OUT NOW: FATTY GETS A STYLIST

I've written about Kate Miller-Heidke on this blog recently after happening on her album "Curiouser" at my local record super store.  Now, she's fronting this Austrailian-based band with this self-titled debut album.  Working mainly with her husband/collaborator Keir Nuttall, the material isn't that far-removed from her solo output, but perhaps with a little more teeth and grit, although this is still polished, ear-candy pop. 
Taking influences from many 80's acts and current electro-pop (their website name checks Kraftwerk, B-52's and Goldfrapp), FGAS successfully meld their influences into their own unique and timely sound, which ends up sounding like a sort of hybrid of Tegan and Sara with the Ting Tings.
Some great new-wave keyboards bring flavor to songs like "The Plane Went Down" and the lovely "Holloway Park" which sounds like it could have been a missing Til Tuesday track, or another 80's new wave band. 
There is also a funky side to FGAS such as on the title track (yes, the triple threat - band, album and song all with the same name!) and rave-up "Devil's in the Details" which harkens back more to the 90's dance sound of Fatboy Slim (or did I just make the connection with their names?). 
One of the interesting things, noted by the band themselves even, is how different Kate's voice sounds here.  Unlike her solo material, with FGAS she uses the lower register of her voice and it truly is easy to forget it's even her! 
The fun, parade-like atmosphere of the opening track, "Are You Ready," has apparently landed as an advertising jingle for the New York lottery, so chances are this band will be getting a lot more recognition here in the states soon, as they deserve.  There seems to be a little buzz going on already, as recently one of my Facebook friends posted about them, and they are popping up on websites left and right. 

Rating: OOOO (Four out of Five O's)

OUT NOW: BLONDIE'S "PANIC OF GIRLS"

Blondie, one of the greatest bands of all time, is back with a brand new album titled "Panic of Girls."  Apparently, a panic of girls is similar to a murder of crows or a school of fish.
The album starts off with a bang, or rather many bangs as original drummer Clem Burke kicks into high gear with a propulsive beat on "D-Day," a song that seems to allude to the current state of the music industry and internet, with references to piracy, transfers, and limited privacy.  The chorus is infectious, with the backing vocals that seem to be chanting "Debbie Devil, Don't You Dare," although I could be hearing it wrong.
From there the high energy continues with the absolutely stunning "What I Heard," which definitely should be a summer single.  It's sing-a-long ready and sounds like classic Blondie but with an energy that is so current and immediate.  Amazingly, this level of passion and frenetic energy is continued into the third track and first single, "Mother," which is another great sing-a-long which just seems perfect for Debbie Harry to sing, as to many, she is the "Mother" of punk-pop/new-wave/girl-rock or whatever she represents to the legions of people she and the band have inspired.
The band brings things down a notch for the next track, the reggae influenced "The End The End" which seems to be an apocalyptic love song reminiscent of other island-flavored Blondie tunes like "The Tide is High" or "The Only One."
Throughout the rest of the album, the band explores a variety of sounds and influences, keeping it mostly mellow from here on out, although "Love Doesn't Frighten Me" is another poppy rock song with a very classic Blondie feel about it.  Some of the stranger, but very cool moments, include the latino jam-band groove of "Wipe Off My Sweat," with Debbie's repeated coo-ings of "Papi, Papi," and the half sexy/half silly rapping of the bonus track "Horizontal Twist" with it's name-checking of Sheryl Crow of all people.
Overall, this album takes a few listens to get into the less-catchy songs that dominate the last 2/3rds of the album, but for a band that's been going as long as Blondie, this music serves them now as it does feel like an album they could actually perform live in it's entirety without being forceful or sounding like they're trying to be something they're not.  It doesn't have all the highs that their previous two discs had (1999's No Exit, and 2003's shamefully under-appreciated The Curse of Blondie) but it's a welcome return from a band who has produced some consistently brilliant and envelope-pushing work.  Debbie's vocals continue to mature in a sultry, jazz chanteuse sort of way but retains enough of her brash, punk attitude and standoffish sex appeal, and the new band members do a good job of honoring the past Blondie sound without being slaves to it.

Rating: OOO (Three out of Five O's)