Artrocker Magazine’s Single Reviews for the week commencing December 6th

Fiction
Big Things
(HitClub)

For reasons unknown and mysterious, most high school science teachers tend to resemble ageing monkeys who've been wearing the same blazer since 1972 and have curiously aromatic fragments of cotton wool up their noses.
This weirdness has been noted by the excellent London quartet Fiction, who have set about composing the antidote: 'Big Things' sounds like the theme to a BBC2 science programme hosted by David Bowie in 1980s funk mode, complete with crap 3D graphics and dancing Bunsen Burners being pulled on strings by the Jim Henson’s Creature Workshop. In keeping with the spirit then, let's ask some Big Scientific Questions!
WHY? does this work? The lyrics speak of "big things sinking with gravity" suggesting an Isaac Newton-themed seminar, and yet the music has got more in common with my hips than the reason my hips don't float away and commune with airplanes.
HOW do Fiction get away with it? This is their second single of the month in not very many months, suggesting that if they are using gravity, they're exerting it on my mouse to highlight them in our spreadsheet as 'single of the month.' The crafty swines!
WHO makes this single sound so good? Mike Barrett is the chap making those innocent and slightly tropical keyboard sounds while providing the vocal hooks. Nick Barrett is providing the Television-style guitars, while the minimalist bass grooves (Daniel Djan) and sharply funky drums (James Howard) take care of the rest.
WHEN will you be able to dance to this fantastic single as opposed to listening to me giving you a crap science lesson? Well, er... I think you can download it already. Now get your ass to Home Economics!
Ric Rawlins


The Neat
Hips
(Chewing Gum)

It’s never dull in Hull, according to my mate’s t-shirt. And he’s right; I went there once and nearly met my doom on a speedway, so of all the words I might use to describe the place, dull most definitely is not one. But you don’t need to go to said conurbation on the Humber to appreciate what the, shall we say, underrated city has to offer. (You might add it to an alternative list of 100 things to you do before you die, mind).
Look no further than The Neat, who step forth replete with Fall-like ferocity. ‘Hips’ is an angular attack that feels like a suicide cult riding atop a hovercraft made of razorblades.
It sets off with rumbling guitars, momentarily reminiscent of a stuttering engine on a cold morning, before the angst-ridden vocal arrives to announce; “Buzzcock my name / Mike is my name!” And with that, the rubbery bass and a siren-wailing guitar line… we’re off.
Tortured yet superbly bouncy, this frenetic yet controlled beast judders along so enthrallingly it encourages us to join the drugged procession – complicit or not in our own doom.
Over on the B-side ‘Counteract’ will have you holding onto your hats as the same pulsing, crunching guitars crunch and fuzz. It’s twisted and relentless. ‘Dernt berst’, my mate says sometimes. These boys can. Fizzing new wave brilliance.
Ed Spencer


XM-3a
Bad Robot Man
(New Heavy Sounds)

Rather like Freddy Kruger, Jaws and Baron Von Greenback, prog rock is commonly mistaken to be lying dead at the bottom of a bone-strewn tomb, but just when you thought it was safe to drop your guard... RAI! RAI! RAI! It's back with a freshly polished triple-neck guitar.
To be fair to the genre, even the MC5 once recorded a rock opera - and when done well (i.e. with class, economy, and some mean-buttocked heavy riffs) it can be just the ticket. Ladies and disbelievers, I present to you just such a case: the debut single by XM-3a.
That's right, XM-3a. Don't get them confused with the debut movie by George Lucas, THX-1138, whatever you do. Because these chaps are embedded in the New Heavy Sounds scene along with Tweak Bird, Chickenhawk and numerous other hard-riffing heavyweights, allowing them just the right degree of perspective to revive prog-rock with a fresh set of teeth.
Loosely speaking, 'Bad Robot Man' describes the moment a massive herd of evil robots is noticed stomping over the horizon of a city. These robots are illustrated by enough retro space noises to send the Doctor Who sound effects department into a state of nervousness, most notably some Cyberman-recalling synth squelches.
Singer Tom notches up the B-movie commentary as the song launches into its chorus - part Queen chanting, part Sabbath riffing - with a nicely catchy put down to the alien invaders that they won't forget in a hurry; "Bad Robot Man! You're a Bad Robot Man!"
If this seems slightly ridiculous, you're exactly right; it's this suspension of the laws of Cool that allow the band to get away with nine minutes worth of gasoline-coated riffs, bursts of noise, ascending scales, ridiculous keyboard solos, duelling lead guitars, call and response vocals, phaser effects and a massive theatrical climax. Not very minimalist then - but a chop-lickingly guilty pleasure nonetheless.
Ric Rawlins


