing and also some nice touches with the narration being of high quality (near all done in character) great fun for a rainy day and a comfy sofa and book.

Xibalba, Tierra Y Libertad

Loud and heavy death meets hardcore here. Nothing new but done very well.

Hardware Special, Topping NX1 (Portable headphone amp)

My set up of NX1, Fiio X1 and Sennheiser Hd 215

Topping NX1

I really don't know much about the company Topping but how I came into contact was through Amazon. While buying the Fiio X1 player there was a recommendation to a headphone amp. The one advised was about £80. Considering the player was £90 I felt it was a little steep. But this one was also recommended with a rather palatable £22 price tag at the time.

After using the Fiio for a few weeks I ordered the amp and I have to say it is a great bit of kit. It really is nothing special simply an amp for a set of headphones but the extra quality provided can be a great boost on some albums/music.

I have seen this being promoted more for phones and I agree there the amp really does give my Motorola phone a better sound, more so on the low end. Even through the in ear headphones I use the sound is better. But to carry it with the phone on the bus can be quite an annoyance. My recommendation here is its for the real audio buff. But if going on holiday and wanting some time int he sun with music this wee amp would be a great device if staying in one place for long time (like sunbathing).

The real business end of this product is combined with a high end player with a good DAC. I have the X1 Fiio player a great entry level high end player so I have quite a good collection of music in 24bit high frequency so I give this £22 amp a go not looking for much due to price.

The package is simple to open and instantly I see there are two rubber bands for clamping the phone/player to the device. Also some handy Velcro pads, I choose to use these as I like to take the player with me to work on a Friday. USB cable for charging the unit as the battery is inbuilt the charger is mini USB (The kind on older devices not the one on newer smartphones). Also a pass through cable is provided. Simply use this to take headphone output from player to the amp them headphones go into the amp. Simple set up.

I was very much wrong, albums in all bitrate and file sound way better and again more in the low end. The bass in Death Magnetic by Metallica sounds fantastic and really carries the poor drums at times. Playing the new Iron Maiden albums is bliss with amazing highlights, the sound on the early albums is amazing. The bass is blowing out of my headphones so much I really have to turn them down a little and that is what I love about the amp as it has a good quality volume control and it is not a digital control (near all equipment now its two buttons up and down) this has a proper volume knob and like great HI FI amp the slightest twist brings out so much more great sound.

Bruce Springsteen is next and Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. again in 24bit and I really do feel this album so much more. I own this in cassette, vinyl and two CD reissues but this is by far the best I have heard. The amp gives a little touch to the vocals and also makes the band get more room. It is amazing to hear on a set of headphones how much room there can be but my Sennheiser Hd 215 make easy work of all music thrown at it.

Over to MP3 files and it still gives more great quality low end on near everything I throw at it, it is very frustrating as I am now looking for music that does not sound as good and I do find that on older recordings there can be very little improvement and even that is on low bit rate MP3 as well.

But the extra quality you get for £22 I really have nothing bad to say here at all. Even if you only use it for a week on holiday or for a few long journey train rides it is worth it. I am looking to buy a second for travel and keep one connected to my good headphones at home. For best results I say pair up with a good player and headphones.

The amp is available here .

Album Review - Black Star Riders, The Killer Instinct

Black Star Riders, The Killer Instinct  (Nuclear Blast)

Now on to the bands second album I will spare you the history lesson on how they came about (Check out previous album here). With the band putting out a great debut album there may well have been pressure to make that difficult second. But the band have all done this before so it really is with full expectation that this is good.

This listener is happy to report it is as good as it should be, classic rock music with that Lizzy sound. The title track is a great all out rock radio staple. Very much a nod back to the live sound of the band and catchy as can be. With great lyrics it is a great catchy tune.

For me "Bullet Blues" kicks this album off to a real new start as it showcases how great Ricky Warwick is on the mic. Oh his voice is never going to make it on X Factor and thank fuck for that. He simply lets it all be as it is. Great guitar work all round with that classic twin guitar sound getting a right good old dust off for 2015. "Finest Hour" really reminds me more of Mr Warwick than the late Lizzy but that is why this is working so well. The band know each other so well and the little riff over the chorus is amazing. I can see this being a great live favorite.

The album is not all out rock and riff as "Blindsided" enters with some nice acoustic guitars and not too cheesy at that so keep the cigarette lighter away for this tune. With this song you get an idea of how good the production is. Spot on and the band are better for it, playing it on my new Fiio X1 it sounds great. Later songs "Through the Motions" and "Turn in Your Arms" will get Thin Lizzy fans smiling, "Sex, Guns and Gasoline" for me is more a tribute to the 80s rock bands. Title and sound wise it reminds me so much of GnR, I was never a fan but it is a fun tune.

