Artrocker Magazine’s Single Reviews for the week commencing July 5th

Civil Civic
Run Overdrive/Fuck Youth
(5000)

Very occasionally, a music PR company will send us three times more copies of a release than we need. It's entirely possible this is a 'drinks are on the house' style act of Christmas generosity, but more often than not it merely alerts our sniffer dogs: what have this band got to hide? Why is the press release six pages long? Fido! Sniff this release out! Kill, Fido, kill!
There's certainly no need to set the dogs on Civil Civic. They sent us one copy of their new double A-side, along with a press release which simply stated: "Civil Civic are keeping it DIY, right down to the lino-cut hand printed promotional CD in your hand."
Lino-cut? Hmmm. What the hell is lino-cut? Hey! Does anyone here know what lino-cut means? ("I don't know but it sounds pretty neat!" someone has shouted across the office). Damn right it does! And of course, from that moment on the journo's fascination is captured, like a gnat meeting a particularly sexy lightbulb.
Thankfully, the music within is just as weird and fantastic. 'Run Overdrive' employs the same epic church-synths that Crystal Castles use, casting them over a sparklingly dark melody, but also making them duel with the kind of emotionally fluent guitar work Suede used to bugger about with.
The second A-side has a title that's hard to live up to: 'Fuck Youth' sounds like it should be the rock anthem the Mayan Gods were predicting would destroy the universe in 2012, but it's actually just a tight and pleasingly mysterious jam. Sorry, Mayans, sorry.
Civil Civic are a weird band. They don't have vocals for example, which automatically makes them The Elephant Man compared to 99% of rock acts. What's really weird though, is that the only photo I can find of them has the duo posing on a sunny Dubai beach, dressed in sunglasses and hoodies. Who are these men? Dope fiends on the run? Carlos the Jackal and his secret lover? The Pet Shop Boys screwing with our minds? Who's to know... until we call the sniffer dogs in. Sick balls, Fido! Sick balls!
Ric Rawlins


Polka Party
Korean Cinema EP
(Hockey Records)

Despite what their name implies, there’s little chance of anyone performing a Polka to the tracks on this EP – and not just because we have absolutely no idea who performs the Polka these days.
There’s no escaping the fact that this EP is about as jaunty as a wet weekend in Lowestoft, but – and it’s an important ‘but’ - it’s that special brand of bleak that actually makes for quite an engrossing listen.
Both ‘Blood on the Motorway’ and title track, ‘Korean Cinema’, throwback to the time when Editors were all dark, stabby Rickenbacker melodies and snared hi-hats… you know, that time before someone told them synths were a good idea. Some would say this was a better time. We (and Polka Party, it would seem) are inclined to agree.
Endurance is key here, Artockers: make it through the gloom and you’ll be rewarded with a truly great little EP.
Rory Carroll


Florence and the Machine
Cosmic Love
(Island Records)

The most distinctive lungs in indie are back for some more pagan magic, with this - the final, final, final single from her much-pillaged album. Question is, have we reached the bottom of the barrel? Is it time to move on and leave some tracks behind? Is ‘Cosmic Love’ the weakest link?
Somehow the answer is no: this hundredth single is more or less as good as the first one, which is to say it's rather bloody good. It’s a wild-sounding beast that travels at speed through the trees of the indie jungle, appealing to anyone who fancies living on Planet Avatar with the Smurfs, while sounding entirely unpretentious and vibrant.
Florence? We dig. Now get on with that 2nd album you lazy mongrel!
Ric Rawlins


Crocodiles
Sleep Forever
(Fat Possum)

My first reaction on hearing Crocodiles ‘Sleep Forever’ was that I had mistakenly put an Oasis album into my stereo, which confused me for two reasons: firstly I thought they’d broken up, and secondly I don’t own any Oasis albums.
It was with considerable relief that what started out like the poor cousin of Oasis quickly found its feet and it’s voice to become a rather good 4 minutes of lo-fi rock ‘n’ roll goodness with a sneering attitude that’s not laughable like a certain Mr L Gallagher. Thank Christ for that.
Mark Cousens


The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Say No To Love
(Fortuna Pop!)

The early teens path to wisdom in the affairs of the heart didn’t have this soundtrack. No, for the 90s it was Alisha’s Attic or some such elder statesmen/women for the discerning kids who would patch up your knee with a three-minute fabric plaster.
So for TPOBPAT to come out with such a blistering vein of promise and empowerment for the youth of today has me both jealous and impressed: proving to me that kids these days are far cooler and more astute than I. And, that the greatest way to mend a broken heart is to avoid getting one in the first place, a beautiful thing. Almost as beautiful as Kip Berman’s voice when he coos “when everything he does is wrong, and all of what you feel is gone, go on”.
Emily Kendrick


Crystal Fighters
In The Summer
(Zirkulo)

For all their strange and exotic percussive instruments, it’s hard to say that Crystal Fighters stand out exactly. Regardless, the clatter of the Basque orientated drums on offer here could almost be mistaken for the drums of war having gone synth. Grand lyrics put an almost insurmountable challenge to the music (“The world is like a dream when the sun is shining”) and yet somehow Sebastian, Graham, Gilbert, Laure and Mimi have risen to the occasion, creating four minutes of wonk-pop bliss that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense – but doesn’t really need to either.
Emily Kendrick


The Scratch
I Relax To Spiral Scratch
(Ponyland Records)

The Scratch aren’t a very relaxing band. ‘I Relax To Spiral Scratch’ isn’t a very relaxing song. Instead, it’s bratty, snarling, nasal and rests its laurels on a brilliantly drunken chorus. Furthermore, as the song progresses it becomes increasingly more difficult to appreciate how one could relax to it: it’s the sort of thing you’d play on repeat for weeks in a fit of merriment – before forgetting about it at the bottom of a scrapheap-playlist.
Max Feldman


The Strange Death Of Liberal England
Flagships
(Fantastic Plastic)

Apt of name and huge of vision, The Strange Death Of Liberal England remain an interesting proposition, which is heartening to see many moons on from their initial wave of acclaim.
Very rarely do the Southsea collective sound like they’re just a five-piece. Fans of the band’s previous work will be pleased to hear that ‘Flagships’ is as delightfully expansive and far-reaching as ever.
The fuzzy guitar parts and pounding rhythm section are punctuated throughout with attention-demanding lyrics and a rich horn section, as the track builds into something that’s, quite simply, hair-raisingly massive.
If you’re someone who likes the higher-octane end of Interpol’s early work and appreciate a big, hearty chorus of impassioned group vocals, then TSDOLE will be yours to love. Even if you’re neither of the above, there’s still plenty of appeal in this rousing comeback.
Charlie Ashcroft


Thomas White
Accidentally Like A Martyr EP
(Cooking Vinyl)

All five of this EP’s tracks are covers, and the represented artists make for an ambitious list of targets. It is a diverse offering, and it would be sprawling if it wasn’t so short.
The title track, lifted from Warren Zevon is a lumbering heft of alt.country. ‘We Have All The Time In The World’ combines electro squelches with choral chime.
Ultimately, White seems to be exercising his solo canon, covering all possible bases. He even imitates Mark Linkous’s cowering lisp on ‘Little Fat Baby’. Noticing these copycat nuances make this EP a bit Weekend On Sunday. It threatens to act as a soundtrack to suburban grief and obsessive carwashing. However, the choice of songs and bands saves it from mediocrity. After all, Mission Of Burma don’t go down well with mass-produced marscapone. Warren Zevon and Sparklehorse are revered by literary junkies rather than ITV enthusiasts. Overall, it’s a mild success.
Max Feldman