The Reunion Fad: The Stone Roses Return

The rumours have been rife for a while now, but what was once derided as fantasy has now been confirmed as fact.The Stone Roses, the seminal four-piece formed in Manchester in 1983, have become the latest band to reform. And it’s fair to say that there is a great deal of excitement following the announcement. 

The band recently revealed that they will be playing three huge homecoming gigs in Manchester’s Heaton Park next summer. 

The 220,000 tickets made available, priced at £55 each, duly sold out in just over an hour when they went on sale a few days after the announcement. Impressive.

Reunions have become somewhat commonplace recently. The Verve reformed two years ago and recorded a well-received new album, just like The Stone Roses are planning to do. They also performed a successful headline slot at Glastonbury before breaking up yet again.

Album Review: Noel Gallagher - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

The outspoken one has returned and this time he is flying solo. The Gallagher brothers have been engaged in a heated war of words since the demise of Oasis, with both Liam and Noel determined to top the other with their new musical ventures. Liam basically rehashed Oasis in all but name, creating the mediocre Beady Eye. 

Noel on the other hand has spent his time putting together his debut solo album under the intriguingly named moniker, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Whilst there was interest in what form Liam’s ‘new’ band would take, the anticipation for Noel Gallagher’s solo album was undoubtedly greater, considering he was Oasis’ central songwriter. 

The lead single from Noel’s debut solo effort, ‘The Death of You and Me’, sets the tone for the rest of the album. Whilst not drawing too many comparisons with Noel’s previous work with Oasis, it is reminiscent of ‘The Importance of Being Idle’, with a prominent strum of the guitar and a bouncing beat. It is incredibly infectious - without being remarkable - and Noel is on fine form lyrically, “And is it any wonder why the sea is calling out to me / I seem to spend my whole life / Running from people who will be / The death of you and me.”

The second single from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, ‘AKA... What A Life!’, is a huge anthem that you will have no doubt heard on the Vauxhall TV add, subliminally embedded in the deep recesses of your brain.

Album Review: Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Coldplay are very much the musical equivalent of the American show, Friends. Their music is relatively safe, enjoyable and always there - like a comfort blanket.

It only takes a few minutes of flicking through T.V channels to find Coldplay languishing in the background of a teen drama - or pretty much any program ever - ready to burst forth with an epic, climatic chorus to suit a moment of *insert emotion*. In fact, they have already been covered twice in two outings on this years live X Factor shows.

Yet whether you love them or loathe them for their, at times, mawkish, bland and overtly polished anthems, there will undoubtedly be a part of you that can’t help singing along to ‘The Scientist’, ‘Trouble’ or ‘Yellow’. Even the mere thought of Coldplay caused Bono to belt out one of their signature tunes during U2’s headline set at Glastonbury, this year. So, after the positive commercial and critical reception to the four-piece’s fourth album, the Grammy Award-winning Viva la Vida, have Chris Martin and Co. tinkered with their ready-made formula for success, or have they attempted to break new ground?