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This Week's Single Reviews

• 29th Jun 2012

It's that time again ladies and gentlemen, time to praise the 3 minute wonder, bask in the glory of the toe tapper, the foot stomper and the hum dinger. Where would we be without them? Lost in a sea of droning flotsam and experimental jetsam, oppressed on all sides by the hideous album tracks.

Some people only like the album tracks, especially the really dull ones that nobody else has given any time to that you're really not supposed to like. You know, the filler. But to hell with that, bring us 2 – 3 minutes of unstoppable glory, melodies that we'll be singing all weekend, hooks that we'll be clawing out of our ears when we're trying to sleep…

All hail this week's bloody singles!

Capital Sun – The Work Song

This bouncing single from Birmingham based working man’s band Capital Sun has a heavy 60’s and 70’s influence that fans of The Enemy, The View and Sound of Guns should enjoy. Fairly basic lad rock here with not much else to offer – matter of fact lyrics lacking the wit and charm of Arctic Monkey’s make for a bit of a flat release that drags along in a beige kind of way; B-side ‘Why Am I Me?’ fares better in a Kansas/Neil Young-imitating fashion.

Cut Yourself In Half – Say Goodbye To The World (no stream)

This corker from label New Heavy Sounds doesn’t disappoint. Part of the sickeningly happening Leeds scene that includes Hawk Eyes, Black Moth and Pulled Apart By Horses, Cut Yourself In Half are peddling sludge driven rock and roll with thunderous riffs and a psychotic edge that make for intense but thrilling listening. Rated.

The Dirty Heads – Spread Too Thin

The Dirty Heads are a California bred quintet spreading the sunshine with an interesting blend of alt-rock, hip hop and reggae. Spread Too Thin is a pleasant summer radio track, but there’s not much more going on here. This track would excel as background music at a barbecue, not necessarily a damning review. This isn’t going to change your life, but that burger might just taste a little sweeter.

Meursault – Flittin’

Weasling its way into the mailbag with a rescheduled release date or by some arcane Machiavellian PR tactics (we couldn’t help but notice the permanent marker pen crossing out the old date on the CD sleeve, sorry guys) comes this heartwrenching track from the gloom-laden Edinburgh songwriter. More suited to a rainy, cold autumn evening it may be, but this is undeniably beautiful stuff from a very talented artist. We hesitate to use the term real music, but this is about as honest as it gets.

Matthew P – Long Straight Lines (stream: link)

Now this is a single. This hugely infectious track sounds like alt-folk hero Johnny Flynn channelling Red Hot Chili Peppers – bizarre but joyous. There’s a country drawl and a solid acoustic backbeat with a funk driven chorus that shouldn’t work but somehow does; it even comes complete with a hugely overdriven, if a little understated, guitar solo. This is the cream of the crop this week- if only everything that came out of Suffolk was as good as this song.

Hatcham Social – Lois Lane

The mo-town bass line stomp gets this track rolling shows signs of promise, before the heavily reverb laden guitars unfortunately lend a dose of stereotypical retro-authenticity to an uninspired arrangement. Frankly we’re struggling to believe the hype behind Hatcham Social, hailed as an indie anthem we were left scratching our chin a little – there’s not much in the way of hooks to cling on to and the lyrics lack any real ability to connect; a disappointing offering.

Yellowire – All Said & Done

Good singles need a strong backbone, and in this case it’s the inspired honky-tonk lead piano line that keeps this refreshing track marching. With a nod to the camp disco of Scissor Sisters, Yellowire actually succeed in rolling into White Stripes and Cold War Kids territory with this raspy, 70’s sounding release that practically bleeds attitude and swagger. We look forward to hearing more.