South London Ordnance Reviews The Singles

Underground producer delivers his verdict on the tracks that matter...

There's much more to South London Ordnance than meets the eye.

A producer who refuses to be pigeon-holed, his rolling beats and lurid synths draw from a pan-European view of 80s electronic music.

In love with underground dance culture, the beat maker also has a fluid pop touch that has seen him collaborate with some unlikely talents.

New EP 'Use Of Weapons' is out now, so Clash invited South London Ordnance to look over the latest releases.

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St. Paul & The Broken Bones – 'All I Ever Wonder'

This is sort of Soul, without the soul isn't it? And they're all white! Very weird – thought I was listening to Gnarls Barkley for a second! Leaves me totally cold this kind of rubbish – all feels a bit cynical & engineered. I kept waiting for the energy, but I don't think it's there, is it? It's amiable musicality and mildly offensive appropriation will of course result in a billion Spotify streams, though, and I'm sure someone will make a quick buck here – do they still do Beach Break Live? Support slot in the bag for these guys, no doubt.

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Year & Years – 'Worship'

Yeah, the lead singer of this band is oft highlighted round the internet for bringing greater visibility in the mainstream pop world to the LGBT community – which is an automatic positive. Unfortunately the music makes me feel a bit ill – I know I'm not the market, but I get rising bile with those plastic Future R&B (or something) drums and overly saccharine boy-band vocals – it actually reminds me a bit of Justin Timberlake when he did that first solo album, just without the visionary production from The Neptunes, Timberland et al. Managed the first couple of bars but it's a no from me.

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The Beach – 'Geronimo'

I'm not a religious guy, but fake vinyl crackle on anything not actual recorded from, you know – vinyl, is as close as it comes to heresy for me. This is the kind of thing fey east London songwriters in pointy shoes and Urban Outfitters "vintage" T shirts curl out on the regular and it does not excite me. I can see Majors going wild for it, though, as they imagine the sync with the finale of this months derivative boy meets girl Netflix drama – it's got the loud > quiet > loud formula down to a perverse kind of anti-art, and with that rousing chorus and the Power Words lyric. Is this what Mumford & Sons sound like? Music for the in-house playlist at H&M in Surrey.

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Eliot Sumner – 'Information'

I'm a big fan of Eliot, and we've been working on a lot of music on and off this year. It helps that I know her as totally unhinged & incredibly good fun, but also a genuine artist who cares about her craft, things which are oft found wanting in this sphere these days. Nods here to all the people I love – Depeche Mode, New Order et al. Lyrically it's great – rousing, emotive stuff that I know means a lot to her. I know she took a gamble going down this route, but I think it's paying dividends – as it always does if you go out and do your own thing with honesty. Looking forward to hearing new stuff from her & the band.

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Say Lou Lou – 'Stayin’ Alive'

Do like these two a lot, and enjoyed all their previous stuff. Love the whole vibe they have, and I can definitely deal with their brand of dreamy post-Pop from time to time. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of the original here – not my vibe at all, but it makes a lot of sense for them and I do like what they've done with it. Production is actually pretty cool – enjoying those noisy drums a lot, definitely an antidote for that tepid Years & Years track you made me listen to. Looking forward to seeing what they come up with after the summer.

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'Use Of Weapons' is out now.

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