New Releases – 28 September

New Releases – 28 September

23 September, 2009
by: Music Team

*Single of the Week*
Trailer Trash Tracys – Candy Girl
No Pain in Pop

I stumbled upon Trailer Trash Tracys with a sense of wonder and excitement closely akin to the time I stumbled upon Labyrinth when I was eight years old. Their first release, 'Candy Girl', is a sumptuous lo-fi lament, saturated with rich, raw guitars that soar out of the backdrop, surrounding the enchanted, distant vocals like a princess in a tower. It's dreamlike, hypnotic, and builds up layer upon layer of melody until you're practically powerless. 
 
Very exciting – can't wait for the album. 4/5
MD


Fever Ray – When I Grow Up
Rabid Records

As per, Andersson's lyrics are a tangle of naïve wishes and half baked thought trails. It is the kind of beautiful nonsense you were expected to pick apart at school, even though you knew it was more likely to be the result of an opium trip than a moment of spiritual enlightenment.
 
But as I have neither the time, nor the will to decipher the deep and meaningful, I simply love the track for what it is: a catchy little piece of ear candy. 3.5/5
GM


DJ Hell feat. P Diddy – The DJ
Gigolo Records

I get that DJ Hell has a soft spot for P Diddy, having previously remixed 'Let's Get Ill' and 'Jack U'. This isn't much different: Diddy's tirade against 'motherfuckers' who play four-minute versions of 15-minute songs is set against a booming house beat that wallops you into head-nodding acquiescence. 
 
What I don't get is clowns simulating sex in the video. Wha? It's for Mr Hell's new underwear line? Is it just me or is blatant self-promotion more of a sell-out than trigger-happy DJs? Hmm. 3.5/5
SL


Them:Youth – Halo
Dirty Boots Records

This much anticipated single from Them:Youth is a marching song full of energy which starts with eerie synths, a rhythmic drum beat, and rousing vocals and builds to create a great indie-rock anthem which sounds a little like Kasabian or Oasis. 
 
The track sounds fresh and uplifting, with pulsing dance-like production and a chanting chorus which will get everyone singing along and stamping their feet. The West London boys have done well. 3.5/5
SG


La Roux – I'm Not Your Toy
Polydor
 
I must be a sinner, because when God was handing out the singles of the week, he blighted me with La Roux. Give me a plague of locusts any day.
 
But wait.
 
Maybe my witless hyperbole is the fruit of denial, the ugly manifestation of suppressed pleasure. Maybe I actually like 'I'm Not Your Toy', which mercifully abandons the tortured and torturous vocal style of 'In For the Kill'.
 
Yes. It's a sweet little slice of 80s-inspired electro-pop. Now I'm going to flagellate myself. 3.5/5
RC


Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man
Gentlemen of the Road

Gutsy and regretful in its subject matter, Marcus Mumford and co. serve up another ho-down folk treat as their newest single. The quartet's latest should contribute to their claims to be regarded as reigning champions of UK folk.

Mumford's voice is strong and remains warm alongside the up-beat tempo of this confessional record. If you're predisposed to a banjo, its strumming pace will have you swigging ale in your local with a smile on your face in no time. Bravo. 3/5
DR 


SpectraSoul – How Strange
Shogun Audio
 
Definitely more of a bedroom red-eye 4am track than a heads down dancefloor destroyer, this skittery number has a nice groove which recalls the 'Progression Sessions'. When the bass drops it's almost caramel in its smoothness and the hint of a female vocal is as lush as a cold can of Rio Tropical.
 
Liquid DnB is obviously a matter of taste but is generally inoffensive enough to be enjoyed/tolerated by even the most lackadaisical of 'heads'. Does this mean it's boring? 2/5
LC



The Veronicas – 4ever
Warner Bros. 
 
If Good Charlotte and Avril Lavigne had a child, it would sound like electro-pop-punk duo The Veronicas - which is to say, insufferably whiny and trite. Having first topped the charts in their native Australia with this irksome ditty in 2005, it is now being re-released here.
 
'Just one taste and you'll want more,' they screech. No – one taste and you relegate them where such acts belong, in the dustbins of music holding no appeal to anyone a day over 12. 1/5
NH 


Tiesto and Sneaky SoundSystem – I Will Be Here
Black Hole Recordings
 
If anyone doubted that Tiessstooooo! was a mainstream act these days, they need only take a look at his new album featuring collaborations with the likes of chart whores Bloc Party, Nelly Furtado and Calvin Harris.
 
Recently, Tiesto's been earnestly telling journalists he's no longer a trance DJ but releasing this kind of high bpm rubbish with cheesy female vocals and a build up/breakdown format isn't going to help his case.  It's a question even The Riddler would be flummoxed by: How does Tiesto have so many fans? 1/5
EM


Backstreet Boys – Straight Through My Heart
RCA/Jive

Ah, the Backstreet Boys. I was looking forward to this but I don't know why. Stupid I guess. Back in the day these guys were Gods among boybands: 'Everybody', 'As Long As You Love Me', 'Quit Playing Games'... I could go on.

But it totally makes sense that for this mini-comeback within a comeback they'd adopt a lame vampire motif to suck up to the kids, and a truly atrocious euro-trance beat to prove none of them have ears. Total crap. 0/5
JH


Ouchies from Joe... that's the kind of bitterness that could only spring from a dashed adolescent love affair. Although the track is a load of shite. Disagree? Post your pro-Backstreet shout-outs below... And if you like this kind of thing, join the Facebook Group for weekly updates.

Music Team