Pulled Apart By Horses
Yeah Buddy
(Transgressive)

Welcome to the next stop on our post-hardcore road trip: Pulled Apart By Horses and their new single, ‘Yeah Buddy’.
In truth, we all owe a great debt of gratitude to PABH: in one foul swoop (!), they’ve completely undone all of the damage Pauly Shore did to the phrase ‘Yeah Buddy’ - and that’s a lot of damage, as anyone who watched California Man will tell you…
But back to the music. Matching the pumped-up heights of ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive’ would be a big ask of any band, but you know what? We think PABH might just have managed it. Having bludgeoned everyone’s ears with their previous single, questions will have naturally been asked about whether the band had anything left in the tank. ‘Yeah Buddy’ comprehensively proves that they do.
By the band’s own admission, this track is a “heavyweight sing-a-long formed by watching one too many bodybuilders lifting beefy weights on Youtube”, and that should give you all a fair idea of its enormity. Their decision to mix a slower, staggered verse with an unrelenting, ‘scream your balls off’ chorus ensures that whilst it’s brutal in its delivery, ‘Yeah Buddy’ never becomes overwhelming – a fate which often befalls many in the post-hardcore bracket.
In a short space of time, Pulled Apart By Horses have transformed themselves from edgy Leeds four-piece into an unstoppable musical juggernaut that’s making a charging assault on the mainstream. They aren’t the sort of band to hit the breaks, so we strongly advise you to either get on board or get the hell out of the way.
Rory Carroll


We Are Enfant Terrible
Wild Child
(Last Gang)

You can snigger and joke about garlic and stinky cheese all you like, but the fact remains that the French are sexier than we are. They have glistening champagne, we have Lambrini. They have Georges Escoffier, we have Antony Worrall Thompson. Oh, and they’ve also got We Are Enfant Terrible, the sexiest thing to come out of Paris since Brigit Bardot.
'Wild Child' is dirty electro that should be the hold music for 0900 numbers and sounds like Peter Stringfellow shagging a Pokémon. Like a CSS MKII, the band are set to give the dance floor its groove back, so go to the top shelf of the record shop, find the one in the brown paper packaging, buy it and for Christ’s sake hide it under your bed in case your Mum finds it.
Dai Howells


Frank Turner
Rock & Roll
(Xtra Mile)

Previously the front man of hardcore punk band Million Dead, Turner left the band in 2005, picked up an acoustic guitar and started to write folk punk songs. Three studio albums, four EPs and several singles later he’s is back with a fistful of new songs.
I have a lot time for Turner. I find his blend of folk punk, delivered enthusiastically and passionately by vocals shouted rather than sung, quite rousing and great to sing along to when driving round the M25.
He can be frustrating too though; as he proved with ‘Thatcher Fucked The Kids’, he’s capable of producing brilliantly crafted political songs, but on this EP, as with most of his stuff, he seems preoccupied with singing about how great rock & roll is and getting pissed with his mates. There’s still some great songs here though!
Mark Cousens


Seeland
Under Abraham's Mind EP
(Loaf 41)

