MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST: Interview with Wild Palms

With a forthcoming release of a AA side single and a string of UK tour dates ahead of them, we caught up with Lou Hill from Wild Palms to give us an insight into the band.
More Than The Music: What a year it’s been for Wild Palms! You only formed in the past couple of years, yet you’ve had a string of festival dates, are in the midst of your UK tour, and have your third single coming out next month. What do you think your success can be put down to?
Wild Palms: We’ve been together about 2 years actually, but our relative success is down to being resourceful and hard-working, making sacrifices, and also not compromising ourselves or our music. We keep close-knit and push each other to keep progressing.
MTTM: How did you find the Festival circuit this year? I saw you at Offset in September and you were great!
Wild Palms: Offset was good, although James’ kit was basically swimming on that stage he had to keep like chasing it because it was moving around. The festival season kind of just went by quite quickly actually, there were a few really good ones like Standon Calling, Camden Crawl, Great Escape and a couple of European dates; but we had our minds on making the record so we were a bit preoccupied this summer I think.
MTTM: I understand you have signed a three-album deal with One Little Indian Records. It must be great to have such a significant amount of security and creative independence, especially with the music industry being the way it is at the moment?
Wild Palms: Yeah that’s basically what it has given us. The best thing about One Little Indian is that they give us complete creative control: there’s a lot to be said for that, especially in relation to us we wouldn’t do well with people sticking their oar in and messing with our music I don’t think. But in fairness security will only stretch so far, its not a charity we still have to create good music.
MTTM: You’ve sited a variety of musical influences previously; Captain Beefheart, Sonic Youth and Talking Heads to name a few.  Are these artists a great influence on you creative output generally, or are you more influenced by everyday life, relationships, personal anecdotes etc.?
Wild Palms: I’d say everyday life, but listening to music is part of that life y’know. Our minds are basically filters: some stuff sticks some stuff evaporates, its whatever strikes chord with you day-to-day: music, images, writing, conversations, events, glances etc etc…
MTTM: Who would you say your contemporaries are? Where do you fit in the modern music market?
Wild Palms: I don’t know. I tend not to think about it. In fact I make a concerted effort to keep that out of my consciousness and general life as much as possible and especially out of the studio: we all do. We never bring that into the studio, I think it could potentially have detrimental effect on the music, more specifically on what you create and the reasons why.
MTTM: Aestheticism seems to be an integral part of your work; with your singles sporting beautiful art work and photography. Will you be continuing this with the new releases?
Wild Palms: Yes, most definitely. This is all down to Aneel Kalsi (art direction and graphic design) and Ben Westoby (photography), they are a pair of very talented friends who we sat down with about a year ago and worked out an overarching concept and aesthetic that we thought represented WP and which would run throughout all releases and any affiliated artwork. We are heavily indebted and thankful to them.
MTTM: I loved the thick, heavy sound of your previous single Deep Dive. Will this vibe continue within your work, or do you aim to diversify?
Wild Palms: We always aim to diversify. Deep Dive was essentially a transitional song I think, I hope its heavy and deeper now than it ever was but the I also think that the sounds lighter and more mellow in many songs on the album, I think the whole album is fairly diverse actually,  which coincidentally Deep Dive is not on.
MTTM: You have a new Double AA side single out on the 8^th November (To the Lighthouse/Draw in Light). Can we expect your debut album anytime soon?
Wild Palms: I think Until Spring will be released in February.

See this interview at More Than the Music: http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/interviews/wild-palms/

HERE COMES EVERYONE POST: Singles of the Week (Best and Worst)

Good Stuff Release on or before 25th October 2010
Best Coast – “Crazy for You”
If you haven’t heard Best Coast yet I really advise you to check out their new release below, and then track down their other stuff asap. Best Coast are really rather bloody good, and so totally hip and now, so you really have no excuse. The hype for these guys in growing within circles in the know, but for those of you who have not yet been blessed, let me sum-up their sound for you right n-n-n-now. Best Coast create Lo-fi, fuzz-based garage pop, with surf influences, a sunny disposition, cute lyrics, and an even cuter female vocalist. With a bit of the Beach Boys, a bit of The Drums, a bit of Stereolab, and Au Revoir Simone, they are upbeat and dreamy, with short but sweet songs. Find them at the till at Urban Outfitters, or else do the smart thing and get it for the half the price on Amazon.



