A Quick Triumvirate

I went to the CD store recently and bought 3 recently-released CDs. Here now is where I will critique them for you and let you know whether its worth the trip down to your shop, or even the move over to iTunes for you lazy bastards. So, here we go

Muse - The Resistance
Had to get it. Im a Muse fan from a while back, I've seen them live and sung their praises from many rooftops especially in the faces of other Muse-haters who belong to this blog. I had very high expectations for this album. Following Blackholes and Revelations was going to be hard in its own right but all the hype and lead-up led me to believe that this would be epic. And in a way it is, but not how I imagined. I read reviews that talked about how much new ground this CD covers, and I have to wonder where this new ground is exactly. In the liner notes? Its good, yes, but nothing new and incredibly self indulgent (even for my liking). They're moving away from what I like about Muse but this happens to alot of bands. The bits that catch the ears attention only do so because Freddie Mercury and the guys from Queen did them 20-30 years ago with less production but more nobility. Make your own mind up, but me? - 6/10

Bluejuice - The Head of the Hawk
I like Bluejuice, live. On record they've never really done it for me as much as they have with their infectious energy, and I kind of picked this up on a whim. When I saw them at the Big O earlier this year they played ALOT of new stuff and it sounded promising. The commercial promotion is going pretty hard but I thought I'd make my own mind up. Catchy riffs, great melodies with typical bluejuice harmonies, but a bit of diversity too, from the boppy dub-step groove of Mrs Johnston and Facelift to something a bit more mature with 'Work' and 'Telling The Truth' plus good old straight rock with something like 'Broken Leg'. This album covers a surprising amount of avenues and is very easily listenable. A perfect pick me up to get the groove back in your step before Summer - 8/10

Basement Jaxx - Scars
Everyone here knows I'm a huge BJ fan (and I like Basement Jaxx too - buh dum pssh) and given that I'd already heard 'Scars' and 'Shes No Good' I was looking forward to this album. Guest appearances galore all over the shop, but my personal favourite would have to be the guest appearance from Santigold on the track 'Saga'. There are alot of good songs on this album but the thing I've never liked about most dance albums is the way the tracks are arranged. They always seem to lose focus towards the end, but that being said, they havent done it as much as some have done and for that I have to be thankful. Luckily theres enough good stuff in here (appearances from Sam Sparro, Kelis, Lightspeed Champion and even Yoko Ono) to stop you paying too much attention to these minute details. Fun, and thats the main thing - 7.5/10

So there you go. Enjoy. Or not. I dont care. Have a good week.