Hey Dirty, baby we got your money...
Durrty Goodz – Oi What You Looking At
Unsigned
There's an indie band from Newport called Dirty Goods and one of them is called Wylee. I mean, come on! Like nobody is going to notice you've named your band and yourself after two of grime's brightest stars.
What's worse is they can't spell Durtty Goodz and they don't make grimey bass monsters called 'Oi What You Looking At'. If they did then maybe I'd give them a 5/5 too. But they don't. 5/5
TO
PJ Harvey – The Words That Maketh Murder
Island Records
The catchiest war lament since Dylan's era, 'The Words That Maketh Murder' is a surprisingly political single from the lovely Miss Polly Jean.
As is to be expected from Harvey, the lyrics are beautiful pieces of dark poetry ("I've seen soldiers fall like lumps of meat / Blown and shot out beyond belief"). Musically, there's nice use of muted autoharp, allowing Harvey's unique voice to shine. It's time to jump on the bandwagon of critics touting Harvey's upcoming album the greatest of her career. 5/5
HS
Mogwai – Mexican Grand Prix
Rock Action
Mogwai brilliance – rocking but somehow steeped in dance. This driving tune does feel like tearing round a Grand Prix track behind the wheel of a souped-up F1 automobile while your hot Mexican co-driver mutters details about her dangerous curves in your ear....or something.
Basically, listen to it. It kicks some ass while also stroking it at the same time. I can imagine it being pretty good driving (or speeding) music. I'd try it on my bike later if it weren't likely to lead to me taking those dangerous curves a bit too fast. 4.8/5
LC
Gruff Rhys – Sensations In The Dark?
Turnstile
There is no tune that isn't improved by the parp of a Mariachi band. That's just a fact. This song is no exception. As swirling and pretty as it is, it's no match for the trombone blast which, when it comes, is easily the most uplifting element of the song.
Gruff describes it as "a feel-good-tinged ode to the joys of falling in love with music", which is pretty accurate as far as it goes. But it would be pretty limited without that sweet brass section. 3/5
LM
Okkervil River – Mermaid
Jagjaguwar
OK, so I'm sure this is good and all, but frankly it bores me. If, due to some bizarre set of circumstances, I were to find myself sitting by a campfire on the outskirts of some Texas hick town, drinking moonshine and chatting to toothless yokels about lassos and lynching, then the prospect of a few indie types plucking away gently at an acoustic guitar for seven minutes might seem rather appealing.
But I'm sitting in an office in London. And it doesn't. 2/5
TJ
Chipmunk ft Chris Brown – Champion
Jive
Chipmunk and Chris Brown strike poses while passionately wailing and spitting ego-pumped lyrics in the desert. The track reassures them that they were born champions. Chris Brown obviously thinks writing a song about it and resonating it worldwide might actually restore his reputation. Maybe he dreams that if it's played out enough, people might actually believe it. And Chipmunk, who's hailed as cute, is clearly desperate for a touch of rough. His solution? To get inked up and attempt a chart-topper with a wife-beater.
No doubt with all the right marketing it will flood the dancefloors. 2/5
NH
RSS – Wife Her Up
Wall of Sound
At first listen the chilled out beat is the first thing that grabs your attention, and before long you find yourself bobbing your head along to it. That is until you actually hear the lyrics of the song. Proof that the saying "it’s the thought that counts" does not ever apply to music.
No, the fact that RSS is talking about "wifeing her up" does not make up for how incredibly obvious the rhyming is. And this is exacerbated by the high pitch he insists on elevating himself to at the end of every sentence, as if to draw more attention to what he must have thought was genius. 2/5
AM
Visions of Trees – Sometimes it Kills
Moshi Moshi
Relying on technology will probably be our downfall. If there ain't a button to press then kids aren’t into it. Unfortunately, as we become more dependent on these metal boxes, the mediocre can easily shine through, and regrettably for Visions of Trees, so can the dire…
Songs like this are usually made by ‘musicians’ who aren’t really musicians; they’re just people aimlessly pressing things in an attempt to birth something that teeters around the edges of music. Ambitiously deranged, ‘Sometimes It Kills’ is an overworked amalgamation of trippy, undefined fuzzy mess. 1/5
DJ
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