White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”
Fair enough, the percussion style in this track, though very interesting and engaging, is a blatant rip-off of the Burundi beats used in the 1980s by groups such as Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants. But, as the original usage of this percussion style was also a blatant rip-off of the original African tribal music technique, I don’t really want to criticize White Rabbits too much, especially when they pull off both the Burundi beat themselves, and the whole track in general incredibly well. This track has a really cool, curious vibe, with a fantastically melodic bass line, which works perfectly with the sparse guitars, and jagged piano parts. The vocals are really interesting too, and add well to the subtly passionate, yet collected feel of this track. A really good new release from White Rabbits, do check out the video below.



Bad Stuff Release on or before 1st November 2010
Ne-Yo – “One in a Million”
Errggh. Yet another offering from ladies-man Ne-Yo, and what an awful offering it is. Here, Ne-Yo offers more of his own personal brand of Ken doll-smooth R&B, and my god it is just awful. The music in itself is fairly uninteresting; essentially it is typical R&B pop style timbres and production, with an over produced sound, a sparse yet polyphonic rhythm section, and very basic synth bass and synth-pad accompaniments. What is really stomach churning though is the narrative concept and lyrics of the track. It is pure, featureless, unrealistic idealism. Women who naively subscribe to Ne-Yo’s overt romanticism - I can tell you categorically that no man in the world honestly subscribes to this approach to love and relationships. Sure, they may feel/say that they love you and that you are very special to them etc., and I obviously don’t want to put a sunder on that, but such an earnest dedication of love as “One in a Million” only has one purpose – to get you into bed.

YOOMOOT ARTICLE: Albums You Must Hear from the 1980s

Below are my top ten albums from the 1980, in order of gravity for the reader/listener. Again, I have taken into consideration the quality of the entire record in terms of music, song writing and production, as well as the album’s longevity, importance and influence on popular music as a whole. The 1980s were such a prolific time for music generation, where the seeds of the 1970s really bloomed into some juicy music goodness. Here’s what I think are darn good:

Number 10: Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980)
By 1980 punk in the US had mostly mutated into hardcore, and Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is the best example of this powerful, aggressive and exciting genre. This album is moody, angry, and disenchanted, but it is also incredibly funny, witty and intelligent. This was properly political punk, not just an empty nihilistic concept and fought the good fight against Reagan’s far-right, neo-Christian presidency.

Number 9: De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
3 Feet High…   was the first hip hop album that exampled the genre’s branching out into more sensitive, culturally informed areas, later to be known as conscious rap. The album had a really sincere, positive and upbeat vibe, which was unusual for rap in the era of Public Enemy and N.W.A. Including mainstay feel good hits such as “The Magic Number” and “Me, Myself and I”, De La Soul included literally hundreds of samples in this album, from artists as diverse as Funkadelic, Billy Joel and Led Zeppelin. A really innovative album, in production techniques and attitude.

Number 8: N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton ( 1989)
With its vocal and instrumental brutality, profound use of swear words and generally heavy attitude, Straight Outta Compton invented the gansta-rap genre, and put west-coast rap on the musical map. N.W.A. included some of the most important names in rap; Ice Cube, Dr.Dre, and Eazy E to name but a few. This album took the continuing problems with race relations in the US, and California in particular, and addressed them fully and forcefully. “Fuck tha Police” is a perfect example of the approach on this album.

