Threatmantics — Upbeat Love (EMI)
This is a very frustrating album; one minute I loved it and the next I thought they were trying to hard. There are some really great crazy, unhinged moments like the duel between the violin and the vocals on Don’t Care, backed by that kicking Velvet Underground rhythm. But for every brilliant moment there is one like Get Outta Town, where they take their Celtic folk vibe and try to be new-wave disco kings ala Franz Ferdinand. There are some great songs such as the garage-skronk of James Lemain or the Velvets-esque High Waister with its simple rhythm and vulnerable lyrics, but a consistent, complete album this is not. — Lloyd Gedye
Deborah Cox — The Promise
Cox has reached a peak of musical maturity, the kind that sad songs sound beautiful in. Her new album, The Promise, looks more promising than her last try on Destination Moon, which was released in June 2007. Although she doesn’t seem to be taking her songs from her own experiences, tracks such as Did You Ever Love Me and Love is not Made in Words speak to all women, even those who have not been hurt. In Beautiful u r Cox sounds a lot like Leona Lewis, which is a good thing because although she has grown with the music, she still keeps in touch with the new trends of R&B. The Promise is a tight album; it has only 10 songs, but they are all good and definitely worth listening to whenever the occasion calls. — Thembelihle Tshabalala
Max Tundra — Parallax Error Beheads You
While this album will probably be played at music colleges as the epitome of experimental electronica, it is difficult to listen to at times. Max Tundra is obviously deeply in love with the concept of finding as many sounds as possible to squeeze into one track, which is great, but it sometimes feels like he makes the music more for himself than for anyone else. While this is the way it should be, of course, I often found myself searching for a melody while trying to convince myself that this wasn’t just noise. United Kingdom-based Max Tundra, aka Ben Jacobs, is, after all, a respected producer, having remixed for Mogwai, Architecture in Helsinki and Tuung. But this, his third album, merges into one long track of unconventional time signatures and mismatched notes that left me feeling stressed out. Other than track five, Orphaned, everything else sounds pretty much the same. Max Tundra has some nice ideas, but doesn’t seem to explain them very well through this album. — Ilham Rawoot
The Gourds — Haymaker! (MIA)
This Americana band may have been around for 15 years now, but it is their cover of Snoop Dog’s Gin and Juice that most people associate with the band. Haymaker! is their ninth studio album and is predicted to be the one to help the band reach more of an audience than their dedicated loyal groupies from their live shows. While the sounds on offer include everything from pre-rock country to bluegrass, from rockabilly to Western swing, I can’t help feeling that everything here I have heard before — and much better. They’re not bad, they’re just average and that’s never been a reason to buy music in my book. — Lloyd Gedye
Little Joy — Little Joy (Just Music)
More than anything this album sounds like something from the early Sixties, but not the hard rock we’re more familiar with. Instead Little Joy’s first album is from the Sixties that leaned more towards an easy-going, slow rock sound that you might very well find your grandparents enjoying as much as you do. Initially, I though it was lazy of this band to recreate tunes from an era that has such a distinctly groovy, easily replicated sound to it, but most of the tunes give off such a chilled vibe that I wasn’t able to muster up the required energy to dislike any of it. Little Joy is all about soft vocals, gentle strumming and the sort of languid feeling that makes for the perfect soundtrack to a lazy day spent sitting on a balcony in a deserted part of town, waiting for the sun to go down as you sip serenely on another margarita on crushed ice. Brand New Start kicks off the CD with a nostalgic Hawaiian lilt, while Next Time Around has a smooth reggae sound and the groovy How to Hang a Warhol is something to tap your two-toned suede shoes to. — Sukasha Singh
Flash Republic — Danger (Just Music)
This is probably the most monotonous dance album I have ever had to listen to. I said “had to” because I listened to it three times, trying to find a different sound to it. It is clear, however, that the DJs intended to have it sound like one long song with 10 transitions. I thought that the limited edition disc 2, which has “remixes”, would redeem the original, but it is just as boring with different DJs merely adding a drum beat or two and then calling it a remix. The remix promises three versions of the lead track Star — these being the Prok & Fitch Floorplay mix, the Thomas Gold mix and the Sunfreaks mix. The only good thing about this album is its packaging. If you look at the cover for the first time you could be sold to believe that it caries good music. — Thembelihle Tshabalala
HK 119 — Fast, Cheap and Out of Ccdontrol (Just Music)
Whatever you want to call HK119, boring will never be it. Unfocused, confused maybe, but never boring. Fast, Cheap and Out of Control, the second album by Finnish Heidi Kilpelainen, is predominantly an indulgent synethesised electro fest, but at times wanders quite noticeably off this path. Celeb is a bluesy number, Avaruusasema is almost dub, almost trip-hop. Liberty and What I Am are the catchiest tracks, hands down, fun and fast, and the ones where HK119 sounds most comfortable in what she’s doing. HK, with her vocals that are somewhere between Blondie and the Long Blondes, is flexible musically and so tried to incorporate all her favourite genres into this album, barring metal. The lyrics are angry, but not always believable, and the melodies feel like they’re nearly there, but not quite. This album is good party music, but if HK focused on what she does best, which appears to be electronic fun stuff, it could have made for a fuller, more satisfying collection. — Ilham Rawoot
Brett Dennen — Hope for the Hopeless (Just Music)
The quirky-voiced Dennen treads the lighter side of Americana, far from the risky excesses of, for example, one of his more prominent contemporaries, Ryan Adams. While Adams often hangs over the abyss when reaching for gold — and almost just as often succeeds in his mission — Dennen’s songwriting is far more tempered. Yet, the attempt at a more commercial sound works. Strains of ukulele, lilting piano and mellifluous backing vocals meld into a compendium of obvious heartache and soaring optimism. Never more so than on stand-out track Heaven, in which Dennen pleads for a world free of politicians and banks. Pain there is — in songs such as Wrong about me and When she’s Gone — but it’s pain with a gilt edge. Everything points to Dennen being hurt, but never broken. Hope indeed: for the silver lining, according to the man’s repertoire, is never but a note away. — Darren Taylor
The Best Club Anthems 2009 – Various Artists (Virgin)
If I had to describe house it would probably be in terms of adrenalin. This genre of music might not be as commercially recognised as pop and rock, but still represents the sound of the future. My newest favourite album, The Best Club Anthems 2009, features the talents of great international and local artists. This compilation showcases a variety of club mixes of old originals, disco, trance, electronic hip-hop and electro house mixes that you just have to hear. As soon as you put on the first track from this double-disc album your expectations will surely be met and you’ll be partying on the dance floor. Over the years house music has transformed ever so brilliantly and has grown in stature and following. — Eden Lurie
Top 40 Hits of All Time: The Love Songs — Various Artists (EMI)
Now this is what I understood radio to be when I was growing up, sheer musical pleasure. Top 40 Hits Of All Time is exactly what memories are made of. And the selection also succeeds in surprising you with some of the most recent tunes, striking an equation with timeless classics such as Stand by me by Ben E King. This double disc is a must-have for those people with an old musical soul and an understanding of great music as it is released. It features some of the greatest musicians of our time and some of the most promising artists recently emerging in the love ballad industry. Music from The Hollies, Tina Turner, Air Supply, Nat King Cole, Cliff Richard and Diana Ross provide soft listening pleasure, while Michael Learns to Rock, Atomic Kitten, Katie Melua, Roxy Music, Blue and others strike a balance between the obsolete and the now ever so magnificently. — Monako Dibetle