Rock and Pop CDs reviewed

The Coronas

Tony Was an Ex-Con

3ú Records***

If Malcolm Gladwell's theory of 10,000 hours of practice being a prerequisite for success holds any water, then The Coronas are hell bent on making their mark with their intriguingly titled second collection, Tony Was an Ex-Con. Having gigged like mad since their 2007 debut ( Heroes or Ghosts), Danny O'Reilly, Graham Knox co have sharpened their blades and now have oodles more swash in their collective buckles. Faint echoes of The Frank and Walters inform their poppier offerings, such as Listen Dearand the title track, and their playing is tighter and more thoughtful this time round. One reservation, though: the slower songs reek of a Coldplay tendency towards the maudlin. Still, it's unquestionably good material for daytime radio. www.thecoronas.net SIOBHÁN LONG

Download tracks:Won't Leave You Alone, Listen Dear

Liam Hayes & Plush

Bright Penny

Broken Horse***

The more you listen to Bright Penny, the more you sigh. For his latest turn, Liam Hayes (a singer- songwriter who is the very definition of enigmatic) has produced an album of beautifully heartfelt pop and soul. The chances of the world at large copping on to this? Zilch, zero, nada. Despite his peerless talents and spectacular voice, sporadic releases mean that Hayes remains a cult attraction. Here, on an album recorded in Chicago with musicians who played with Curtis Mayfield, Brian Wilson, Jackie Wilson, The Jacksons, Wilco and others, Hayes weaves the sort of effortlessly rapturous and dramatic sounds only a true pop visionary could conjure up. Look Up, Look Downand We Made Itsee him swooping and swooning away to his heart's content. He claims on So Much Musicthat music almost drove him crazy; if so, this is the kind of starry-eyed madness everyone should experience. www.liamhayes andplush.com JIM CARROLL

Download tracks:Look Up, Look Down, We Made It

The Leisure Society

Sleeper

Full Time Hobby***

In the early 1990s, Nick Hemming of The Leisure Society spent time in She Talks to Angels. When you've been in a band with actor Paddy Considine and director Shane Meadows, there's a fair chance that you will soak up some filmic influences. And so it proves with Sleeper, an aptly titled debut album that is receiving a full release following a less commercial self-label outing in March. Since then, the band have often been tipped for bigger and better things. An Ivor Novello Award nomination and BBC radio play have directed wider audiences to the band's music. Think a pastoral blend of Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear and Clifford T Ward. Songs such as

The Last of the Melting Snow(a fabulous, mournful break-up tune), A Short Weekend Begins With Longingand Come to Your Sensesdisplay Hemming's natural skills as a gentle, glistening songwriter. www.myspace.com/theleisure society TONY CLAYTON-LEA

Download tracks:The Last of the Melting Snow

The Twilight Sad

Forget the Night Ahead

FatCat ***

Arab Strap invented the "sadcore" genre and fellow countrymen The Twilight Sad are doing their best to refine it. This second album from the Glasgow quartet is bigger and trashier than their well-received debut, although it does retain the same sort of dour lyrical wit as its predecessor. That said, sacrificing melody for sheer power makes this the sort of album best suited to a "dark night of the soul", although the breakneck pace of That Birthday Presentand Seven Years of Lettersis undeniably thrilling. Interrupted's lack of overpowering drumming and feedback-steeped guitars provides breathing space from the aural onslaught, but that's not to say that the squall is unwelcome at other points. Likeable, certainly – but not for everyone. www.thetwilightsad. co.uk JIM CARROLL

Download tracks:Interrupted, That Birthday Present

The Veronicas

Hook Me Up

Warners ***

Their album is already double platinum in their native Australia. Now Jessica and Lisa Origliasso, the identical twins who make up The Veronicas, are getting round to releasing it in Europe. Hook Me Up is a very contemporary- sounding electro-pop affair, and once you get over the initial "Avril Lavigne tries to do Kraftwerk" feel of it, you'll find some sturdy stuff here. Hook Me Upand Untouchedshow that the twins can skirt the rock/pop divide with some aplomb, and they do have a refreshing take on what is now a rather ubiquitous sound. Elsewhere, though, they sacrifice a bit too much in trying to contrive an alt.pop sound when they would have been better just playing it by the book. Just because Lady Gaga sells lots of records doesn't mean every sassy female act out there has to fall over themselves trying to imitate her. BRIAN BOYD 

Download tracks:Untouched, Hook Me Up

Sanzkrit

After the Wedding

House of Strange Vinyl ***

We don't like to generalise, but whatever it is about Monaghan that inspired Patrick McCabe's dark themes seems to have infected its musicians as well. Following in the footsteps of likeable gloom-rockers The Flaws are Sanzkrit, a band apparently similarly enamoured of the same driving riffs and murky melodies that Interpol excel at. The quartet's debut album is far from original, but it's a well-paced, well-produced and accomplished first step. True, in places the instrumentation is slightly overdone, threatening to overwhelm Dave Marron's sturdy rumble. Yet songs such as Leave the Lights Onand the quasi-anthemic Croppies Acrekeep interest piqued, while the melodious, less taut Carnivorecould do very well on radio. It's possible to imagine Sanzkrit as stars further down the line – they've laid some impressive groundwork. www.myspace.com/ sanzkrit LAUREN MURPHY

Download tracks:Leave the Lights On, Carnivore

Backstreet Boys

This Is Us

Jive **

Backstreet's Back – alright? This Is Usis the Floridian manband's seventh album, but the underwhelming reaction to their recent output makes one wonder whether the sun has set on their heyday. At least the foursome have made an effort to update their sound, but perhaps targeting a contemporary r 'n' b market that's already sewn up by Chris Brown et al wasn't a wise move. Synth and AutoTune effects flow freely on the likes of Straight Through My Heart,and there's always occasion for a schmaltzy ballad ( Shattered), but the edgy PDAhints at what could have been a fine pop album if they'd taken the initiative. It seems that all Backstreet Boys can hope for these days is a couple of one-off hits, but they're in short supply even here. www.back streetboys.com LAUREN MURPHY

Download tracks:PDA, All of Your Life

Times New Viking

Born Again Revisited

Matador

***

It was always obvious that Times New Viking knew their way around songs and melodies, but they did their level best to conceal this with amped-up fuzz and lo-fi fizz. This time around the Ohio trio utilise better quality recording methods, and some coherence shines through as a result. While hiss and crackle still abound – TNV without this would be like Columbo without his raincoat – tracks such as City on Drugsand Move to Californiashow the group are not immune to the charms of a decent tune when it comes their way. Punchy TNV trademarks like those pell-mell guitars, exuberant boy-girl harmonies and swaggering sonic meltdowns are still present, but the band have begun to look at just getting by with a stonking, scruffy racket. www.my space.com/times newviking JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: City on Drugs, Move to California