Number 7: Bow Wow Wow - See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah. City All Over! Go Ape Crazy (1981)
This album was probably the most perfect of Malcolm McLaren’s orchestrated projects (Adam Ant and The Sex Pistols being notable others), with a fully formed musical direction and great, exciting tunes to boot. Their music has aspects of surf-style, Brazilian pop, new wave and the famous McLaren mainstay – Burundi beats. Bow Wow Wow also constantly courted with controversy, fashion, and commercialism.

Number 6: Duran Duran – Rio ( 1982)
Without doubt, Duran Duran wrote some great pop music, and Rio is the greatest collection of their work. “Rio” itself is a work of pop art, and at over five minutes long, it is epic with it. Feisty, fast and very very 80s, this album was smooth and high-gloss, and the set the shape for pop to come.

Number 5: The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy and the Lash ( 1985)
Incredibly folk, yet very punk, obviously Irish, yet English too, The Pogues’ music combines these key elements in what was a very unique way at the time. This was not simple, misty-eyed folk. This was raw passion, punchy and poetic, with haunting timbres and melodies. It must be said though that Shane MacGowan’s lyrics are the pinnacle of this album. His lyrics are so perfect they are almost like prose, providing a grim, yet romantic outlook on traditionalism and inner-city living. There is certainly a lot more to the Pogues than “Fairytale of New York”.

Number 4: Madonna – Madonna ( 1983)
Madonna has obviously been a hugely influential entertainer and musician though the past three decades, but with this album her whole career, and concept started. Though her eponymous, Madonna made great strides in the dance-pop genre, and bought electronic based instruments, such as the Linn Drum machine and the Moog bass machine to the fore. With infectious, flirtatious ditties, and coy, girlish vocals, this album was the start of something big.

Number 3: Prince and the Revolution – Purple Rain ( 1984)
Point blank, Prince is one of the greatest musicians and performers of the modern era. This huge talent flooded through with Purple Rain , which is still probably Prince’s best album to date. His sound here combines rock, pop and soul amongst a myriad of other styles with lots of synth in a way that was truly innovative.

Number 2: The Smiths – Hatful of Hollow (1984)
Due the bizarre way UK record companies used to release singles and albums separately, Hatful of Hollow , the most renowned group of tracks by The Smiths, is not even a studio album. Containing “How Soon is Now?” “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” and “This Charming Man”, it is actually a collection of all the singles released by the group to date, as well as some studio sessions. Containing some marvellous and diverse guitar work by Johnny Marr, and superbly witty and poetic lyrics (‘England’s mine and it owns me a living’) this album is growing in relevance again, and is a vital influence on all indie generally.

Number 1: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 – The Message (1982)
The Message was the debut studio album from Grandmaster Flash and co., and is considered to not only be the first true hip-hop album to have been released, but was also one of the most accomplished and influential. Demonstrating perfectly hip hop’s unprecedented use of samples for a wider audience, The Message bought hip-hop to the world. Unless you grew up in the Bronx in the 1970s, this album will have influenced your hip-hop some how. It also introduced a wider audience to the genuine disillusionment and depravity of many inner city communities in the US that before this record were mostly unknown and obscure.


See this article at Yoomoot: http://yoomoot.com/articles/top-10-tips-albums-you-must-hear-from-the-1980s/

YOOMOOT ARTICLE: Could the Price of an Album Really Drop to £1?

Last week, Rob Dickins (former head of Warner Music) radically advised that in order for the music industry to survive in its current model, CD album prices should be slashed to £1 per unit as soon as possible. Speaking at the In The City music conference in Manchester on Thursday 14th October 2010, Dickins claimed that the erosion of unit prices over the past ten years will continue as the record industry dwindles, and that drastic action must be taken. He argues that radically dropping the purchase price of CDs will encourage consumers to buy music much more frequently than at present, and that people will think less about the commitment of purchasing an album and just do it. Dickens additionally claimed that by creating a micro-economy within the album market, the problem of piracy could be at least partially be solved. This micro-economy could keep the record industry quietly ticking over, and artists could make their major profits through live tickets and merchandise, (indeed there is usually a direct correlation between an increase in album sales and an increase in live ticket purchases).

