Key Notes is starting to enjoy The Recession.  He knows that may sound strange, particularly to Mrs. Key Notes, but if he had a full time job right now he wouldn't be able to attend press launches in the middle of the day featuring the good, the bad and the 'who are they?' of the Irish indie music scene, would he?

This blog and OXEGEN have history of course, Key Notes was the first writer to review OXEGEN 2008 and his (pardon him as he lets his ego run wild) world exclusive reviews drew a great deal of traffic (not to mention complaints from people who don't understand how music reviewing works!) to CLUAS.com.  This year though, he wasn't sure if OXEGEN would be worth attending; sure there were certain bands like Blur, Nick Cave, The Mars Volta and Manic Street Preachers that caught his eye but others like Kings of Leon and Snow Patrol produced a reaction that could best be described as 'meh'. 

Today though, all that changed with the announcment of bands such as Eagles of Death Metal, God is an Astronaut (Key Notes knows one particular CLUAS writer who will be very happy with that), Pet Shop Boys, Doves, Nine Inch Nails, and Jane's Addiction.

The line ups announced so far for each day are:

Friday, July 10: 
Blur, Snow Patrol, The Script, Keane, Lily Allen, James, Pendulum, Ladyhawke, Fight Like Apes, Swedish House Mafia, Crookers, Eagles of Death Metal, Dreadzone, God is an Astronaut, Tom Middleton, Aeroplane.

Saturday, July 11: 
Kings of Leon, Bloc Party, Elbow, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Pete Doherty, The Mars Volta, The Game, Squeeze, Hockey, Tiga, Digitalism, Pet Shop Boys, Doves, The Saturdays, Gary Go.

Sunday, July 12: 
The Killers, Razorlight, The Specials, Lady Gaga, The Ting Tings, Katy Perry, Manic Street Preachers, Paolo Nutini, Florence and the Machine White Lies, Jason Mraz, Foals, Friendly Fires, of Montreal, Miss Kittin and The Hacker, Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction, Glasvegas, Hudson Mohawke

Tickets for this years OXEGEN go on sale at 8am on Friday, March 6 and are on sale at the same price (224 europes inc. booking fee for a 3 day camping pass) as last year.  This is something Justin Green of MCD was particularly proud of, as he spoke briefly at the launch, saying that MCD realised the situation most people were in and were doing their small part to help.  In addition, those people who purchased early bird tickets are to be rewarded with 20 europes cash back and MCD have also developed a Ticket Deposit Scheme, details of which can be found on the festival's website.

 Jane's Addiction: Jane Says

Great when you're 8!

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Although he takes his nom de rock from Joe Meek, it's fair to say that Stéphane-Franck Pascal's favourite '60s British pop stars are The Beatles.

After all, his second album, 'Sleeping With Big Ben', consisted entirely of Fab Four covers. (The record was released in 2003 in Japan only.) You think you're a dedicated Beatles fan for having read the official biography of Sir Paul by Barry Miles, 'Many Years From Now'? Pascal translated it into French. 

Unsurprisingly, his own songs are steeped in Lennon and McCartneyism, which is never a bad thing for songs. Sortie De Secours' (which translates as 'emergency exit') is the fourth album by MeeK (right), who insists on that upper case 'K' at the end of his name. The album slipped out at the end of 2008 but only came to our attention this week.

MeeK's brand of acoustic pop may be a bit too sugary for some tastes. But then again, there are people who don't like chocolate. And we'll never deter French pop stars from writing melodies and hooks and choruses, stuff many musicians here wouldn't dream of doing lest it taint their art.

Check out MeeK's MySpace page and listen to a selection of songs off 'Sortie De Secours'. First single 'Six Feet Under', inspired by the cult U.S. series of the same name, is currently getting plenty of airplay on Paris radio. Here's the video, a retro and romantic tour around Paris:

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 Franz Ferdinand (live in Dolan's Warehouse, Limerick)

Review Snapshot: 400 lucky ducks witness Franz Ferdinand 'warm up' for their '09 tour with considerable aplomb. Watch out Europe.