Last song "You Little Liar" is the longest tune at just over seven minutes and it shows how good the album is as it passes by so fast.

This album is solid in every way and a great second album all fans will like.

8/10

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John Carpenter, Lost Themes

John Carpenter, Lost Themes (Sacred Bones Records)

Those who are into movies will know of John Carpenter. For me a great director and many film fans would agree. But many films fans will be shocked to find out he also composed the music for his films. And much of the time doing it with very little time at all. Dashing from the editing room to a studio (if lucky much was done at home I think) to put down the visuals he has as music.

I have been a fan of his music from the first film I saw in Assault on Precinct 13. His music mas very minimalistic and based on Krautrock from the 60s. His films were at times hard hitting, violent and very much of a dystopia feel to them. So the music was made to fit in with that story.

But here we have a brand new album that he has recorded with no intention of it being in a film. Well he may well have had ideas and things to influence his recording but as far as I know this is all for this one off album. And I have to say it is very good. Again I am a fan and purchases some of his music on vinyl as the label Death Waltz Recording Co have been putting out fabulous luxury vinyl albums from the films he made.

Again with no film to link to it is a little different to listen to this but I love the feel of it just the same. It does feel like a soundtrack again and that simply helps me relax more. With his past works much of the time being rushed die to time limits he has for this album been given as much time as he needed and it pays off. Each track does feel a little different and all draw you in well. Most music fans have a great imagination and more so the more alternative music you like and this is like a blank canvas for me. A hint and a nod at times to films and albums of the past but ultimately it does not feel old or stale. He said he had much fun making it, well I can happily say this reviewer has had much fun listening.

8/10

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Available from Sacred Bones Records

Hardware Special, High Defenition Player review

Fiio X1 Portable High Resolution Lossless Music Player

I have had the same MP3 player for ten years and thought it was about time for an upgrade. With some research done I found that Apple seem to have abandoned this area. Thankfully this is a good thing as the products they make tend to be pretty poor quality in the music side, cheap components etc. I own a Creative MP3 (yes 10 whole years and still going) and got it after returning an I Pod that I found the sound quality to be shocking. So with the biggest name not there the competition can shine.

With the music business now directed at downloads I still do not buy MP3s I prefer to get the album on CD and get the Flac file of the album. Or if I am lucky the HD version of the album. I have also got may MP3s and many other file types. So I want a player that can pretty much play that and all the other files. Seems there is a great HD player market and I decided on the Fiio X1. A few reasons as it was a great price at £90 but also it has had great reviews from industry. But are they just all reviewing for a nice brown envelope and free tickets? Lets see.

Getting the box I was shocked at the packaging size it really is so small, to the point it went through the letter box. Opening and getting into it is easy. Simple packaging is something I like and for anyone with health problems within the hand area this is easy. USB cable is provided for charing, handy is that the charging is the micro kind on a mobile phone at 5V so I have not even used it as I have so may of them. The build quality is nice, sturdy with a metal feel. Now I say feel as some report it has a metal front, it is not metal but it does look good. A nice dial in the middle with a button like an I pod. And four buttons around it for controlling the device. Volume and power on the side of the unit complete the controls.

You really can't get easier than putting in the memory card and attaching to the USB. Again I have one for my phone all set up so so handy. Downloading some music is simple click n drag. No software or i tunes syncing needed. You could use media players to scan and sync but as I have 400GB of music I will do all this manual on my 128GB card. The downloads do take a while as it is USB 2.0 but for £90 I was expecting this.

I have downloaded a mixture of HD music and MP3 at 320kb. I will test by using HD and MP3 on the X1 and also my old faithful Creative player as a comparison.

First album
Metallica, Metallica

HD 96/24 resolution.

A great sounding HD download of this bands classic album. It is a great album for testing equipment on as the dynamics in the music is ideal due to the tempo and sound on the album. First up is the new X1 player. I am shocked at the loudness and turn the player down. There are settings to have it remember a volume upon switching on and also a max volume. I then get to a more comfortable level. Wow it sounds so good and I feel the loudness is simply the extra sound there. The drums sound amazing so snappy, same with the cymbals as if you can hear the studio sound as well with a very slight echo. Guitars again are way bigger, you can feel the buzzing for the string in comparison to the normal ring feel. The start of Sad But True makes me even go wow. It really does sound so much better, it is like a new album. Presenting new dynamics to me. The thought put into the riffs that even after playing melt into the drums is stunning. Never ever heard that before. The bit in the Unforgiven when the band comes in and the bass guitar and electric guitar riff with the drums is new to me like this. Feels more like a performance now.