As a music lover, I can categorically say that I would buy many, many more albums if the universal cost price was reduced to £1. Instead of buying one or two albums a month, I would buy ten. If I wanted an album, I would just purchase it, instead of ruminating over whether it was actually worth purchasing. And I think most consumers of music are like this – Rob clearly knows his market, and understands how consumers of music think these days.

Unsurprising though, this clearly intelligent, proactive advice was not well received the vast majority of industry representatives at last week’s conference, and will almost certainly not be heeded. Clearly there will be a huge amount of hostility and resistance to a specific and purposeful drop in the price of albums, mostly because record companies are so embarrassingly stuck in the archaic culture of making millions from album sales, and are continuing to feel very sore from their current situation. As an example of this démodé frame of mind, Jonathan Shalit (an artist manager) stated at In The City that "A piece of music is a valuable form of art. If you want the person to respect it and value it, it's got to cost them…a significant sum of money”. This comment is to me a frustratingly small minded, hypocritical, unworkable and arrogant frame of reference, for the following reasons:

Firstly, a CD is simply a material object containing what is a metaphorical piece of work. The music is entirely autonomous to the CD; it can be replicated by the artist to a live audience or by a fan, by an i-pod or by a car stereo. The CD copy of this music is just a captured example of the organic, base track. Therefore, attempting to value a piece of music in itself is a theoretical quagmire that cannot be easily argued within this context.

Secondly, the price of CDs still does not reflect the amount an artist actually receives for their creative work. When broken down, artists themselves typically get less than 5% of the money acuminated through album sales. Most of the money goes to retailers and the artist’s record label. This monetary arrangement clearly does not respect the true value of the artist, or their work.

Thirdly, if you are going to parallel albums with art, surely the cost price of each CD should be determined by the albums importance and quality in terms of overall artistry and creativity? Should we therefore be finding albums like Sergeant Pepper and Led Zeppelin IV being sold of £20, and Blue’s Greatest Hits for 50p?

Clearly, Shalit’s argument is uninformed, short-sited, and ultimately rather greedy. But it is also, unfortunately still the prevailing attitude from within the record industry. Many artists are now beginning to align with the changing music market, and from Dickins’ speech, some industry bods are finally beginning to wake up too. Unfortunately though, most of the industry continues to refuse to deal proactively with the changing market. Lets just hope they wake up soon to positive, market friendly suggestions like that of Rob Dickins, before the record industry implodes entirely through ineffective market strategy. 



See this article at Yoomoot: http://yoomoot.com/articles/could-the-price-of-an-album-really-drop-to-1/

MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST (ALBUM REVIEW): Imelda May - Mayhem

Mayhem is the second major label album from Imelda May, which was released this month on Decca. May has had a considerable amount of previous success in her native Ireland (her first album Love Tattoo went triple platinum there), but her popularity is beginning to spread, with the first two singles from Mayhem charting in the UK, and a string of dates lined up for her imminent European tour. This growing success of May’s is easy to determine; not only does she have a sassy, foxy, powerful presence, in both her demeanour and vocal ability, but she also produces catchy, upbeat songs.


The jazzy, bluesy, rockabilly vibe of Mayhem is also an obvious crowd pleaser, and May submerses her work in this genre with a significant degree of panache. Musically, there is a lot of brass, surf-style guitars and double bass action. Visually, May is all wasp-waists, red lips and catty eyeliner, with her backing band sporting quiffs and 50s bowling shirts. The whole album really fits into this retro idea; her work could sit quite nicely alongside The Stray Cats, Royal Crown Review, and in her punkier numbers she could even be considered to have a musical resemblance to horror-punk groups like The Horrorpops and The Misfits.