The new EP from Seeland is a covers record – but not per se an ordinary one. The material is plucked from artists such as Dion, obscure ‘60s band Fenwyck and John Foxx for re-interpretation.
Problem is, there’s simply not much re-interpretation going on; the band play it safe and unadventurous with the songs, putting into question somewhat the point of the record.
Still, for what it's worth the songs are not murdered. It's always delightful to hear the icy synths of ‘Underpass’ and the powerful lyrics of Abraham, Martin and John. Worth a listen out of curiosity – but nothing to take home.
Max Raymond


Islington Boys Club
Pristine/Plastic 16
(Club.The.Mammoth)

Despite a name which implies the innocence of youth and a sort of academic civility, these chaps are pretty damn filthy – and they wear it well. Glam-disco number ‘Pristine’ shoots round a hedonistic chorus with some decent semi-Britpop vocals, while second A-side ‘Plastic 16’ has an air of decadent sadism – which is surprisingly accessible, even if you’re not a decedent sadist.
T-Bone Jones


School of Seven Bells
ILU
(Full Time Hobby)

Blissed out ‘80s pop with a Celtic tinge, this isn’t a zillion miles away from Shakespeare’s Sister, albeit with a wee bit more indie in its blood. The tone is pleasantly spiritual, even through the promised climax never seems to come.
T-Bone Jones


Lupen Crook
Dorothy Deserves
(Beast Reality)

A strange rattle this way comes; ‘Dorothy Deserves’ feels partially like a Soho drinking song, and also somewhat like a big show-piece from Bugsy Malone. Neither of which are bad things it must be said, and what’s more you get to see the band having their buttocks fly-swatted by an S&M vixen in the video. Bonus! I er… think.
T-Bone Jones


Singing Adams
I Need Your Mind
(Records Records Records)

Broken Family Band front man Steve Adams has risen from the ashes of that band under the guise of Singing Adam, and now returns to the musical world with this – his first new release.
‘I Need Your Mind’ is written from the perspective of a guy liking a girl who's a brain box in comparison, and the frustrations of feeling mentally inadequate in comparison. It bounces along in a simple fashion, with an upbeat folk appeal and happy vibes gradually blossoming in accompaniment of Adams' voice. It's the sound of a bunch of friends not taking themselves too seriously and having a bit of a giggle.
The fact that it’s also somewhat forgettable is a shame, as all the foundations are there for a bit of musical genius to start seeping through.
Brad Ferguson


Holy State
Medicine Hat / Sultan Of Sentiment
(Dance To The Radio)

We previously claimed that Holy State were “a refreshing slap in the face to knock all of the indie dross out of your ear holes”. You occasionally get found out in reviews, loving a band one minute only to turn tail as soon as they drop a musical clanger. With that in mind, we were understandably nervous pressing play on this particular CD.
We needn’t have worried at all; Holy State remain a breath of fresh air. ‘Medicine Hat’ in particular carries a brilliant air of jangling desert menace, mixing The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster with the darker elements of Queens of the Stone Age to forge a single worthy of infinite airplay.
Both tracks lose momentum slightly in the chorus, but when the verse hooks are this good we genuinely couldn’t care less. Save for the odd small wobble, this is an absolute joy to listen to.
Rory Carroll


Japanese Voyeurs
Milk Teeth
(Fiction)

Bouncing somewhere between crunching riffs and teasing mellowness, 'Milk Teeth' creates a grunge-infused nightmare, made even more nightmarish by the Freddy Kruger-esque lyric; "when I shut my eyes I see my death so I’m too scared to sleep”.
Just when your nerves can't take any more, the song climaxes in a petrifying scream of “when I go to bed …milk teeth, fresh fresh fresh meat”. Sweet dreams!
Lee Puddefoot


Gay for Johnny Depp
Pink Flag
(Shinebox Recordings)

If you hit the Random Band name Generator and came back with ‘Gay for Johnny Depp’, you’d probably think all of your Christmases had come at once… after you’d stopped giggling like a crack badger (something we did for a good ten minutes).
Post-hardcore wailing is currently hotter than a sack of fornicating rats, but dividing lines are already emerging in the scene. You see, unlike the delightfully balanced and clearly well-backed tones of Pulled Apart By Horses (more on them shortly), Gay for Johnny Depp still like a good old fashioned shriek – something that will certainly please the genre purists.
‘Pink Flag’ is 1 minute and 48 seconds of pure, unbridled terror that plays fierce vocals off against a guitar line that will melt your eardrums. Put simply: it’s as raw as they come and will deliver fear and awe in equal measure.
Rory Carroll


The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Heart In Your Heartbreak
(Fortuna Pop!)

