Focus Music Notes. "Out of the Blues". Popular music through the decades

Paul Weller releases his tenth studio solo album “ Wake Up The Nation ” on April 12th on Island Records. After an unparalleled career, characterised by constant musical experimentation, we should be used to Paul Weller’s relentless desire to chop and change his musical pack. But after the triumphant, Brit-bagging success of 22 Dreams (his third solo number one) Wake Up The Nation album sees rock’s most iconic songwriter come up trumps once more. Lean, mean and as uncompromisingly focused as it’s maker, Wake Up The Nation also brings Paul Weller full circle: twenty-eight years on from The Jam’s split, two tracks feature the former bassist Bruce Foxton . The album also sees contributions from My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields , The Move’s Bev Bevan and legendary session drummer Clem Cattini. Passion, progression, and, as ever, spine-tingling rock’n’roll –Paul Weller has, yet again delivered the perfect soundtrack as we embark on a new decade. Buy Wake up the Nation from Paul Well

“The Jackson Sessions”, the debut ep from Lauren Pritchard , a new artist with a remarkable voice and a rare song-writing talent to match, will be released on May 3rd through Island Records. The EP begins with the captivating “ When The Night Kills The Day ”. Written by Lauren and Ed Harcourt, the song features Marcus and Ted from Mumford & Sons who were heard and early version and loved the song so much they ended up producing it, their first independent production. The remaining three songs on the EP, “Stuck”, “No Way” and “Bad Time To Fall”, were produced by Eg White, who has produced the bulk of 22 year old Lauren’s debut album “ Wasted In Jackson ”.  Lauren Pritchard was born and raised in Jackson Tennessee, your archetypal deep south small town USA. She’d always sung and played piano from an early age and when she reached her teens felt the need to move away from her comfortable family surroundings and forge a life in music, somewhere new. At the age of 16, like many young

Following a packed out Scottish tour, Pearl and the Puppets will release their debut EP ‘ Because I Do ’ on 3rd May. Pearl, AKA Katie Sutherland and her band The Puppets , have been receiving a steady stream of attention over the last year with performances on the BBC Hogmanay show on New Year’s Eve, sets at T in the Park and the Wickerman Festival along with a headline Scottish tour last month; all this before a single release. Three years ago Pearl was just another music-loving shopgirl and primary school teacher student who was classically trained on woodwind and could bash out a tune on piano. Aged 19, she bought a guitar, taught herself how to play and quickly wrote some songs. Within a matter of months she’d set up a Myspace and posted four demos. Within a week, the first record label contacted her and after signing a publishing deal with Warner Chappell , Pearl decided to abandon her degree at Glasgow University and recruited a band; The Puppets. She signed first to Universa