Vocally, May is very talented, and throughout Mayhem her vocals are clearly the star of the show. She has a good vocal range, rich tone and a lot of expressivity. Retro vocal effects such as fuzz-boxes are placed over her vocals at times, but this is produced well and doesn’t mar or encroach on May’s vocal performance. The production on this album is generally very good, especially the double bass, which has been captured perfectly.


Whilst most of the tracks on this album are upbeat, there are a few slower, more melancholic tracks thrown in for good measure. Although these add a nice change of pace, the quieter, sparser instrumentation of these tracks often uncovers some fairly cheesy, weak lyrics. Kentish Town Waltz is a particular culprit here. Generally, the upbeat tracks on Mayhem are of better quality as they contain more instrumental diversity, catchier licks and divert attention from the sometimes weak lyricism. I must say though that Too Sad to Cry, is an exception here, for whilst it is incredibly melodramatic, it also demonstrates effective lyrics, great vocal and instrumental performances, and has a marvellously haunting atmosphere.


See this review at More Than The Music: http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/album-reviews/imelda-may-mayhem/

YOOMOOT ARTICLE: Albums You Must Hear from the 1970s

Below are my top ten albums from the 1970 seventies, in order of gravity for the reader/listener. While compiling this list, I have taken into consideration the quality of the entire record in terms of music, song writing and production, as well as the album’s longevity, importance and influence on popular music as a whole. Hopefully I have here complied a less than obvious list of truly great 70s records, that everyone with even a passing interest in music should try to listen to - especially if you are below the age of 30 and were not around to listen to them the first time! Please feel free to comment, or add albums of your own choosing.

Number 10: Miles Davis – Bitches Brew (1970)
Avant-garde and Jazz-fusion is certainly not for everyone, and Bitches Brew is a perfect example of this fact. With two disks and only six tracks, two bass players, three drum kits, two pianos and very little vocals; this is still a challenging, confusing and bizarre record. It is however a very important record that fused rock and jazz, and it has had a lasting influence on both genres, as well as laying the foundations for funk. The production, the sparseness and the sheer erogenous nature of this work is very interesting and engaging, and if you can take it, being immersed in Davis’ soundscape can be rewarding and even captivating.
Number 9: Brian Eno – Another Green World (1975)
With Another Green World Brian Eno, producer, musician, and one time member of Roxy Music, essential created the ambient music genre. The instrumental content here is muddled, thick and often contains very little traditional structure. It does however demonstrate fantastic usage of (the then groundbreaking) effects such as treated synths, tape effects and rhythm generators, and has enchanting vocal content, delivery and production. Any ambient-style music released post-1975 will have been influenced by this.
Number 8: The Police – Outlandos d’Amour (1978)
There is a clear reason why so many people still listen to The Police – they wrote great, catchy songs that are continually enjoyable and relevant. Outlandos d’Amour was the debut album from The Police, and is full of youthful energy, exuberance and excitement, fusing the contemporary genres of punk, post punk, new wave and ska perfectly. Marvellously upbeat, with at times curiously dark lyrics, this album is a near-perfect aural experience. 
Number 7: Elvis Costello – My Aim is True (1977)
This album combines quirky, simple instrumentation with excellent song writing. The upbeat mixture of punk with reggae and Buddy Holly style rock and roll continues to enthral, but it is Costello’s lyrics that perhaps most resonate with a modern audience. Each track on this album perfectly captures varying states of dissatisfaction, with work, with love, and with life, in a way that is matter of fact but not depressive. It is a microcosm for a continually British state of mind.
Number 6: The Specials – Specials (1979)
This was the first official release from the emerging genre of 2-tone, and in many ways is more an album of the 1980s, the future and of things to come than the 1970s. The overt fusion of black ska and white punk was fresh, exciting and different, and well represented the changing attitude of British youth away from the archaic attitudes of the national front that worryingly gripped the country throughout the 1970s. This album both addressed these oppressive attitudes and importantly provided transcendence from them through the upbeat music.
Number 5: John Lennon – John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970)
This cathartic album contains some of the best work John Lennon ever completed. Free from the constrains of “The Beatles” brand, this was the first body of work Lennon completed where you really felt like he was making the music he wanted. This album is angry, negative, biting and fierce, with beautiful poignancy and lyrical mastery throughout. Everyone, working-class, English or otherwise, must listen to “Working Class Hero” at least once in their life.
Number 4: Lou Reed – Transformer (1972)
This album was Lou Reed’s most commercial effort, with fairly traditional instrumentation and song structure, and many tracks from Transformer are considered to be Reed’s definitive work. Cool, edgy, bluesy and glam, this album at face value is fairly upbeat and easy to swallow. Underneath this palatable exterior however is a wealth of drug-ridden angst and complex sexuality issues. With important contributions from both David Bowie and Mick Ronson, this album is the epitome of early 70s art rock.
Number 3: David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
This album, for want of a better description, is just so seventies. From the production of the album, to the timbres of the guitar parts, to its melancholic optimism, Ziggy Stardust just really captured the zeitgeist of the early 70s in the UK. A concept album based around Bowie’s well-known alter ego, this album is filled with some of Bowie’s best known tracks, such as “Starman” and “Suffragette City”. The album is a perfect example of glam rock, and fully established Bowie as the monumentally talented musician/performer that we all know he is.
Number 2: Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express (1977)
This album, without doubt, is one of the most important albums in the history of modern music. Here, with their sixth album, Kraftwerk fully and completely absorb themselves in early sequencer experimentation, essentially developing a style of music/instrument that continues to be prolific to the present day. Hip-hop was massively influenced by this Kraftwerk album, as well as disco and dance music variants, from techno to hard-house, and pop - pretty much any music that uses either synth, sequencing and sampling technology. This album was truly the beginning of something huge, and it did so in what is still a stupendously haunting and alien fashion.
Number 1: The Clash – London Calling (1979)
This is perhaps an obvious choice as the most important album to listen to from the 1970s, but apart form the prevalent title track, many have not really listened to much of this superb album from The Clash, and I strong advise that they should. Whilst “London Calling” is a truly anthemic, sonic synonym for punk, the rest of the album has 19 fantastic tracks, covering genres as diverse as rockabilly, pop and reggae. With gems such as “Lover’s Rock”, “Lost in the Supermarket” and “Koka Kola”, this album manages to both encapsulate the drive and raw dissidence of punk, as well as providing a definitive full stop to the genre, and the decade generally.

