When I was flicking through my monthly guitar magazine, I found a competition. I normally enter these competitions for loads of new guitar gear as they are free to enter online. Well last month I did the same thing and entered the competitions from the magazine, not expecting to win anything. A week or so later I got an email saying that I had won! I wasn't sure what I had won at first, a guitar, a new amp, the ideas were running through my head. As I read on I found out that it was a CD. All of that excitement, just for a CD. After the initial disappointment of not getting a new guitar, I realised that I did not care, as I had won a competition, for the first time!

Enough about me, now for the CD. The Album comprises of 19 songs, by various artists. The title, “IT’S A MISERY BUSINESS anti love songs for the anti valentine” suggests that the songs are going to be of the darker nature, none of the usual, cliché love songs. The cover is black, and the picture on the front, in red, is of a man wielding a heart shaped guitar, about to smash it. Names of some of the artists on the album are printed in red around this picture. On the top left of the front cover you can clearly see that the album includes “Explicit Content” this further ads to the picture of the type of music that will be on the album.

The artists on this album are mostly non-mainstream artists, which suits me as I listen to quite a lot of them already. Bigger names like nickelback and paramore are also included on the album. I have to say that I had never previously heard of half of the bands such as, Jacks Mannequin, or Cobra Starship. This album has certainly opened my eyes to a lot of talent that I had never heard of before.

As there are 19 tracks on the album, I don’t want to write something about every track, instead I am going to choose my favourite five tracks and write something about the band, and the song itself. At the end of the review I will also write out a full track listing.

-- MY TOP FIVE –

In no particular order, here are my top five tracks on this album.

1. Nickelback – Something in your mouth

Nickelback are a Canadian rock band that released their first album in 1996. They have released a total of six studio albums.
This song is from their most recent album “Dark Horse.”

The song starts off with a cool guitar riff before a very overdriven guitar comes in with loads of feedback. The song is quite heavy compared to other songs by nickelback. Some of the vocals are pretty fast, almost rapping. There are quite a lot of effects on the song, as the guitars stop to let the vocals cut through. The best line in this song is part of the title, “you look so much cuter with something in your mouth.” There is a where the song breaks down to the vocals and a basic drum beat. After this there is a short guitar part before the whole band comes back in.

I really like this song. It’s great. I would have to rate it 5/5

2. Paramore- Misery business

Paramore are an American rock band that formed in 2004. Their first album was released in 2004 followed by their most recent album “Riot”. This song is featured on “Riot” and was the first song from the album to be released.

The track starts with some guitar riffs, before the vocals by Hayley Williams come in. The chorus of this song is great, it’s so memorable and it sticks in your head for ages. There is a bridge with clean guitar strumming and playing broken chords. The guitar solo after this is basic but is really cool. The whole song is great and I love it.

Overall I give this song 5/5 as well.

3. Simple Plan- Your Love Is A lie

Simple plan are another American rock band. They have three studio albums and two live albums. This song is taken from their third studio album “Simple Plan”. The song was the second single released from this self-titled album.

The song starts with a really cool guitar, broken chord line. The drums then come in, just before the vocals. The song is quite gentile compared to the previous two songs that I have talked about. This version of the song is the blanked out version, even although there is an explicit warning on the album. The word “F**k” is replaced with “touches” in the second verse. The chorus of this song is great, it has an acoustic guitar, and electric overdriven guitar and a powerful drum beat through out. There is a guitar solo in the song as well but it is just a short one. The words “your love is just a lie” are repeated all the way through the song in the chorus and at separate parts. I like this song but it annoys me after listening to it for a while.

Overall 4/5

4. Biffy Clyro- Mountains

Biffy Clyro are a Scottish (GO SCOTLAND) rock band from Ayr. They have released four studio albums since 2002. This song, Mountains, was released in July of 2008 and reached number 5 in the UK singles charts. This is the bands most successful song to date.

The song is quite slow and starts of with a piano before the vocals join in. The song then lightens up with the drums bass and guitar entering at once. The guitar puts out some great chord sequences, whilst the vocals are beautifully harmonised. The bass part plays off the beat most of the time, making this seemingly simple song actually quite complex. The main lyrics, where the title came from are, “I am a mountain, I am the Sea” I don’t really know what it is supposed to mean but it sounds great. There is a bridge where the piano cuts through, doing a wee soloish bit. I really like this song, it’s really catchy, and I can see why it got the success that it got.

Overall 5/5

5. Cute is What We aim For- Loser

Cute is what we aim for are an American band, formed in 2005. They currently have two studio albums; this song is from their 2008 release, Rotation. I don’t like most of this bands music. But this song is pretty good.

The song starts off with a guitar and some quiet vocals before the drums start. Then the whole band starts playing loud all of a sudden, livening up the track. There are some nice harmonized vocals and great backing vocals. The track sounds like a very cheesy pop-punk track, which it is, but I still like it. The vocals go through some sort of effects processor at some parts, making them sound really cool. The song breaks down to the basic guitar riff near the end, before the main chorus starts up again. The song is pretty basic repeated patterns, but it still works.

Overall I give it 4/5

Well that’s my views and a description of my favourite tracks, but what else is on the album? Here is a full track listing.

1.: Something In Your Mouth - Nickelback
2.: Misery Business - Paramore
3.: Dead Memories - Slipknot
4.: Doomsday - Atreyu
5.: Orchestra Of Wolves - Gallows
6.: Lips Like Morphine - Kill Hannah
7.: Jessica - Elliot Minor
8.: I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic At The Disco
9.: Guilty Pleasure - Cobra Starship
10.: Your Love Is A Lie - Simple Plan
11.: Pandora - Madina Lake
12.: Girls - Kids In Glass Houses
13.: Everyone Needs A Nemesis - Fighting With Wire
14.: Mountains - Biffy Clyro
15.: Try Honesty - Billy Talent
16.: Better Off With Him - A
17.: Mixed Tape - Jack's Mannequin
18.: Loser - Cute Is What We Aim For
19.: Leeds United - Palmer, Amanda

In conclusion, this is a great album with lots of great tracks on it. It is not for everyone, but for me it is perfect. It has also let me find out some new up and coming talent that I will definitely be looking out for in the future. The album has a great mix of tracks, from famous, to mostly unknown.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes rock and alternative music. A great buy. (or prize)