New Releases – 16th March

New Releases – 16th March

11 March, 2009
by: Music Team

*Single of the Week*
King Khan and the BBQ Show – Animal Party
In The Red

Yeah! 'Open the door, come on in. Let the animal party begin!' Darn right, King Khan, darn right. If you've ever had a house party with twelve chickens, three elephants, five pigs, eight monkeys, two cows and a zebra – which is unlikely unless you hang out at King Khan's pad – then you'd so want this as the soundtrack.

'Animal Party' is a silly slice of retro-tinged blues rock with a charming garage rattle. In the odd mood I'm in, I could listen to it for ever... 4.5/5
TJ


Royksopp – Happy Up Here
EMI/Wall of Sound

Royskopp are one of those bands that I unfortunately know nothing about. Well, I know they're pretty huge. It's also possible I vaguely recall 'Remind Me', but maybe not. It happens.

Fighting through uncertain expectation then, 'Happy Up Here' feels like a warm, seamlessly poppy electronic dive into twinkling night-time lights. The dreamy, listless vocals could almost be a stoned, less affected Claudio Sanchez, while the music feels indebted to Daft Punk and Funkadelic (not much of a shock, given the Parliament sample). 4/5
LS


Pet Shop Boys – Love etc.
Parlophone

Pet Shop Boys are a British pop institution, representing that English eccentricity and decadent bohemia that defines the '80s.

'Love etc' is a slow burner, slipping into your subconscious as Warren Beatty might slip onto a yacht, effortlessly cool, but easy to miss. The perfect credit crunch anthem, it's an electro-parable about lusting for wealth over love. It's the aural equivalent of sneaking into a private members club and baking by the rooftop pool. Not their epic best but an infectious masterclass. 4/5
JS


Illa J – we here
Delicious Vinyl

A smoothed out UK debut from the little brother of the legendary Detroit producer J Dilla features the rolling sound of the deceased producer (who gets a credit) overlaid with a soulful lyric that showcases a fresh voice. There's also a little Quasimoto-style fuzzy ambiance.

If Dilla had finished the track himself it couldn't have turned out better – this has a great roll to it and Illa J is clearly a talent in his own right. 4/5
JH


Rogues – Not So Pretty
50 Bones

It may prove quite difficult to sit still whilst listening to this first offering from Harrow-based newcomers Rogues.
 
Reminiscent of Foals, with a blend of indie, rock and electro and a hint of '80s pop, this fast-paced, shape-throwing inducing belter is seriously infectious. In a good way. Even the video's pretty Foals-esque with random objects dangling from string. Not a bad thing though. These guys are definitely ones to watch out for. 4/5
GT


Hockey – Too Fake
Virgin

Expectations are sharpened along the electro-disco punk line as soon as the opening beats (looped and stuttering) and bassline (a drawling, slippery little hook) kick in.

'Too Fake' seems to be flitting around the made-up mark of an amped-up, eyebrow-raised LCD Soundsystem until Ben Grubin's Dylan-dipped posturing vocals throw the track into Les Savy Fav/Rapture territory. There's a little freshness, a little newness, but, for the most part, it feels like a cut and paste effort. 3.5/5
LS


The Don't Fucking Cares – Underage Demon/Nihilism is a Fact of Life
Roka

I thought we'd never move away from 'The' bands. Somehow, it became an unwritten rule that if you wanted NME to take notice, you'd better christen your band with that prefix or be ignored for eternity. Now ,'The DFC's' are sticking two fingers up to the notion that band names matter at all, they're more interested in the music being made.

Their latest double a-side is a grungy, dirty guitar number which is matched perfectly with lead singer Larsson's vocals. Definitely worthy of NME's attention and, more importantly, yours. 3.5/5
GS


La Roux – In For The Kill
Polydor

It's rare that a remix gets more attention than the original but that has been the case with La Roux's 'In For The Kill' and it's not hard to see why. The official release has an '80s synth-pop sound which holds its own against the likes of Ladyhawke et al but it doesn't break the mould.

Skream's rework slows it right down, cuts out the Casio noises and concentrates on Jackson's beautiful vocals, climaxing with an electrifying dnb drop at 4:10. The result is spine-chillingly good. 3/5 for the original / 4.5/5 for the remix
EM


The Answering Machine – Cliffer
Heist or Hit

For a band that have flirted with shoegaze and art-rock for a while, The Answering Machine's 'Cliffer' is pretty much as straight forward as they come. There's no fuzz-box experimentalism here, just power-pop riffage, soaring choruses, and some slightly emo lyrics.

And you know what? The end result is not that bad. OK, it hardly sets the world alight but if it came on the radio or over the speakers of some dilapidated pub in Camden I really wouldn't be offended. 3/5
DH

The Foxes – Bill Hicks
Room 10

What a travesty. What the hell do slutty chicks and middle-of-the-road lad-rock have to do with Bill Hicks? These guys are morons and about as edgy as McFly. Co-opting a dead man to try and boost their punk points won't help.

Knee-jerk hatred aside, this song is obviously a bland piece of crap and the idiotic foursome behind it are a complete shower of fools. Whoah! The Foxes think Bill Hicks is cool! So does my accountant... get bent, you cretins! 0/5
JH


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Music Team