New Releases - 4 Aug

New Releases - 4 Aug

01 August, 2008
by: Music Team

*Single of the Week*
Styrofoam – Bright Red Helmet
Nettwerk

Haha, best song title, ever. Apart from that, this is a great big slice of electro-emo with extra pop and a bit of whipped cream on the side. It sounds a bit like more dancey version of The Postal Service, or even better, HelloGoodbye jamming with The Lightning Seeds.

I can kind of imagine dancing triumphantly to it with the hottest girl at school prom, even though I’m a massive waster that everybody thinks will amount to no good. DH


Cascada – Because The Night
Allaroundtheworld

It was rumoured in April that Chris Martin was to work with Cascada. Is this the result? The record brings to mind nothing so much as the martial aesthetic of Slovenian pranksters Laibach. It's not that it explicitly references extreme politics, but some records just sound totalitarian.

On the face of it, the romantic subject matter contrasts with the unnerving chanting and marching-band drum rolls. But nonetheless, there's something oddly appropriate about lines like 'Desire is hunger, it's the fire I breathe/Love is a banquet on which we feed'. RH


The Ting Tings – Shut Up And Let Me Go
Columbia

I was browsing in a rural Catalonian supermarket recently when a dreary sound came spewing forth from the tinny Franco-era speakers. Though the dirge was barely audible among the angry Latinos shouting at their fat children, the sound was unmistakeable – The Ting Tings had gone international.

You'll know this song already from the iTunes ad. The guitar hook – mercilessly pilfered from Chic – is the only good bit and Katie White's vocals (lustful indie boys beware – she's nearly 40) make me want to stuff my ears with Blu-Tac. If you buy this, you are part of the problem. MF


Das Pop – Underground
RCA

The intro to 'Underground' is anything but – fairly bland pop/rock stuff with monotonous string plucking behind it but it does significantly improve by the chorus.

You can imagine a load of teenage girls jumping on their beds and screeching 'I'm going underground!' into their hairbrushes while this blasts out of some boogie box in the corner. Light, fluffy and probably quite catchy pop. If you're more into your electronica, the Busy P remix packs a harder punch. EM


Plump DJs – Disco Unusual/Snake Eyes
Finger Lickin' Records

You've got to love the Plumps. Well it's not actually law but they are good at what they do: very heavy breaks. There's not much that's new about this double A-Side, though both tracks feature funky live drum breakdowns which nicely compliment the stabbing basslines.

Disco Unusual is the more 'hands to the lasers' of the two with rising keyboards and both feature sirens, swampy sound effects and sinister samples. Very good, but that much better when you're fucked. JH


John & Jehn – Fear, Fear, Fear
Faculty

New single from French couple band John & Jehn splutters into life with a jangly lo-fi 'bof' indifference. Jehn's vocals are like a flatter, breathier version of Brigitte Bardot on Segre Gainsbourg's 'Bonnie & Clyde', with that kind of dreary off-key thing that Nico rather perfected. Somehow it's so devoid of care that it's both haunting and charming.

With a wee bit of poppy drizzling and some eerie electronic sprinkles over Doves' 'There Goes the Fear', this could be shit but actually really works. TJ


Noah & The Whale – Five Years Time
Mercury

The answer to a summer hangover after too many Pimms and lemonade, Noah and the Whale's latest track screams sunshine with the right amount of twee. Maybe it's the reliance on the ukulele, whistled melodies or the well-utilised hand claps that makes you press repeat on the stereo.

A blend of folk and storyline lyrics, the collaboration with recently-departed lead vocalist Laura Marling saves the song from obscurity and can only be described as 'cute'. This will take a while to get annoying, though it still will. SS


Andy Hunter – Stars
Nettwerk

Maybe it's hearing this on the tail end of an especially sleepless weekend but this track is so terrible it actually sounds like a parody of bad music.

A euphoric, trancey backing track with some guy heavy breathing about the 'stars in the sky' over the top. At the time of writing it's number six in the UK Club Charts, and this only serves to reveal the absolutely dire state of most UK clubbers' CD collections. Harsh but true. LC


Tinchy Stryder – Stryderman
Island

There's been plenty of debate over whether Wiley's 'Wearing My Rolex' constitutes grime, but as far as Skepta, Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder are concerned, it's obvious that it sounds mostly like cash registers in HMV.

'Stryderman' fits into a line of good-time crossover efforts – mainly about being hit on in clubs – except that instead of straight electro-house, it's more of a slow grind reminiscent of the Ed Banger sound. The whole idea makes grime fans uneasy, but given the lyrical content it's a pretty neat concept, if you think about it. RH


Late Of The Pier – Heartbeat
Parlophone

It might be the fact that there are a million indie-electro bands out there, or that prog-lite only yields a few tangents, but Late at the Pier have kind of experimented themselves into a hole of late.

Like most of their other offerings, 'Heartbeat' has that whole 80's hair metal meets italo-disco thing that they always do. Oh well, at least the video has an amazing scene where their heads explode. Awesome! DH

Music Team