New Releases - 1st December

New Releases - 1st December

26 November, 2008
by: Music Team

*Single of the week*
Mr Oizo – Positif
Ed Banger

Good old Mr Oizo, he can always be relied on to combine upfront French house and electro with a sense of humour. Positif goes quite a bit harder in the electro direction and has a classic banger of a beat.

The production is a dream come true, and there's also the bonus of a sobre sounding French woman repeating what sounds like 'vous etes des animals' – although that may not be right as that translates as 'you summer of the animals.' Hmm. - LC

Dinosaur Pile-Up  – My Rock n Roll
Friends Vs Records

Oh cool, someone else has been looking through their back issues of Kerrang and Melody Maker. 'My Rock n Roll' with its driving guitar parts and muted verses reminds me of early Super Furry Animals, Smashing Pumpkins and even 'Beatle Bum' era Blur.

Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing, it's just that this is such a good impression of mid-90s alternative rock that it's hard to believe that Dinosaur Pile-Up wrote this song this year. How can I hate it? 1996 was awesome! -DH

Heartsrevolution – Ultraviolence
Kitsune

Heartsrevolution make solid stomping electro perfect for a spot of late night nu rave head nodding, and they are a joy live, so it's perhaps churlish to point out this track is exactly the same as all their others.

That said, it's still great. Ben Pollock layers on great rolling melodies and a crunchy bass that's irresistible, Lo natters away harmlessly on top and the drummer gives it 'live' welly. The rising synthesiser motif would definitely work on E. - JH

Underground Railroad – NYC
One Little Indian

This track starts off sounding an awful lot like Fugazi, with Raphael Mura essentially doing his take on the drawling Kim Gordon thing. It ends up however, bearing more resemblance to Liars; essentially dark, hazy shrieks of indie noise.

I find the idea of this band singing a song with the lyrics 'you say you're cool but you're not cool' baffling. Hipsters? Mocking hipsters? It messes with my head. I like this song though; despite such accusations of post irony allusions, the band retain a Pavement down-to-earthiness. - LS

My Drug Hell – Girl at the Bus Stop
For The Sake Of The Song

The intro to this sounds a bit like Lou Reed's 'Walk On The Wild Side' and the whole song is just as soporific and soothing. Some words which spring to mind when hearing it are: groovy, doobie, chilled, righteous, mellow, cool, dude.

The swinging, chipper 60s vibe actually rubs off when you listen to it.  You could almost go out and promote peace and love and attend a few rallies.  Just watch out for the bad AIDS. - EM

Dan Black – Yours
Polydor

With a few seconds of minimal guitar twang broken in by thumping heavy drums (the kind which actually excite), this song is immediately cool, with a perfect, driving rhythm that is carried off nicely by Dan Black's indie-funk vocals and some slick N.E.R.D-style production.

It is true that after a few listens, it begins to grate a little – it does, after all, have all the characteristics of a brilliant pop song, which mean its looping beat is best suited to the dancefloor, and not the office. LS

They Came From The Stars I Saw Them – Moon Song
This Is Not An Exit

They Came From The Stars are an experimental pop group that sound a bit like The Flaming Lips, if they were beaming their songs down from Button Moon. All your typical experimental elements are here: cow bells, a bit of pot banging, some Casio space noises, a decent impression of the mice from Bagpuss.

There's a lot of silliness and humour in this song which I like and some good vocals but I'm not sure I'd seek it out to play again, it's just too damn kooky. - EM

Flobots – Rise
Universal

'What's in your alleyway? Recycling bins or bullet cases?' Hmm, good question – but neither since you ask. Mine is riddled with rats, faded glamour, broken dreams, the flotsam and jetsam of wasted youth. Flobots – a toned down Hed PE/Rage-esque gang of hip hoppers from Denver – fancy themselves as potential saviours of the disenfranchised wasters of America.

This'll appeal to the kids. The chorus is a rousing: 'We Rise Together'. A cliché - but a rallying cry none the less.- LC

Jonas Brothers – Love Bug
Polydor

OK, embarrassing dirty confession time. I heard this on the radio, didn't know who it was and didn't think it was bad. I smiled. Sorry! In musical terms it will work for a film soundtrack or jingle, with producers cutting out the lame 'rock' bridge section. It will surely chart well.

What else to say? Obviously masquerading as lame-oh virgins is pathetic, and it's clearly a sham. Look at the video – these guys do drugs and bust groupie backdoors. - JH

Flashguns –Timehouse Blues
Blue Flowers

I feel bad for Flashguns. Try as hard as they want they can't seem to get away from sounding like a less fun version of Good Shoes. It's a shame really, as 'Timehouse Blue' has some pretty good lyrics and cool organ parts, but the guitar part sounds almost like it's been ripped straight from 'Never Meant to Hurt You'.

Oh well, chalk up Mordon 1, Flashguns 0… DH

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Music Team