Music - Singles of the week - Monday, January 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…
EP OF THE WEEK: ANOMIE BELLE – MACHINE: Anomie Belle just went from strength to strength! Having impressed with her album last year, The Crush, she now drops a new EP, Machine, which contains stunning new track Slither as well as album fave Machine (featuring Sneaker Pimps’ Mr Lif) as well as remixes of Electric Lullaby, Bodies Offering and Machine. Having enthused about Belle’s distinct, occasionally Bjork-like vocals on the LP (which are really evident during the Electric Lullaby remix), she now comes over impossibly sultry and utterly irresistible on Slither. Set against a hypnotic neon back-beat, and exploring dark themes of greed, it has a late-night, darkly seductive quality that makes you want to keep listening. The song was co-written with Ian Pickering of the Sneaker Pimps. And Anomie says of it: “I was in Europe for a festival and decided to stop through London to visit Ian on my way home. We shut ourselves in a smoky little room for four days and just wrote music together. Ian and I connected musically right away. I love the darkness in Ian’s lyrics… they strike an intriguing balance with his genuine and compassionate demeanor as a person.”
Rating: 4 out of 5
Watch the video for Machine
SINGLE OF THE WEEK 1: FLORENCE & THE MACHINE – NO LIGHT NO LIGHT: One artist you can pretty much guarantee will maintain her own high standards is Florence + The Machine. Often imitated yet unshakeable in her ability to continually impress in a way that Lady Gaga hasn’t quite managed, her new single No Light No Light is a typically anthemic offering that seems ripe for pick-up on some film or TV soundtrack soon. The production values are typically epic, the vocals deep and assured (as heartfelt as they are expansive) and the lyrics as provocative as ever (“you can choose what stays and what fades away, and I’d do anything to make you stay”). The thumping back beats and chiming percussion values also excel at putting you into the type of headspace that Florence excels at doing. This is earth-shatteringly powerful and stunningly good, as ever. The video is equally striking (and it’s below).
Rating: 4 out of 5
Watch the video:
THE TING TINGS – HANG IT UP: The Ting Tings return in their own inimitable way with new single Hang It Up… that is to say, forceful vocals, striking guitar riffs and a strange sense of alt-pop catchiness. This one kicks off with some slick guitar riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on either a Red Hot Chili Peppers record or a White Stripes vinyl, before Katie White’s no-nonsense vocals hit you with layers of attitude-laden lyrics (“you can hang it up, you can hang it up, this time baby you can hang it up”). Admittedly, there doesn’t seem to be that much of a change in formula but the kick-ass style, anthem-like chorus and rousing guitar work makes it a heady listen that you can’t help but feel invigorated by having been a part of.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Watch the video:
SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA VS KNIFE PARTY – ANTIDOTE: Swirling, menacing synths, chopped up, and with an Ibiza slant… that’s what you can expect from the new offering from Swedish House Mafia, this time pitting their wits against Knife Party for a big dance anthem called Antidote. And coining the phrase of the title itself, the ensuing mash-up is a perfect cure of insomnia given its loud, brash, in-your-face tendencies. If you’re an Ibiza dance fan, then this is for you. If not, then steer well clear as its unrelenting energy, pounding synth stabs and warped waves of sound are likely to leave the more meek among you feeling violated.
Rating: 3 out of 5
THE GHOSTS – ENOUGH TIME: Enough Time is the debut offering from synth-pop collective The Ghosts. Wavering between melancholy and romanticism, this emerges like a swish cross between MGMT, The Scissor Sisters and falsetto voiced Charlatans, complete with disco-pop synth propulsion to keep it moving. It’s not a bad mix and the omens are good for the future. But while certainly catchy we’re also keeping our excitement checked for the moment, particularly as the Vanguard remixes make a complete pig’s ear of the ensuing bonus tracks. The Ghosts marks the new project from Ou Est Le Swimming Pool’s Alex Starling with drummer Ian Palmer. The remainder of the quintet is made up of guitarist Dan Whiffin and keyboardists Rayna Ferner and Alex Sharman. It comes as little surprise to hear they’re partly inspired by the likes of both the aforementioned MGMT and Empire of the Sun.
Rating: 3 out of 5
THE BIG PINK – HIT THE GROUND (SUPERMAN): The Big Pink return with an anthemic slice of alt-rock pop in the form of Hit The Ground (Superman). If anything, vocally this is extremely reminiscent of The Shins with a little grittier edge to be found in the menacing synths, guitars and drums that provide the instrumental backdrop. That said, there’s an appealing quality to it that comes to its head during the anthemic chorus, which is made for singing along to, arms in the air, while pretending you’re wearing a cape. Well, maybe not… but it has something inherently catchy about it that gleefully hooks you in while eschewing throwaway pop values. And it’s the type of tracks that just seems to get better with every listen.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Watch the video:
THE RIFLES – SWEETEST THING: If melodic guitar rock is your thing, then you might want to check out the latest single from The Rifles, entitled The Sweetest Thing. Built around some breezy guitar riffs and an upbeat sense of euphoria lyrically, it’s a summer anthem in waiting that should serve the band well over the approaching festival season, whilst also providing possible bedding for loads of Olympics-themed montages of success. Vocally, it’s also well delivered, while the slightly hazy chorus has an indie quality that lends it extra edge. It’s hard not to feel in a better mood once you’ve heard it. The track is taken from the band’s third full length album, Freedom Run.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Watch the video:
EVANESCENCE – MY HEART IS BROKEN: No prizes for guessing what this one’s about… or even how it’s delivered. Evanescence have a formula for success and they’re rigidly sticking do it! Here, we have an ethereal lone vocal to kick things off, a slight tinkling of a melancholy piano to set the tone, and then some powerfully chugging guitar riffs and thumping drums to provide an epic backdrop to the heartbroken sentiments that follow. It’s designed to be atmospheric, even cinematic, with the aforementioned piano occasionally dropping in to break up the guitars, but it’s also pretty generic material from Evanescence who don’t really seem to show any sign of progressing or broadening out their sound.
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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