July 2009

SINGLE OF THE ISSUE

The Brownies
Cougar (NROne)

“Mark me like you mark your territory,” sings Sophie Little of Norwich three girl/two boy outfit, The Brownies, over a jagged indie-punk racket that throbs with energy, attitude and shed-loads of sex. Featuring production that’s engagingly frayed at the edges from The Subways producer Jon Gray, it’s a triple-header full of rough hewn power pop fire. As indie slowly falls into disfavour, with the term ‘landfill’ attached to it, so it’s pleasing to see an outfit who don’t give a damn about that and who are also capable of reinvigorating crude guitar action. All three songs have ballistic yet catchy choruses that faintly recall The Ramones while ‘Violence’ with its fevered line “you’ll have to do to have sex with,” couldn’t be any more carnal. Fans of panting hot rock’n’roll filth should check ‘em out.
www.myspace.com/thebrownies

Marissa Nadler
River Of Dirt EP (Kemado)

It took me a while to dig Marissa Nadler. I have a natural suspicion of female artists who travel the trail of Kate Bush/Bat For Lashes oddball, gathering critical plaudits for delicate whimsy. Nadler’s oeuvre has been called ‘dream folk’ and her latest album, ‘Little Hells’, her fourth, takes a smidgeon of country and works it into something fragile and lovely. This number, lifted from it, is an aching ethereal campfire wisp of a song, and comes backed with a desolate reading of Neil Young’s ‘Cortez The Killer’. Rather late in the day, I’m a convert…
www.myspace.com/songsoftheend

The Heavy
Oh No! Not You Again! (Counter)

The Heavy reappear with a gigantic two minute slab of punky blues-rock that, despite a whiff of Led Zep, remains very much its own beast. The quartet hail from Britain’s west country but also have much clout in London hipville, snagging Kasabian producer Jim Abiss on desk duties and Noisette Shingai Shiniwa on vocals. Home to fab noiseniks The Deathset, amongst others, Counter Records deserve a break-out hit so let’s hope The Heavy’s sweaty Kerrang pop is it.
www.myspace.com/theheavy73

Dizzee Rascal
Bonkers (XL)

Unlike, say, Roots Manuva, who has so far achieved modest commercial gains while gathering critical plaudits at every turn, Dizzee Rascal has given UK hip hop broad mainstream success. Sensibly he long ago ditched the clattering grime backing in favour of exploring a wide range of other options, including collaborating with Calvin Harris on last year’s monster hit ‘Dance Wiv Me’. For ‘Bonkers’, from his forthcoming fourth album ‘Tongue’n’Cheek’, Armand Van Helden provides a patent earthquake-sized bassline while Dizzee explains he’s not bothered about being called mad. Lyrically it’s so-so but as a floor-filler, it’s gold dust.
www.myspace.com/dizzeerascal

The Ettes
Danger Is EP (Take Root)

The recent death of Lux Interior marked the end of the great punk-trash band The Cramps. It’s great, then, to hear an outfit ready to pick up the mantle and run with it. The Ettes are a three-piece from New York who emigrated to LA’s West Coast sunshine where their tight but crude, ballsy sound has been making waves. Produced by White Stripes associate Liam Watson, they achieve a gratifyingly distorted enormous bass rumble smeared with ‘60s garage trash. Female vocalist Coco tops it all off but it’s the raw urgency of their rockabilly spirit that’s most persuasive.
www.myspace.com/theettes

Violet Violet
C-c-c-cat (NROne)

Like our Single Of The Issue, this is more raucous guitar action from Norwich. The NROne roster is a mixed bag, sometimes veering onto the forgettable indie treadmill, but they’re also prodigious leading to a release schedule with plenty of juice in the tank, particularly lately. All girl three-piece Violet Violet offer a taste of their forthcoming second album, ‘The City Is Full Of Beasts’, and it’s jammed with juddering angular guitars and shouting, happily attached to a cast iron alt-rock pop song.
www.myspace.com/violetviolet1

Ultrachorus
Words Kept Talking (SoTM)

Being a vinyl fetishist I enjoy the rare occasions it appears in Beatmag’s PO Box. Unfortunately, it usually disappoints, featuring fiercely Luddite indie, vanity projects, or quirkily marketed major label dross (decent dance music sadly stopped reaching reviewers on 12” years ago). Minneapolis duo Chris Heidman and Jeff Lorentzen, however, sent their little black 7” over the Atlantic – hurrah! – and for those after the missing link between country & western and vocodered synth-pop (not a large fan subdivision, admittedly) here it is. Gentle beats and laid back honkytonk guitar accompany a cheerful outing that shouts, “ONES TO WATCH!”
www.myspace.com/ultrachorus

Fuck Dress
Everything’s Ultra Now (NROne)

In an unheard of coup NROne have three songs in Beatmag Singles this issue. Sadly we didn’t even need a bribe. Fuck Dress appear to be a bunch of middle-aged dudes, usually dressed as priests, which is probably why ‘Everything’s Ultra Now’ bemoans the “Go quicker, go faster, work harder, work faster” pace of life today although, at another level, it’s a dig at consumerism via a crafty Goethe reference. Half spoken, with a hint of Mark E Smith, all four tracks are worth lending an ear, including a reappearance from ‘Suburban Nietzsche Freak’ which we reviewed last year [http://www.beatmag.net/issue19/reviews/singles.php].
www.myspace.com/fuckdress

Worthy & Yankee Zulu
Bad Side (Playtime)
+
Skank Sinatra
Bombs (RMD)

A couple of tasty, if hardly groundbreaking, slivers of club action. Worthy & Yankee Zulu, a San Franciscan and a Belfast boy, invent quease-house. Things start off smoothly enough, with a steady club-friendly beat and a sampled voice threatening, “The bad side,” then this whole other thing kicks off. A series of disorientating siren effects build and sway giving the whole track a giddy twist, like standing up too fast or staggering into daylight from a daytime pub marathon. The overall effect is enjoyably unsettling. The bad side, indeed.
Like prime time Underworld but with a dirty modern rave twist, the Dogmatix mix of Skank Sinatra’s‘Bombs’ rides in on a hammering rhythm, spiced with gnarled techno bass squelches. It’s a far cry from the dub’n’breaks original although lyrics from MC Spaced Arab – one of the odder stage names I’ve come across of late – remain a lazy resigned twist on Faithless’ Maxi Jazz’s peace’n’love Buddhist schtick.
http://www.playtime-records.com + www.myspace/skanksinatraspace

Greg McDonald
Reclaim The Night (Sugartown)

Greg McDonald quietly released one of last year’s best albums, ‘Stranger At The Door’, a collection of indie/acoustic numbers imbued with storytelling wit and a tendency towards melancholy. Thus the arrival of his new single caused great excitement round these parts, but it’s a very different kettle of fish. A big triumphant number, the dreamy lyricism remains but a martial rhythm and stadium-sized chorus predominate, before it closes with a last burst of guitar overdrive. Not his best but great to have him back.
www.myspace.com/gregmcdonalduk

Singles for review should be sent to…

Thomas H Green, PO Box 4653 Worthing, BN11 9FG, UK

Filed under: Music, Reviews - Singles by Flexmaster Nylon
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