Elbow

The Wombats release their second album ‘This Modern Glitch’.

The Wombats release their second album 'This Modern Glitch' today

The Wombats release their second album ‘This Modern Glitch’. Morrissey releases his new greatest hits compilation, ‘Very Best Of Morrissey (2011)’, plus there are new LPs out from Silverstein, Rolo Tomassi and The Fall.

There are new singles out from Elbow, Everything Everything and Nero.

Singles released yesterday:

Circle Pit – ‘Slave Honey’
Dels – ‘Gob’
Elbow – ‘Open Arms’
Everything Everything – ‘Final Form’
Natalia Kills – ‘Mirrors’
Leather – ‘Sterile’
Lee Scratch Perry – ‘Like The Way You Should’
Mono – ‘Manifestation E.P’
Nero – ‘Guilt’
Novellos – ‘All You Need’
The Sound Of Arrows – ‘Nova’
Twin Atlantic – ‘Free

Elbow never want to make an ‘inaccessible’ album

Elbow never want to make an 'inaccessible' album

The ‘Neat Little Rows’ group saw their last LP, 2008′s ‘The Seldom-Seen Kid’ win a string of awards and knew it would be ‘churlish’ to turn their backs on the recognition it had given them by producing a radically-different follow-up for their new album, ‘Build a Rocket Boys!’.

Frontman Guy Garvey said: ‘We decided it would be churlish to make something inaccessible, that maybe us and only six people would like.

‘And it would be daft to do 12 drive-time specials. So we just carry on, day-to-day, using the same phrase, ‘What do you want to hear next?’ And that’s how we wrote the album.’

The group also admitted their success on the last album eased their pressures and stresses of making their new album, describing the studio experience as an ‘absolute joy.’

Bassist Pete Turner said: ‘The last 18 months have been brilliant. It wasn’t made in a pressure cooker like the other albums with us thinking everything rides on it. We felt we could do what we wanted.’

‘Build a Rocket Boys!’ is released today (08.03.11).

Xfm launches fourth annual New Music Award

Xfm launches fourth annual New Music Award. Xfm, the station that brings you music that rocks, launches the search for the Best British Debut Album of the Year with its fourth consecutive Xfm New Music Award ‘ voted for by the public and a stellar panel of judges. From today, Xfm listeners will cast their votes for the award online at www.xfm.co.uk/nma from a selection of albums released in 2010. Possible contenders for the accolade include ‘The Boxer’ by Kele, ‘Tourist History’ by Two Door Cinema Club, ‘Acolyte’ by Delphic, and Carl Barat’s self-titled debut. The ten albums that receive the most votes in the poll are then shortlisted with the overall winner selected by a panel of industry experts ‘ including Elbow’s Craig Potter and Happy Mondays front-man Shaun Ryder. This year’s winner will be announced on the evening of Wednesday 9th February. On the same night the station presents an Xfm New Music Award gig at The Borderline in Central London. Hosted by Xfm Breakfast’s Dave Berry and a part of HMV’s Next Big Thing Festival, the intimate invite-only event will feature performances from Wolfgang, Romance, and Luna Belle ‘ acts hotly tipped as potential winners for next year’s award. Previous winners of the award are The Enemy with ‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’ (2007), Glasvegas with ‘Glasvegas’ (2008), and The xx with ‘XX’ (2009). The full judging panel for this year, chaired by Xfm’s Deputy Programme Director/Head of Music Mike Walsh, includes:

Andy Ashton (Xfm) Ben Cardew (Music Week)
Brett Anderson (Suede) Clint Boon (Xfm)
Craig Potter (Elbow) David Mogendorff (MTV)
Dom Howard (Muse) Dave Berry (Xfm)
David Mogendorff (MTV) Frank Turner
John Kennedy (Xfm) John Leckie (producer)
Peter Hook (Joy Division) Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays/Black Grape)
Tim Burgess (The Charlatans) Gary Warren (MD of Content and Talent at MAMA Group)

For more information and to vote, visit www.xfm.co.uk/nma

Voting closes at midday on Friday 28th January. The shortlist of the final ten will be announced on Xfm on Monday 31st January and the ultimate winner on Wednesday 9th February.