IndieLondon gleefully checks out the cream of the week’s singles.
SINGLE OF THE WEEK 1: THE 1975 – ROBBERS: Taken from their eponymous debut album, The 1975’s latest single Robbers is another cracker. A cinematic tale of lust on the run, the track – perhaps unsurprisingly – derived its inspiration from a slice of classic Tarantino. “I got really obsessed with the idea behind Patricia Arquette’s character in True Romance when I was about 18,” lead singer Matthew Healy explains. “That craving for the bad boy in that film it’s so sexualised. It was something I was obsessed with. Robbers is about a heist that goes wrong – I suppose you can read it as a metaphor – and a girl who’s obsessed with her professional killer boyfriend. It’s a romantic ideal.” Healy adopts a haunted vocal for the accompanying record, while a synth and guitar backdrop lend it a surreal, cinematic edge that’s utterly addictive. You could argue it’s a little too similar to The Killers but this has its own identity and is utterly compelling. And the video is great too.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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SINGLE OF THE WEEK 2: BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB – FEEL: The third single from Bombay Bicycle Club’s excellent new album, Feel is an uplifting sing-along favourite and a sure-fire festival hit this summer. A surge of optimism built on a Bollywood movie sample (a snake-charming melody from the 1954 movie Nagin), with warm electronic basslines, exotic percussion, and soaring string-driven melodies, this is evidence of a band doing things on their own terms yet still maintaining an appeal to the mainstream. The percussion is lively, the chorus is a cracker and that Bollywood movie sample gives it a very distinct identity of its own. Penned by multi-talented frontman Jack Steadman – who wrote the record while travelling through India, Turkey, Europe and Tokyo – the ensuing album, So Long, See You Tomorrow is noticeably awash with references from each of these cultures. It’s also celebratory of life’s richness and diversity, even if there remains a deliberate ambiguity too. It’s one of the albums of the year.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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SINGLE OF THE WEEK 3: WILSEN – MAGNOLIA: Wilsen is the creation of 24-year-old London native Tamsin Wilson. Forged in the burgeoning creative quarters of Brooklyn, Wilsen’s fragile, seductive sound sits at odds with the transient cultural moods of her adopted neighbourhood, instead sharing a closer creative affinity with the timeless sonic textures of European dream pop. Alongside bandmates Johnny Simon Jr and Drew Arndt – both songwriters & producers in their own right – Tamsin Wilson’s passion is for the detail; each Wilsen song is tirelessly sculpted over time, building an atmosphere, a mood, a state of mind. Magnolia is the title track from Wilsen’s new EP and it’s a magnificent indicator of what to expect. Simon Jr’s minimalist guitar melodies and Arndt’s rhythmic basslines create a platform for the gossamer vocals of Tamsin Wilson, by turns ethereal and earthy, and the rich driving force behind Wilsen’s gentle rise. Wilson’s vocals have that heart-melting quality reserved for the best singers (they have an air of Lana Del Rey mixed with Lamb about them), while the instrumentals have a beautifully hypnotic edge to them. This is a song that impresses as much as it intoxicates. You’ll want to hear more.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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LANA DEY REY – WEST COAST: With expectations impossibly high, Lana Del Rey releases her eagerly awaited new track West Coast, the first cut to be taken from Lana’s forthcoming album Ultraviolence. Written by Lana and the legendary writer Rick Nowels, West Coast was recorded in Nashville and produced by Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys. It’s a strangely intoxicating of dreamy, lazy vocals, bluesy guitars and mood pop. What’s more, it changes pace a couple of times to completely disarm and keep you on your toes. Early on, and for the most part, the laidback vocals and bluesy guitars are great, but the surreal diversions add an extra element that don’t seem to work at first, but which work better the more you hear them. Commenting on both West Coast and Ultraviolence Lana explains: “The record is finished and it’s beautiful – it’s so wrong and exquisite. It is absolutely gorgeous – darker than the first.” We can’t wait to hear more.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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LONGFELLOW – KISS-HUG-MAKEUP: Longfellow release their new single Kiss-Hug-Make Up on Fierce Panda Records and immediately draw comparisons to some of the best bands in the business. A slice of epic melancholy indie pop, bolstered by fearless melodies and large choruses that are clearly designed to melt your heart (and bring out the cigarette lighters), this has traces of everyone from Keane (in the piano sound), Coldplay (during the vocals over the yearning, sweeping chorus) and Snow Patrol (in its early ability to lay on the atmosphere). It’s a slow-builder that aims for the largest stadiums and you can’t help but get swept along in its all-conquering emotional sweeo. The track has also already won the BBC 6 Music Rebel Playlist and is currently on the C-List at Radio 2. Since supporting Keane last Halloween, Longfellow have barely been off the radio. Steve Lamacq heavily supported their previous single release Siamese Lover alongside Amazing Radio, XFm, Jo Whiley on Radio 2 and BBC Introducing’s ‘Unsigned Band Of The Week’ on Huw Stephens in the first week of 2014. You can’t help but feel they’re headed for big things.