New Releases - 15 March

New Releases - 15 March

11 March, 2010
by: Music Team

Uh oh, somebody get the gin and tonic - our Arts Editor has gotten over-excited again...

Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé – Telephone
Interscope

Sometimes a spot of sneaky editing is carried out by the New Releases Editor. Numbers are occasionally *gasp* fiddled – to ensure that the coveted title of Single of the Week goes to a track endorsed by those in charge.

Well not this week. Gaga is taking the top spot and nobody can do a bloody thing about it. Ignore their last track together (it was bobbins); this time pop's Queen and Princess Di unite to devastating effect. With Gaga belting out semi-sensical drivel to a thumping electro backing, a wacko video and even a little rap from the Queen, this is basically a bally belter! 5/5
TJ

King Khan and Pat Meteor – The Fiery Tears of St Laurent
Sub Pop

A slight departure from the usual straight-up happy-go-lucky garage rock you usually get from King Khan, this tribute to French Canada is a rather sombre affair that recalls the story of St. Laurent, the 3rd century Christian martyr who famously yelled “I am crisp on this side, it is time to turn me over” as he was being grilled alive. Man, you had to suffer for your beatifications in those days.

A down-beat almost folky track, with a sentimental, even educational center – what the hell is going on? 4/5
DH

The Favourites – Cheltenham
Big Print

"When you're alone and life is making you lonely you can always go... to Cheltenham" Didn't see that one coming did you?! While this unlikely charity single won't mean much for some, it brings a huge smile to my face.
 
All the Cheltenham fraternity have turned out in support of the track - there's Nicky Henderson singing his ruddy heart out and Paul Nicholls looking as jolly as ever. His champion horse Kauto Star is odds on for a third Gold Cup win, can the mighty Denmen wrestle it back again? Oooh the excitement, the Guinness, the unholy amount of tweed...4/5
EM

Yuck/Herzog – Georgia/Paul Blart and the Death of Art Split 7"
Transparent

Don’t be fooled by Yuck’s utterly rubbish name into thinking these guys are some sort of thrashy metal band; they’re not. Detached and aloof, a Stone Roses sounding opening sees Yuck’s latest track, 'Georgia' pander along with just the right dose of ooohs, timid drums, plenty of tambourine and ethereally melodic vocals. It’s the kind of song that’s hard to stay still and listen to – you just can’t help but sway. Nice shoegazey stuff really that makes me smile. 

The Herzog track unfortunately lets this down by sounding like electronica infused with a kind of Ben Kweller folksy, half-aggravated, half-arsed sounding drawl...yuck! 3.8/5
LR

Cheryl Cole – Parachute
Polydor

Oh that's why this song doesn't sound like pure cack – it was written by Ingrid Michaelson  and produced by Will.I.Am. 
 
Michaelson, the US drama soundtrack songstress is queen of cranking up the tear-jerker montage and the lyrics in this are pansy as heck, but it is cute. Will.I has laid a slick layer of sultry flamenco over the top making this something you probably wouldn't expect from Chezza. Even people who hate Cheryl Cole stand a chance of liking this. 3/5
NK

Delphic  – Halcyon
Chimeric
 
As with the majority of Delphic’s back catalogue, the remixes of this track are infinitely better than the original. They’ve managed to turn the rather romantic notion of halcyon into a bland cacophony of Americanised vocals and overblown backing harmonies.
 
Their nostalgic electronica goes some way toward saving this track from the brink of electro suicide; yet whether it’s enough to pull them back from the edge, or if it merely scrapes the emotionally indulgent lyrics off dance floor is debatable. 2.5/5
GM

Skepta – Bad Boy
Boy Better Know

The video for Bad Boy opens on Skepta's back, he has SKEPTA tattoed across his shoulder blades...why?  It has to be for something where he doesn't have a shirt on and he wants someone standing behind him to know who he is. All I can come up with is either cottaging or beach football: take your pick.

The single is a sort of 'urban' version of Underworld's 'Born Slippy', but who cares, I'm more interested in spreading baseless gay slander. 2/5
TO

Band of Skulls – I Know What I Am
You Are Here

The London three-piece devolve from their soft rock sound and head in a decidedly White Stripes-esque direction here. Goodbye melancholy guitar riffs and plaintive lyrics, hello rollicking bass, thumping back beat and kooky back-and-forth vocals between the two leads, Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson, à la Jack and Meg.

You can see they're trying to be less 'emo teenager post-breakup' and more 'whack this track on with some brewskis for a great Saturday night', but the silly lyrics and generic punk-rock sound ultimately make this pretty forgettable. 2/5
SK

Mark Prichard – Elephant Dub: Heavy As Stone
DeepMedi

I know there are lots of people who would say this is intelligent music, which I can appreciate, but it depends how long you are prepared to wait around and see if they're right.

The duration of this song is spent progressing to something that never actually happens. OK, it gets a bit more intense towards the end, with some more bass and synths thrown in so that they're all spinning around like they're in a washing machine. But for my part, I could only listen to this again after a very long boring night out, in which case it would fit perfectly. 1/5
AG

Black Eyed Peas – Rock That Body
Interscope
 
Just what the world needs – another extravagantly mediocre song telling you to rock your body. The Black Eyed Peas feature very high on my hate list. And this song only fuels the massive fire. Vocoda voice? Check. Auto-tuned chorus? Check. Sexist rap referring to skirt length? Check.

It’s insidious in its blandness; filling in time before their next completely awful and forgettable single. I sincerely hope no one actually spends any money on this.
LC

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Music Team