New Releases - 17th January

New Releases - 17th January

12 January, 2011
by: Music Team

Holy crap! Adele's on the warpath, Chapel Club are filtering Mama Cass through Joy Division and Cloud Nothings have a psychedelic whinge.

Adele – Rolling in the Deep
XL/Columbia

Your loss mofo! Is essentially what Adele wants to say but she's too classy, and so she should be with a voice like that. Anyone who saw her jaw-dropping performance on Jools Holland will know what I'm on about.

'Rolling in the Deep' is the first offering from Adele's new album '21' and it's bursting with the familiar angry heartbreak but is definitely a notch above 2008's 'Cold Shoulder'. She has a lot more backbone now: “Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare” - nice. 4/5
NK

Cloud Nothings – Should Have
Witchita
 
Dylan Baldi is already cooler than you. When you were his age you were sitting in lectures wondering whether you were really ever going to be required to know about binary opposition. He is already beloved by hipsters for his swirly pop.

His latest is slightly less lo-fi and psychadelic and a bit more pop punk but carries all his trademark echoes, shadows and reverb wobbles. I can’t quite pin down why but it also reminds me of Kirsty MacColl's ‘A New England’. Lovely. 4/5
LM

Chapel Club – Surfacing
Loog/Universal

Despite being recorded in August 2009, this track has only just come to light, due to copyright issues over the 'Dream a Little Dream' lyrics (popularised by Mama Cass) forming the chorus. ‘Tribute’ or not, I like it.

The familiar words are given a fresh, moody twist here and the song as a whole has a hypnotic, slightly detached sound that will send you into a daydream and have you nodding your head like the Churchill dog in no time. 4/5
EM

Vibration Lab – Vibration Creation Vol.1 EP.
Vibration Lab

I like dub, real dub that is, not wobbly dubstep. That's not to say I don't like dubstep, I do. I just prefer the sound of Mad Professor to Caspa. Enter Vibration Lab, from the tropical island of...Cornwall, with a seriously good EP, my favourite track on which is called 'Waste My Time'.

It's a perfect blend of new and old. A dub bassline with just a touch of LFO hints at dubstep but remains rootsy, whilst the perfectly balanced percussion drives it forwards and the “don't waste my time vocal” pops up just enough to be hooky but not enough to be irritating. Wasting my time they are certainly not. 4/5
TO

Joy Formidable – Austere
Warner Music

I’m a fan from the get-go. Underlying ‘ooo-wows’, bit of bass and lots of noise birth a winner. Kind of like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in a good mood.

Ritzy Brian’s sweet and easy vocals top off grunge in the way a cherry completes a sundae. I could walk around cities forever to this song. 4/5
SC

Alice Russell – Citizens
Differ-ant Recordings

Alice Russell is a modern day soul sister with a powerful voice that belts out wisdoms and lulls you into a haze of Motown dreams. She has talent that far excels the Adeles and Duffys of the world.

'Citizens' is a nice song, although it is just nice. Play it if you fancy something enjoyable and undistracting but don't let this slightly dud track stop you exploring her other musical gems. 3.5/5
NH

Funeral Party – Finale
Jive

I went to a funeral party just before Christmas actually. Or 'wake' as I think we call it. Having woken up with a raging fever I swallowed some weird pill from my American sister-in-law and prepared for some serious mourning.

What everybody neglected to inform me was quite how this pill would react with three glasses of Palo Cortado. The answer: not good. In fact I think I've been cut out the will.

In other news, this sounds like LCD Soundsystem's 'All My Friends', but grumpier and shorter. 3.5/5
TJ

Happy new year y'all. Yeah we know it's a bit late, but nothing really came out this week, so we decided to spend another few days watching re-runs of Some Mother's Do Have 'Em. How awful is that programme.

Anyway, as a welcome back present - why not check out these Germans on bikes.

Music Team