Clash Reviews The Singles (Of July 28)

Lykke Li falls over in a car park...

Quite often some marvellous musician type fills in here. But, today, you’re stuck with me. Sorry.

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Lykke Li – ‘Gunshot’

“I am longing for your poison / Like a cancer for its prey.” ‘Gunshot’ isn’t a song for the smiley, happy people in pop, but in its chorus Lykke Li at least lets a little light shine in. It’s essential – in another’s less-able hands, this would be a song so bleak it’d block out the most tropical sun. Quite the strange sync for a car ad

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Klangkarussell – ‘Netzwerk (Falls Like Rain)’

A small hit on the continent, this is the sort of Euro dance that stops some way short of Full Calvin, but nevertheless wouldn’t sound half so appealing released in the middle of winter. Video isn’t recommended for sufferers of acrophobia.

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Sivu– ‘Miracle’

Guitars and strings and vocals that are all like, “uh, girl, I like you but you’re just not interested”. It’s a miracle that this kind of identikit emoting ever escaped the late 1990s. Coldplay fans rightly offended by ‘A Sky Full Of Stars’ will lap this up like watered-down milk from the plainest saucer available in John Lewis.

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Vic Mensa – ‘Down On My Luck’

Nailed at the first attempt, Vic. Underground rapper writes chart-savvy single, succeeds at making cynical critic dance around his living room. Sure enough it’s a close cousin of a ‘Disclosure feat.’ type of track, but they’re okay, right? Get down-able.

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Russian Red – ‘John Michael’

“Big in Spain” rarely leads a raid on the UK charts. But it’s easy to imagine Lourdes Hernández piquing Radio 2 attentions with this mid-tempo, mid- ’80s, middle of the road-ness. Someone wake the drummer up for lunch.

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Conor Oberst – ‘Zigzagging Toward The Light’

The chap behind Bright Eyes is a talented guy. I’ve a bunch of his records, and I read, a lot, that he’s super acclaimed. Ask me to sing you one of his songs from memory, though? Nope, nothing. This new one is like how I think I remember Bright Eyes being, but, again, I couldn’t say for sure. He’s just a bit plain compared to someone like Elliott Smith, no? Alive, mind you, which is probably a good thing. Gives him time to work on these dire lyrics.

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Next time: someone who isn’t me does this.

Related: more singles columns

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