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Athlete's Tourist, The Perishers' Let There Be Morning, Morrissey's Live at Earls Court

The Perishers hail from Sweden, and you would expect their music to sound the way music should sound when in comes from the land of Erik the Viking. Except that it sounds as if they have been keeping company with the likes of Coldplay, Athlete and Keane. Not that this is bad. Actually, The Perishers' songs are regularly features on American TV (The OC, One Tree Hill). Standouts include "Sway", "Weekends", "Trouble Sleeping", "My Heart" and "Pills". They can be seen on tour with Sarah McLachlan this summer. Brilliant!

Athlete, just like The Perishers, is unjustly compared to Coldplay and Keane all too often. There are definite similarities, enough indeed for someone to come up with a new description for this music. Perhaps Catatonic Rock would be a term, or perhaps a throwback to the 70s melodic rock days. On the opposite side, we have the post-punk bands emulating Joy Division/New Order. To its credit, the band does try to move beyond such comparisons. Not very successfully though. Just close your eyes when you listen to their new CD, Tourist, and signs of Coldplay are everywhere, from the opening track, "Changes", to the most obvious, "Trading Air". "Half Light" is what really Athlete should sound like most of the time. "Wires" is the obvious hit and first single of the CD, singer Joel Pott's story about his newborn daughter that's sure to touch many hearts. "Yesterday Threw Everything at Me" and "Twenty Four Hours" are also worth listening to.

Morrissey recorded this set last December at London's Earls Court, in top form from the success of his last studio release, "You Are The Quarry". The songs are chosen so as to highlight various parts of his career, from The Smiths' "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out", "Bigmouth Strikes Again", to the desolate beauty of "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me." Highly recommended to fans and casual listeners alike.

Honourable mention (with review to follow shortly): Hot Hot Heat, Kathleen Edwards, couple of the best acts coming out of Canada!