See this this article at Yoomoot: http://yoomoot.com/articles/top-10-albums-you-must-hear-from-the-1970s/

MORE THAN THE MUSIC POST (ALBUM REVIEW): Mitchell Museum - The Peters Port Memorial Service

The Peters Port Memorial Service is the debut album from Glasgow band Mitchell Museum, which was recently released on Electra French Records. The band are steadily gaining attention throughout the UK indie/folk scene, with October 2010 seeing in the release of their third single, and the commencement of a new UK tour. Mitchell Museum’s growing popularity and generous critical acclaim is certainly understandable. In essence, at a base level, their music is positive and upbeat, but in a contemplative, inauspicious fashion that is very Scottish. Not brash or boorish in their optimistic sonic outlook, Mitchell Museum have here managed to create a mild yet anthemic soundscape which is exuberant yet measured.


Another reason for the growing success of Mitchell Museum is that this album specifically captures the zeitgeist of folk-based variants that are particularly popular and prolific at present. Psyche-folk, anti-folk, pop-folk; TPPMS could be placed within any of these sub-genres; although alongside freak-folk contemporaries such as Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and The Antlers is where Mitchell Museum seem to fit most comfortably. Much of this album contains typical freak folk elements such as lo-fi production elements, and is laced with subterranean feedback. The album’s title track has strong reminiscences of the fantastic Antlers’ album Hospice, with low/no vox and delicate, sparse instrumentation and production. I must say though, Mitchell Museum are a band of influences. I can hear elements of many bands, such as Arcade Fire, the Happy Mondays and their freak-folk contemporaries, amongst many others. The vocals throughout the album in particular sound vey much like Polyphonic Spree, both literally (with their layering of many voices) and stylistically (with regard to the actual timbre and grain of the voice). Personally I would like to hear a bit more diversity with the vocals, perhaps having some tracks with just a strong lead vocal instead of multiple vocal tracks.


