New Releases - 23 June

New Releases - 23 June

01 August, 2008
by: Music Team

*Single of the Week*
Portishead – The Rip
Island
'The Rip' is Portishead's second release from their latest album 'Third'. A decade is a long time to wait for an album and expectations are towering above this legendary Bristolian trio. 'The Rip' is suitably brilliant. Haunting, stripped back and beautiful; with a backdrop of gently strummed strings to Beth Gibbon's signature song.

It's very different from – and harder work - than the sound they are known for, but it's a definite evolution. 'The Rip' sees them emerge from their dark trip hop past into an equally dark and complex present. LC


Dirty Pretty Things – Tired of England
Vertigo
Providing further proof that hard drugs were responsible for most of the Libertines brighter moments, Carl Barat and co return with a tune that is as bland and unappealing as a soggy chip.

Musically, it rolls along like the backing tune for a tourist information film. And with lyrics like these ('The Queen of England sits on her throne, of Bingo cards and chicken bones'. 'Don't drink yourself to a lonely death, in casinos on crystal meth') no wonder people think Doherty is a poet. MF


Five O'Clock Heroes feat. Agyness Deyn – Who
Glaze Records
Models, somebody once said, should be seen and not heard. Or was that children? Well Her Royal Agyness, Princess of Holland and heir to the Mossy throne, can not only say real words: no, now she can sing them too.

But she's actually ok. The pensive verse bits are like a slightly blander Beth Orton and the chorus is kind of flattened strip-light Kylie. The song's catchy in a dull sort of way, but Deyn's good: maybe she should just sing on better songs. By better bands. TJ


Nickleback – Photograph
Roadrunner
There's no escaping Nickleback's latest infectious hit without unplugging the radio and throwing it out the window. Even then, the rudimentary lyrics will stay in your head forevermore.

The re-released 'Photograph' evokes memories and how you can never escape nor change the past. The song's images are universally recognisable. Christian rock group Nickleback wins over leagues of youngsters worldwide with their classic, un-experimental style and format. Purveyors of the rock anthem, Nickleback's heavy beats, gentle strumming and the recognisable voice of Chad Kroeger just won't go away. SS


Black Kids- Hurricane Jane
Almost Gold
Dear everyone. The Post-punk revival is dead; please stand by for the re-emergence of disco. Blame the Klaxons.

I expected better from Black Kids. Hurricane Jane sounds like Lipps Inc's 'Funkytown' combined with sound effects ripped straight from Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. Yeah, you can dance to it, but it does nothing for my macho-tough guy image. We all need a Born Against reunion, pretty much right now. DH


Ne-Yo – Closer
Def Jam
Ne-Yo, current front runner for the Shortest Man in Pop, provides the first instant classic of the summer. Fusing dance rhythms with smooth RnB vocals, Closer is complex in pop terms, and further enhanced by lyrical ambiguity between love and hate.

Throwing together basic beats, warbling vocals and cheesy handclaps, Ne-Yo somehow hits the mark. Closer is a perfect tune for Balearic mood swings, smart bars or even the shower, and deserves to nobble Coldplay for number one this week. JH


Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Parlophone
In the States, this tune has been shifting iPods a-plenty for weeks now, and due to the haphazard way the singles charts are now compiled (you can seemingly break into the top 40 if people whistle your tune enough now) this is set to be Coldplay's first number one.

This won't win any cool points in the Old Blue Last, but it's actually quite a good tune, with bits of Arcade Fire-style melody and a slightly restrained vocal from his royal Martin-ness. It's like the Margaret Thatcher of pop music – it'll win, but you won't find anyone who'll admit to buying it. MF


Mariah Carey – You Take Me Higher
Island
Mariah Carey can pantingly ride as many octaves as she likes, but anyone who saw her on MTV Cribs will appreciate the central flaw in this ode to everyone's dearly departed – namely the bogus idea that she'd care more about losing a relative than misplacing her 37th-favourite pair of shoes.

The version featuring Lil' Wayne is the one you want, whereby the best and weirdest rapper in the world recommends you get high and imagine heaven as a gated community with code-entry. RH


Weezer - Pork and Beans
Geffen
Weezer could be described as an elemental force. No matter what happens in popular music they just seem to remain. They're sort of like a musical version of Ayers Rock if you like similes as much as me.

Pork and Beans is Weezer all over – it has a quirky verse, stomping chorus and typically tongue in cheek lyrics. In fact the only thing different about this song is that Rivers Cuomo has started sporting a porn star moustache, making him look like my dad in my brother's baby pictures. DH


The Courteeners – No You Didn't No You Don't
Polydor
You'd think that the riff from The Housemartins' 'Happy Hour' would be safe for a bit, what with Jack Penate and The Pigeon Detectives both pilfering it in the past year. Yet here it is again, with The Courteeners playing a rendition so faithful, it could be a karaoke backing track.

Liam Fray's vocals – like a confused dual Stars In Their Eyes audition for Liam Gallagher and Alex Turner – are as clumsy as the title, and if there's a northern scally tale to be told here, it's passed our ears by. MF

Music Team