Theme Park
Theme Park
Another annoying eponymous album title to mark the debut of Theme Park.
It can’t be that difficult to think of a name for an album, can it?
And, besides anything else, it gives them the chance to put a stamp on the record, a sort of theme or character.
But no, Theme Park’s debut album is called Theme Park, and I wasn’t holding much hope for it having seen the three male band members on the front with cheeky faces, one of them glancing mischievously at one of the others.
It all seemed a bit cheesy, a bit of a boy band image.
But it just shows you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
There’s no strong cheese here, this is a genuinely good and slightly funky album that has a fair few decent dance tracks on it.
The name of the band is misleading a little and not the best choice I reckon, Theme Park implying a bit too much school boy hedonism to match the music.
The record is more Alton Towers than Disneyland Paris – lots of fun, certainly, but without the glitz and glamour that makes so many smiling would-be stars the annoying factor.
With a heavily electronic sound, some dramatic bass lines and surprisingly enticing lyrics, this was one CD I was rewarded with hearing a much better set of songs than I had expected.
And Theme Park have been working hard over the past year, building up an ever increasing fan base through extensive touring and also putting out a series of singles in recent months that make up the better sections of the album, including Tonight, Two Hours and Jamaica.
And the touring doesn’t stop now that the album’s out. They’re hitting the road in the UK during March and then they head off to take on Europe.Gary Clark Jr
Blak and Blu
Compared to the greatest guitar icons in musical history, Gary Clark Jr’s new album is out now and sees him pushing his own style of blues, rock, soul and general guitar mastery.
Taking up guitar at the age of 12, it didn’t take long before he was performing and eventually getting to support major stars such as Eric Clapton.
He recently wound up at the White House to put on a guest performance for President Obama, alongside Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck.
President Obama commented that Clark was ‘the future’ and if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me.
Blak and Blu is out now through Warner Bros.