We’ll begin this one with a confession. It’s something that hip young(ish) wordsmiths like ourselves should never have to write but, as we’ve got to know you all so well, we think we might just get away with it. So here we go: this single’s so heartfelt that it almost - almost - made us Emo. If we had floppy fringes and Death Cab for Cutie’s entire back catalogue, it totally would have tipped us over the edge.
Ignoring the fact that we just died a little inside, we’d like to quickly move on and tell you that ‘Heart In Your Heartbreak’ falls into roughly the same category as most of The Ravonettes’ material: perfectly listenable, just the right side of kitsch and equipped with a vocal line high enough to shatter glass from about three miles away. Might be an idea not to play this one too loud, then…
Rory Carroll


Sky Larkin
Year Dot EP
(Wichita)

At the end of a year which has seen Sky Larkin scoring highly with critics on their second album, the band are rounding things off with the ‘Year Dot’ EP, which in itself is a rather mixed bag.
The title track showcases the band at their most pop, while ‘Barracuda’ arrives to a heavy, thumping fanfare and is quite epic sounding. From here onwards, it’s remix time – and with varying degrees of quality.
‘Year Dot’ gets three remixes with none of them especially hitting the mark, although the Minotaur Shock remix, which starts off reasonably down tempo, is pleasant enough. The Ghost Hunter remix of ‘Still Windmills’ fares much better, making a once frenetic tune sound more eerie and in line, musically at least, with Fever Ray. This EP isn’t essential, but it does contain the odd good moment.
Max Raymond


The Charlatans
Your Pure Soul
(Cooking Vinyl)

For those of you who're used to The Charlatans fusing hammond organs with baggy rock riffs, 'Your Pure Soul' might raise an curious eyebrow; it starts off as an autumnal and slightly melancholy acoustic breeze, then dips into a Stevie Wonder-style funk groove. All the while Mr Burgess is whistful but committed - resulting in a cozy winter warmer!
T Bone Jones


Stagecoach
Not Even Giles Would Say We'll Be OK
(Alcopop!)

Stagecoach sound like corn chewing hippies at the beginning of this single, a perception which lasts for roughly the same amount of time as it takes to be mutilated in the ears by the extreme noise terror which follows. They riff! They squawk! And perversely, the acoustic pluckings continue, leaving you feeling slightly confused as you realise that you're head banging to a banjo.
Ric Rawlins


Rodeo Massacre
Zombies of Life
(Smoky Carrot Records)

'Zombies of Life' is a song of two parts, the first a rampaging boogie of garage rock blues with a headless highwayman kind of spookiness. This section feels crunchy and atmospheric but by Jove it's gonna need a bigger tune to subvert the familiarity of its genre.
Luckily the second part sounds like the sky opening and a Psychedelic Flute God emerging through the clouds to shower us with ecstasy, doves and butterflies! Hooray for the Psychedelic Flute God.
Ric Rawlins


Arrows Of Love
Real Friends
(Club The Mammoth/Handspun)

This single is officially evil. Not because of the music, but rather because the CD keeps lodging in my stereo and therefore destroying my evening of music reviewing. Damn you, Arrows of Love!
Still, while it's lodged in there, let's review the beast. 'Real Friends' is a full throttle
garage-punk number, barely observing the laws of logic in its mission to derange your mind (albeit briefly taking note of the laws of logic to deliver a four second long chorus which sounds like Nirvana).
The tag line "I don't care if you shoot me" is indicative of the general vibe: carnage, mayhem, acid abuse, destruction. Naturally, the B-side is acoustic!
Ric Rawlins


