Nero appear in the Live Lounge.

BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge
03 August 2011
Nero

I'd been eagerly awaiting Nero's appearance in the Live Lounge since it was announced by DJ Fearne Cotton last week. Booked for a slot at 11.30am, I decided to put my activities for the day on hold to ensure I was able to concentrate on the performance. Preceded by a bit of chat, Nero broke into their third commercial single, 'Promises' - which as a track is just utterly flawless. Vocals from Alana are just astonishing time-after-time, but it's only live that one is able to see the real vocal talent of a singer - and boy has she got it. They announced beforehand that they were going to perform it without their computers - so it was a performance consistent of keyboard, vocals, guitar and a drum-kit. I found myself singing along to the addictive chorus of "Promises, and they still feel oh so wasted on myself" - despite it seeming to drag on for a bit (but one should expect that in a live performance of a drum n' bass track).

Following the performance, they were given a four-minute break (in which Lady Gaga's Bad Romance was played) - before beginning their 'mystery cover'. It was announced yesterday on the show that Nero would be performing one of the following: Emeli Sande 'Heaven', record label bosses Chase & Status 'Time', Foo Fighters 'Walk' or Friendly Fires 'Live Those Days Tonight'. Having expected them to attempt Foo Fighters, they ultimately attempted Friendly Fires. Texts received afterwards read "One of the best live lounges ever" for a reason - the track was made for dubstep. We were finally given a chance to listen to the track without having FF lead singer Ed screaming the lyrics at the speed of light, but rather appreciate them through the voice of Alana (although I believe Joe and Dan also had a helping hand during the bridge). I was so impressed by the live lounge that I decided a blog post regarding the whole thing was a necessity.

For those that have yet to hear the performance, I'll post the link here: BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge - 03 August 2011 - Nero.

"Sounds So Soulful, Don't You Agree?"

The Throne ft. Otis Redding

Otis
Watch the Throne

At the beginning of the year we were treated to the rush-release of The Throne (the name assigned to the project consisting of Jay-Z & Kanye West) and the debut single "H.A.M. (Hard as a Mother****er). It debuted at number 30 in the UK Singles Chart, dropping like lead soon afterwards - not that it should come as a shock to anyone. Obviously the appeal of the project, the singles and the album is that Jay-Z and Kanye are both Gods respectively - but together it can surely only get better? H.A.M. was a tragic mess. It was negatively received and the song itself was both unnecessarily violent/bad-languaged and seemed to touch on topics including the Illuminati.

However, a few weeks back news of a second single began circulating the internet. The second single, entitled "Otis" is a big improvement on the mess of a lead single - even going as far to sample the late Otis Redding and the 1966 track 'Try a Little Tenderness'. As per usual, you can normally judge the direction of a song in the first 30 seconds - and with 'Otis' we are treated to a relaxing 25 seconds of soul singing before Jay-Z interrupts with the killer line 'Sounds so soulful, don't you agree?'. This collaboration works well on so many levels with Kanye and Jay swapping lines throughout the 3-minute long track. But I think the appeal of this track in particular is how consistent the usage of a sample is - we get to enjoy the scatting of Otis Redding over the course of the entire 3-minutes and are even treated to a piercing soul-scream at the end of the track.

I'm hoping the album released next week will follow more the direction of 'Otis' as opposed to 'H.A.M.' - I truly believe 'Otis' is some of the two rappers best work. I mean where else would Jay-Z produce the lyric: "Photoshop fresh, looking like wealth; I'm about to call the paparazzi on myself" and Kanye the lyric: "I made Jesus walk, so I ain't going to hell". Neither of these two need worry about going to hell - they are to forever walk the Earth as Gods of the music world (see below).

The Wombats: Our Perfect Disease

The Wombats
Our Perfect Disease
This Modern Glitch

"We don't admit it, but we've never seen eye to eye"
From the very first lyric, it's clear 'Our Perfect Disease' is a song by Liverpool-band the Wombats - I mean after all it's about heartbreak. Although still indie-pop, the band took on a dance-direction with their second studio album - This Modern Glitch - and to be quite honest, I much prefer it. Where the first album's lyrics stood out, the second album builds on that by having some fantastic production - with 'Our Perfect Disease' as the best example. The verses build up to an incredibly catchy chorus filled with oooo's and the keyboard solo makes for a great listen. Here's hoping the band continue with this style - as I'm left eagerly awaiting album #3.

Track of the Year by Example

Example
Changed the Way You Kiss Me

Playing in the Shadows

Returning with new music following the success of 'Kickstarts' and 'Won't Go Quietly' was always going to prove challenging for Example, but when 'Changed the Way You Kiss Me' emerged on the internet back in May - the situation changed. No longer would Elliot Gleave have his fans chanting "Play Kickstarts" at every last appearance, but rather they'd demand for his future #1 single to be played. Two months later and 'Changed the Way You Kiss Me' topped the UK Singles Chart - spending two weeks at the peak and an amazing 7 weeks in the top 10. Produced by Michael Woods, the track has already sold more than 400k in the UK alone, but it's no wonder really. The track is just full of energy. From the very first listen, it was evident that 'the drop' would become a defining moment in Example's career - the single has 'club-banger' written all over it. But what makes the track even better is the underlying dark lyrics, including "... you're scaring me, and I don't like where it's going". I have to give it to Example here - 'CTWYKM' is a defining song of 2011 - with the picture selected below displaying how wild the crowd went when he performed the track at the iTunes Festival in July 2011.