Oh look, it’s raining again…
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Single of the Week
Esser – ‘Headlock’
Last year’s electro anthem gets a re-issue. A song about being stuck knee deep in foul smelling shit, ‘Headlock’ erupted back when the term ‘credit crunch’ was something that lingered towards the end of Newsnight – the economic equivalent of firemen retrieving cats from trees. Now that the banks have saddled us all with a serious dose of OPP, ‘Headlock’ returns to charm away those fiscal fears. Still as fresh and vibrant as ever, this single will surely launch Esser headlong towards the pop stardom he craves, and so clearly deserves.
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Also out today…
Peaches – ‘Talk To Me’
Hornier than a zoo full of rhinos, Peaches returns with yet more electro-pop drenched in assorted body fluids. A ranting and raving track, Peaches injects ‘Talk To Me’ with her usual soul and attitude, but the single lacks the sense of adventure and humour that made ‘Fuck The Pain Away’ so compelling. Two dimensional and slightly directionless, ‘Talk To Me’ ironically finds Peaches with very little to say.
The Maccabees – ‘Love You Better’
How The Maccabees escaped chart-splitting success with debut album ‘Colour It In’ heaven alone knows. Perhaps, given time, the public will catch up to their whimsical pop. ‘Love You Better’ is a grandiose ballad, but a strange choice of comeback single given its resemblance to Elton John gone prog. Chirping vocals aside, this is all a bit forgettable.
King Creosote – ‘Coast On By’
The far-reaching influence of Fife’s Fence Collective is, by now, astonishing. With alumni including KT Tunstall, James Yorkston and many more, King Creosote couldn’t have anticipated the DIY folk revolution he has inspired. Now signed to Domino the Fence head honcho is set to step back into the limelight with this new single, a breezy blast of synth-pop that finds the troubadour digging out his spandex for a serious ‘80s kick.
Morrissey – ‘Something Is Squeezing My Skull’
By now, it should be clear to everyone that Morrissey is only capable of writing two types of songs: enraged rants against his perceived enemies, and elegiac laments for days of yore. His new release is in the first category, and while it’s a fairly brisk rockabilly run-around, you can’t shake the feeling that we’ve heard all this before.
Turbowolf – ‘Read And Write’
Crawling outwards from the Midlands come Turbowolf, possessing the best band name we’ve heard since Holy Fuck. ‘Read And Write’ is a delirious, demented slice of rawk that never fails to laugh at its own absurdities. Stands about as much chance of denting the charts as Lewis Hamilton has of passing a lie detector test, but that won’t faze Turbowolf who are no doubt laughing at us all from their rock lair, hidden deep in the bowels of Wolverhampton.
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Esser photographed by Hedi Slimane
