Reviews – Singles
April 2007
SINGLE OF THE MONTH
Braintax
Syriana Style/Anti-Grey (Low Life)
That rarest of contemporary beasts, an outspoken and explicitly political record that dissects the ‘war on terror’ and invasion of Iraq. At its core is the precise expert lyrical rapping of Braintax, AKA Low Life label owner Joseph Christie, a Yorkshireman and perennial face on the UK hip hop scene. Such pin-sharp skewering of society’s wrongs is rarer in popular music these days than a hint of intelligence in Heat magazine. ‘Anti-Grey’, loosely based around Visage’s ‘Fade To Grey’, is a prolonged sneer at gentrification and racism featuring new face Dubbledge. Check Braintax’s ‘Panorama’ album for more.
The Television Personalities
My Dark Places Remixes (Domino)
Dan Treacy is a guitar pop cult, a man who’s been in the shadows writing perfect three chord, two chord, one chord gems for thirty years. He’s a wilful sod too, who does just what he likes, often the most obtuse thing possible, hence the chaotic nature of his live shows (let alone his life!). He’s usually AWOL and currently has an album out on Overground Records, whilst still owing Domino a new one to follow ‘My Dark Places’, his patchy album of last year. This EP, then, is Domino’s stop-gap, and it’s a (mostly rather enjoyable) mess too on the Battles, Lingling and Black Dice remixes, but the E*Vax remix, ‘You Kept Me Waiting Too Long Long Long Long Long Long Long Long Long’ is delicious, with Treacy’s maudlin lyrics accompanied by lovingly crafted mournful electronics.
Jamie Woon
Wayfaring Stranger/Gravity (Live)
From the Jamie Lidell school of soul and on a Lewisham grime label comes New Malden boy Jamie Woon who covers a traditional spiritual, letting rip with his gospel voice, while ‘Gravity’ is a gentle acoustic number. Where it really gets interesting, though, is on the Burial mix, all grandiose gothic gloom, a Gregorian dub that expansively showcases the disparate elements that make England’s capital so everlastingly musically exciting.
Late Of The Pier
Space And The Woods (Way Out West)
Late Of The Pier come from Castle Donnington but, judging from their sound, it seems doubtful they spent their formative years attending the famous heavy metal festival there. Instead Nottingham’s top notch electro-rock club Liars sparked the bands inspiration. The result is a four piece band pitched midway between early Gary Numan and The Bravery. Despite being recorded at home, it’s immediate stuff, with a juicy thread of accessible pop running through it.
M. Ward
To Go Home EP (4AD)
Ward’s fifth album, ‘Post War’, reminded his small cache of fans that one of America’s great country rock songwriters is still on heartfelt form. His songs are wistful and beautiful, drenched in longing and nostalgia, and this 7” doublepack EP is a treat. As well as the lovely cover of Daniel Johnson’s ‘To Go Home’ that was on his album there are three exclusives – a delightful Dixieland-goes-Honkytonk trifle called ‘Cosmopolitan Pap’, the lazy low key bar-room blues of ‘Human Punching Bag’ and a strutting cover of Austin folk-rocker Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s ‘Headed For A Fall’.
Repeat Repeat
Homestop Welcome (Soma)
Techno old hand Dave Congreve’s outfit with partner Mark Rutherford are reliable for dancefloor nodders but this time they’ve hauled in Andrew Weatherall on the remix. He gives ‘Homestop Welcome’ an electro-dub treatment that’s slow-burning but persistent. It bubbles along on a looping bassline for seven minutes while a thousand cybernetic gnats bleep and niggle, spacey but far from ambient. Basically, the Lone Swordsman is still on top form.
Bonde Do Role
Solta O Frango (Domino)
In the wake of CSS, some more raucous talent from Brazil, this time from Curitiba in the south. Discovered by DJ Diplo, the trio take a simple electro template and add carnival percussion then have a shouty party over the top. It’s all in Portugese so we’re not sure what they’re on about but it sounds like a Planet Mu experimental tune gone lo-fi new rave, and that has to be a good thing. Loud and careless, Bonde Do Role look promising.
Calvin Harris
Acceptable In The ‘80s (Fly Eye/Columbia)
Some throwaway electro-pop fun by a young guy from Dumfries in Scotland. Beatmag only has the original mix but there’s a Glimmers one out there somewhere which has to be worth a listen. ‘Acceptable In The ‘80s’ is an amusement rather than essential but the chirpy Nik Kerhsaw synths, inclusive irony and retro tone bode well for future Harris output.
LostAlone
Elysium (Scorpia)
There’s nowhere to go and grab hip kudos if you’re a straightforward heavy rock band. You can make it via hard work, the slaggy media cannot stop that, but the only positive coverage you’re likely to receive is from Kerrang and their ilk. Just ask Lostprophets. Actually, Lostprophets is a good reference for LostAlone, right down to the similarity of name. The trio, two thirds of whom look like Bobby Gillespie circa 1988 (which may help their profile), deliver harmonic riff-rock that has ‘success’ written large upon it.
The Knife
Marble House (Brille)
The standout song from last year’s ‘Silent Shout’ album turns up with a host of remixes. The original is such an icily gorgeous complex duet, carefully orchestrated for maximum emotive impact, that the remixes have difficulty locating a fresh access to pull it apart and reorganize it. Rex The Dog misses the boat completely by trying to create a floor-filler, Bookashade and Emperor Machine mostly ignore the original track, the former to effective minimal techno effect, David Sitek adds to the tunes already significant bombast, which leaves it Planning To Rock to simply, and perhaps most appropriately, reduce the song to a ghostly lament.
Singles for review should be sent to…
Thomas H Green, PO Box 4653 Worthing, BN11 9FG, UK
good post dude and its very rare post. always keep posting. thank you….