Presentless? No Problem.

Written by: Rachel

Christmas is coming (whether you’re looking forward to it or not) and no doubt the thought has crossed your minds about what to get your loved ones as gifts. We all know that CDs are an old favourite- unfortunately they are either really successful or go down like a lead balloon. This article will hopefully take some of the guesswork out of your decisions, as some very kind PPTers have told me about some of the albums they’ve listened to recently, which may hopefully give you ideas for gifts!

Sapphire Faerie has told me about Evanesence’s new album, The Open Door. She said it was better than she was expecting it to be, particularly as the single “Call Me When You’re Sober” didn’t jump out at her. However, she was pleasantly surprised when she bought it and listened to it all, especially since she thinks it has a better flow to it than the last album (Fallen), which is possibly due to the stronger role of the piano in the songs. Her favourite tracks are “Sweet Sacrifice” and “Lithium”. She loves "Sweet Sacrifice" as it has a sarcastic anger to it, particularly in the chorus. She says that despite not all the songs standing out, she would definitely recommend the album to others, but wouldn’t recommend that you got it for a significant other, as many of the songs have the theme of “you were a jerk, I don’t miss you at all”. It would be a better gift for a close friend. If the person you were planning to get this album for has already got it and likes it, she thinks that they might like Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty as they have similar themes.

Sugarinii has told me about the album Paris by Paris Hilton. She says that it’s a really fun and happy album that good to dance to. Her favourite song is "Screwed", as it's great for turning up the volume and jumping around to. She says that anyone that likes poppy music would probably like it, especially if you like Gwen Stefani. If someone already had this album and liked it, she would suggest that you bought them Jessica Simpson's A Public Affair or Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape.

Next, I spoke to Zorg and he told me about The Killer’s album, Sam’s Town. He says that it has a very similar sound to Franz Ferdinand - which is a good thing! His favourite track on the album is “When You Were Young” and is the reason that he bought the album, as the track was played on a Channel Ten advert and has a funky beat. He would definitely recommend the album. If you know someone that likes this album, he’d suggest you buy them one of the Franz Ferdinand albums.

Bangel was kind enough to tell me about Jet’s new album, Shine On. She says it’s a solid album with a lot of good tracks. It has a rockish feel to it, but isn’t too hardcore, with a nice mixture of slow and fast songs, and even some that make you want to chair dance. However, she did say that it's not as good as their first album (Get Born). She really loves the songs “Shine On” and “Rip It Up”; the former is a really nice rock ballad, and the latter is 3 and a half minutes of solid energy! She’d recommend the album to anyone that’s okay with a fair share of sing-screaming, and anyone that’s into sort of modern rock. If she were buying it as a gift for someone she’d buy it for her sister, or an older teenager. If she were going to get an album for someone that liked this one, she would get In Your Honor by Foo Fighters, as it’s a similar style, but with a tiny bit of a harder edge.

Werepup has told me about The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. She says that the sound is more polished in comparison to the wild and wacky beats of their previous albums, which she feels is a good choice of direction. Her favourite track is “Welcome to the Black Parade”, which she says is a mind-blowing extravaganza of loads of different types of music all rolled into one – she waited months to hear it and wasn’t disappointed in the slightest! She would recommend the album to anyone that likes Green Day, Queen, or System of a Down. If you know someone that already has this album and loves it, she would suggest getting them All the Right Reasons by Nickelback, or Steal This Album by System of a Down.

And lastly, I would like to tell you about my opinion of the new Snow Patrol album Eyes Open. I think it’s very similar to the last Snow Satrol album (Final Straw), both in style, and in that it has a couple of amazing songs and the rest are average. However, none of them are terrible and the more I’ve listened to it, the more it’s grown on me. My favourite song is “Chasing Cars”, which a lot of you will probably have heard if you watch Grey’s Anatomy. I would recommend getting it for anyone who loved the first Snow Patrol album, or anyone that likes nice quiet relaxing albums. I definitely wouldn’t get it for them if they weren’t impressed with the last Snow Patrol album, as it's quite similar. If someone liked this album I would probably buy him or her This New Day by Embrace.

I hope that this article has been some help to you in choosing your Christmas presents!