Music - Singles of the week - Monday, July 16, 2012
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: DANIEL POWTER – CUPID: It’s been a long time since we’ve heard anything from Daniel Powter of Bad Day fame. But having emerged from rehab successfully, he’s feeling rejuvenated and ready to wow us once more with easy-going, melodic pop. Cupid is an excellent starting point… an ode to love (break-ups, make-ups and all) that is built around razor-sharp melodies, catchy, hand-clap choruses and repeatable, sing-along lyrics. It’s breezy, summery, insanely toe-tapping and – above all – fun. The single comes out on the same day as Powter’s album, Turn On The Lights.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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BLOC PARTY – OCTOPUS: It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Bloc Party (2008 rings a bell) but they’re back to dispel fears they were about to disband or return minus enigmatic frontman Kele Okereke. But are they firing on all cylinders? Octopus is a backward looking offering that recalls some of their earlier material. It’s built around some zippy, fizzing guitar licks, the odd electronic (and a moment that sounds as though it has been lifted straight out of Daft Punk’s copybook) and those distinct vocals from Kele. It’s fast, furious and pretty lively… but anyone expecting a comeback to really put them back on the map had better think again (at least on the evidence of this first offering).
Rating: 3 out of 5
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ELTON JOHN VS PNAU – SAD: Australian dance duo Pnau together with Elton John have decided to drop their new single, Sad on the same day as their debut album, Good Morning To The Night. The song includes elements from a number of Eltopn John original sound recordings, including Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, Crazy Water and Curtains. It’s a pleasing mix with slick disco beats converging on those original Elton elements to satisfying, dance-floor leaning effect. The mixing of elements isn’t overdone either, with Pnau’s reverential take bringing out the best of both their own sensibilities and Sir Elton’s. If anything, it re-invigorates some of those older songs, while offering broad appeal to a new listener base, particularly those who get their kicks from the likes of Scissor Sisters.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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FOLKS – SKULL & BONES: Having spent the start of 2012 putting the final touches to their debut album, I See Cathedrals, Folks release their new single Skull & Bones and immediately look to get some momentum going. The song has a driving, hot rocking kind of vibe attached to it that carries more than a little Queens of the Stone Age vibe about it. But that’s not the complete story… for while this lead single is delivered with vigour and ought to get them noticed, the album itself bids to transcend their influences to produce their own distinctive vision of classic song writing with just a trace of psychedelia, nodding to the Beatles here and The Beach Boys there, but modern, made new. The Manchester-based outfit toured with Miles Kane and played with Noel Gallagher at the end of last year as well as several headlining dates and have just returned from tour supporting The View.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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BORN BLONDE – I JUST WANNA BE: London 5-piece Born Blonde release their new single I Just Wanna Be, which is being hailed as an absorbing space-rock anthem, where shimmering soundscapes meet disorientating histrionics. Both catchy and with lyrical depth, the track features the band’s trademark sub-bass organ pedals, taking in their rich influences of ‘60s psychedelia, late ‘80s and early ‘90s shoegaze, channelled through a progressive 21st Century outlook. It’s perhaps a little too shoegaze for making a complete crossover into the mainstream territory but it can be quite effective and satisfying if you’re in the right mood, and comes backed with an equally engaging B-side in Dreamland, which is suitably, well, dreamy and mellow. What is really striking, however, is the video, which was directed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch and Born Blonde’s bassist Josh Lloyd-Waston and shows an astronaut wandering the streets of London. It gets our pick for video of the week.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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JOIA – MATCH LIGHT EP: Anyone who gets their musical kicks from the likes of Paramore and Evanesence had best check out the debut EP from Joia given they specialise in the same kind of Goth-tinged power rock that helped make a name for those bands. Joia are a female-fronted five-piece alternative pop-rock outfit who hail from Essex, Hampshire and Surrey via Athens. They formed in early 2011 when vocalist Athina Andrelos met guitarist Martin Dukelow on the London scene, through mutual friends and at gigs, instantly bonding over their favourite bands and love of music. From there, writing began in each others’ garages and bedrooms, at which point Martin’s brother, Bill, and friend Tommy Williams got involved. Now, they release Match Light, the lead track from which sounds like it ought to belong on the new Twilight soundtrack given its mix of bittersweet Goth-pop elements. Admittedly, the band’s self-confessed love for acts such as Coldplay is more evident on Enough of You, especially in the guitar work and the stadium-filling chorus, while there’s an acoustic comedown offering on the moody Let Down. But Athina’s vocals still continue to lean towards those Paramore comparisons. Final track Our Time is a power-pop rocker that, again, displays the band’s stadium-filling aspirations. It’s promising more than essential.