Music - Singles of the week - Monday, April 9, 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 1: BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB – HOW CAN YOU SWALLOW SO MUCH SLEEP: Bombay Bicycle Club release one of the out and out highlights from their excellent current album A Different Kind of Fix in the form of How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep. The fourth track to be taken from the album (their third), it’s a slow-building song of immense beauty that combines steeped vocal loops and breathy samples with a sublime central guitar riff and a strong bass. If anything, there’s a vaguely ethereal element to it that recalls both Sigur Ros and Death Cab For Cutie (for this listener at least!) but it hooks you in from the very first listen and is utterly captivating and entirely infectious. It could even be the best release from the album yet! The video, too, is a beautiful animation created by Anna Ginsburg – which has taken six months to create – and is made even more personal by the fact that she also went to school with the band.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Watch the video:
SINGLE OF THE WEEK 2: REGINA SPEKTOR – ALL THE ROWBOATS: Regina Spektor drops All The Rowboats as a download single as an early taster from her forthcoming album, What We Saw From The Cheapseats – and it’s a confident, likeable return. The new LP marks the first new material from Spektor since 2009’s far and was recorded mostly live over an eight week period, with Spektor playing piano as well as delivering the vocals. All The Rowboats actually opens with an electronic surge before dropping some insistent beats and moody piano chords to concoct quite a heady brew. Spektor’s vocals retain the husky, almost whispered sweetness more commonly associated with her but the more insistent, robust percussion is terrific and instantly helps the track to stand out. A bonus track, Don’t Leave Me (ne me quitte pas), employs more easy-going melodies but has a breeziness about it that perfectly compliments the lead offering. Put together, it’s an essential digital purchase.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
LANA DEL REY – BLUE JEANS: “We don’t need no money, we can make it all work” sings Lana Del Rey over her latest single, Blue Jeans, over another beguiling offering that should continue to enhance (or rebuild) her reputation. Making maximum use of her pronounced, vaguely haunted vocal style, this also builds using hazy guitar strums and low-key strings to deliver something that’s brooding, yet mesmerising. When Lana sings “I’m going to love you until the end of time”, you might just believe the sentiment applies to every single one of us. It’s another track that confirms the hype has been justified surrounding this artist.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Watch the video:
TOM WILLIAMS & THE BOAT – TEENAGE BLOOD: Tom Williams and The Boat release the second single Teenage Blood (and also the title track) from their forthcoming album and continue to impress. A big country rock stomper of a track, the song reportedly sets the tone for the new album from the get-go and features lilting harmonies and an instantly rousing chorus. With a nod to cult heroes including Nick Cave, Tom Petty, Leonard Cohen to Teenage Fan Club, the song is crafted with the hallmarks that Tom Williams’ fans have come know lyrically; his poetic sharp wit and heart-felt tales of love lost. The title track dwells on the ‘sense of genetic inevitability’, of a broken relationship and its effects on the human psyche – but doesn’t sound downbeat or melancholy in any way. If anything, it’s brooding in an intense but vibrant kind of way, the combo of percussion, guitar and fiddle adding up to a likeable whole. Bonus track Flatout Surviving is a great acoustic back-up that heightens the goodwill you’ll feel towards this particular outfit even more.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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SKINNY LISTER – PLOUGH & ORION/IF THE GAFF DON’T LET US DOWN: Having been dubbed ‘the hardest working band of 2011’ Skinny Lister now bid to maintain that momentum with the double-A sided release of Plough & Orion and If The Gaff Don’t Let Us Down. And they hit the ground running. The former track is an utterly charming slice of pop infused folk that’s tender, breezy and makes brilliant use of its boy-girl vocals. The latter, in contrast, is ‘a rip-roaring folk marauder’ that begins somewhat deceptively, with a low-key intro before hitting you with a foot-stomping beat and some ramshackle guitars and vocals. It’s the sort of track you can imagine getting carried away with (ie dancing in madcap fashion) at a good old Friday night craic. Put together, the two songs make for a hugely entertaining package.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Watch the video:
THE GHOSTS – GHOSTS: One week ahead of their album, The Ghosts release the taster single Ghosts, one of its highlights. Featuring a slick mix of pulsating synths and ethereal vocals, this track is imbued with a suitably haunting quality that’s born out of life’s uncertainty and the band’s own personal experiences. It’s thoughtful yet upbeat enough to keep your feet tapping along. And it comes with a variety of remixes from the likes of Seamus Haji (who introduces an even harder synth sound along with some propulsive beats), Millions Like Us (who adds a pile-driving guitar riff that really works, before losing the plot slightly amid industrial leaning synth arrangements) and Ad Brown (who attempts to come over all Ibiza, unsuccessfully). Formed in 2010, The Ghosts were formed when Alex Starling (formerly of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool) was introduced to drummer Ian Palmer by mutual friend Jon Brookes, of The Charlatans.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY – PUPPETS: Puppets is the second release from Man Without Country and comes with their re-imagining of Björk’s All Is Full of Love as well as remixes by Big Black Delta, Error Operator and an alternative version by the band themselves. The Cardiff duo of Tomas Greenhalf and Ryan James specialise in an atmospheric, sometimes uneasy sonic palette – their forte, a dark yet uplifting paradox. Glacial guitar ripples are spliced with an eerie synth pulse, yet have the ability to morph into an anthem when you least expect it. On Puppets, they mix ghostly vocals with throbbing electronics and rapid beats that build towards a headrush chorus. It’s impressive stuff that lays down a sizeable marker for their album, Foe when it’s released on June 4. Of the remixes, an ethereal take from Big Black Delta is easily the best, stripping away the energy and replacing it with something nocturnal and dream-like. Error Operator’s remix is even more out there but not quite as effective, although you can hear that one below.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Watch the video for Puppets:
Listen to the Error Operator remix:
AMANDA MAIR – SENSE: Seventeen-year-old wunderkind Amanda Mair made her entrance last year with Doubt – an impressive debut that had UK and US tastemakers entranced. New single Sense has already seen Mair picking up more plaudits Mair ahead of the release of her eponymous debut album in the UK on June 11. And you can instantly hear why. It’s a breezy slice of pop, coated with easygoing harmonies (a ‘la la la’ here, a ‘da da da’ there), an infectiously hummable chorus and a feel-good quality that belies the uncertainty contained within the lyrics. Mair first came to the attention of Swedish label Ladrador (Radio Dept., Sambassadeur, Acid House Kings) at the age of 15. She had no track record, no bandcamp or Myspace and hadn’t played any live shows, but she has recorded some songs wtih a Labrador associate who – blissed out – passed them on to the label. Since then, there’s been no stopping her.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Watch the video:
SLUGABED – SEX: Mr S Lugabed, of Slugabed Enterprises Plc, claims that his track SEX provides the perfect soundtrack to your nights of digital pleasure seeking. The track combines the artist’s love of funk, prog, odd-house and computers to deliver something reportedly late night and sensual. Alas, the washed out synth sound underpinning the track, and softcore beats, failed to generate much excitement of any kind in this listener. The instrumental is quite ordinary, in fact… background music at best. While the bonus offering, Molecules, which lays claim to breaking Steve Winwood down into his constituent parts, is similarly forgettable. Admittedly, things get better on the remix front, where Daedelus weaves some magic and gives SEX some extra zip. But in the main, this is extremely disappointing or, should we say, anti-climactic.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Heard a great single, but yet to buy it? Well, we may have reviewed it. Previous reviews:
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