Singles Round Up – April 2nd

The week's releases rated and slated...

April fool’s eh?

THAT WERE A LARF. Whoopie cushions on the couch, pins on the seat and explosive fuses placed in nearby cigarettes.

Shame it only lasts until 12…

Trudging into work today, I could have done with the ability to place a bucket above the front door free in the knowledge that I wouldn’t be sacked. Good job I’m on the singles duty then, to play a few pranks on new groups the length and breadth of our United Kingdom…

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Single of the Week

Big Deal – Talk
An American boy and an English girl. Big Deal’s debut album ‘Lights Out’ was a fantastic display of measured menace, matching growling, rumbling guitar lines to some pleading, cooing vocals. ‘Talk’ is a good example of what we’re on about. At it’s heart a pop song, the track’s black, bruised core eventually comes oozing to the surface.

Distortion and melody laying into each other like a dysfunctional couple in the post-pub hours, ‘Talk’ ultimately sits static, unresolved.

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And the rest…

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Tapes & Money
Dressing like a prehistoric lizard and jamming with Greco-Roman, T-E-E-D has always had a unique approach to making electronic music. The Oxford producer has a real pop heart, making his Polydor debut ‘Tapes & Money’ easy to understand.

Filthy, deranged music the way pop should be made, ‘Tapes & Money’ should start the beginning of T-E-E-D’s intersection with the mainstream. Does that mean we’ll all be dressed like dinosaurs in 18 months time? Dunno.

The Futureheads – Number One Song In Heaven
First things first: I have no objections against The Futureheads. The Mackem lads have made some terrific indie disco stompers, and – on paper at least – an a capella project is the sort of curveball the band should throw more often.

But this… ‘Number One Song In Heaven’ is one of my favourite songs, a truly transcendent piece of music that sits without flaw. It’s amazing. And totally unsuited to knockabout irony laden vocal work outs. EPIC FAIL.

The Do – The Wicked And The Blind
Funny how some scenes get linked to nationalities. The Do sound for all the world like an ice cold, Scandinavian collective… but they’re French. Moody Gallic pop, ‘The Wicked And The Blind’ is buoyed by an edgy guitar riff that seems to drag against the beat. Beguiling, be-witching stuff.

Tribes – Corner Of An English Field
So Viva Brother are dead. A band who wangled a major label deal within a few months of their first rehearsal, the four piece seemed to highlight everything which is wrong with British guitar music right now. Massively hyped, cruelly ditched their sad fate – splitting on April Fool’s no less – is a warning to all of us. But especially Tribes. Watch your back, friends, watch your back…

Guided By Voices – Keep It In Motion
One of life’s real pleasures, here’s another cut from Guided By Voices. They’re immense and
‘Keep It In Motion’ is a typically fantastic piece of raggedy ass indie rock with Robert Pollard’s pop genius to the fore.

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