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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SLUGABED – MOUNTAINS COME OUT OF THE SKY: I still can’t make my mind up about Slugabed. Nonetheless, he latest single to come from Greg Feldwick’s album, Time Team, is this offering, Mountains Come Out Of The Sky, which is said to offer a multi-coloured, outlandish example of Slugabed’s modus operandii. Built around a vocal sample from unfashionable prog-rockers Yes, Feldwick then constructs skittering, off-centre beats and robot-soul keyboard lines into a lop-sided, gradually growing dance offering, that leans towards a futuristic sound. But perhaps it’s the lop-sided, off-kilter element that doesn’t quite work for me. The beats are slick and finger-tappingly good but the electronics don’t quite pull it off in as compelling a fashion. It’s not bad… but there’s just something missing that I continue to fail to put my finger on. That said, The Two People remix is definitely worth getting a hold of as it adds a little extra zest and melody that really helps it become an infectious hit. The package is rounded out by Slugabed’s I Dreamt I Could Skateboard Really Well, which again lays on the combination of slick beats and woozy electronics, albeit to slightly more appealing effect.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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JOHN WEAN – NEW YORK DOESN’T LOVE YOU: Glasgow-based John Wean drop their boisterous new single in the form of New York Doesn’t Love You, a catchy, hook-laden slice of indie-rock that has a kind of crash, bang, wallop appeal. The song was mixed by Grammy® winner Tom Lord-Alge and is based on a pretty damn modern true story… ‘Boy sees girl from afar, boy stalks girl on Facebook, realises she’s got a boyfriend already but, undaunted, moves his stalking over to another platform and is confronted by the Twitter name that inspired the single New York Doesn’t Love You’. Taking this as the signal to stop, boy logs off rapidly and writes a slamming guitar-pop track instead! It’s witty, catchy and a throw-away feel-good indie-rock anthem in waiting that should offer broad appeal, as well as lovers of acts like Idlewild (their early stuff).
Rating: 3 out of 5
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THE STOWAWAYS – TIME FOR CHANGE: The latest offering from The Stowaways claims to take its influences from the likes of Friendly Fires, Phil Collins, The Police and Bombay Bicycle Club. But while there are traces of some of those artists in new single Time For Change, there’s also something inferior. The track combines an electronic backdrop to some indie influences, tosses in some euphoric falsetto vocals mixed with some more soulful, gritty ones, and a set of lyrics that yearn for change. But while it’s slick, toe-tappingly catchy and even sing-along inviting at times, it perhaps needed something a little extra to really stand out from the masses. Produced by Adam Locker (of Kaiser Chiefs, Crystal Fighters fame), it’s an OK listen that never quite manages to genuinely catch fire.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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BLAKMAGIKSOCIETY – OUR TIME (KEEP IT HEAVY): BlakMagikSociety, aka BMS, release their debut double A-side single Our Time (Keep It Heavy) and K.T.R (Kill the Rich) on W.A.R Records and duly impress with the former. Billed as ‘Scotch on the rocks meets Spaghetti Western’ cinema sounds, this hits you with a breezy guitar loop, some bongo-based beats and a lived in set of vocals from the outset, boasting the sort of early Rolling Stones vibe mixed with psychedelic, cinematic leanings that are guaranteed to get it noticed. Once the beats crash in, too, this really gets those toes tapping and your head nodding along in giddy appreciation. It’s a riot of energy that offers a fun little insight into what else this particular band have to offer. I especially dug the spaghetti western sound, which works surprisingly well against the lively beats. Tarantino, are you listening?
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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JUPE JUPE – HEADLONG TO GROUND: Mix analog synths, indie glam guitars, beats and you have Jupe Jupe. Headlong To The Ground, the band’s latest single, is inspired by years listening to pop music and paying attention to pop culture and is a breezy offering driven by those guitars, synths, the odd twinkling piano and a melody-strewn chorus. My Young’s vocals, however, add an earthy quality that sound a bit like Damon Albarn’s at times, and Lloyd Cole’s at others. It’s an OK listen… a sort of disposable pop brew that’s amiable enough but quickly forgotten. Bonus track Piranha is much weirder, though… kick-started by ‘80s leaning synths and a disorientating vocal, it’s trippy and none too convincing. Imagine Duran Duran’s The Chauffeur, only more disturbed and less likeable.
Rating: 3 out of 5
DAMN VANDALS – REVOLUTION/REHEARSAL: The deep and powerful distinctive vocals of Jack Kansas have drawn comparisons with David Bowie, Mark Lanegan, Jim Morrison and Matt Berninger of The National. The Morrison/Lanegan one is particularly evident on new single, Revolution/Rehearsal, an old-school, earthy rocker that adheres strictly to classic song-writing techniques. The only problem with a voice as gravelly and distinct as Kansas’ is that it may well be polarising. And while the melodies are tight instrumentally and the song has that lived in vibe associated with a lot of classic rock acts, it’s missing something to really make it great. Sex It Narcissus, the B-side, works better… the gutsy guitars working better in tandem with those distinct Kansas vocals for a song that’s dripping in hedonistic values.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Heard a great single, but yet to buy it? Well, we may have reviewed it. Previous reviews:
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