In terms of instrumentation however, The Peters Port Memorial Service is sound. The music is deeply layered and textured, and there is a diverse range of instruments and sounds. The drumming especially is often complex and more than accomplished. Production wise, the sparser tracks are perhaps more interesting, with songs such as Cut Lantern leaving room for rather more curious production. So over all, an interesting album, an enjoyable listen, and ultimately a positive addition to the freak-folk genre.


See this review at More Than The Music: http://www.morethanthemusic.co.uk/album-reviews/mitchell-museum-the-peters-port-memorial-service/

HERE COMES EVERYONE POST: Singles of the Week (Best and Worst)

Good Stuff Released 11th October 2010:
The Joy Formidable – “I Don’t Want to See You Like This”
Hooray! The Joy Formidable are back with their first new track of 2010. They return fresh from their recent signing with Atlantic records, sounding a little bit more polished, but still the same essential band that I know and you will soon love. They have been around doing the gigging circuit since 2008, but have held off from a major label signing for a long time in order to ensure creative control. The video is a bit more direct and straight up than their previous work (which was quite arty), but they maintain their far-scaping sound, complex drums and upbeat melancholy that continues to make them special. The melody is great, and Ritzy Bryan’s vocal style and delivery is unique and passionate. It is perhaps slightly less catchy than previous singles, but still, a pleasing new release.

The Ting Tings – “Hands”
Love them or hate them, the Ting Tings unarguably create catchy upbeat pop music, and I have enjoyed having this track in my head since I first heard it a week ago. The line “Clap your hands if you’re working too hard” will be an obvious club pleaser, and whilst her vox are quite thin and high pitched, the lyrics are ok. This track is decidabley of the moment in that 80s based post-modern style du jour, and sounds quite similar to a few other current acts, including essences of The Hundred in the Hands, The XX and Gaga. The synth timbres are intensely dominant, so if you don’t like synth you will hate this. Personally I think synths can be great though, and here the Ting Tings have nailed each and every part and timbre creating a fresh and vibrant track.

Bad Stuff Released 11th October 2010:
Michael Buble – “Hollywood”
This track is for the most part just typical Buble: simple, dated melodies, soulless delivery, and that annoying voice, with its bizarre vowel pronunciation and smooth arrogance. But coupled with the video, which is simply made up of the song’s lyrics on screen, and you are really made aware of how awful the music Buble churns out is. The video is ridiculously weak in itself, but it also highlights the vacuous lyrics in a way that turns this release into a proper artistic catastrophe. I have a real issue with the lyrics especially, which seem to be essentially saying why bother having ambitions and dreams, when I, Michael Buble, is all you will ever need. Yuk. It will however be popular with the usual Buble crowd (i.e. tasteless mums).

Christian TV – “When She Turns 18”
What an absolute disgrace this track is. That the music itself is pretty weak becomes a rather moot point, for the message of the lyrics and the video here are just so atrociously spoilt and void of any appeal that their despicableness completely dominates this track. You really should watch for yourselves, but a here is a brief synopsis. Spoilt brat gets no attention from daddy who is at work, working, probably to provide the daughter he loves with a nice home and life-style etc. This charming young lady is not happy about the situation and goes on to simulate sex on the copy machine at her dad’s office with Christian TV man. Wow. What Christian TV man fails to address is that he is in a physical relationship with a girl under the age of 18, which makes her below the age of consent in the US. That and the fact that poor old daddy will probably be there to pick up the pieces when he ditches her for not putting out. The only people this track will appeal to is spoilt brats. And Americans.