New Releases - 23rd February

New Releases - 23rd February

18 February, 2009
by: Music Team

*Single of the Week*
Chase and Status feat Kano - Against All Odds
Ram Records

I love Chase and Status and the fact they have deviated from their usual upfront drum and bass to team up with grime MC Kano and make a hip hop record has done nothing to change my mind.

Forget modern day hip hop/electro tosh, this is proper old school stuff with broken beats, jazz flutes, horns and some wicked soul samples. Just like their d n b it's impossibly catchy and if it doesn't storm the charts I'll eat my hat. 4.5/5
EM


The Pussycat Dolls – Whatcha Think About That
Polydor

This electro-pop offering from The Pussycat Dolls sounds almost exactly like Nelly Furtado's 'Maneater' but with some added chant-like vocals from everybody's favourite burlesque girl troupe and a smattering of pop-up empowerment schtick from Missy 'Misdemeanour' Elliott.

The notion of the Dolls wearing the trousers is an admirable one, if rather undermined by the scantily-clad come-hither antics of the embarrassingly sexed-up video. Still, if you like generic pop (which I rather do) then this is a belter. 4/5
TJ


Madcon – Liar
SonyBMG

Madcon's latest is almost exactly like their multi-platinum smash 'Beggin', except that they've put together the vocal sample themselves rather than lifting it. It boasts the same driving bass-guitar hooks, high singalong chorus and smooth radio-friendly lyrics about romantic entanglement.

It's a good club tune, considerably enhanced by a Britney-inspired high school video and well worth a shower-radio sing along. If their next tune is exactly the same, though, we're labelling them the Finnish Jamiroquai. 3/5
JH


KASMs – Bone You
Trouble Records

Have you ever wandered down a dark alley or into a housing estate, looked around and thought 'crap, I shouldn't have done this'? Yeah? Well, KASMs have managed to encapsulate that feeling in musical form.

'Bone You' is a shrieking post punk drive through the shady bits of town that had me pretty much chewing my finger nails off by the end. It ain't pretty but you definitely can't ignore it. 4/5
DH


Line – Love Lockdown
Hot Pockets

So, the debut release on hipster blog Slutty Fringe's new label is a cover of Kanye West's 'Love Lockdown', performed by a laptop nerd with a Midlands accent. There is something extremely annoying about ironic R'n'B cover versions - they always make me think about Chris Martin.

It comes as a relief, then, that this appears to be a reverential homage to a truly brilliant track. Line doesn't really add much to the original apart from some gratuitous electro beats, but it works for me. 4/5
MH


Magic Arm – Bootsy Bootsy
Switchflicker

One man band Magic Arm has created a decent groove on his new EP's title track. It's got a nice, heavy bass, plenty of dark, resonant synth and a catchy hook.

He has wedged himself neatly into the psych-folk, indie-electronica camp and he's not budging. Everyone and his wife seem to be writing nice things about him so I guess it's working out quite well. I'm not gonnna hunt this music out but I wouldn't make anyone turn him off.  2.5/5 
LC


The Hermit Crabs – Correspondence Course
Matinee

I'm probably not the best person to review this single. I'm on uncertain ground when it comes to folk pop, I hate any example of Dido-esque vocals, and I'm only just emerging from the throes of a nausea bug.

The heady guitar haze that sprawls in the background is nice and at least the lyrics about telephone songwriting offer something a bit different. I don't really care. The lacklustre vocals and string 'echoes' still make me feel car-sick. 2/5
LS


Skull Defekts – Waving
Important Records

Expecting to hate this, there is a twinkle of pleasant surprise when the vocals start and Skull Defekts are not screaming bloody murder – but rather dribbling their words in a muted sneer pasted over a hypnotic, looped, guitar riff.

'Waving' is lo-fi enough not to be abrasive, but not energetic enough to grab you by the lapels the way punk should. It's good – in a low key way – but isn't likely to make anyone wig out. 2/5
LC


Glasvegas – Flowers and Football Tops
Columbia

If it wasn't for the distinctly '50s sound you can hear in the vocals, this song might seem like a direct rip-off from The Jesus & Mary Chain's 'You Trip Me Up', but it certainly has a lot more impact when you realise it's all about the horrific murder of schoolboy Kriss Donald on his way home from school in 2003.

As frontman James Allan softly croons 'how could they take my sunshine away' after a clamorous finale, it really milks full poignancy potential. 2.5/5
EM


Emmy the Great – First Love
Close Harbour

A weird one this, it's a song about listening to Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' that sounds a bit like 'Hallelujah'. It's a nice idea, but coming on the back of the whole X Factor thing when every barber shop/department store was blasting it out, I was kind of over it by the time the 2nd verse kicked in.

On the plus side, the B side which is a cover of Ash's 'Burn Baby Burn' is pretty funny as it has managed to flip the macho original on its head and turn it into a sweet indie ditty. 3/5 saved by the B-side
DH


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Music Team