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Yes, that’s the best I could do date-wise. Sorry. But with this entry, we’ll be returning (finger’s crossed!) to normal album clubbing duties this weekend. So without further ado, this week we reviewed:

•    Editors – In This Light and on This Evening (2009) (Me)
•    Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More (2009) (Brother)
•    Boyce Avenue – All We Have Left (2010) (Mum)
•    Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (2010) (Dad)

You may have noticed that we’re back to reviewing four albums. This has everything to do with the fact that we were taking way too long reviewing five albums, and nothing to do with the fact that my other brother wanted to nominate a whole album of Darude. Nothing at all. Also, you may have noticed that after the vast variety of music last entry, this week was focused on modern, alternative rock. So there you go, we like to be kept on our toes.

My choice this time was In This Light and on This Evening, an album that I’d been wanting to listen to ever since I caught the singles: Papillon and You Don’t Know Love. Apart from my curiosity, Tom Smith’s voice totally captivated me and it’s a captivation that remains throughout the album. I know a lot of Editors fans were disappointed with this album; I thoroughly enjoyed it. Comments on Smith’s unique voice arose time and again throughout our discussion. My brother felt that it added a certain je ne sais quoi, whereas both my mum and dad felt that it could be too dominant or make the album sound samey. My brother also loved Papillon and the visceral Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool.  My dad loved the album overall, especially the epic titular opening track, saying that every track on the album had an earworm. Apart from feeling that Smith’s voice made the album a little samey, my mum liked it overall, saying that there were some good tracks. So a departure to a more electronic sound for the Editors that remains highly listenable and with some vocals that you can’t fail to notice.

My brother chose Mumford & Sons mainly because of the guitar music, as he’s learning to play the guitar and it gave him the itch to try their songs out. He also commended the interesting style of their sound. I agreed: the folk/rock fusion is by no means new but they carry it off with aplomb and some real passion, especially on the track Little Lion Man, my personal favourite. My mum also liked the sound, saying it was similar to country music, and nice and folky. My dad liked it too, but compared it to blues music in that he likes it a lot but wouldn’t listen to an entire album of it that often – however, he would return to the individual tracks. He too liked the style and said that it felt raw, not overproduced. Perhaps appropriately (given their promotion to the second stage at Glastonbury this year), he also said the album had a very ‘festival-esque’ vibe. He also complimented Marcus Mumford’s rich voice, making a comparison with the Editors. A very good folky, rocky album from a band that are going from success to success.

Boyce Avenue is a relatively unknown (at least at the moment) Puerto-Rican/American band.  They have been posting original and covered material onto their youtube account since 2007, and have now been signed and produced two original albums. My mum came across them at random; when she bought a new phone one of their tracks was on it as a promotion. She liked it so looked up the album (their second, incidentally). Take note bands, this works. When my dad listened to the album he had a strange moment of déjà vu – of course he knew them for their youtube and hadn’t released they’d released their own stuff. He loved the first song, calling it uplifting and transporting, but unfortunately nothing else was quite like it. In contrast, I’d never heard of them so had no expectations but if I had to draw a comparison with other band I’d say they are kind of like The Calling meets OneRepublic, pleasing and polished romantic songs. My dad considered this the moment where the album failed to meet his expectations, after the opening track everything was rather samey, there was no attempt to break boundaries. This doesn’t change the fact that, as an album, it’s still a nice collection of music. And apparently my brother had no comments to make. Or I’ve stuffed up somewhere in my notes. Oh well. Boyce Avenue: listen if you’re after some good, pleasant, guitar lead love songs but not if you want to be challenged.

Onto the final album, Arcade Fire, and hoo boy this is gonna be good. The reasons for which it was chosen are threefold: firstly, my dad read the review in the Telegraph and then 2) he saw the HTML 5 video ‘Wilderness Downtown’ that promoted the song We Used to Wait and it blew him away. Thirdly, they were nominated for a sizeable number of Q Awards, which has got to be a good thing right? (Sadly, they didn’t win any, but did go on to take both Best International Group and Best International Album at this year’s Brits, so there you go).  And what did he think of it? Well, he LOVED it in a way that caps lock cannot express. A veritable musical feast, every track was different, all were interesting. Sprawl II was just wow. He was sad when it finished. My mum agreed, liking it quite a lot although she couldn’t really express why. My brother loved it, finding it energetic and, although long, said he didn’t mind its length, calling it a multi-layered experience. I was blown away as well. I didn’t really know what to say at the time, but I’ll have a go now. I don’t always listen to the lyrics of songs, but they really painted a picture for me this time, of childhood, nostalgia, growing up and change. The two vocalists (Win Butler and wife Régine Chassagne) really compliment each other. Overall, a coherent and frankly gorgeous album.

AOTW: Without a doubt Arcade Fire. I didn’t even write anything down and I know it was Arcade Fire.

I had a lot of fun choosing some tracks for your delectation:

• Editors - You Don't Know Love (because not only is it a great, and lesser-know, single, the video's choreography is fantastic.) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbjk1z_editors-you-don-t-know-love_music
• Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man (what can I say, it is my favourite song from this album.) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaix8c_mumford-sons-little-lion-man-cle...
• Boyce Avenue - Every Breath (a very good example of the album's content. And what's this - a music video? Still, highly recommend checking out their youtube channel.) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdyhbj_boyce-avenue-every-breath_music
• Arcade Fire - Ready To Start (a brilliant single from an album of brilliant tracks.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oI27uSzxNQ