Good afternoon all. Well, as the festive holidays drift into history, we can at least be thankful that people have started releasing half decent records again.
Up for dissection this week are new releases from Adele, Badly Drawn Boy, Chapel Club, The Joy Formidable, Joan As Police Woman and Everything Everything.
Adele – Rolling In The Deep
Everyone loves Adele, don’t they? (we certainly do, read our interview with her HERE). Though still a frighteningly youthful 21, she is back with album number two and lead single ‘Rolling In The Deep’. You might’ve already heard the cracking Jamie XX remix and in its original form, it’s still a future classic. That opening melody and foot stomping rhythm, along with Adele’s vocal, is sheer class.
Badly Drawn Boy – I Saw You Walk Away
Another (slightly scruffier) national treasure is Damon Gough, a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy. Though his profile has dipped with recent releases, the quality hasn’t with ‘I Saw You Walk Away’ a lush, orchestral sweep that whips along dragging Gough’s plaintive vocal. Always worth your time, Gough rewards the faithful as always.
Chapel Club – Surfacing
Chapel Club follow 6Music favourite ‘All The Eastern Girls’ with the less urgent, but no less majestic, third single ‘Surfacing’. Doing that kind of ‘Maccabees good’ indie, the London band provide more evidence to make their forthcoming debut long-player an event to look forward to.
The Joy Formidable – Austere
Kicking off as pop-savvy indie, ‘Austere’ delivers a sucker punch just over a minute in making things a lot more interesting. Keeping the pedal to the metal for the remainder of the song, its soft focus thrashing quickly proves addictive.
Joan As Police Woman – The Magic
There’s something Eels-like about ‘The Magic’, its low-key strut oozing out of the speakers, clearly confident of itself. Certainly Joan has the pedigree to allow the track to lodge itself in your cranium without being overly dramatic in her delivery inspiring a similar easy confidence in the listener.
Everything Everything – Photoshop Handsome
A welcome re-release for Everything Everything’s ‘Photoshop Handsome’ with their patented ‘sing quite low then sing really high’ style. Alongside their skewed lyrical subject matter, they’re a We Might Be Giants for the Twenty First Century. Which is a good thing obviously.