The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10

Full Review:
The anticipation amongst the lucky 400 in Dolan’s Warehouse ahead of this ‘warm-up’ gig was that the Glaswegian art-rockers would use this chance to rehearse material from their new Tonight album with one eye on their upcoming European tour. Not so. They played what seemed like every memorable moment from their already-classic debut album, kicking off the setlist with a stomping rendition of ‘Come On Home’. Alex Kapranos made sure he reminded the crowd where they were with frequent ‘Thank you Limerick’s between songs, but whether he was aware the Terry Wogan namedropped in ‘Dark of the Matinee’ is himself a Limerickman was unclear. However a spontaneous crowdsurf at the end of the gig did ensure Kapranos left Shannonside with an intimate knowledge of the city Wogan left behind!

Kapranos’ authentic vocal talent was a constant but what also impressed was his frenetic double-jobbing as lead guitarist, especially during ‘Do You Want To’. A banging ‘Take Me Out’ was played surprisingly early in the set, followed by a string of new songs (DISCLAIMER: I haven’t heard the new album yet. For shame.) Recent single Ulysses was warmly received by the crowd - a welcome endorsement for FF in these days of Kings Of Leon daytime-radio overkill. The encore comprised a subtle-then-manic delivery of their best-ever song Jacqueline, a surprisingly tasteful 4-man assault on the drumkit at the end of another newbie, and regular curtain-closer ‘Burn This City’.

Lasting Impact: The bulk of the tiny crowd remained subdued throughout – even for Take Me Out – which annoyed this reviewer given the rarity of gigs like this and the energy FF put in to their performance. In fairness, it was stadium-rock in a room the size of a small community hall - what more reason do you need to rock out? As for Franz themselves, here was a band that cared more about playing their favourite songs rather than pushing their new record, and the enjoyment of such was clear to see on their faces at the end of the gig. Having seen them play in Lansdowne Road 4 years ago, its great to think they still give me the same buzz. It was a privilege to be there. Keep the big guns coming, Dolans.

Ronan Lawlor

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Flairs is the nom de rock of Lionel Flairs, itself a name which is just too good to not be a pseudonym. Mr Flairs divides his time between London and Paris, making rather deadly electro-pop in both cities. Some Flairs tracks have been doing the web-rounds since last year, and now he’s gathered ten of them into an album that already has us planning for our end-of-year Best French Music list.

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It's happened to the best of us.  You see a friend and you can't wait to tell them about this new band you've just started listening to.  You wax lyrical for what seems like an age only for your friend to shake his/her head and say:  Yeah, they're okay but....I prefer their earlier stuff.  Key Notes has been on both ends of this conversation and while there are times when this particular blogger has said it just to annoy the person on the other end, more often than not it turns out to be true.

Now, before you start, I'm not picking on Kings of Leon because they are an easy target.  There are quite a few Irish bands that will feature in this series.  No, I'm picking on Kings of Leon because they are the most high-profile example of a once exciting band now specialising in generic blandness.  Youth & Young Manhood (and the Holy Roller Novocaine EP upon which it was based) and Aha Shake Heartbreak were, and still are, amongst this blogs favourite ever records.  Their blend of baptist-tinged-garage rock is well showcased on tracks like Molly Chambers, The Bucket and Taper Jean Girl.  It was music that made you sit up and pay attention.  Coupled with the fact that they sported some of the best beards this side of Jesus and Santa Claus, Kings of Leon looked as good as they sounded.

However, as much as Key Notes loved Aha Shake Heartbreak (So much so that this blog also bought a copy for Old Man Key Notes) it contains the song that, in this blogs mind, set Kings of Leon on their path to banality.  Milk is nothing more than an acoustic dirge that would never have been recorded were it not showcasing Caleb Followill's distinctive vocals.  Key Notes is a big fan of these vocals, but there was so much more to Kings of Leon.  Now though, almost everything Kings of Leon produce centres around Caleb's Southern drawl.  Having lots of free time on his hands these days, this blog used some software that it owns to strip all four Kings of Leon albums of their main vocals.  The first two still sounded good but Because of the Times and Only by the Night, without vocals, come across like Liverpool without Gerrard; they just don't offer anything worthwhile.

