The Voyager - Jenny Lewis

It's a long way from a Jel-O advert to the world of guitar pop but, judging by this album, one worth taking.

But first I've got to apologise to those reading up north - I was going to recommend this as a great soundtrack to the summer kinda album. But I missed the boat. You see I actually downloaded this album just before leaving the UK - I thought I'd be a great summer album. And it is. I just forgotten that I was heading to a Southern Hemisphere winter. Blast. I tried the first song shortly after we arrived from a UK bathed in sunlight (for once) but it just don't work. Too dark. A bit chilly. Hardly the right environment to welcome a pop album into your consciousness.

So I put it on ice until now. Just about light enough to enjoy it on my commute to work. Boats in the bay, sunlight glinting on the calm, clear water and Jenny Lewis on my iPod. Bliss. Now it works.

Anyone unfamiliar with her solo back catalogue or stint with Rilo Kiley (shame on you) could pick worse places to start. Bright 'n breezy pop with an ever so slight dark undertone for the discerning listener. 'Head Underwater', the opening track, is a shining example of how to write an intelligent pop song; echoing piano motifs, thumping bass and crystals clear vocals. It's like the 80s were a warm up act for the real thing. 'Slippery Slope' turns up the volume but slows down the speed to great effect. Just a pop slice to the right side of shoe gazing. Besides, any album that contains the lyrics 'When I met you, you were just a boy and you were tongue tied and wearing corduroy' surely deserves a place in anyone's heart? Thought so.

Some might argue that a good album is a good album regardless of the weather. I couldn't disagree more. Try listening to reggae when it's blowing an icy gale through the cracks on the front door and you'll be itching to skip forward. Equally any prog rock track is just going to sound wrong in bright sunshine. Whoever they are. 

But I'm still sat here wondering if I was wrong to wait until spring to give this a spin. It could've lit up the dark mornings, made the rain seem slightly less wet or put a smile on my face on a Monday morning when all of my friends are thousands of miles away. Maybe. But now it's perfect. The right piece of pop on the right time.

Songs of Innocence - U2

Blimey I've got some catching up to do. Haven't I just. Well there has been a lot going on.....

It's taken the sudden release of an album by U2 to wake me from my slumber. But something is bugging me. Yes I know it's U2, one of my long standing favourite bands, but giving it away free? And using it as a promotional tool for yet another new Apple product. Come on.

Or is it that I didn't know about this until six hours after the event? Hhmm that could be it. Have I really lost touch with all that's going on in musicland? Or is it because I'm in a different time zone! Yes that's it! I'm longitudinally challenged not out if touch......

But deep down I know that a younger me, one that religiously read NME cover to cover every week and swore, yes swore, that he would never lose touch with the new music scene. Never. Well never is a long time in music and I lasted about another two years. And I've not bought it since. Actually I lie. I used to buy the bumper edition every Christmas so my Dad and I could escape the relatives and the smell of sprouts, head into the study and attempt the full page crossword. Reference books would be strewn everywhere and clues poured over in search for those elusive answers. Bliss.

Other than that I have bought it one other time - about six months ago on the way back from the pub, three pints to the good and in high spirits I thought I'd recapture my youth. If only it was that easy. £2.50 to transport you back to your younger days. Stick that in your tube L'Oreal.

But I soon realised that I didn't recognise a single person or band in the whole paper. And it seemed to be written in a foreign language. Oh no. I had become out of touch.  "Well, I've got a busy life", I kidded myself, adding "I've got a lot more responsibilities...". But face facts. I was out of touch and preferred the safety of music I liked than risking buying something and hating it.

And so here we are. Listening to the first U2 album in five years. Not taking a risk and it not costing anything. Surely a win-win?

 Or maybe not. Something's missing. Maybe it's the ritual. Previous U2 releases have involved me nipping out from work to the shop at 9am to buy the album, carefully unwrapping the cellophane when I got home, closing the doors, turning off the phones and gently placing the disc in better CD player. Then, with a cup of tea in hand, I'd listen whilst reading the liner notes. Proper immersion. Somehow just downloading the album doesn't seem right. Other bands can do it but not U2.

But this is definitely a U2 album. From the punky opener 'The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)', the echoing scraping guitars of 'Iris (Hold Me Close)' and the soaring chorus of 'This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now'. Almost like U2 by numbers. Ahhh and there's the rub. It's formulaic. These tracks, and others on the album, will sound great in the inevitable tour next year. Music built from the football ground up.

Or is it me? Maybe by being free it has cheapened the experience for me? Perhaps not having a physical presence has taken something away? Or is it because it's available to everyone at the press of of button I can't mail my colours to the mast? 

Or am I talking rot? Probably. I just know that in a week's time this will be the most played album on my iPhone. I will know the words to every track, will have made a mental note of the songs that will make the first post-release compilation album - sorry playlist - and decided which riffs to pick out on my guitar (when they arrive). I know this because it's U2. 

Whatever it is, it has woken me from my lethargy. And not a moment too soon. I'll be forty *cough* four this year and far too young to be resting on my musical laurels. This is going to be great. Oh and does anyone know where I can buy NME in New Zealand.......