Tango In The Attic
Sketch By Quentin Blake
(Keep Calm Records)

The band who we've definitely never referred to before as "The Scottish Vampire Weekend" (TM, Copyright Artrocker 2010) are back with a more reverb-coated single, lacking perhaps in a decent chorus but clawing back those plus points with a carefree spirit designed to make you say 'YEAH!'
Ric Rawlins


Girls
Broken Dreams Club
(Turnstile/Fantasy Trashcan)

Girls! There are no girls in them. They're not entirely boyish boys though either, sounding more like Marty McFly's dad than Biff the bully - and certainly carrying with them the lighthearted 1950s atmosphere of that movie.
'The Oh So Protective One' has a tender Elvis Costello-style soul, 'Heartbreaker' feels like a casual milkshake at the diner, 'Broken Dreams Club' downs some vodka and wipes away a tear, while 'Substance' goes for the blue surrealist dreams of Chris Isaak and pretty much nabs 'em.
As you may have guessed by now, the songwriting is retro but classy, adding absolutely bugger all to the era of puppy love, but crucially not taking anything away from it either - their hearts are in it.
Ric Rawlins


Chapter 24
Gregory/Down In The Sea
(Self Release)

For recording this double A-side in a single day, London quartet Chapter 24 get the cheesy thumbs up. Their music's not bad too; a kind of art-pop boogie which ignores so many rules it may as well have been recorded backwards, then reversed and overdubbed in Swedish subtitles.
'Down In The Sea' gets my vote, building as it does to an alien-sounding but kinky climax, while 'Gregory' is pleasingly DIY, but lacking in catchiness.
T-Bone Jones


Plan B
Love Goes Down
(Atlantic)

You kind of get the idea that if Mr B had been recruited as a songwriter for Michael Jackson in his final years, we'd be commending the plastic one on a historic turnaround. As it is, Mr B is rightly picking up the awards for songs like this, a simple and cozy soul boogie which doesn't outstay its welcome.
T-Bone Jones


The Human League
Night People
(Wall Of Sound)

Most of us know The Human League for their 1982 super-smash 'Don't You Want Me', which is quite rightly still spinning in pop 'n indie discos worldwide. This first single in ten years recaptures their trademark robot-vocal and synth-disco sound, but falls short of the target known as 'catchy', slithering down the wall over the slightly less appealing target known as 'irritating pants'.
T-Bone Jones


The Targets
Wake Up
(Project Records)

Full throttle indie-rock from Cheshire here, which is amusingly described as 'iMod'. The three-boy trio sound like The Stereophonics having been snipered in the ass and told to move faster. I can imagine it on the soundtrack to The Inbetweeners - not a bad thing per se - and it'd probably get a fair old mosh pit going too.
Cindy Suzuki


The British Public
Bears / Breasts
(Tip Top Recordings)

There's a nice contrast at the heart of this debut single from the Cambridgeshire band, which goes something like this; the lyrics are entertaining, loosely describing an incident of being "attacked by a hundred bears" and also offering some useful advice to aspiring musicians; "don't you know you can play the drums with your thumbs?" The contrast is in the music, which suggests Nirvana-shaped demons hiding in the closet.
Cindy Suzuki


The Bumps
Bump Start EP
(Death Pop Records)
AAAAA

There is a curious space in B-movie culture that The Bumps inhabit, and loosely speaking it's in the same territory as Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof'. This EP springs a million bubblegum pop culture references to mind, from Scooby Doo to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre - all compressed into a slab of plastic vinyl boogie.
Not many bands could write songs like 'Heroin Girl' ("I don't wanna live with a heroin girl") while provoking both smirks of amusement and foot tappings. Meanwhile, 'I'm A Creepy Guy' is the Ed Wood of pop songs, mixing up surf pop, crap UFO noises and T-Rex guitar solos. Groovesome.
Ric Rawlins


