Music - Singles of the Week - Monday, August 9, 2010
IndieLondon gleefully checks out the cream of the week’s singles. All you have to do is click on the pictures to order them…
SINGLE OF THE WEEK 1: THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM – BOXER/THE DIAMOND CHURCH STREET CHOIR: The Gaslight Anthem follow up the success of their latest album, American Slang with the release of the double-A sided single Boxer and The Diamond Church Street Choir. The latter, in particular, is an album highlight… a fun slice of soul-rock that combines a playful central riff with some finger-clicking beats and a rollicking good chorus. It’s one of the most insanely catchy rock tracks of the year that’ll have you singing along in next to no time. Boxer, meanwhile, demonstrates the band’s ability to deliver a fast, rousing rock anthem that has echoes of their hero, Bruce Springsteen, in both storytelling and delivery. Put together, the two tracks are an excellent advert for what is undoubtedly one of the albums of the year.
Released as a download
Rating: 4 out of 5
Order the album l Album review
KASSIDY – TAKE ANOTHER RIDE: Glasgow-based Kassidy follow-up their debut single, Stray Cat with the excellent Take Another Ride. The track, described by the Sunday Times Culture as “haunting”, sees Kassidy continue to build an ever increasing fan base of both critics and music fans alike thanks to their use of four acoustic guitars and emphatic vocals. The song is produced by Jim Abiss (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Noisettes, Stereophonics), and slow builds in impressive fashion from acoustic strumming, to full bodied pop-rock offering. In doing so, the four-piece draw on their love of Americana influences while weaving in their own Glaswegian style, creating a song that’s equally capable of finding success on the other side of the Atlantic as it should here. The guitar work is particularly striking and should help to really get them noticed, while their emphatic chorus and keen ear for melody lend them crossover appeal too.
Released across all formats
Rating: 4 out of 5
NE-YO – BEAUTIFUL MONSTER: Multi-platinum, three-time Grammy Award-winning Def Jam recording artist Ne-Yo returns to the world stage with his new single Beautiful Monster, the lead track to be taken from his fourth album (out September 20). Written by Ne-Yo and produced by Stargate, the track marks Ne-Yo’s first major single release in more than a year and a half, and displays something of a greater reliance on dance. Ne-Yo’s smooth, soulful vocals remain very much to the fore, but there’s a throbbing synth backdrop during the verses that’s more Faithless than Def Jam, before dropping a chorus that combines falsetto style flourishes more reminiscent of Michael Jackson with an Ibiza-pleasing electronic riff. It actually adds up to a pleasing whole… hideously mainstream leaning, but dance-floor friendly and pretty stylish. Like its name suggests, the song is poised to become another monster smash for Ne-Yo and, for once, we don’t mind.
Released across all formats
Rating: 3 out of 5
THE SATURDAYS – MISSING YOU: The Saturdays drop another generic slice of mid-tempo electro-pop in the form of Missing You. The synth bedding has a Balearic influence (not to mention a Taio Cruz style euphoria), albeit set against a slower, more meaningful pace. The lyrics, meanwhile, speak of yearning for a lost love stuck on the opposite side of the world. It’s all very polished, kind of cheesy and OK in limited doses… and it comes complete with the obligatory video featuring the girls in bikinis, walking slowly over beaches or lying provocatively in the sand. It’s designed to invoke the spirit of the summer, and as such looks set to become another massive hit. That doesn’t make it good… but it is more passable than most songs of this type.
Released across all formats
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
JUKEBOX COLLECTIVE – ICON PARADE: Hotly-tipped Jukebox Collective release their new single, Icon Parade, as the follow-up to Lost and Found, the first song the band recorded, self-produced and self-released, and which won them a flurry of blog-buzz and a Top 15 entry into the Hype Machine chart. Though, musically, Icon Parade sounds as if it’s just stumbled in from a boozy night out in New York, the song was largely recorded in the band’s East London bedroom: the band, in their own words, “mistrust” studios in general. Lyrically, again, London leaves its traces, as guitarist Greg explains: “The song is about a neighbour who keeps getting hassled by these kids, and ends up going a bit mad. The idea behind Icon Parade is him making all these floats of American heroes, like you get in parades, just to distract himself from the abuse. So the song is supposed to sound quite paranoid.” The track has a very DIY kind of feel, especially vocally, with a raw sound that is sometimes to the song’s detriment… while the angular guitar riffs are a little too Franz Ferdinand sounding to be that standout in their own right. But the band do enough to suggest they have some talent, especially in the funky B-side You Vs Me, which drops a more electronic dancefloor disco vibe and comes over a lot more fun.
Released across all formats
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
LITTLE FISH – WHIPLASH: As punk rockers Little Fish prepare to unleash their album, Baffled And Beat on an unsuspecting public later this month, lead singer and songwriter Juju Sophie (who also plays guitar), says that the songs are about love, life, betrayal and pain: “Our songs are about people. They write away our sickness. They define us by what we are not. They speak of chaos and confusion, relationships, their conflicts and our need for cures. The songs run alongside all that we live; our failings, our contradictions, our hungers, our excesses, our exits, our shadows.” It’s a cheery notion (being sarcastic) that gives rise to a predictably no-nonsense approach. Hence, new single Whiplash is a brash, obnoxious punk rock track that speaks of the paranoia caused by uncertainty surrounding potential relationships and the loneliness that subsequently results. Or, as Juju puts it: “They give Whiplash. We get heart attacks.” If we’re looking for something positive to say, then Juju does boast a set of vocals that do compare – and have been – to Patti Smith. While the songs are short, sharp and to the point. But if the album is all like Whiplash,it’s going to be extremely hard to like.
