New Releases - 15 June

New Releases - 15 June

10 June, 2009
by: Music Team

*Single of the Week*
Paloma Faith – Stone Cold Sober
Epic Records

Imagine trying to keep up with Paloma Faith on a night out. Where a boozed-up Winehouse would probably just be slumped in the corner encircled in smoke and misery, Faith – Stone Cold Sober mark ye carefully – is a high-kicking whirlwind of sass.

This debut single is Shirley Bassey's rendition of 'Hey Big Spender' combined with Bon Jovi's 'Wanted Dead or Alive' plus a dash of Moulin Rouge corsetry and Aguilera impropriety. It's ballsy, brassy and dead catchy – almost certain to be massive, and rightly so. 4.5/5
TJ


Jarvis Cocker – Angela
Self Released

Simple and effective, it's amazing what a killer riff and a Beatles-esque sensibility will do for a single. Helps if you're Jarvis Cocker too, and this track is rich with his trademark witty swagger, vocal stylisations and subtle sidelong sleaze.

A great laid back and grinding Brit hit for the summer, and no doubt the blessing and curse of women called Angela everywhere, who'll get much more attention but have to endure being called AN-JALURRR for the next however many months. Worse things have happened. 4/5
MD


Django Django – Storm
Unsigned

There's something uncomfortably familiar about Django Django – and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. They're like meeting an ex-girlfriend who has had botox – you're like 'I know you', but you're thinking, 'do I?'

New single 'Storm' is a case-in-point. Simultaneously reminding me of XTC, The Futureheads and Dick Dale, it also sounds almost nothing like any of them. It's like a fly that as soon as you think you have cornered buzzes off in some random direction. I think they might be my new favourite band. 4/5
DH


Soulja Boy – Kiss Me Thru The Phone
Universal Music

Damn, wish I was 15 again, then I could sing this 'thru the phone' to my girl when I was unable to meet her, despite earlier assurances to the contrary, having been caught up in 'business' aka hanging around outside Burger King.

Following up Superman-dance sensation 'Crank That' comes this commercially cynical but sentimentally refreshing love ditty for all the over-emotional skunk-stunted grime-midgets out there. The tune is OK, the video a heart-warming collage of kisses and bling. Who says Happy Slappers don't need romance? 3/5
JH


Blazin Squad – Let's Start Again
NaughtyBoy Recordings

I wanted to review Blazin Squad because I thought would be funny. Within 3 or 4 seconds of listening to 'Let's Start Again' I realised that, unfortunately, this time around I had no license to make a mockery of them. This track is a mixture of garage beats and Enrique Iglesias style vocals, combined with a sexy backbeat that's guaranteed to get the ladies in all the seedy clubs winding and grinding.

This track is quite the opposite of 'Crossroads' and, although it pains me to say it, their comeback single is pretty impressive for a band we never thought we could take seriously. 3/5
LH


Gossip – Heavy Cross
Columbia Records

Stop Press: The Gossip are now called simply 'Gossip'. (Yes, it's hard to believe.) This would be at least moderately interesting were it accompanied by some sort of alteration in sound or, dare I say it, 'Change Of Direction'.

But, judging by this snoozesome exercise in derivative disco-punk, it hasn't been, and they still sound like just another 'The' band doing indie-rock by the numbers. Which is exactly what their droves of fans are no doubt pining for. Fab. 2.5/5
MB


Official Secrets Act – Blood Sport
One Little Italian

The beginning of 'Blood Sport' pleases me. It's a little too eighties for my liking but it's pleasant enough. But half-way through…

I'm so bored! Come on Official Secrets Act! Do something! Make a monkey dance! Anything to get away from this monotonous drivel! Nothing seems to have happened for the entire song. It's just chorus, verse, chorus, verse over and over and they bloody sound the same!

Oh wait. There's a bridge. And that also sounds the same. 2.5/5
SL


The Anomolies – Old Skool
Beyond Music

Another shamelessly stereotypical hip-hop-rock outfit. Fanastic. The fact that the lyrics of 'Old Skool' don't actually make sense isn't the problem ('It's like old skool, it's like new skool it's like...') No, it's the try-hard 'roooodness' adopted by these Hereford hood-rats.

They use that kind of ineffectual, homogenous bad-bwoy street twang bastardised by DnB MCs and scrappy gang kids. Thing is, I can hear echoes of an old Backstreet Boys number in there somewhere which must be irksome to these gangstars. 2/5
LC


David Guetta and Kelly Rowland – When Love Takes Over
EMI

More commercial house schmaltz from Dave 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' Guetta. There is an estate opposite my house that played Basshunter at full volume all summer last year and I have a nasty feeling this is going to be the replacement.

With a solo piano intro (that sounds suspiciously like Coldplay's 'Clocks'), followed by diva vocals, a 4/4 beat - it looks like we have another summer dance anthem people! It's not quite as bad as Basshunter but that's a bit like saying Sadam Hussein wasn't as bad as Hitler. 1/5
EM
 

Mark'Oh – United
ZYX
 
This is a satirist's dream. A parody of the twin pillars of old school rave and happy hardcore. Nothing has been neglected – every cheesy detail gloriously shaped to produce a comical homage to the faintly abandoned genres.

Whistles, horns, pumping beats, euphoric singing, breathy whispering from glowstick wielding cyber-foxes in furry boots and bikinis, a drawn out, hands-in-the-air breakdown, obvious happy hardcore harmonies and, best of all, a throaty countdown to the break featuring the guy who does the voiceovers for horror movie trailers. So crap it must be a piss-take. 0.5/5
LC


Harsh! But fair. Still, good to see Blazin Squad back... oh no it's not! Anyway let us know if you agree/disagree/have any other early summer favourites in the comments section below. Also, join our Facebook group already! We're off to listen to a grime medley and pretend we're down with the kids.

Music Team