In promoting Only by the Night the Kings of Leon spoke of being influenced by Crystal Castles, Radiohead and My Morning Jacket but that's not evident when you listen to the record.  Indeed it's difficult to believe that Only by the Night was written with anything other than commercial success in mind.  There's nothing wrong with that and I'm sure the Followill's are very happy with their lot in life.  However, the only way real way to achieve that type of success is by producing bland, inoffensive music.  In that they have succeeded and, if the reception they got at Oxegen last year was anything to go by, the general public wouldn't have it any other way.  Key Notes though, well, he really does prefer their early stuff. 

Speaking of which:

Kings of Leon:  Molly Chambers 

Key Notes also preferred when they had beards and would allow you to embed their official videos!

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We had been worried. Last autumn Phoenix (below right) posted 'Twenty One One Zero', a track from the sessions for their new album, 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix', the follow-up to 2006's brilliant 'It's Never Been Like That'.

The trouble was that we found it disappointing: a three-minute intro of tired electronic loops all building to enormodome-friendly rawk dynamics. It sounded like a photocopy of the opening minute of 'Where The Streets Have No Name', and if we wanted rewrites of old U2 songs we could just go and listen to new U2 songs.

But now Phoenix have just aired the first single of that upcoming album and it's smashing stuff. Yes!

Keeping with the vague number/year theme of that earlier track, the new song is called '1901'. Out go the Eno/Edge-isms: '1901' picks up the alt-pop of 'It's Never Been Like That' and runs with it into electronic beats. All the while, Phoenix keep their unique blend of post-punk attitude and indie romanticism - singer Thomas Mars sounds as lovelorn as ever. 

The track has the familiar Phoenix structure of long, looping verses building to a long, looping chorus. As always with this band's material, there's no catchy hook that would get it on mainstream radio; world domination will have to wait once more. But that's a minor gripe: '1901' is fresh and exciting stuff.

'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart' will be released on 25 May. Before that, you can download '1901' for free from Phoenix's website or simply have a listen to it on Phoenix's MySpace page. Or, to make it even easier for you, have a listen to it on this home-made video:

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There’s a swell of interest building in Paris music circles about a young piano-playing singer-songer who’s breathing new life into a classic French genre.

Maud Lübeck (right) is the lady in question. A prolific musician and film-maker, she has already recorded two albums under the pseudonym Emma Udé (the French pronunciation of the letters M-A-U-D) and made several short films. Now she’s gaining rave reviews for songs that she has posted on the internet under her own name.

Lübeck plays melancholic piano songs that almost burst with quiet intensity and simmering emotion. Our French and Francophile readers will immediately think of Barbara, the ‘60s icon of dramatic French cabaret pop. She also has a lot in common with the darker parts of Emily Loizeau’s wonderful 2006 album ‘À L’Autre Bout Du Monde’. Like both those ladies, Lübeck has a keen ear for a good tune and is careful not to let her songs get smothered by cheap sentiment – every note and feeling rings true. She’s Maud, not maudlin.

She was caught on radar near the end of last year when she duetted with Vincent Delerm, star of the chanson française scene, on a track called ‘Je T’Aimais Trop’ (“I love you too much”). Your blogger is normally allergic to the bland, tuneless Delerm, but his duet with Lübeck is really very good and if it brings attention to her then so much the better.

Since the start of this year, French music blogs have been buzzing with excitement about Lübeck, and influential magazine Les Inrockuptibles has raved about her. Such is her low profile that no one seems sure if she’s going to release an album; we know that she’s not signed to a record label. 

And just to add to the frenzy around her, Lübeck's upcoming shows in Paris and Lyon are part of a children's charity - and the concerts are for kids only. Already, French music fans are scrambling to find a young niece or nephew who'll gain them admittance to the hottest shows in the country right now.

You can hear those marvellous tunes on Maud Lübeck’s MySpace page. Our favourite is ‘Le Parapluie’ (“the umbrella”), but every track we’ve heard from her has been memorable. Here’s a video she made for one of her older songs, ‘Egg Oeil’:

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