We check out the hottest ablum releases for July. There's everything from Ashanti to Coldplay! This month Liselle also caught up with London lads, Scouting for Girls. Find out more about these gorgeous boys here...

They’re three boys living the muso dream. London lads Scouting For Girls have been putting in the hard yards for the last ten years to now be catapulted to success – signing a major record deal, releasing an album, playing the coolest festivals and highlight to date, visiting New Zealand.

They’re indie-pop, they’re cute, unfortunately they’re taken (Scouting for Girls are not in fact as the name suggests, scouting for girls) but I was still lucky enough to catch up with bassist Greg Churchouse and drummer Peter Ellard for a spot of tea (or strong coffee in their case) amid their hangovers from a raucous night out in Auckland city (it was Pete’s birthday after all).

While they did admit that being in a band certainly helps in getting attention from the ladies, there is a more complex reason behind calling the band ‘Scouting For Girls’. It’s a name of historic origins and deep metaphorical meanings and as Greg charmingly put it “it’s not cause we’re a bunch of Perverts”.

“It’s kind of a metaphor for growing up. Robert Baden-Powell wrote this scout book called Scouting for Boys and it’s like a manual on how to be a good citizen and build camp fires and track wild animals – all those boy kind of things that you do when you’re in the scouts and we’re changing it to Scouting for girls because you start growing up, going through adolescence and you stop playing with your toy cars and you start looking at girls,” he says.

It’s a theme that carries on in the album with songs about first love, first heartbreak and even first jobs. It’s that last one the boys would most like to forget, working part time in what Pete describes as “God-awful, menial jobs” before they were signed in 2007. From here it was all go – they were signed on the spot after the head of Epic was invited to a rehearsal then plunked down in the studio the very next week, not that they let that go to their heads.

“It’s really weird, because we’ve been together for so long, it’s almost like nothing seems to have really changed and we’re still just doing what we’re doing, just getting to chat to journalists. It’s wicked you know everyone’s been so nice to us,” says Greg.

These boys are sweeter than chocolate cake so grab your little piece of sugar coated goodness in the form of their self-titled debut album. They’re three boys doing what they love – living their childhood dreams with a child-like enthusiasm and transposing that happy-go-lucky energy into their music. It’s pop the way it should be, no skanky dancers, no trips to rehab – just good clean fun.

Coldplay Viva La Viva
Viva La Vida is Coldplay with a twist of lemon - instantly recognisable but with a refreshing squeeze of something different. It’s a recipe that works for them and makes this their most interesting album to date with a more experimental edge intertwined with the usual stadium rock hooks. For a band that was trying to raise the creative bar, they still haven’t strayed too far but deliver another epic album that in all it’s ambient glory will have you either going to sleep or singing praises for the bands return.

Ashanti The Declaration
Ashanti’s back after four years and for an R&B diva, hasn’t made much of an entrance. It’s not bad, it’s not good; it’s just lukewarm. Staying well within the confines of the genre, Ashanti is overshadowed by the new leaders in the business. While there’s no denying the girl can sing, most of the tracks stick to a straight forward bounce. While completely decent for what they are, they mark an unmemorable return for the songstress.

Hip Hop The 2008 Collection
There shouldn’t be any surprises on this one with all your favourite crunkers and bling bling gangsters on one convenient record. No one’s completely sure why 50 cent features three times on the album, and I’m definitley not sure why it’s called the 2008 collection when it features Outkast’s ‘Ms Jackson’, and even Nelly’s ‘Hot in Herre’! It’s still all about the big boys and girls in the business though, with the likes of Kanye West, Dr Dre, Timbaland, Rihanna and Missy Elliot putting in their two cents worth. and of course delivers the big beats to match.

Phantom Planet Raise the Dead
At first glances one may assume Phantom Planet to be yet another emo band, but oh contraire! What you are greeted to instead is an album of catchy tracks of more of an indie pop strain which even has Strokes-esque vocals and arrangements. Less-than-happy-themes are disguised with upbeat and sunny choruses and the album jumps from glam and synth inspired tracks to disco punk vibes. Angst never sounded so happy.

Verve remixed 4 Various Artists
Talented DJ’s versus the greatest vocalists in jazz - this album’s got groove and soul baby. Featuring the legends of jazz themselves such as Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown and Nina Simone, The Verve remixed takes a little bit of old and a little bit of new without loosing the original charm. It’s got all that old school pizzazz mixed up with some dance worthy beats so enjoy this amped up version of some smokin’ and sexy classics.

Liselle

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