Released across all formats
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
BOB feat HAYLEY WILLIAMS – AIRPLANES: Now here’s one of the more interesting hybrid singles of the moment featuring rapper B.o.B and Paramore’s Hayley Williams. The ensuing track, which has recently attracted multiple MTV Music Video Award nominations, drops an emphatic beat, some fine piano arrangements and a strong but complimentary mix of vocal styles. B.o.B raps over the versus, while the sultry rock chick tones of Williams take on the chorus, lending the track a wistful feel that’s in keeping with the song’s sentiments of “I could really use a wish right now”. Needless to say, the track is big in the States, and looks set to become a late summer anthem over here. For once, it deserves to be… as mainstream tracks go, this is a guilty pleasure of high quality. Indeed, it reminded me of Fort Minor’s collaboration with Holly Brook (Where’d You Go), which employed two similar vocal styles to winning effect.
Released as a limited edition 7” single
Rating: 3 out of 5
MIRRORKICKS – ON TV: Mirrorkicks release their fourth single, On TV, which is described as the explosive and brash intro to their recent debut album Mirrorkicks, which came out on their own label, Fruit Pie Records, in spring. The song explores the diva in us all, highlighting our tendencies to justifying being over the top, rather than admitting excess is just for the fun of excess. It’s a battle between wanting to stick your tongue out and say what you really think and keeping up appearances and conforming to what is socially acceptable. The guitars are fast and furious, the vocals raw and impassioned. And yet the high levels of energy are somehow draining and the track is difficult to really get into, unless you like your music to contain a frenetic energy that’s never tamed. The video was filmed by Steve Price in a scout hut in Godalming on bitter cold day in February 2009. Three short sections of the video were filmed about 25 times with the band members repeating the exact same moves on the spot whilst the crew changed/moved something around them. The post production of the video took Steve over a year to edit whilst he was working on other projects with the animation taking the most time. Another 80 hours was spent by the band’s drummer, Ingmar editing the lead singer Anil on to all the TV screens that appear in the split screen video. It is worth seeing for the work that went into it – so, we’ve decided to add a YouTube link
Released across all formats
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
PLANTS AND ANIMALS – THE MAMA PAPA: After the release of their with/avec EP last summer, Montreal based trio Plants and Animals return this year with their debut UK album, La La Land. Their second studio album (debut LP Parc Avenue was only available in North America), La La Land will be released in the UK on September 13 through Secret City. The Mama Papa is the first single to be taken from the record and is an edgy slice of punk-inflicted rock-pop that boasts a tremendous energy. Sung in rapid style, and underlining the band’s rediscovery of electric guitars, it’s a lively offering that gets more and more catchy with each listen. There’s a post-punk kind of feel to it, too, that channels the memory of bolth Strokes and Talking Heads, albeit with a sharper sense of melody perhaps. The chorus is particularly catchy. Admittedly, it takes a few listens, but sooner or later it will get under your skin and refuse to budge (in a good way). Oh la la!
Released across all formats
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
THE CHARLATANS – LOVE IS ENDING: The Charlatans promise a new sound and a bold new direction on their forthcoming new album, Who We Touch and there are signs of it here on taster single and album opener, Love Is Ending. Arriving like a brash statement of intent, the opening seconds are just a wall of noise, hitting the listener with a sonic assault of no particular direction, before settling into a rapid groove that’s shot through with vibrant guitar riffs and a strong chorus. Burgess sounds clearly up for it and ever so slightly rejuvenated, while the guitars are robust and the pace among the most lively that the band has delivered in a while. It’s available as a limited edition 7” single and comes complete with a remix from The Horrors that serves as a B-side. But it is worth seeking out as a taster of what to expect. The track has been available since August 2.
Released as a limited edition 7” single
Rating: 4 out of 5
FLO RIDA feat DAVID GUETTA – CLUB CAN’T HANDLE ME: Released a week ahead of the movie it’s taken from, Step Up 3D, Flo Rida teams up with David Guetta for a huge club-banger in the form of Club Can’t Handle Me. It’s a wilfully generic offering that also sounds like a Black Eyed Peas offering, but it’s lively enough to make you want to spring up and dance in sweaty emulation of the film’s on-screen stars. And it’s a halfway decent fusion of dance and hip-hop that seems to suit both artists’ styles well. What’s more, it’s also one of the better tracks to be taken from the soundtrack, which also features tracks from Trey Songz, Sophia Fresh, Busta Rhymes and Estelle. Flo Rida will be at Heaven in London on Monday night (Aug 9) to help promote the single and the soundtrack.
Released as a limited edition 7” single
Rating: 3 out of 5
Heard a great single, but yet to buy it? Well, we may have reviewed it. Previous reviews:
Right Content
Related Links
- Music Home
- Music Archives
- A/V Room
- IndieLondon Gig Guide
- Singles of the Week
- Music Gallery