The Like are set to return with their new, Mark Ronson produced, album. Called Release Me, it’ll be released on 30th August via Polydor.

Tracklisting:
1. Wishing He Was Dead
2. He’s Not A Boy
3. Release Me
4. Walk Of Shame
5. Narcissus In A Red Dress
6. I Can See It In Your Eyes
7. Fair Game
8. Square One
9. In The End
10. Trouble In Paradise
11. Catch Me If You Can
12. Don’t Make A Sound
(hidden track: Why When Love Is Gone)

They’ve also announced a UK tour for September:
01 Glasgow King Tuts
02 Newcastle The Cluny
03 Manchester Ruby Lounge
04 Sheffield Plug
05 Nottingham Bodega
07 Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
08 Birmingham The Rainbow
09 Bristol Start The Bus
10 Oxford Jericho
11 Brighton Audio
13 Cambridge Haymakers
15 London ICA

That’s not all folks, there is also a video for album track ‘Fair Game’, directed by Sophia Coppola’s niece Gia Coppola for fashion designer Zac Posen:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Elbow’s powers-that-be have decided that, for whatever reason, it’s time for a reissue. Asleep in the Back was Elbow’s debut, not-so-way-back in 2001. It’s been repackaged in a ‘deluxe’ edition (and who can resist anything with the word ‘deluxe’ on it?), with a CD of that winning cash-cow buzz word ‘bonus’, and a DVD featuring, well, a lot of odds and ends.

So… let’s break this down…

Disc One – Asleep in the Back

Easily on a par with The Seldom Seen Kid, Asleep in the Back is an utterly astonishing debut album. Granted, the band had been together nearly a decade before they made it, but it was undoubtedly worth the wait.

It features some of the bands live highlights – ‘Powder Blue’, ‘Red’, ‘Don’t Mix Your Drinks’, the incredible, tender, grandiose cacophony that is ‘Newborn’, and recent set-closer, the heart-warming ‘Scattered Black and Whites’.

There’s also the odd forgotten gem it’s nice to get reacquainted with, such as ‘Any Day Now’ and ‘Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)’ which features the lush textures of multi-layered Garvey vocals.

The rough around the edges outtakes are a timely reminder that Asleep in the Back captures Elbow at the flush of the band’s youth. A bit scruffy, and lacking the polished production of their later work, (ironically their own polished production), but rather endearing all the same.

For those that only clambered aboard the Elbow train after The Seldom Seen Kid, Asleep in the Back will bookend their burgeoning Elbow discography nicely. Those that were on board from day one will still feel a little smug that they were there from the start.

Disc Two – Bonus Tracks

What’s that black and white blob coming on the horizon? Oh, here’s that cash-cow.  Now forgive me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the term ‘bonus’ imply something extra, additional, a cheeky bit on the side? Now according to my calculations, there are two ‘bonus’ tracks on CD 2 – that is, tracks that aren’t on Asleep in the Back. There’s the grungey, scuzzy, tumbling free-for all of ‘Theme From Munroe Kelly’, and ‘George Lassoes The Moon’.

The rest of the ‘bonus’ tracks are all taken from Asleep in the Back, and are either from a Steve Lamacq session or an NME Astoria gig. Fair enough – anyone who’s caught Elbow live will know they truly excel, but when ‘Red’ and ‘Don’t Mix Your Drinks’ roll around for the second time, it does become a little tiring. The six tracks from the Astoria show are the highlight, particularly the threatening, anticipating, hot-under-the-collar rendition of ‘Bitten by the Tailfly’. But it’s all a bit to bitty to really get involved with – as soon as you’re getting into the swing of the Astoria show and enjoying Guy’s banter, it’s replaced with an (albeit pretty special) session version on ‘Newborn’. Personally, I rather would’ve had a whole live gig on this CD rather than what seems like bits and pieces cobbled together in attempt to create some kind of snap-shot of Elbow circa 2001.

Disc Three – Asleep in the Back Movie

Moo. It’s back. The DVD contains all the videos for Asleep in the Back. If you haven’t got time to sit through them all (and quite frankly the first five are worth avoiding anyway) then go straight for the title track, where the band are transformed into puppets topped with their heads, in a rather beautifully made old-school silent film about Guy being stung by a wasp.

Another hilarious Guy moment sees him attempting to ad-lib when technical problems halt a show in Glasgow – it would seem his on-stage banter has progressed in leaps and bounds since then, as the best he can come up with is discussing his favourite gadget and ‘Hello Glasgow’. Still, if he ever gives up music he’s a shoe-in for a role in an awkward docu-comedy.

As for the rest of the ‘movie’, well there’s a Jukebox which means you can load up the album in any order you fancy and play it (how handy, I hear you cry) and the tracks off Disc Two again, just incase you need to play them on your DVD player instead.

So sadly this deluxe edition is all a bit of a waste of time. I’m assuming that it has more to do with Polydor and Universal than the band, but after the rather beautiful box-set of The Seldom Seen Kid recorded at Abbey Road, this is certainly a let down. Luckily the, strength of this album means that it doesn’t need a load of extra padding to go with it – this is one for the die-hards and uninitiated only.

