Blake: Blake
UCJ
blakeofficial.com
2/10
THEY FORMED on Facebook and provided the official Rugby World Cup theme, entirely appropriate given that Blake come on like the Italian substitute bench - burly, handsome and meagre of talent.
Popera has never been given heavy airtime on the SD stereo. On hearing the over-digitised, antiseptic version of ‘Hallelujah’ on offer, it's hard to see Blake fighting the corner with any more panache than G4, or the genre's titans Il Divo. Two of this writer's favourite songs get the glossy, glass-eye treatment - 'Moon River' sounds like a sordid threat rather than a romantic plea, and 'God Only Knows' gets reduced to rubble in the opening bars and finishes up somewhere around the sub-atomic level.
Aurally, it's largely ignorable suburban coffee bar claptrap rather than out-and-out offensive in the main. Visually though, there's always been something a touch Jungvolk about four identical toffs milling about with a strained purposeful leer splashed across their airbrushed faces. Even so, I strongly doubt even Richard Wagner would approve. An unqualified disaster.
Pick: Ashokan Farewell.
Daniel Brookes
I too bought the album, though I have to say it was intended for my mum, she loves that sort of thing. But hey, I thought I'd listen to the tracks properly first, and guess what? I've kept it. Call me a lightweight, but it makes for very pleasant listening on the M3, particularly in the nightly traffic jams. OK, so it's not original, but it beats Heart FM for easy listening for a change, and I dont care what they look like.
David Gittings
Hahaha, I knew I'd read reviews like this one about this group - come on man, I'm a pretty sceptical 28 year old, but having bought the album last week, I'm very sold on the sound these pretty boys produce. Hallelujah is just stunning, the way it builds through gentle solos to that massive choral climax, it's so uplifting - you'd have to have a heart of stone to dislike it really :) Granted, if its not your cup of tea, you wont like it. Their classical tracks like vide cor meum are just superb though, so perhaps this is what they should stick to. I don't know - I'm no musical snob, and I enjoy listening to this album in the car with my two kids - if thats wrong, than I'm sorry for writing a nice review here. Susan.