Rixton

Superstar manager Scooter Braun typically isn't known for his clients fizzling out, so it came as a pretty big surprise when UK boyband The Wanted decided to call it quits only months after releasing their latest full-length. However, Braun had another act on deck ready to pick up right where The Wanted left off: the UK quartet Rixton. Rixton arguably does everything The Wanted did and more, and their debut record, 'Let the Road', is excellent proof that they won't be going anywhere any time soon.

'Let the Road' is ten tracks of Top 40 goodness, highlighted by lead single, 'Me And My Broken Heart.' The Rob Thomas-sampled banger made a splash on the charts, reaching as high as number 14, and it's hardly even the most radio friendly song on the album. Tracks like 'Beautiful Excuses' and 'Appreciated' are ripe with big time choruses, while 'Wait on Me' and 'Speakerphone' have some of the best hooks on 'Let the Road'. There's also some heavy Maroon 5 influence mixed in there too, and it makes sense: the majority of the album was produced and written by talents such as Ammar Malik and Benny Blanco - both were responsible for Maroon 5 material in the past.

However, the best parts of 'Let the Road' aren't the fact that the songs are written by established writers - it's that Rixton still manage to have their own identity bleed through every song despite it. Take 'Hotel Ceiling' for instance - the hard hitting ballad penned by Ed Sheeran is still Rixton through and through, even when Sheeran-written songs have the tendency to sound like they came out of his unwanted demo pile.

Continue reading: Rixton - Let The Road Album Review

As someone who's long been a fan of the book, to see 'The Giver' movie finally come to fruition has been quite the nostalgic trip. Headed and ended by OneRepublic and featuring rising stars such as Tori Kelly ('Silent'), Capital Cities ('One Minute More') and other solid up-and-comers in the music industry, 'The Giver: Music Collection' has a perfect mix of superstar power and the flair of still-indie but progressively more mainstream acts to inspire confidence in its pedigree. But is that confidence warranted?

One Republic's first track 'Ordinary Human' has a pleasant synthetic backing and uplifting, optimistic lyrics that, with a certain "sci-fi" vibe, is reminiscent of Muse combined with the nouveau-disco feel common to contemporary popular music. 'One Minute More' plants the album more firmly in the territory of contemporary pop-rock with a light, airy and upbeat tone alongside, again, positive lyrics, and some interesting mid-paced synth. From there we go into the only female vocals on the album with Tori Kelly's 'Silent', which is a competent acoustic guitar song with a country twang. Where 'Silent' takes that distinct country flavor, 'Feel What's Good' by Jake Bugg brings in a dash of classic rock in some electric guitar. It's not strictly acoustic, of course, but it maintains a certain soulful element to its lyrics that resembles that of more acoustic and instrumental music. Bruno Major's 'Children' is more stripped down, its lyrics taking center-stage over a lightly strumming guitar.

Rixton's 'Whole', oddly enough, sounds more like a OneRepublic song than the actual OneRepublic. The music seems unnecessarily slow to the point of lethargy. However, Rixton give way to album highlight Aloe Blacc's 'Here Today'; the strong vibe of gospel and blues give it a certain dynamism and very inspirational quality. 'Shine My Way' by Sheppard has a lot of the same sound, and its more subdued lyrics carry all the richness that the swinging beat demands. The album departs with two more acoustic style songs - NEEDTOBREATHE's 'Difference' and OneRepublic's closer 'I Lived'. 'Difference' is slow and somber throughout, invoking the same vibe that made 'Children' work, while 'I Lived' picks up the pace around the time it gets to the bridge.

Continue reading: Various Artists - The Giver: Music Collection Album Review

There's a new boyband on the UK pop scene who have somehow managed to storm single charts with their debut release, 'Me and My Broken Heart'. They are Rixton, featuring singer Jake Roche - the son of Coleen Nolan and Shane Richie - and despite the unsurprising chart success, one can't help but feel this is definitely one of those 'who you know not what you know' sort of deals. It's not surprising, either, to learn that this is the latest act under Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun and, thus, is another crass attempt at cloning the likes of One Direction and The Wanted.

The song begins with minimal piano accompanied by an immediately jarring shrill nasal vocal, crooning some predictably unimaginative lyrics: 'All I need's a little love in my life/ All I need's a little love in the dark'. It's not just the words that are generic from start to finish, but the melody seems to be made up of short segments of the catchiest pop tunes of the last couple of decades. Even in the first 10 seconds, I'm sure I heard something that vaguely resembled Dido's 'Thank You'.

Things do take an unexpected turn, however, when the soft guitar line and steady drum rhythm kick in with a funky, almost Motown beat. It's a small relief when you've managed to convince yourself that they're some weird 90s throwback with better hair, but even despite the cool, breathiness of Roche's voice as it settles down for the verse, there's no escaping that dated boyband twang.

Continue reading: Rixton - Me And My Broken Heart Single Review