Never have I so eagerly awaited a follow-up effort as I have Helplessness Blues. The Foxes' first CD & EP were so totally different from everything else on the market that I couldn't wait to hear their further explorations of their vision, for that is what Robin Pecknold is, an American visionary. The only comparison that comes to mind in terms of uniqueness of vision is maybe the first records of The Band, all those years ago, even though the music of the Band was so very different. But in terms of originality, as well as their interpretation of various American archetypes and myths, the Foxes warrant comparison with The Band. The music here is considerably denser, fuller, than the first album, and the harmonies even more lush, more gorgeous. All I can say is they have totally met the expectations kindled by the first album, and then some. This is spiritual music, "soul" music, of the highest order.

I am amazed to see there are no raves for Marina yet on this site, so I feel honour-bound to get the ball rolling. The "Album Description" here puts it very well: she is absolutely delicious & has a personality that comes across in spades. You feel that you would just love to know this girl! Pop tunes that are lively and energetic and invigorating, even through the last three tracks where things turn a little darker. Do yourself a favour and check out the video for Shampain. She deserves to be as big a star as she wants to be. Highest recommendation.

I foolishly bought this on the basis of its reputation at allmusic.com, which puts the band in the top tier of alt dance-pop groups. Found Playgirl at a cheap price in the store, so I chanced it. Well, the music is pretty cheap too. Paper-thin melodies, uninteresting chord changes, riff-sequence structure that is mindlessly repetitive, a recurring fast drum shuffle which is annoying and way too up front in the mix, cloying and self-consciously cute female voice. It's like music manufactured to follow some deluded recipe for fun. But it's not fun because there's no guts to it, nothing organic. Just look at the artwork & photos, inside and outside: it's all pose, style, fashion. Artificial. I gave it one listen-through, then decided I should give it another chance a few days later. By about track 5 on try no. 2, I felt I was wasting my time. If you want dance music with some drive and guts, try CSS. Those girls sound like they MEAN IT. I ordered "Sound of Music" through the mail, and I just hope that it is SOME improvement on this crap. If not, it will be joining Playboy on a trip to the second-hand CD store.

This is like a home movie of the 1990 American tour: jumpy with fast edits, songs interrupted by interview soundbites, sound quality that is far from perfect. DO NOT expect a clean-cut performance video where all tunes have an intact beginning, middle & end. Actually the music is a muddle: songs sound more the same than different, like it's just one groove careening on from start to finish. But in that sense it probably captures the impact and impression of the Mondays pretty accurately. This DVD offers the right visuals to go with the music, and no real fan would turn up his nose at it. But if you want the unspoiled glory of the music, get the CDs, because you won't find it here.

What a joyous little piece of work this is, a lovely upper of an album, with melodic hooks & funky bass lines and Martina's voice cooing & squeaking in the midst of it all. Pure dance/pop, with one cabaret number (You're A Disaster) thrown in for good measure (like "Get Lucky" on Galore). I think the writing has gotten better since Galore. Great stuff. Go buy Fixin to Thrill & treat yourself to a real good time...

I got lucky and picked this up for a song, so to speak, from a seller. I see that the current price listings for it are pretty outrageous, so it's probably a rare item. I've always been fond of the first Republica album with "Ready to Go" and "Drop Dead Gorgeous", but this, my god, I think it's even better. Category a mix of dance/pop/electronica, but the kicker is the passion in Saffron's singing. She just grabs hold of you and gives you a good shaking. Two of these songs can only be called anthemic: Try Everything & Nothing's Feeling New. But the tempo's pretty high throughout (in keeping with that marvelous title). A mere 10 songs, but they leave you feeling exhilarated. This, my friends, is what music is supposed to do. Another of those bands whose short lifespan is to be eternally regretted. If you can find it at a reasonable price, GET IT!!

The personality of Patty Donahue and the songwriting of Chris Butler were the two sparks that made the Waitresses so damned good. Frankly I don't see how anyone could not fall in love with Patty. This discount CD is a pretty good deal since you get 9 songs from the 2 LPs plus three not included on them: Christmas Wrapping, Square Pegs and Bread & Butter. Seek out the Waitresses Live at Hurrah DVD, "Pocketful of Change" and you get two more "new" songs, not to mention a video record of the band, which you will cherish (despite its technical flaws: the DVD not the band) according to your affection for this band which was in existence for so short a time. They were unique - there's been nothing like them, before or since.

True Corrs fans will consider the price of this product worthwhile for the History DVD alone, which is fascinating. It has everything you could want to know, including interviews and performance video right from the earliest days of the band. As for the concert DVD, true, it is nice to see concert performance of the Borrowed Heaven material, and I must say Sharon looks even more fetching as a blonde, but I must alas confirm the comments of another reviewer about camera angles. Basically, they suck. It seems like this whole concert was approached as if it were an MTV ad, with shots lasting 2 to 3 seconds max (especially bad on the instrumental numbers) and the camera jumping all over the place for no clear reason. The video on some shots visibly shakes, as if a hand-held camera were being jostled. In places the video just goes absolutely haywire and should have been edited out. In places they cut to black-and-white: why, god only knows. It all makes for an extremely infuriating viewing experience.
Another thing: Caroline is back, but only in a minor role: on secondary drums and bodhram. She doesn't get much camera attention. Her role here is the total opposite of her powerhouse performance on Live in London, where she's like a force of nature on the drums.
Final verdict: Get it for the History DVD, but if you see Live in Geneva being sold on it's own, don't bother. Live in London is far to be preferred (as is the Royal Albert Hall, from what I hear).