Aimee Newsome-Stone - Spacemen and Monsters - CD (2009)

Labels: self released
Review by: Joe Callaghan

Reasonably pleasant solo singer songwriter effort. That’s pretty much all that can be said. There’s nothing bad here at all, but there’s nothing that jumps out to set this aside from its counterparts either. That’s by no means a bad thing. It appears to be that this sort of direction sticks to a pleasant, inoffensive formula, and why not? Anyone can sit through a gratifying formulaic pop song, so it’s a desirable field to just jump right into. Which is the admirable thing, right? I mean anyone can now sit in front of their computer with an acoustic and a mic and make their own record. With the ease of use of social networking, you can put the whole thing up online, for the whole world to stream, without knowing a lick of HTML code. DIY is easier than ever, and its great that people are taking advantage of that whilst they can. I remember when I first started playing in bands. Recording your own stuff was nowhere near as easy as it is now, so I can only imagine how difficult things must have been 20 or 30 years ago, and beyond! Cripes! Every cardigan wearing textbook nut has a Mac, a copy of GarageBand and an internet connection now. It certainly is a step forward for DIY. So, what’s here is decent. Her accomplished voice is certainly worthy of putting on a record, as is the structuring of the songs. It’s joyous and pleasing, but you’ve probably heard a thousand other acts sounding remarkably similar. So what? It is what it is, in the true spirit of DIY. I’m sure it would sound a lot more impressive to hear her voice amplified through a PA, compared to this demo CD, which is a little rough round the edges, as you’d expect from a demo. Until she comes to a town near you and I, we’ll never know. I guess you could give her jams a spin if you’re into your soppy singer songwriter stuff. If hearing other peoples problems crooned over an acoustic guitar isn’t your bag of crisps, then you should stick to your pop punk played by grown men who wear shorts.