New releases

This week kicks off a busy June schedule for record companies with the release of new albums by Paul Weller, NetSky, and Sunchase.

Paul Weller: Wake Up The Nation

Paul Weller has had a long a prestigious music career, from his time as the front man for both The Jam and The Style Council to his nine subsequent solo albums. Two years on from his last album that was #1 in the U.K. we see the U.S. release of his tenth solo album Wake Up The Nation.

Now over 50 years old and with nothing seemingly left to prove, Paul Weller has managed to cram 16 tracks into only 40 minutes of music, which on first pass leaves you wondering what had just happened, but on subsequent passes leaves you realizing why he has influenced a generation of musicians.

Weller hits plenty of musical genres throughout the album, with Honky-tonk on Moonshine, Psychedelia on Wake Up The Nation, some disco on Up The Dosage, and funk on the catchy Aim High. Through it all Weller's song writing prowess remains strong and politically relevant.

With such short songs the album is far from coherent, some tracks seem to stop in the middle as we jump to the next with another tempo and another style. But despite it's challenges the album somehow works and proves that just because you've been a musician for thirty plus years it doesn't mean you have to stop pushing boundaries.

Wake Up The Nation is available from Amie Street, iTunes, Amazon or other good record stores.

NetSky: NetSky

Boris Daenan, aka NetSky, burst onto the European Drum & Bass scene in early 2009. Since then he's been one of the most talked about new talents and has already seen some limited commercial cross-over success. This week sees the release of his highly anticipated self-titled debut album.

With a primary style known as Liquid Funk, the album is full of tracks that combine layered instrumentals with strong and frequent vocals. That said the album contains track that bounce around the D&B genre.

Liquid Funk tracks include Escape, the outstanding Moving With You, and Let's Leave Tomorrow. Other notable tracks include the fast and furious The Magic Russian Bottle, Iron Heart, and the mellower tracks Endless Search and Mellow.

NetSky, despite his young age, has produced a well crafted album full of quality tracks. With 16 song track listing plus a bonus 30 minute mix the album certainly adds to its appeal by giving plenty of value for money, and all in all, makes this a must have for all D&B fans.

NetSky is available today through iTunes or can be downloaded directly from Hospital Records.

Sunchase: Static Nitro

After a number of successful 12" releases Ukranian producer Alexander Pavlenko releases his debut album Static Nitro under the Sunchase pseudonym. 

Although the output of Pavlenko/Sunchase is usually categorized as Drum & Bass, this album shows a more varied selection as it also includes tracks varying between ambient, IDM, dubstep, and house.

The opening track Restored and My Lovely Button hit an ambient note with lazy vocals sweet harmonics. Mountain Top is a moody dubstep track not unlike productions by Burial while Dew Point (which is a bonus track on the iTunes version) is a bouncy techno infused house track.

The rest of the album should be considered Drum & Bass although it's on the lighter side of the genre. Syncopated drum patterns and building harmonies dominate most of the tracks with some stand outs including Lapdance, Moulded, Breakpoint, and another bonus track Searching.

As with NetSky, this is another album that's been highly anticipated by many and, for again, it actually lives up to it's pre-release hype. Fans of ambient D&B should really check it out but it also holds a lot of interest for fans of electronica who may be looking to expand their musical horizons.

Static Nitro is available for download now through iTunes, Amazon, or BeatPort.