A pet hate of mine is introductory paragraphs to round-up articles like these that ask: where has the time flown to? Wow, two months down already, eh? Et cetera, et cetera, and so forth. What’s wrong with these people? Do they not use a calendar?
Yes, everyone, February is over. There are no more albums to be released in this, the second month of 2009. Come Monday, we will be in March. That’s the third month of the year for you weirdo sorts not able to follow the passing of time in a typical manner. A Whole New Month.
Which necessitates the publication of our monthly Six Pack feature, collecting a half-dozen excellent long-players released in the month in question… Which, yes, this time out is February. Which leads me to…
These are our six favourite records of February 2009. Read, hear, enjoy. Buy, even. Because downloading is destroying the music business. It’s not but, y’know, to touch upon another pet hate of mine: the incessant chatter from moneymen on all their lost pounds and pence and how one illegal download equals one lost sale, when it doesn’t because, you see, there’s this thing called…
Sorry, where are we?
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The Prodigy (pictured)
‘Invaders Must Die’
(Take Me To The Hospital)
Reads the ClashMusic.com review: “‘Invaders Must Die’ makes an instantaneous impact; at least it does so if you ever held the group’s seminal second album, 1994’s Mercury-nominated ‘Music For The Jilted Generation’, in high regard. It is a record that largely earns its stripes by slightly sidestepping familiar footsteps, and leaves the listener certain that The Prodigy still matter. Put simply, nobody does The Prodigy like The Prodigy, and it’s a joy to have them back on all cylinders. Pendulum, don’t let the door smack you on the arse on your way out.”
Read the full review HERE.
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…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
‘The Century Of Self’
(Richter Scale/Superball)
Reads the ClashMusic.com review: “‘The Century of Self’ is an album with an accomplished sense of completion – a rolling score of disparate tracks segueing into a focused, poignant collective. And for all its scintillating, visceral energy, it’s an album that remains poised and impending, balanced by majestic composition and a patient anticipation for demolishing everything it builds. It might be two steps back and one giant step forward, but this is progression nonetheless…”
Read the full review HERE.
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Lily Allen
‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’
(Regal)
Reads the ClashMusic.com review: “It’s the presence of impolite truths in the voice of an angel that makes ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ a feverishly catchy and bona fide favourite. And so, despite public lashings and continued tabloid exposure, Britain’s mouthy pop idol returns triumphantly and with the brawny guts to stick with what she knows best. Though we may be over Lily, the celebrity, be ready to embrace ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’.”
Read the full review HERE.
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N.A.S.A.
‘The Spirit Of Apollo’
(Anti)
Reads the ClashMusic.com review: “N.A.S.A. began some six years ago when the pair of DJ Zegon and Sam ‘Squeak E. Clean’ Spiegel combined forces to present a sound rooted in both North America (Spiegel) and South America (Zegon) – hence the name. But neither was up for vocal duties, so drafted in a handful of guests to deliver on said front. And their guestlist grew and grew. And grew. As ‘The Spirit Of Apollo’ progresses, team-ups reveal unexpected thrills from Chuck D, Karen O, M.I.A. and more…”
Read the full review HERE.
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Asobi Seksu
‘Hush’
(One Little Indian)
Reads the ClashMusic.com review: “When an album’s expertly brought to an end-product state like this, it’s impossible to find fault in its myriad achievements, when each nuance is finished with the deftest touch and attention to detail. Ideal world, this propels Asobi Seksu into the mainstream and confirms their place at the top of their peer-group tree. If not, it’s still the band’s best LP to date, and a marked progression from albums lacking this release’s lovingly crafted immediacy.”
Read the full review HERE.
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Morrissey
‘Years Of Refusal’
(Polydor)
Reads the ClashMusic.com review: “Almost 25 years after The Smiths swept the country off its feet, turning everyone casually vegetarian and leading grown men to sport quiffs for any occasion, ‘Years Of Refusal’ is a welcome addition to an already impressive back catalogue: from beginning to end the pace and quality doesn’t let up. Some may argue that it lacks the real standout tracks his previous two albums had, but give it a few months and people will be talking about this release with the same kind of reverence that ‘…Quarry’ received.”
Read the full review HERE.
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