Florence and the Machine
Heavy In Your Arms
(Island Records)

Suitably for a song recorded for the Twilight Eclipse soundtrack, there are massive cinema-sized strings and the air of an intense teenage romance hanging over this song. Hang on, isn't that what Florence does best anyway?! Hmm, quite possibly. Either way, 'Heavy In Your Arms' pulls off the usual stunt of being intelligently melodramatic, with a hip hop undercurrent and a tasty swamp-mosphere.
Ric Rawlins


Crystal Castles
Not In Love (Feat. Robert Smith)
(Fiction)

Everybody loves to blow a snot bubble now and then to the gloomy-but-sensitive voice of Robert Smith, but what happens when you feed The Cure to the Castles? If this is anything to go by, some pretty sparkly fireworks seem to be the answer.
Smith gives it the traditional lovesick agony for which we know and love him, while the by-now trademark church synths open and close around him like disorientating rays of light. It's a weird contrast; Smith seems too heartfelt to fit in entirely with Crystal Castles' stony-faced dystopia, but the results are almost guaranteed to secure a sleeper hit for the both of 'em.
Cindy Suzuki


Dirty Projectors
As I Went Out One Morning
(Domino)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; if you’re going to do a cover, do it better or make it different! Fortunately it seems that me and the Dirty Projectors are on the same wavelength. Covering ‘As I Went Out One Morning’ a Bob Dylan track taken from his 1967 album ‘John Wesley Harding’ Dirty Projectors’ have managed to do both.
I’m not a huge fan of Dylan, but the emotion portrayed in David Longstreth’s voice and the bizarre and slightly scary backing vocals intensify the song dramatically. Add to that a much fuller sound, a stilted drum rhythm and the removal of Bob’s ghastly harmonica, and Dirty Projectors have indeed managed to stamp their own personality on it.
Mark Cousens


Zola Jesus
Poor Animal
(Souterrain Transmissions)

Avant-garde synths and strings, electro drums that don’t sound like they’ve been begged, borrowed or stolen from be-quiffed revivalists, haunting vocals that sound – whisper it – honest. Oh yes.
After Duffy, Adele and Kate Nash were branded “the new Amy Winehouse” I wouldn't bet against some moron attempting to give this a “new Florence” tag. Only Zola Jesus is better than that. This year’s album 'Stridulum II' was a welcome respite from all the chart-bothering major-label banditry and featured more than just a voice a little different to the norm.
Zola Jesus has fused her influences (classical and industrial to name but two) into a sound wholly original and magnificently realised, something not to be scoffed at in the age of crap karaoke and cover versions. There are myopic flat earthers who are adamant that “if it’s worth doing it’s been done already”. Well, they’re kind of right. The album was released in August.
Dai Howells


Silver Columns
Brow Beaten
(Moshi Moshi)

It's little wonder that Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard offered up a remix of Silver Columns’ 'Brow Beaten'; the song takes the softly-sung dance vocal made famous by Goddard’s men and spreads it thick over a europop Scissor Sisters beat. The result, it won’t surprise you to learn, is as camp as Christmas. And by God it’s dreadful.
Maybe I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time. These words are being spewed forth from a living room on the south coast. If I were chewing my gums into a bleeding pulp as a man I know only as “Steve” gyrates his heft above me it might make a strange version of sense. But alas, it’s not to be. Next time, Steve.
Dai Howells


Gospel Music
Duettes
(Fierce Panda)

Gospel Music (or Black Kids’ Owen Holmes to Mum and Dad) has teamed up with members of Camera Obscura and The Magnetic Fields for the suitably titled Duettes EP. “Homespun heartbreak pop” is how it’s billed, although “GCSE Moldy Peaches” is probably closer to the mark.
Opening gambit 'I Miss The Shit Out of You' is cut-and-paste from the aforementioned Juno-featuring duo but with all the warmth and depth of an Eskimo’s fridge. Holmes’ EP wears its influences on its sleeves, but that, of course, isn’t nearly enough, in the same way that having a condom doesn’t make you virile or a floret of broccoli in the fridge make you a vegetarian.
TS Eliot said “great simplicity is only won by an intelligent moment or by years of intelligent effort.” Unfortunately both have eluded Gospel Music.
Dai Howells


