There were a lot of albums that came out this year that made waves – these are a few of the albums released that made an impression on me and are ones that I think you should check out (if you haven’t already)!

These are loosely based on sales numbers and Billboard rankings (though not really) and mostly based on how often I’ve heard these on the radio (and if I’ve yet to get sick of them).

Adele – 21

Yeah, I’ll say it. Adele has pipes. There is no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. The girl can sing! And for someone so young, she certainly is an old soul who knows how to sing about love, loss and heartbreak.

The album debuted at the top of the Billboard 100, and at it’s peak, was #1 in 24 countries. Worldwide sales have surpassed 13 million copies, and Adele is up for a Grammy for Song and Record of the Year, for “Rolling in the Deep” and 21, respectively.

The confessional-style sophomore album of Adele bears the influence of her extended stay in the United States with a touch of country and hip hop in her song structure and beats, though the bluesy elements that she was known for in her debut album, 19, remain intact. (If you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, take a listen to “Rolling in the Deep” and you’ll hear the blues.)

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Ok everyone! This could possibly be the final update to this post, so lets get on with it

Now I’ve always been a fan of the TV show Monkey Dust that used to be on BBC Three some years ago with it’s quirky characters and amazing music, this is the show that introduced me to the wonderful musical talents of Goldfrapp and Boards of Canada!

So since having a trusty iPod I’ve been collecting the tracks that have been on the several series that the show ran over and when I originally typed this post I had 22 tracks, now at my most recent count I have 56 tracks that were used over the three series on Monkey Dust, yes that many!

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As the misheard song states, ‘Waking Up Is Hard To Do’, so we have put together the top 10 songs that are going to help you get out of bed. Some of these songs are loud, others are more fun, but all relate to getting your butt out of bed.

Also, you should recognize that if you need to just wake up without having a song related to mornings, take any track off of a death metal album, and set your volume to max. With this list, we’re going for a little bit more style than just sheer terror!

So in no particular order, here are the ten greatest wake-up songs:

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Many moons ago, when I originally set up the Inde Net Label Atom Sounds, I did several reviews of the artists on the label, so I thought I would bring you a review that I posted up of the album See The Light by Bob Evans.

Those needing some culture will certainly find it on Bob’s album “See the Light”, with great guitar work and soothing beats to some nice rock/country sounding tracks.

Now I will openly admit that upon first hearing the title track “See the Light” on the Atom Sounds CD, I thought to myself, here is an artist that has a god given talent and that talent is Bob’s vocals tied into some amazing guitar work.

“See the Light” consists of twelve tracks and each track on the album has that Bob Evans feel, but at the same time each track is different from the next, a change these days. The CD opens with the immensely toe tapping title track “See the Light” and from that point on it just gets better.

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As a lot of you who read Blazing Minds will know, from time to time I get the chance to review some new music by some amazing artists. The other day I was sent the new forthcoming EP from the band In Darklight, you may have seen the review I did of their album “Dying To Confess” so I was over the moon to get a chance to hear and review their latest work.

Tell me more about the In Darklight EP!

The “In Darklight EP” features five tracks: Slaves, Turn Your Back, Break, Quick Fire and Greenhouse, all of which have that In Darklight sound and feel that I’ve become accustomed to since first hearing them on the album I reviewed some time back.

What appeals to me with In Darklight and specially with this EP is the quality of the recordings, they are top quality with the sound production being spot on with plenty of power for me to have the music blasting out of my 1,000 watt system and still keeping any distortion away.
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Now just to take a break from all the serious posts that we’ve had lately and just to have some fun with some great music, I thought, just for a change, that we could have a Music Monday today.

Some time back I did a review of an the album Dying To Confess by upcoming band In Darklight, so while surfing around YouTube, as you do I stumbled upon their video for the superb track The Human Race, a brilliant track that stands out quite well on their album, so here it is for your audio delight on this Music Monday.

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Humans use all our senses to perceive the world around us.

As newborns, it is touch, smell, and sound that provide the signals we need. Parents themselves are hard-wired to react to the cries of their child; a baby in distress is a powerful sound that makes adults run – in one direction or the other. Our ancestors relied on sound for important signals that were crucial to survival, and our emotional response to different types of sound explains the roots of language development.

So it should come as no surprise that sound plays a huge role in the emotional effectiveness of visual entertainment, even though most people don’t realise how they are being influenced. Next time you watch a movie or TV show, try to keep your ears open as well as your eyes. It isn’t always as obvious as the dramatic, emotional soundtracks to important scenes. Pick out the little motifs used to define the characters and places. Listen out for sound bridges between scenes that help you understand what you are meant to be feeling.