Good afternoon. Here’s my sick note for the next few weeks…
I’ve just moved house, and it’s going to take me a few weeks to get broadband set up. Hopefully I’ll be able to fit in a few posts, but it’s likely that the full singles round-ups for the 19th May onwards won’t be up any time soon…
Sorry! x
Single of the Week: The Outside Royalty – Falling
Controversial choice, this, for me, as it breaks most of the rules I seem to have been following this year for my favourite singles. No girl vocals, not a hint of a bleep or whoosh, and it even prominently features guitars. Shocker.
At first glance, I thought this lot were going to be another generic collection of post-Libertines oiks (see below for the inevitable dose of that for this week.) But nope, turns out we’ve got a lo-fi take on Arcade Fire, with a vocalist that alternately channels Bryan Ferry and Jarvis. They’re a Pennsylvania band who’ve relocated to London, and this is their debut single release. And it’s great. It’s even got a crescendo that could rival Pulp at their most Pop. Absolutely my most exciting discovery of the week, and, despite a few misfiring lyrics, it should be yours too. MySpace for more.
Single of the Week: Santogold – L.E.S. Artistes
Simply head-and-shoulders above everything else released this week. While it’s an entirely different prospect to previous low-key release Creator, it puts all those M.I.A. mk.II labels to the side, exposing Santi White as, if less interesting than her former tour-mate and collaborator, a little more diverse and potentially a lot more mainstream. Moves effortlessly from an almost restrained, cutesy verse into a skyscraping, overblown chorus. The video is also awesome. Whatever she does next, she’s already released one of the singles of the year. Ticks all the boxes, really. Let’s see…
Powerful, distinctive, female vocals? [TICK]
Vaguely alternative/quirky? [TICK]
MELODRAMA? [TICK]
Nice, modern production? [TICK]
Bland? [X]
Singer looking imposing on a horse? [TICK]
Single of the Week [TICK!]