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

Like a bolt from the blue, The Drums return with their second album, ‘Portamento’ to be released on September 12th through Moshi Moshi / Island Records. ‘Portamento’ - released just over a year since their debut - reveals a band tugging lightly at the boundaries of their sound while still retaining their recognizable sonic signatures. Sweet rushes of melody and brittle synthesizer sheens colliding with wiry Spector-esque guitar lines are still very much present, but singer, Jonny Pierce’s lyrics have assumed a deeper, personal tone and coupled with the band’s own more expansive production, ‘Portamento’ is a more complex, but ultimately more rewarding listen than their debut. Emerging from Brooklyn via Florida in 2010, The Drums initially caught the ear of the indie world with their ‘ Summertime! ’ EP - an escapist collection of beach pop fantasies – which preceded their self-titled debut album, released in June 2010. ‘The Drums’ has gone on to sell 200,000 albums world-wide, reflecting

It’s been an explosive introduction for young West Country singer-songwriter Ben Howard. Having only signed his record deal with Island Records at the beginning of the year, Ben had already accrued a hefty fanbase across the UK and Europe through sheer persistent touring, and the word of mouth support that followed. With the release of his debut EP, ‘Old Pine’ this Spring, that fanbase is still growing by the day, and raced into the Top 20 iTunes chart within a few hours of its release. Old Pine’s success was predominantly buoyed by the incredibly supportive surf community that nurtured Ben in Devon and Cornwall and now across the whole UK over the past couple of years, but also by the support from national and regional radio stations across the UK. Old Pine was playlisted at 6Music and XFM, and received repeat rotation and celebrated sessions at Radio 1 (Zane Lowe, Fearne Cotton) and Radio 2 (Jo Whiley, Dermot O’Leary, Janice Long) which has since garnered further acclaim at press, b

James Morrison releases his incredible third album “The Awakening” on Island Records on September 26. The album, his first for the label, was produced by Bernard Butler and was recorded at Konk studios in London. It follows the huge global success of James’s previous two albums which, together, have sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide. His 2006 debut album “Undiscovered” topped the UK album chart whilst the 2008 follow-up album “Songs For You, Truths For Me” included “Broken Strings”, the collaboration with Nelly Furtado which sold in excess of 1.5 million copies. “The Awakening” also includes an amazing collaboration, this time with Jessie J on the track “Up”. This, and one other track, was produced by Mark Taylor. All other tracks were produced by Bernard Butler. James Morrison said; “Working with Bernard Butler on this album has brought a whole new dimension to the songs. For me this album combines influences stemming from my deep love for classic soul – Marvin Gaye, Stevie