A diverse bunch of new releases assessed in the week’s Singles Round Up that sees Ninja Tune’s Jaga Jazzist take the Single of the Week title with ‘One Arm Bandit’.
Also popping their heads above the parapet in the ClashMusic carnival style duck shoot are Jamie T, The High Wire, North Atlantic Oscillation, L-Vis 1990, The Heavy and KU BO’s remixes E.P.
Jaga Jazzist – One Armed Bandit
More like a 10 two armed Norweigan space orchestra. Jaga Jazzist return to our realm with their epic journeys into sound. One Armed Bandit bends time. Launching from Oslo, a European city most concerned with abstract space travel this 10 piece collective know how to cacophanise in a jazz style. Vibraphones, assorted brass clarinet and even a tuba get worked into a solar adventure that over 7 minutes dips, soars and plunders. Its easy to draw comparisons with label mates Cinematic Orchestra but this is deeper and more lively.
The High Wire – Odds and Evens
[You can listen to ‘Odds And Evens’ on Last.fm HERE]
Snooze-Gaze anyone? The High Wire are confusing people. It seems critics don’t know whether to laud them or laugh at them. Or in fact catagorise them as Yanks or Limeys. For the record Clash are impressed by these Brit rockers and their infectious yet scuzzy chorus’s. Blistering with sunshine they sound warmly inviting and they’ll win many a new fan with Odds and Evens for it’s a memorable belter that takes a running two footed jump into pop immortality.
North Atlantic Oscillation – Ceiling Poem
Scotland’s cadavers of the underground are just on the point of breaking and this EP can only help their cause. Rubbing huge distorted rock explosions with the kind of subtle nuance we expect of Wild Beasts or loved from the Beta Band their passage to the next level is assured. Some journos have been frivolously throwing around accusations that they are ‘Scotland’s Animal Collective’ which seems a heavy albatross to strum with but their mix of electronics and an indie aesthetic is as refreshing as we can find.
L-Vis 1990 – Compass
UK Funky has wings. It has run the gauntlet of snipers long enough to actually earn its spot in the sun. For a while anyway. Scene exponent James Connolly here deploys a bit of chunky 8-bit rave that’s sufficiently far away from the searing white hot face of a new genre to be listened to at your lunch hour and not have to run around madly telling your mates. ‘Compass’ sounds like an army base dancing transformer style whilst Greena mix opts for bigger drops and a carnival vocal that takes things nicely tropical.
The Heavy – In No Time
Bath’s beasts with beats, The Heavy go lite for their new single. But ‘In Time’ sounds a bit late. Sincere and over thought acoustic musings display a softer side to a band who promote themselves as ‘filthy’ but it never comes close to the mustard pot as their desire to write ‘proper’ songs get a bit lost compared to their incisive and more aggressive back catalogue. Not heavy in any way really.
Various – Ku Bo Remixes E.P.
[You can hear the original track HERE]
This label rocks and as policy nearly all of its output gets played out Clash style. Man Recordings is an exotic label that brokered Baile funk to western DJs with a penchant for dirty basslines. And the favela chic is dripping from this bitch. Searing and squeaky in all the right bits this EP has five different songs remixed by five different dudes. It’s the sound of a street carnival on acid which on paper sounds like the best occurrence in ages. Check up Tsu Bo if you want next level raved up dubstep. Worryingly boisterous.
Jamie T – The Man’s Machine
Our favourite slack jawed musical muse opens up his heart once more to reveal how ‘concrete and gravel are the only things that keep us together’ -which may be true to several urban locales in the UK but clearly not everywhere. Soz Jamie. But his chorus however is rousing and his video is equally engaging where we see Jamie joyriding in a golf buggie which is chopped into old footage of water skiing elephants. Slightly lacking focus Jamie, but when we are drunk you sound great. Which is almost the point.
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Words by Matthew Bennett