Buy album from Amazon |[itunes link="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=335426102&s=143444&uo=4" title="iTunes" text=" iTunes"]

There are two things to bear in mind with The Maccabees sophomore album: firstly – do not judge it by the somewhat disturbing image of the band on the front cover, and secondly, it was produced by Markus Dravs who worked with Arcade Fire on Neon Bible. The cover makes it look like a pop-art project circa the 1980s. It’s really not. Whereas the Markus Dravs point is actually something worth considering. His input quietly sits in the background, noticeable, but without stealing their thunder.
First track ‘Love You Better’ sets the scene nicely for the rest of the album. Gone are the jumpy guitars and off-beat lyrics, and in comes a horn section, soaring vocals and serious content. These boys have grown-up and it shows. Not necessarily for the better, and certainly not for the worst – it’s simply just different.

‘One Hand Holding’ has an addictive sense of urgency about it, with it’s soaring vocals and jumpy horn elements it throws you into a whirlwind of wonderfully constructed musical layers. ‘Can You Give It’ follows suit with its memorable bass melody, sharp, hooky guitars and shout-it-out chorus. These tracks are the most reminiscent of The Maccabees we used to know. But even they reflect a maturity that has developed in leaps and bounds since ‘Colour It In’.

It’s in ‘Wall of Arms’ and ‘William Powers’ that you really feel the progression this band have made though. There’s an unmistakable tension running through the album, heightened by lead singer Orlando’s new found vocal strength, and probably encouraged somewhat by Markus Dravs input. The multi-faceted ‘William Powers’ sucks you into an emotional maelstrom, making you feeling like you’ve been tugged by optimism and pessimism at both ends.

‘No Kind Words’ is The Maccabees at their darkest moment yet – sombre vocals and a melancholy rhythm coupled with a stop-start pace and brilliant composition make it one of the records stand-out tracks.

People will no doubt view this album in different ways – there will be those who see it as a progression from Colour It In, those who moan about them not staying true to their original sound and of course those who simply think they are just another skinny-jean clad indie band (which may be true). But either way, they know how to make a good pop song. ‘Young Lions’ and ‘Kiss and Resolve’ both hit the mark for their irresistible melodies and thoughtful lyrics. Plus there is just something strangely endearing about Orlando’s voice that unwittingly draws you in on every listen.

The end of the album winds down gently with ‘Seventeen Hands’ and ‘Bag of Bones’, and although they are no ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ both have a wistful charm about them, full of emotion and feeling.

Wall of Arms is an album that screams professionalism from beginning to end. It’s powerful, emotive, heartfelt and has all the right ingredients to survive the ruthless indie cull that so many bands have fallen victim to. The Maccabees have well and truly wormed their way into the heart of the British indie music scene.
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The Maccabees on Myspace

Put it this way. If the recorded history of The Smiths were the First World War, Morrissey would be knee deep in the mud of Dunkirk by now. Stretching this a bit further would make Viva Hate the Treaty Of Versailles, Vauxhall and I the boom times of the mid 1920′s and Maladjusted the Great Depression. Sadly, it would also make You Are The Quarry the rise of the Nazi party, so we’ll leave that there; but it does serve to highlight the huge gulf of time between the group for which he is most famous and the solo artist he became. And in some respects, the strapping lad of 2009 is a long way from the wiry, puny wielder of flowers from the 80′s.

With his brawny arm locked round a chubby toddler, he looks the business on the sleeve to Years of Refusal. He actually manages to look more of a threat to society holding a baby than firing a machine gun, his Fred Perry shirt straining at the buttons. And the album is almost as stuffed full as his shirt, packed with punchy, compact song nuggets. Lyrically, he is fiercer than ever. Gone are the fruity couplets of the last album, replaced by withering wit and cocky self-pity.

And hardly one for reinvention, Morrissey sticking to what he does best both in words and in music. He opens with ‘Something is Squeezing My Skull’ , where he “blocks out the present and the past“, declaring himself to be “doing very well” thank you, sticking the boot into modern life and anyone else who happens to get in his way. He keeps the pace up all through the first half of the album, ‘Mama Lay Softly’ full of strident drums, ‘Black Cloud’ somehow pulling off the act of sounding 20 years out of date and modern at the same time.

Whilst these up tempo numbers are certainly stirring, it is in the quieter moments, so few and far between, that Morrissey really excites. It’s a shame then that structurally he places these numbers towards the end of the album. ‘Its Not Your Birthday Anymore’ and ‘You Were Good in your Time’ sit uneasily with the petulant sounds of ‘I’m Ok By Myself’, which merely retreads the bulk of what has come before. ‘All You Need Is Me’ sees him really stick his bottom lip out, featuring the most world-weary sarcastic “whoopee” put to tape, even by his standards.

This is probably the most “up front” of all his solo albums, the most immediate, more redolent of the pop aspirations of The Smiths than anything that has come before. However, it is unlikely to be regarded in the future as one of his best. When magazines in the year 2025 do the inevitable “Where Are They Now” treatment on the baby in the artwork, this will be considered a solid album, accessible and vibrant, but lacking the mystery of the likes of Vauxhall and I to remain a classic. It is a good album, at times bordering on the great, but does not quite have the heart to be a masterpiece.
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Morrissey on MySpace