On the record: Queens Rated release

By Polly Weeks

It's been 10 years since rockers Queens Of The Stone Age released their classic album Rated R. Now it's re-released with nine bonus b-sides and six live tracks. How does their music sound 10 years on? Elsewhere Herbie Hancock celebrates his 70th birthday with a new album, the highly rated Orphan Boy release their second album and dance star Chicane returns with another release. How do they compare? Read on to find out...

Queens Of The Stone Age - Rated R (Deluxe Edition)

Ten years ago, Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri and the rest of Queens Of The Stone Age released Rated R, which promptly propelled them from the stoner rock scene to the mainstream. In addition to the original album, this re-release offers six live tracks recorded at Reading Festival in 2000 (the year of the original release), as well as nine bonus b-sides. The added extras give the release a fun feel which wasn't as apparent on the original. Highlights include Feel Good Hit Of The Summer, The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret and Monsters In The Parasol. For fans of the band, this is a must have, and for newcomers and fans of rock music alike, this comes highly recommended as it is very, very good.

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Dan Williams)

Violent Soho - Violent Soho

Australian rockers Violent Soho have clearly been listening to Nirvana's back catalogue, which isn't necessarily a good thing. Violent Soho's eponymous album is by no means bad, it just treads Nirvana's winning formula of guitar driven big choruses with the odd quieter moment thrown into the mix. Highlights include the wonderfully entitled single Jesus Stole My Girlfriend. Love Is A Heavy Word also stands out from an otherwise pedestrian set of rockers. Unlikely to set the world alight, but if you miss Nirvana this may well be right up your street.

Rating: 6/10 (Reviewed by Kim Mayo)

The Burns Unit - Side Show

Take a random selection of eight musicians, put them in a rural retreat and leave them to their own devices. The result? Well, in this case it's a Scottish-Canadian indie-folk supergroup, featuring King Creosote, Emma Pollock of Delgados fame and Michael Johnston. Like any communal experiment there are bound to be some problems, and with each song being co-written by at least two people the outcome is somewhat of an incoherent album. However, the collaborative energy also serves to strengthen Side Show's sound. It veers between cascading out of the speakers with a tribal urgency, gently purring a dark bluesy cabaret and blending haunting acoustica, electronica and alt-rock. It may be a mixed bag, but it's a very clever one.

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Nathania Hartley)

Menomena - Mines

This third album from the Oregon indie-rock act marks a change in tact for the three-piece. A much more studied and slow-burning affair than their previous fare, it takes time to attune to the more traditionally song-based sound, but the effort proves to be more than worth it. Dirty Cartoons' rich, warm instrumentation brings to mind the autumnal loveliness of TV On The Radio. Five Little Rooms evokes a Bad Seeds-esque swagger and miniature epic Lunchmeat is steeped in apocalyptic drama. This is a dense, emotionally literate offering from a band that appears to be maturing into something rather wonderful.

Rating: 7/10 (Review by Simon Harker)

The Tamborines - Camera & Tremor

Lulu Grave and Henrique Laurindo, who make up this keys and guitar two-piece, have cited The Velvet Underground and Ingmar Bergman as core influences. However, on a debut album which arrives five years into an under-the-radar career, they demonstrate little of the experimental flair of the former or the creative spark, wit or wisdom of the latter. Camera & Tremor shows The Tamborines certainly know their way around the shoegaze scene, which counted among its number the fondly remembered likes of My Bloody Valentine and Ride. But while others who hold similar bands dear have produced outstanding albums lately (Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and Asobi Seksu being two examples), this London unit lack the hooks and variation to go with the fuzzy, squealing guitar lines and synth drone. Formulaic and, worse still, a debut album which manages to sound already tired.

Rating: 3/10 (Review by John Skilbeck)

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

From the intense opening bars of Paris, to the wistful final note of Things I Never Needed, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals' eponymous third album charts an energetic journey of love and ambition, ranging from pure desire to complete disdain. Honed during the band's hectic touring schedule, Grace's powerful vocals swoop effortlessly over the Nocturnals' 1970s-tinged bluesy rock, whether belting out Hot Summer Night, That Phone and Medicine, or soul-inspired ballads Low Road and Colors. Only Love's infectious chorus demands dancing, while Tiny Light's indulgent guitar solo satisfies the rock instinct. Money, somewhat misplaced between Only Love and One Short Night, is the only weak spot on an album that is truly hard to fault.

