14 March 2010
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28 February 2010
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14 February 2010
07 February 2010
31 January 2010
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18 January 2010
10 January 2010
03 January 2010
20 December 2009
13 December 2009
06 December 2009
29 November 2009
22 November 2009
15 November 2009
08 November 2009
02 November 2009
26 October 2009
18 October 2009
11 October 2009
04 October 2009
27 September 2009
20 September 2009
13 September 2009
06 September 2009
30 August 2009
23 August 2009
17 August 2009
07 March 2010
28 February 2010
21 February 2010
14 February 2010
07 February 2010
31 January 2010
24 January 2010
18 January 2010
10 January 2010
03 January 2010
20 December 2009
13 December 2009
06 December 2009
29 November 2009
22 November 2009
15 November 2009
08 November 2009
02 November 2009
26 October 2009
18 October 2009
11 October 2009
04 October 2009
27 September 2009
20 September 2009
13 September 2009
06 September 2009
30 August 2009
23 August 2009
17 August 2009
No foreplay this week. Just straight to the meat.
Mayer Hawthorne - Just Ain't Gonna Work Out
Like Eli 'Paperboy' Reed, Hawthorne is ploughing an old-skool soul furrow, but with a smoother, early 70s flavour. The harmonies suggest The Temptations and the overall vibe is lights-turned-down-low. Watch the conception rate rise! (DB)
Catraz - Knock Knock
White rapper Catraz makes no attempt to hide the fact that he's from a decent neighbourhood - so it's suprising to note that his debut single isn't all that bad and has some surprisingly witty lyrics. It's refreshing for a rapper to sing about house parties rather than ghettos and bitches and for that reason alone it's worth a try. (CP)
Bless Beats (feat Charlie Brown and Wiley) - The Rain
UK grime producer, Bless Beats, once again teams up with Wiley (their previous collaboration 'Wearin My Rolex' was a crossover smash). Unfortunately, this time around the track lacks any of the hooks that their previous single had - grime as a genre is notoriously laid back, but here we don't even get started in the three minute running time. (CP)
The Duckworth Lewis Method - Meeting Mr Miandad
This cricket inspired act by The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon and Pugwash's Thomas Walsh should be destined for failure - however The Duckworth Lewis Method seems to succeed where it should really fail and has produced a decent album and some potential hit singles. Meeting Mr Miandad is a great example - lightweight and catchy, it's not at all bad. It doesn't have anything important to say but does that really matter? (CP)
Florence Rawlings - Hard To Get
I had to double check the CD sleeve when first popping this on. With a voice of a good black Motown singer, Florence Rawlings is in fact a pretty gorgeous redhead! So preconceptions out of the way, Hard To Get is a really good Motown influenced track with strong vocals and is highly recommended. She's got a great voice and I just hope there's a place for this sort of music in 2009 as she deserves to do well. (CP)
Preston - Dressed To Kill
A post-marriage Preston returns with an attempt at eighties electro and fails miserably. Even a Siouxsie and the Banshees sample can't elevate this to sounding like anything other than mediocre channeling of Pete Burns. It's pretty damning when the best thing you ever did was storm off a TV quiz show in a strop, and on the evidence presented here I don't think even this attempt at reinvention is going to come good... (CP)
T.I feat Mary J Blige - Remember Me
An average MJB ballad rapped all over by T.I. - on paper it sounds unremarkable, but the combination works and we have something here that defies expectations. Certainly worthy of a couple of spins. (CP)
Passion Pit - To Kingdom Come
This delightful electronic creation strides out on the Road To Nowhere but somewhere along the way takes a detour and heads for the soul. An oddly uplifting experience and a definite grower which will eat away at you until you are singing it at bus stops in the rain. (SB)
Frank Turner - The Road
Frank is an intriguing success story as, at face value, his blokeish Bragg meets the Levellers urban folk is fairly pedestrian and predictable. Clearly though, he has the ability to commune with his audience and they love him for it. This ode to travelling will keep the fans happy but is unlikely to convert many more to the flock. (SB)
diskJokke – Rosenrod
An unremarkable but pleasant enough piece of mellow electronica that will be best heard at 3am in a chill out room. (GB)
Single of the Week
The Qemists (feat. Devlin Love) - S.W.A.G.
