New Releases - 6 Oct

New Releases - 6 Oct

01 October, 2008
by: Music Team

*Single of the Week*
White Denim – Shake Shake Shake
Full Time Hobby

White Denim have definitely been one of the bands of the year for me. They're like the thinking man's Black Lips; combining the usual garage-rock traits of excessive beer drinking and nakedness with university-like smarts.

This song is typically amazing; it's like some crazed mash-up of The Minute Men, Howlin' Wolf and The Zombies, and although there's no chorus it still makes me want to spazz out to it like an old hippy on a bad acid trip. DH


Disturbed – Indestructible
Reprise

'Indestructible' is from the album of the same name, a number one in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The lyrical context is 'I'm an indestructible master of war,' in case you wondered.

Disturbed's grunge-metal is so effectively optimised for MP3, it sounds as if played with miniature instruments from Argos. They once covered 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's theme tune. I think many years ago I used to hear music a lot like this, when in town for a look at JJB Sports (and maybe a Burger King). RH


The Mal Gray Band – Spooky Sukey
AMC

If Johnny Cash had written music for hillbillies (surely he did? -singles ed.) then it may well have sounded like this, the Mal Gray Band looks like a Ma and Pa line-dancing troupe, calling out arguments against driving through the American Midwest.

Aside from the obscure lyrics and storyline about a diner girl howling at the moon, you'll need to don a well-greased quiff and hefty turn-ups for this rockin' two step. A legend in the era of rock'n'roll, Mal's rustic vocals and upbeat strumming will charm most listeners. SO'D


Kaiser Chiefs – Never Miss A Beat
B-Unique

Have you often sat and wondered what the Kaisers get up to on a daily basis? I know I have. Well, lucky for us, this taster for their third record 'Off With Their Heads' provides the answer.

It would seem they've been busying themselves watching Jeremy Kyle and reading the Daily Mail, and becoming suitably shocked at the state of Britain's feral youth. Then someone (probably Peanut) remembered that they had to write a song, so they decided to rework the intro from The Kinks' 'Victoria' and then let Ricky shout for three and a half minutes. These guys are just full of surprises. MF


Dananananaykroyd – Pink Sabbath
Moshi Moshi

Having been labeled 'fight pop' for exuberant, crowd-mingling DIY shows at smaller venues, Dananananaykroyd are on to bigger things. The new single on hip indie label Moshi Moshi is a foretaste of their new 'radio' sound. Slick, but still hardcore.

Both drummers bash out in style throughout three joyous minutes, the lead guitars duelling with verve. Twin vocals combine wit, screeching breakdowns and a singalong bit. A pop melody sustains throughout: friendly hardcore could be the sound of 2009. JH


Eight Legs – These Grey Days
Weekender

You know that TV advert where that guy spills curry over himself, smacks himself in the face, pisses all over himself , pulls his earring out like a frenzied PCP addict and then leaves the house with a smug self-assured grin on his face, like the Fonz of Camden? Well, this is the soundtrack to that.

Apart from that, 'These Grey Days' is a pretty good approximation of a Libertines song in so far that is has a jangly guitar bit and the lead singer is scarily skinny. Prepare to hear it to the point of tedium if you work in Topshop. DH


Bruce Springsteen – Dream Baby Dream
Columbia

Bruce first played this Suicide cover on the 'Devils and Dust' tour back in 2005, to the delight (and slight confusion) of the army of dedicated Boss fans that had assembled in Chicago to cheer their all-American hero.

In most hands this would be tedious, repetitive drivel, but the distance and lonely imploring force of Springsteen's vocals lend it a special power. Accompanied by pump organ and synthesisers, this is a long trance-like lighters-out opus. Not the cheeriest, but, live, it must have been magical. TJ


Foals – Olympic Airways
Transgressive

Foals aren't exactly breaking the mould on this new release from 'Antidotes'. Melodic guitar plucking? Check. Tight, fervent drumming? Check. Shouty chorus? Check. It's not as stirring as 'Red Sox Pugie' or catchy as 'Balloons' but it's very listenable and stands up to the rest of the album.

I like the lyrics: 'If only we could move away, from here /Let's go to an aviary far from home/Let's disappear till tomorrow'. They appeal to my inner escapist. EM


Tara Blaise – Breathe
Spokes

With lyrics as extravagantly hackneyed as 'everything happens for a reason' and 'you can get anything that you want if you believe it', this tune could well have come from a Disney-funded self-help film for underachieving ragamuffins.

Then again, Tara's biggest hit to date was a tune called 'Paperback Cliché', so maybe it's all part of a grand plan. In the end though, even the fact that Tara looks like a Celtic cross between Sienna Miller and Duffy, and that she was once in a band called The Wilde Oscars, isn't enough to redeem this pap. MF


Rod Thomas – Same Old Lines
Self-Raising

Offbeat, endearing singer-songwriter Rod Thomas is Wales' latest export. 'Same Old Lines' is a light-hearted, vaguely Guillemots-esque song which uses hand-claps and a ukulele. The video is good too - and features a load of sock puppets beating each other with instruments and holding up signs that say 'fuck you.'

Lo-fi and understated, this is a basically an upbeat love song about breaking up. Rod Thomas smilingly singing: 'It's not you – it's me, it's over!' really warms the cockles. LC


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Music Team