Life in Cartoon Motion
But they would have got away for it if it wasn't for that pesky kid…

Mika: Life in Cartoon Motion

Scene 1:
A large house with gold pillars and bricks as yellow as sand is in the distance; inside the house, a troubled pop artist formally known as Mika is discussing with his manager on ways to sell his music and make him a huge pop star:
Manager: We need a way to sell your music and make it huge as I see potential! Take Freddie Mercury for example, people crave his music and it is still missed greatly around the globe, like "Mcfly" have done a cover of "Don't Stop Me Now" for charity and it's huge. Maybe we could change you from being a camp Lebanese pop artist with an unusually high voice into the next! "Freddie Mercury"!
Mika: Well I'm not too sure, I just play the music I play I'm not trying to be the next "Freddie Mercury".
Manager: We're talking big money here; I can just see it on the front of NME - "Mika blazes through the charts with his catchy new melody similar to the days of Freddie Mercury" or "Has Freddie Mercury really come back from the dead?" in The Sun, so… don't you agree?
Mika: Well I'm not too sure……
Manager: You don't need to be sure, I've got it all planned out. Maybe we could even add some George Michael in there to make you even more radio-friendly. Take it from the expert! You in or are you out? Remember, we're a team? (Holds out his hand)
Mika: Okay I suppose if it makes us rich - and me famous (shakes hand)
(Please note this didn't really happen, not that we know of anyway - legalistic Ed)

To sum up the album: an embarrassing cash-in gimmick on the legend Freddie Mercury, with predictable hooks and clichéd flicks and weak, repetitive choruses and flimsy lyrics about colours.
-5/10
www.mikasounds.com

Forget Cassettes: Salt
The Rakes turned grungy, with a delicate harmonic string sound whisking lightly in the verses of the songs. Overall it sounds good, especially the powerful song "Salt and Syncope" which is a bit like "Tool" but a little more loose and unhinged; the songs seem to be experimental to the point of pretension but still it works and makes an interesting fusion of musical talent.
8/10
http://www.myspace.com/forgetcassettes

Soular: Waiting for tomorrow
The song first song, "American Dream", begins with a droned Matt Bellamy then launching into an action packed adventure into music using different layers of melodies with the vocals talking about the false American dream.
As the album progresses "Soular" begin to sound like a weird mix of Oasis, Manic Street Preachers and Radiohead.

An influential new band that deserve to have a higher reputation!
9/10
http://www.soular.us

Reviews by Joey EYEbank.