The week in music

The Yorker presents this week's succinct guide to goings-on of the musical variety, both locally and nationally. Here you'll find previews of a selection of single and album releases from the week ahead, as well as a guide to the hottest tickets in town for live music.

Gigs

For those with an appetite for classical music the University Symphony Orchestra will be performing Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony on Wednesday evening. An emotive piece on the eternal themes of love and death, this will no doubt be a superb evening of expertly performed music. Featuring soloists Joseph Houston and Cynthia Millar and conducted by John Stringer, the Symphony Orchestra will be on stage in Central Hall at 7:30pm.

Thursday sees a selection on university bands showcased as URY Presents Chuck Jager, Taming the Savage, The Rammers, and Tuyo Moi at the Duchess. Rounding off the evening with sets from URY DJs, this looks to be a good night that shouldn’t be missed.

For the older generation rock traditionalists, Jimi Hendrix tribute band The Hamsters will be performing in Fibbers on Friday night. I’m still reeling from the fact that the email they sent us was written in Comic Sans. The same evening sees The Neat take to the stage in Duchess, with support from Missing Kids, Safari and local band Where’s Hollywood?. Recently receiving a nod from champion of undiscovered bands DJ Steve Lamacq, The Neat are an energetic clash pop rock band that is definitely on the rise. With an excellent selection of support bands to boot, if you’re at a loose end on Friday night the Duchess is the place to be.

Sunday. Leeds-based singer/songwriter James Owen Fender will be performing in Stereo. A brief trawl through youtube finds some instantly likeable catchy pop rock tunes coupled with easily identifiable lyrics; a gig that would be well worth seeing. That’s it as far as gigs go for this week, unless you like metal bands as York seems to have them in abundance. I blame the Vikings.

Albums

This week sees the release of R.E.M.’s 15th album, Collapse Into Now. Given their expansive back catalogue, one wonders if their latest effort will point the band in a new direction. Review to follow. British rock giants Elbow have also released their fifth album, Build A Rocket Boys. Having finally achieved widespread commercial success with 2008’s The Seldom Seen Kid, let’s hope this well-deserved applause continues with the accomplished band’s new release. In other news, Avril Lavigne’s Goodbye Lullaby comes out this week and I’m now having horrific flashbacks of being thirteen.

Singles

Wiz Khalifa - Black and Yellow

Let it be known: catchy beats will always save mediocre rapping. 'Black and Yellow' isn't an exotic song; the beat's nothing especially creative, but the simple synth melody that's like an artillery of music boxes is somehow hummable, danceable, and easy to rap over all at once. Wiz Khalifa's rapping is inoffensive, but boils down to a kid showing off his shiny new car to girls. It's entirely forgettable - a remix featuring Snoop Dogg and (ugh) T-Pain replace Wiz with no detriment. -Nathan Blades

McFly – That’s The Truth

While McFly are arguably the best of similar English male pop rock bands at the moment, this is perhaps their least memorable and likeable single in a while. The addition of synthesised drums, a string orchestra and somewhat overproduced vocals means that they’ve travelled further from the guitar band sensibilities they were originally loved for in order to fit in with the current charts. However, the lyrics cleverly tell a story of relationship trouble that everyone can relate to, and it is likely to seem catchier and more enjoyable with each repeat listening. - Charlotte Tobitt

Standard Fare – Suitcase

The latest single from the delightfully upbeat band shows some definite development following the release of debut album The Noyelle Beat last year. ‘Suitcase’ maintains their wonderfully optimistic attitude in dealing with difficult situations (the song appears to be about some sort of invasion/apocalypse, but that may be me reading too much into it. I watched 28 Weeks Later last night) but it has a slightly more polished air than previous efforts. One for your summer playlists, without a doubt. - Lucie Vincer

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