27 August 2008

by Rob McCrae

Biffy Clyro, Calexico, Manda Rin, Does It Offend You Yeah? Saint Saviour, The Eye Jab, Eric Prydz, Rex The Dog, Mystery Jets, David Holmes, Roots Manuva, Dead Letter Office, The Daniels, Sway, MGMT

"A stadium lifter that should propel Biffy Clyro into the Foo Fighters stratosphere."

Biffy Clyro – Mountains
Smooth blip free mix by Andy Wallace, the man who polished up Nevermind, and a stadium lifter that should propel Biffy Clyro into the Foo Fighters stratosphere. Live they’re like a raw beast and with this record they’re about to seriously invade the hearts of the main population.

Calexico – Two Silver Trees
Palette taster from forthcoming album and as energizing as a bored Crowded House oscillating between some desultory strings and the vocal of a muffled farmer who has given up. They headline the End of The Road festival so this single will be your chance to read The Guide.

Manda Rin – DNA
Remember Bis? Well the singer has emerged from the sewer of normal life into the glitzy arena of the music business hawking the same blend of pop beats and skewed electro. She still sounds incredibly perky like she’s necking Ritalin and then pumping out upbeat lyrics at will.

Does It Offend You Yeah? – Dawn Of The Dead
A band of pogoing imbeciles who’ve made a single that sounds like The Postal Service! Despite every sinew of your rational thought bending towards muck spreading hatred towards them this is actually very listenable. All they need now is someone to burn those hoodies that make them look like an unhappy accident in a paint making factory.

Saint Saviour – Love Will Tear Us Apart
Hands up who can screw this classic song up. No hands. Oh wait Saint Saviour aka Becky Jones is tentatively raising her fingers but I think it’s just to tell people that she slowed it down and slipped in a sad piano. Tori Amos will be staring out of her window wondering whether it’s worth making a comeback.

The Eye Jab – Who Still Believe In Love
This Newcastle quintet have written a track that seems to be hanging onto the brink of the English language and yet even to a foreigner who might mistake this as highly literate the accompanying sound is something that’s best confined to the hard of thought.

Eric Prydz – Pjanoo
Apparently his last single "became the soundtrack to a million dance floors" which not only seemed like a physical impossibility but would mean that a million DJ’s have an alimentary canal problem which you would hope had cleared up by the time they were span this bland hold music at a design company.

Rex The Dog – I Can See You, Can You See Me?
Six remixes on this so if you like the original you can just leave it running to see how six other people interpreted the imaginary soundtrack of a space investigation travelling to Mars. The vocal has a menacing timbre that you wouldn’t want to listen to in a darkened tube train.

Pull In Emergency – Follow
Chirpy story from the North London five piece who sound young enough to have never seen any atrocity and to view the world through the refracted dream of a buff Hollyoaks character. Lead singer Faith sounds like the Kate Nash you’d want to sleep with.

Mystery Jets – Half In Love With Elizabeth
Essentially the companion to Two Doors Down and full of the potential crowd interjections that the festival circuit must have been privy to this year. They do have a chest full of hooks but that’s mainly down to the yearning qualities of the vocalist.

David Holmes – I Heard Wonders
This is far more interesting than the deathly dull navel gazing that Holmes did in the late nineties when it was all about his cryptic shadowy persona and his procession slow sample inserts. This is a somewhat rollicking tune with a guitar line that is the best thing he’s ever produced.

Roots Manuva – Again & Again
An appropriate release in the summer carnival time with its horns and brass section that suggests a packed float winding through the litter strewn streets tossing jerk chicken into the gawping crowd. Sadly he’s yet to give us an anthem to replicate the success of Witness.

Dead Letter Office – Chairkickers
An amalgamation between Bobby Gillespie and Babybird, Dead Letter Office have used the kind of lyrics that The Enemy seem to write at will, ones that people on the dole can listen to and falsely believe that the band they are listening to is coming from a place of extreme misfortune like themselves
.
The Daniels – Penny’s Name
Awful name even if they were all christened Daniel or failing that any reason in the world. They look like grizzly punk casualties but I guess the music has that infectious beat that The Wombats manage. Until they change their name to something less crushingly dull the only hope that’s left is desperate.

Sway – Saturday Night Hustle feat Lemar
Outrageous reworking of the Alexander O Neal shoulder pad classic Saturday Love with Lemar regretting being on the track in the background. Sway is a talented rapper but this smacks of a quick lunge for popular appeal. He was far more effective working the margins.

MGMT – Electric Feel (Justice Remix)
Due to "massive demand at club level" this remix is being re-released but the truth of the matter is that it’s a set fulcrum in its own right and allowing Justice to set their drum machine up and play with the echo pedals won’t make the smiles any wider.

Kid Dog said on August 28th 2008 [report abuse]

I really liked the Saint Saviour cover. It's better than the original... and I mean that. Joy Division are totally overrated.

a name said on August 28th 2008 [report abuse]

jose gonzalez has covered it too, although it's hardly earth-shattering. yeah, new order were better.

John Legend said on September 5th 2008 [report abuse]

that new Biffy clyro song plumbs some quite simply awesome new depths of shitness too for them, too, it's reassuring to hear.

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