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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PHARRELL WILLIAMS – MARILYN MONROE: Early on, it sounds as though Pharrell might be offering up something different – a strings backed, cinematic throwback befitting the name of the song. But it quickly settles into a slick mix of soulful falsetto vocals, synths, hand-claps and beats. Admittedly, there’s something fiercely compelling about it, much in the same way as recent Justin Timberlake material. It’s well put together, it’s upbeat and energetic and the intricate instrumental layering means there’s always something being added. Fans of Off The Wall era Michael Jackson will also take something from it, as will followers of Timbaland and Timberlake. And those strings-leaning synth stabs that enter late on are a nice, thrilling touch.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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CLEAN BANDIT – EXTRAORDINARY: Clean Bandit release their new single Extraordinary as the latest taster from their highly anticipated debut album New Eyes, which will follow on June 2. Billed as a euphoric dance track, including the soulful vocals of Sharna Bass, this builds slowly from a moody, ballad-esque soul-pop number. But once the piano chords land and the beat lands, this exists in super-club territory with added house elements and is actually pretty non-descript. Yes, there’s energy but you can’t help but feel you’ve heard the same kind of thing many, many times already (violin interlude aside). That hasn’t stopped it being added to Radio 1’s A List, as well as the Capital FM and 1Xtra playlists. Additionally, the official video has now amassed over 1.6 million YouTube hits.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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QUASAMODO & THE Q ORCHESTRA – MY FRIEND IS BLUE: Having dropped his debut album The Big Picture for Jalapeno, Quasamodo and his Q Orchestra are back with the new single My Friend Is Blue. Featuring the soulful vocals of album collaborator Thaliah, the single is a classic slice of the forward looking funk Jalapeno is known for. The vocals may take a while in coming but the slick synth arrangements mix the aforementioned funk with something distinctly cinematic – it could easily fit the soundtrack to a classic ‘70s or ‘80s film. If anything, the vocals drag it down a notch, bringing in a disco-soul vibe that is geared towards the club scene. But the instrumentals are great fun and they do take centre stage.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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TERRY EMM – FOREVER AND AFTER: Forever and After, the next track to be unveiled from Bedfordshire singer-songwriter Terry Emm’s third album Starlight, is a summery slice of English jangly guitar-pop, with a rousing ‘seize the day’ sentiment. The track conjures Emm’s youth growing up in the 90’s, listening to Brit-pop with its Del Amitri / Boo Radley’s esque bright harmonies and sparkly guitar sound and sees him looking back into the haze and naivety of youth to reminisce about young love and lost summers. The lyrics deal with dreaming of success letting go, with a confident realization that it takes less than we think to ‘be what you like’, as in the main chorus line. It’s certainly uplifting and, admittedly, does have a Del Amitri/Boo Radleys vibe (not to mention a little Lloyd Cole). In that regard, you could argue that it’s even a little dated – but in a good way. It’ll get your toes tapping and leave a smile on your face, even if it doesn’t quite blow you completely away. And the animated video is kind of kookily fun too.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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JACK CHESHIRE – HEAVENLY BODIES: Heavenly Bodies is an attempt to rise above the myriad mind games and poisonous frustrations of modern life, according to its singer, Jack Cheshire. It also seeks to enable the listener to become easy with it all, to see things with wonder and awe again, and to dissolve back into an untainted self. Recorded on the first take, the song features several bowed overdubs on the double bass, at such a high register that it sounds more like a cello. But while this element of the song gives it a distinct sound, along with its accompanying guitar, Cheshire’s vocals don’t always convince and the song is someting of an acquired taste. There are elements to like, particularly in those instrumentals, but you may well have to be in the right mood to best appreciate it – and by that I mean laidback and thoughtful.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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OSCAR – SOMETIMES: Oscar’s latest single offering Sometimes has something of Damon Albarn and early Blur about it, given its indie guitar licks and mad style. Yet it’s also high on melody and toe-tapping beats with a contemporary edge, eventually morphing into a track that’s closer in spirit to Matt & Kim (by virtue of its boy-girl vocal finale). It may take a few listens to properly grasp, and Oscar’s vocals may be an acquired taste, but this is laptop pop that really does have an uplifting energy married to astute lyrical observation. The DIY elements merely add to the song’s charm. The track will be found on Oscar’s debut EP, which is to be called 146b. We’ll let Oscar explain the rest: “It’s called 146b because that’s the name I’ve given the studio in my bedroom. Since we last spoke, I have finished my art degree, had a job at my local launderette, been on the dole and have read lots of books (most by Douglas Coupland). I’ve been in and out of studios, attempted high-fidelity, but it all came back to the demo sound which no one could beat or master. For me, recording is an incredibly intimate and cathartic process. It’s the sonic equivalent of meditation or sculpting. A lot of the time the music unfolds in an organic and often spontaneous manner and the writing occurs simultaneous with the recording. I did have a go at making a ‘posh studio’ record but it felt inherently disingenuous and inappropriate and frankly none of my demo sounds had been beaten.”
Rating: 3 out of 5
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