Passion Pit almost scooped SOTW, but ultimately I had to award it to Qemists, if only because S.W.A.G. works against all odds. Somehow they turn the usually charmless drum 'n' bass/rock hybrid (see Pendulum...) into something you'll want to listen to more than once. Is it the female vocal that makes the difference? I'm really not sure. Even more alarmingly, the often unlistenable trance-metallers Enter Shikari turn in a bloody good dubstep remix. Flamin' Nora - a Jamie Oliver free-range pig just flew past the window and Tony Blair just admitted a fuck-up! (JD)
Mayer Hawthorne - Just Ain't Gonna Work Out
Like Eli 'Paperboy' Reed, Hawthorne is ploughing an old-skool soul furrow, but with a smoother, early 70s flavour. The harmonies suggest The Temptations and the overall vibe is lights-turned-down-low. Watch the conception rate rise! (DB)
Catraz - Knock Knock
White rapper Catraz makes no attempt to hide the fact that he's from a decent neighbourhood - so it's suprising to note that his debut single isn't all that bad and has some surprisingly witty lyrics. It's refreshing for a rapper to sing about house parties rather than ghettos and bitches and for that reason alone it's worth a try. (CP)
Bless Beats (feat Charlie Brown and Wiley) - The Rain
UK grime producer, Bless Beats, once again teams up with Wiley (their previous collaboration 'Wearin My Rolex' was a crossover smash). Unfortunately, this time around the track lacks any of the hooks that their previous single had - grime as a genre is notoriously laid back, but here we don't even get started in the three minute running time. (CP)
The Duckworth Lewis Method - Meeting Mr Miandad
This cricket inspired act by The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon and Pugwash's Thomas Walsh should be destined for failure - however The Duckworth Lewis Method seems to succeed where it should really fail and has produced a decent album and some potential hit singles. Meeting Mr Miandad is a great example - lightweight and catchy, it's not at all bad. It doesn't have anything important to say but does that really matter? (CP)
Florence Rawlings - Hard To Get
I had to double check the CD sleeve when first popping this on. With a voice of a good black Motown singer, Florence Rawlings is in fact a pretty gorgeous redhead! So preconceptions out of the way, Hard To Get is a really good Motown influenced track with strong vocals and is highly recommended. She's got a great voice and I just hope there's a place for this sort of music in 2009 as she deserves to do well. (CP)
Preston - Dressed To Kill
A post-marriage Preston returns with an attempt at eighties electro and fails miserably. Even a Siouxsie and the Banshees sample can't elevate this to sounding like anything other than mediocre channeling of Pete Burns. It's pretty damning when the best thing you ever did was storm off a TV quiz show in a strop, and on the evidence presented here I don't think even this attempt at reinvention is going to come good... (CP)
T.I feat Mary J Blige - Remember Me
An average MJB ballad rapped all over by T.I. - on paper it sounds unremarkable, but the combination works and we have something here that defies expectations. Certainly worthy of a couple of spins. (CP)
Passion Pit - To Kingdom Come
This delightful electronic creation strides out on the Road To Nowhere but somewhere along the way takes a detour and heads for the soul. An oddly uplifting experience and a definite grower which will eat away at you until you are singing it at bus stops in the rain. (SB)
Frank Turner - The Road
Frank is an intriguing success story as, at face value, his blokeish Bragg meets the Levellers urban folk is fairly pedestrian and predictable. Clearly though, he has the ability to commune with his audience and they love him for it. This ode to travelling will keep the fans happy but is unlikely to convert many more to the flock. (SB)
diskJokke – Rosenrod
An unremarkable but pleasant enough piece of mellow electronica that will be best heard at 3am in a chill out room. (GB)
The Qemists (feat. Devlin Love) - S.W.A.G.
Passion Pit almost scooped SOTW, but ultimately I had to award it to Qemists, if only because S.W.A.G. works against all odds. Somehow they turn the usually charmless drum 'n' bass/rock hybrid (see Pendulum...) into something you'll want to listen to more than once. Is it the female vocal that makes the difference? I'm really not sure. Even more alarmingly, the often unlistenable trance-metallers Enter Shikari turn in a bloody good dubstep remix. Flamin' Nora - a Jamie Oliver free-range pig just flew past the window and Tony Blair just admitted a fuck-up! (JD)
