19 November 2007

Operator Please - Leave It Alone
In which the Australian quintet do pretty much the only thing they could do after writing a song about ping pong and produce one of the most electrifying and exciting but somehow delicate singles of the year before continuing on their way to become a very big deal indeed. Ignore that title and pick this up.

Curses - Hungry For Love
The first release under a new nom de plume for Brooklyn beat-mangler Drop The Lime, ‘Hungry For Love’ sounds like it could have come off any ‘Best of the 90s’ compilation yet instead of sucking hard is actually bloody brilliant. Get your glowsticks out again.

Athlete - Tokyo
A song that should be too plain, too pleasant and too much like Coldplay to stick in the memory but, by way of some subtle electronics and arching guitars, might just do enough to be the last big chart hit of the year. Or at least soundtrack some mopey clip package about how bad the weather's been.

The Daniels - Lights
The house band on the Kerrang! Radio breakfast show play rubbish MOR rock. Rather more disappointingly though, not one of them is called Daniel.

Delays - Love Made Visible
Like Doves, Embrace and Stereophonics? Then you’ll enjoy this stop-gap EP from Southampton scallies Delays. Prefer a kick in the balls to any such sulky British balladeers? Move on.

Reverend And The Makers - Open Your Window
A record that should be instantly dismissed for sounding self-important, smug and like it was written in less time than it takes to play.

Scout Niblett - Kiss
iTunes thinks this is called Minos Belly Music. New-Noise wishes iTunes was right so we didn’t have to listen to the sparse, shrill wailing of Scout Niblett.

Simon Breed - Finish My Book
There's not a lot worse than running around the rat race and getting crunched up by the eternal commute to work. Except maybe having to listen to a song about it all.

Estelle - Wait A Minute (Just A Touch)
With will.i.am, John Legend and Kanye West behind her, Estelle is bound to be huge no matter what we say but since you’re asking, this is humourless hip-pop that is far too easily forgotten.

Maroon 5 - Won’t Go Home Without You
Apparently a ‘classic pop ballad’, the latest release from this lounge-band-got-lucky actually sounds tired, old and prepared only for the ears of high-street shoppers everywhere.

Nelly Furtado - Do It
We wanted to hate this since it’s the sixth single from Nelly’s last album and that’s really, really pushing it for anyone but then we heard the silky chorus and what sounds like a Sega MegaDrive imploding in the background and we forgot everything expect how to dance like an idiot in front of our bedroom mirror.