Rating: 9/10 (Review by Natalie Bowen)

Calamateur - Each Dirty Letter

With the elaborate artwork and booklet, the dignified instrumentation on show and the occasional hint of lyrical potency, it is hard not to will good things for this album. Nevertheless, and despite those positive first impressions, too many of Calamateur's songs are stillborn acoustic meanders. Too often the tunes limp along without focus and the accompanying press release does little to help. Describing the artist as a "musical polymath" is a grand turn of phrase indeed for what is standard singer-songwriter fare with a passing nod to the quirks of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

Rating: 4/10 (Review By Rory Dollard)

Orphan Boy - Passion, Pain & Loyalty

Until now, Cleethorpes has been best known for Pleasure Island Theme Park, but indie rockers Orphan Boy are looking to change all that. Unfortunately their new album Passion, Pain, & Loyalty is only slightly more exciting than spending a wet afternoon queuing up for a rollercoaster ride in the Lincolnshire town. The trio, who have been building themselves a reputation on the Manchester scene, admit they are looking to shake off an unwanted 'lad rock' tag, but there is little to suggest they have moved away from that on this, their second album. They succeed on 1989 - one of the few tracks not to include a shouty, repetitive chorus - while lead single Popsong is lyrically clever and another stand-out track.

Rating: 6/10 (Review by Andrew Carless)

Chicane - Giants

Nick Bracegirdle's latest release generally sees him in familiar territory, with a collection of extended tracks including a remixed version of the summer 2009 hit Poppiholla, the subsequent singles Come Back (sampling Paul Young) and Hiding All The Stars, and the new single Middledistancerunner featuring Adam Young of Owl City. Naturally the tracks are perfectly danceable even if they're not foot-tappers, and the two-part What Am I Doing Here? (featuring female and male vocals respectively, the latter provided by an electronically altered Lemar) is effective. But it's probably fair to say that unless you're a big trance fan, there's little here that really grabs the attention and refuses to let go.

Rating: 6/10 (Review by Maurice Buxton)

Herbie Hancock - The Imagine Project

When most people turn 70 they celebrate with a few close friends and family. However when Jazz musician Herbie Hancock reached the ripe old age, he decided to celebrate with a brand new album which took him around the world making 10 collaborative tracks. The artists featured are a who's who in music. For example the first track, the Beatles' classic Imagine includes Pink, Seal, India Arie, Oumou Sangare and Jeff Beck. With the artists representing so many genres, it would be easy for the styles to clash and make for an uncomfortable listen. However this is where Hancock excels. The artists work seamlessly together, which mean all 10 tracks are full of passion and carefully crafted. Highlights include The Times, They Are A Changin' with The Chieftains, Lisa Hannigan and Toumani Diabate and The Song Goes On with Chaka Khan, Wayne Shorter, Anoushka Shankar and Chitra.

Rating: 8/10 (Review by Polly Weeks)

Singles by Polly Weeks

:: Flo Rida feat David Guetta - Club Can't Handle Me Featured on the new Step Up 3D soundtrack, this song has all the qualities of a good club hit. Strong vocals from Flo Rida and a catchy tune to go alongside it.

:: Paloma Faith feat Ghostface Killah - New York

Paloma Faith re-releases this single from her debut album Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? This time she's enlisted the help of Wu member Ghostface Killah. A good single which deserves a second outing.

:: The Hoosiers - Choices

The trio responsible for songs such as Worried About Ray and Goodbye Mr A return with a synth-heavy pop number. Also they've got a marketing hook as they are adding on extra verses (sent in by fans) to make it the longest ever single in the UK.

Tour dates

:: American folk singer Laura Veirs has confirmed she'll be heading over to these shores for an August tour. As well as playing Leicester's Summer Sundae, she'll be performing at Manchester's Ruby Lounge, Brighton's Komedia and will also do two dates at London's Jazz Cafe. For more information, visit www.lauraveirs.com.

:: Swedish rockers Europe will be returning to the UK in 2011 for a tour entitled Balls 'N' Banners. Taking place in February the group will be performing their hits in Glasgow, Birmingham, London, Oxford, Bournemouth, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle. For more information, visit www.europetheband.com.