News & Tributes & Erasers & Black Holes & Revelations & Bacon

A lot of very exciting albums have leaked lately. But don't take my word for it.









First off: The Futureheads' News & Tributes. This is the follow-up to their 2004 self-titled debut, an album which I would marry if our union could be blessed in the halls of court (I'm looking into Massachusetts at the moment). That album is the (Brit-) poppiest my ears have been treated to. The amount of hooks they pack into each song on that album borders on the criminal.

In fact, I am convinced that the name "The Futureheads" is not simply a name for name's sake. Oh, no. These boys from Britain have visited the future, where they gleaned every last rock 'n roll riff, melody, and harmony they could from the Ministry of Music, and returned with, um, heads filled with everything necessary to forge at least one fantastic album.

They had enough in them for at least one more, it seems. The songs on News & Tributes are for the most part expanded from those found on the self-titled. The band isn't afraid to slow things down, something unheard of in their mile-a-minute debut. With songs more fleshed out, it seems the band had more to say other than the life of a robot, the first day on the job, or eating shit. Highlights come on the latter half of the album, in back-to-back tracks "Back To The Sea" and "Worry About It Later". These songs exemplify the tight guitar work and vocal harmonies the band is known for, as well as the new found song writing skills.

While not quite up to par with their amazing first, The Futureheads show that they are going places, and could be around for a long time. Click here to check out the first video single, "Skip To The End" (an allusion to their time-travelling antics, no doubt).

Coming up: Impressions of Thom Yorke's The Eraser and Muse's Black Holes & Revelations.