Das Wanderlust
Swan Song
(Cherryade Records)

Female vampires rise from their coffins, the drums kick in, and bats begin circling. I unbutton my shirt to expose my neck. Bite me, please, bite me! I am in thrall to this swirling sinister psych fuzz. Then comes chanting, the chanting… I’m being taken! Suddenly, a little organ breakdown. You notice you’re being cradled in their arms – the bite hasn’t happened yet but you’ll be poisoned soon enough. Yes… yes… Then the tribal chanting kicks in again – and they start to retreat. Hang on. Come back!
Ed Spencer


Frightened Rabbit
The Loneliness and the Scream
(Fatcat Records)

A mist rolls in across a medieval battlefield; bloodied soldiers traipse across. It’s unclear who’s won, but there’s a palpable sense of confusion and bafflement.
“I’ve fallen in the forest” cries Scott Hutchison, screaming to prove that he exists. That’s right folks, you guessed it – it’s a Frightened Rabbit release!
And despite the weeping presence of jangling guitars here, there’s an urgency to this single which renders it rather good and almost reminiscent of slowed down Longpigs.
It’s worth listening on, too, for the cover of Elton John and Kiki Dee’s ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’- the bromance version with The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn.
Ed Spencer


Banjo or Freakout
105
(Memphis Industries / Rare Book Records)

I’m nodding off – but it’s not my fault. The fact that Alessio Natalizia whispers his verses like a man awoken in the mid-afternoon’s summer haze is responsible for the song’s hypnotist effect on you. And if you take into consideration the rolling snare after each wash of repeat 3/4 timed guitar… well it’s hardly surprising that a featured lyric is “I’m seriously thinking of going to sleep”. You and me both, chum. Low energy levels aren’t unfamiliar if you consider former single ‘Upside Down’ as well, but he’s a high impact one-man band, no doubts about that.
Emily Kendrick


The Loves
‘December Boy’ / ‘Bubblegum’
(Fortuna Pop!)

There is something cleverly deceptive about sounding like everything and nothing all at once. A loving spoon of 60s girl-pop, matched with a melody that flits between ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ and ‘Femme Fatale’ without ever really hitting that belt-it-out moment… their restraint is mesmerising, but also perhaps doesn’t invite repeated listens.
The flipside ‘Bubblegum’ makes for a male vocal-led, brattier and younger Buzzcocks ode to ‘Boredom’, minus a kick in the teeth but with added feedback. Plus and minus points across the board me thinks.
Emily Kendrick


Charly Coombes & The New Breed
Waves EP
(CCATNB Records)

Jim Morrison's son. Roger Daltrey's brother. Sting's daughter. Looking at the evidence, you'd have to say that being given a record deal by your family connections isn't always a terribly good thing.
Listening to this record however, you'd have to assume that Charly Coombes (brother of Supergrass' Gaz) has scored on his own merits; 'The Waves EP' is a vital sounding and imaginative little beast.
Formerly keyboard player for the briefly hyped 22-20s, Coombes stands out well as a man (albeit a man with a band) on his own; 'Jungles & Tides' is a dark space-rocker, 'Sub Rosa' an atmospheric piano stomp and serenade for the lonesome, 'Molly' hits you with some trigger-happy bass riffs and sunshine guitar, while 'God Knows' is like a shower on a sunny day, a sprightly and progressive indie bopper. The last song in particular brings mid-period Supergrass to mind, but the echo is somewhat inevitable given Coombes' time playing in and around the band. What's slightly less inevitable is that he's making some damn fine tunes. Amen!
Bone Daddy Jones