Beam - Swift, Laura & Friends

Advantages: great vocals and songwriting
Disadvantages: a few weaker tracks in the middle, not released in the UK yet

...I first heard of Taylor Swift when I heard "Teardrops on My Guitar" on internet radio and promptly downloaded it. A few months later I heard "Our Song" and read an interview in a magazine as her debut album was to be reissued. Well, here it is, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. For those of you who are not familiar with her, Taylor is quickly making a big name for herself in the country music world - and she's only 18! After setting out to Nashville at the age of 13 from her home in Pennsylvania, she quickly snapped up a record contract and her debut single Tim McGraw was released in 2006, and to date all three of her singles have made not only the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot Country Songs (Our Song reaching number one), but also the Top 40 of the Billboard 100. This self-titled album, first released in 2006 and reissued in late... Read review

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Advantages: Not a fiddle or a banjo in sight
Disadvantages: One or two country music clichés

...Venerable Radio One DJ John Peel had mixed success in picking future stars. But having championed the careers of bands as diverse as Altered Images and The Fall, he could never be called narrow-minded. Nevertheless, when he calls the debut album of an unknown country singer his favourite of the last 10 years and possibly of his life, you can't help lifting a quizzical eyebrow. The singer in question was Laura Cantrell. The album her debut, 'Not the Tremblin' Kind.' When I heard Cantrell's praises also sung by Elvis Costello - no stranger to country music dabbling himself - I had to find out what all the fuss was about. Laura Cantrell, it turns out, is not just a singer. Possibly uniquely in contemporary music, she has a high-flying finance career in the Bank of America, and her own popular weekly show on a New Jersey radio station... Read review

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Advantages: Crisp, Fresh Sounding, Passionate Vocals, Solid Beats and Riffs
Disadvantages: No major niggles

...of taking back Sunday sometime before the release of this; their first studio album, however what Id heard of them didn’t really impress me so when I stuck this in my CD player I was pleasantly surprised. The bands front man(Adam Lazaraa) screams out with such anger and passion, comparable to that of the late Kurt Cobains, you can really feel what he is singing and there is so much passion in his voice(I say anger and passion like Kurt Cobain and that’s what I mean, his voice doesn’t sound anything like Kurts). An excellent front man who looks creepily like one of my school friends. The drumming in the album has a very high emphasis with very strong beats holding the songs together which sounds absolutely awesome and when mixed with the solid riffs from the guitarists you have a recipe for some excellent music. The album is the typical... Read review

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