Same album now with Creative Vision Zen M, MP3 player. MP3 @ 320Kb/s

Switching over to MP3 and instant I am disappointed. The feel is dire, the music really sounds so flat and uninspired. Enter Sandman is a great track but the guitar sound is like it was recorded from a radio onto cassette in comparison. Listening to The Unforgiven it lacks that punch and the mix seems to miss out all that energy from the band riffing.

Same album back to X1 but MP3 @ 320Kb/s

Now there is a big difference in sound quality here, not as much as the HD track but it is way better than the Creative. The guitars sound better as does the rhythm section. The player certainly can improve an MP3 file. It does a sterling job of Sad But True and others follow. If all albums are improved like this the £90 alone is a great spend never mind HD tracks.

Bruce Springsteen, Darkness on the Edge of Town

HD 96/24 resolution.

Again it feels loud but it really is all the extra space, as you have never heard the album like this before it is like being in a hotel room next to a busy road then opening the window. You know it is there, you can hear it even see it but when that window opens it all changes. His voice on Racing in the Street is simply sublime. All the music comes across sharper and fuller. Again you can hear any sounds from the studio, I bet people in the industry could tell the equipment used as the sound must be so distinctive.

MP3 @ 320Kb/s on X1 and Creative Vision Zen M

Yeah really not as great as the HD track but the X1 does a great job again with the MP3 tracks. All the songs sound better, cleaner and more solid. You can hear the piano so much better in Racing.. . Going to the Creative there is again a big drop in clarity and feel. Less direct and more of that false feel to the music.

I even had a go on my phone with this album and I think I may never use my phone ever again. For £90 this unit makes all my music sound so much better, just testing two albums even in MP3 it makes the music sound £1000 better. The good quality DAC in the unit is very good. I also had a go with lower bit rate MP3 tracks and again great results.

The unit can also be set to line out so it then can go into an amplifier direct. I also gave this a test and again great results. The machine really is intended for music fans, people who love music they play it every day but I really think the good quality can be heard by others. I am sure in a blind test those who may not be bothered with "sound" would pick this.

TECH INFO:
The headphones used were Sennheizer HD215 on both X1 and Creative. The HiFi set up is a Yamaha AS500 amp, and Eltax Millennium Monitors. Good cables throughout.

Ricky Warwick, When Patsy Cline Was Crazy & Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues

Ricky Warwick, When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues) (Pledge Music)

About a year in the making this is the first of two albums by ex Almighty and current Thin Lizzy/Black Star Riders front man Ricky Warwick. Done through the Pledge Music website fans had a chance to pay up front for this a full band electric album. I say that as he also recorded an Acoustic album at the same time.

With the fans putting money up front the pressure is on and I think the fans are well happy with the result. The opening track 'The Road To Damascus Street' pretty much puts to bed the classic rock n roll songs of drink and drugs. Instead Ricky is writing about his life, what he has seen. 'Celebrating Sinking' hits you with a nice guitar riff that pulls into a great story of a missed friend or family member? “Son, put the records on” it is a song all will get as we all miss someone and I find music from people who have passed they in my record collection all the time, even if I don't like it has a place in my collection.

Album title song 'When Patsy Cline Was Crazy And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues' is a great tune and one after a few listens you will want to see the lyric book (inc with download). The song has a nice punky feel mixed in with a kind of blues style of telling a story. Ricky is not so much as singing but telling you the song. They lyrics are great and this song shows how great he and friend Sam Robinson are at writing and making the title a melody you will sing along with to odd looks on the bus.

As I have said this album is all electric and 'Toffee Town' and 'That's Where The Story Ends' keep the band on their toes but ultimately it is about the songs and both are again great glimpses into his past. With the second being a again a nice blues feel reminding me of how those in the showbiz industry who are seen as heroes have to take the mask off and pay bills.

With the years Ricky has been in the music industry a guest has to appear somewhere and here is one name any fan of UK rock music will recognize in Ginger Wildheart. Helping pen and sing on 'Johnny Ringo's Last Ride' he even gives a nice solo in the middle of it. An all out rock n roll tune that I think was written for hitting over 100 mph in a car with.

Another track I love is the penultimate 'If You're Not Gonna Leave Me' some nice guitar work here and again fantastic lyrics. The whole album sounds great with a nice production job throughout. Those who likes early Almighty work or the new project he has in Black Star Riders will love this album. 'Yesteryear' ends the album on a high and a nice sing-along all who can't sing will love.

8.5/10

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