IndieLondon gleefully checks out the cream of the week’s singles. All you have to do is click on the pictures to order them…
SINGLE OF THE WEEK 1: GENERAL FIASCO – BAD HABITS: Released on the same day as their new album, Unfaithfully Yours, General Fiasco also drop Bad Habits as their latest single… and rock your socks off in bad boy fashion. The album, their second, is described as the older, wiser brother of their debut and this is born out in the single, which is all about learning from bad experiences (“you made promises but you never followed through”) and yearning (“hey, be my world”). It’s got killer hooks (the emphatic guitar work is genuinely thrilling in a towering, anthemic fashion), the choris is ripe for singing along to, and the whole thing is so darn good from the outset that you want to hear it instantly all over again.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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SINGLE OF THE WEEK 2: DEAP VALLY – GONNA MAKE MY OWN MONEY: Hailing from the San Fernando Valley, Deap Vally break blues down to its simplest, most fundamental form: beat, melody, and meaning, while their scorching live shows are fast becoming the stuff of legend. If anything, their distinct guitar sound and no-nonsense approach is set to draw comparisons with Jack White and his White Stripes, albeit a resolutely female version. The duo release their debut single, Gonna Make My Own Money, and immediately impress with their feisty, raw, ragged style. The bluesy riffs have a heavy rock vibe attached to them, while the vocals have a lusty, provocative quality that demands to be heard. They are a kick-ass double act on the evidence of this killer first offering. And the video was shot earlier this year in the scorching heat of California’s San Fernando Valley by Pablo Balderas and features a cameo from a beautiful 1970s Mustang. It’s just as striking as the single itself and worth a look.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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SINGLE OF THE WEEK 3: GYM CLASS HEROES – THE FIGHTER: One of the highlights to emerge from Gym Class Heroes’ latest album, The Papercut Chronicles II is this Ryan Tedder featuring The Fighter. This one drops piano-backed beats in a style befitting Bruno Mars and Glee cover versions for a track that has, perhaps unsurprisingly, been adopted as one of the Olympics anthems. Travie McCoy’s distinct rapping style provides the vocals for the verses, while Tedder delivers an impassioned sung chorus that gives the song its empowering feel. When they’re on this form, Gym Class Heroes effortlessly display how they’re able to transcend genres and emerge as one of the better mainstream artists capable of fusing styles. And while it may also have a cheesy element, they get away with it.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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KYLA LA GRANGE – WALK THROUGH WALLS: The fourth single to be taken from Kyla La Grange’s new album, Ashes (out today) is the empowering Walk Through Walls. A headrush moment that’s released in a Dan Grech radio edit version, it’s built around powerhouse vocals, the odd ‘woo hoo’ harmony and some skyscraping guitar riffs that sweep the track along with considerable gusto. There’s a keen sense of melody, a catchy chorus and sections that are favourably comparable to fellow contemporaries such as Florence + The Machine, PJ Harvey and Lana Del Rey. As a taster of what to expect from the LP, it couldn’t have been timed better to raise awareness of this hot new talent. The video, too, is spectacular and well worth checking out below! You’ll be singing along “get up, get up, get up” with an arm in the air in no time at all!
Rating: 4 out of 5
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TOM JONES – TOWER OF SONG: Tom Jones continues to impress with his turn towards the spiritual, bluesy and gospel backed. Tower of Song is the singer’s take on the Leonard Cohen classic and he has almost re-sculpted it into a version that’s better suited to his own back-story. It feels like a singer approaching his twilight and reflecting on his past (“I was born like this, I had no choice, I was born with the gift of a golden voice”) in sober fashion and it’s nicely done, slow-building and meaningful with an excellent sense of timing. It’s arguably the new sound of Jones at its finest.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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A SILENT FILM – THIS STAGE IS YOUR LIFE EP: Acclaimed Oxford quartet A Silent Film drop their new EP in the form of the impressive This Stage Is Your Life. Conceived in a makeshift recording studio in Cave Creek, Arizona, the EP is kicked off with the epic, even cinematic This Stage Is Your Life, a sweeping, piano-backed slice of euphoric pop-rock that underlines their ability to produce genuinely emotive songs. If you compared Keane with The Killers you’d come somewhere close to the sound of what to expect… with perhaps a little touch of Coldplay thrown in as well once the guitars take off towards the end. The chorus is great too. Echoes Across A Bowl of Tears, the track which follows, opens softly before unfolding into a more foot to the floor kind of rock track, that also displays their ability to just get on with it and deliver head-rush moments. But better yet is a piano version of Danny, Dakota & The Wishing Well, which is quite possibly the ace in the pack for the way in which it strips things back, comes over genuinely poignant and heartfelt and underlines definitely the power in Robert Stevenson’s great lead vocals. Where the pianos on the title track soar, they have a grace on this final track that also lends itself to cinematic values (as their name would suggest).
Rating: 4 out of 5
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CALVIN HARRIS feat EXAMPLE – WE’LL BE COMING BACK: Calvin Harris looks to follow up the gargantuan success of his recent Rihanna collaboration with this new single We’ll Be Coming Back…. and it’s a pretty decent dance track. Built around snappy guitar riffs and euphoric synth arrangements, as well as a catchy chorus, a fine central vocal and a guest spot from Example, it’s a heady brew that’s clearly designed to become one of the summer’s biggest dance anthems. It could well do too… as it has the Ibiza vibe attached, albeit in a less pronounced, less generic manner than some of this artist’s other material. Indeed, it has more of a gritty edge to it that’s welcome. The video kicks butt, too, clearly taking its cues from Nicholas Winding Refn’s recent Drive movie featuring Ryan Gosling.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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THEA GILMORE – SAILOR: Thea Gilmore releases one of the highlights from her latest album, Don’t Stop Singing in the form of the enchanting Sailor. The album itself finds Gilmore unearthing some previously unheard lyrics from late Fairport Convention singer-songwriter Sandy Denny and making them her own, while delivering a set of songs that Denny would be proud of instrumentally. Sailor offers both swoonsome melodies, beautifully evocative vocals and a keen sense of romantic longing in the lyrics. It possesses all the tranquil calm and beauty of a wave-free, blue ocean on a warm summer’s day and is a great song for kicking back and relaxing with at the end of a particularly hot day. It’s a well timed release to bring its own summer chillout factor and has a beauty to it that’s undeniable.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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ALL THE YOUNG – ANOTHER MIRACLE: Stoke-on-Trent quintet [All The Young] look to continue their recent momentum with the release of the anthemic Another Miracle from their current album, Welcome Home. Driven by fiery guitar riffs and impassioned lyrics, this is a trademark kind of track for the band that is high on melody and slick production values (courtesy of GGGArth Richardson, of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Biffy Clyro fame. It’s a fist-pumper of a track that’s ripe for filling the kind of stadiums these guys clearly have their eyes on. But it just needs a little extra edge to stand out as truly special. As things stand, it’s radio friendly in a crowd-pleasingly generic kind of way.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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HERBERT GRONEMEYER – WILL I EVER LEARN: Herbert Grönemeyer is the biggest ever selling artist in German music history and is now preparing to go global with his first album in English, the first fruit of which is this single, Will I Ever Learn, featuring Anthony Hegarty (from Anthony & The Johnsons). Ironically, it’s an appropriately Hegarty-esque track with the song’s constitution being built around little more than soft piano, cello and delicately picked acoustic guitar. It has a sombre feel to it as well, which is designed to bring out the best in the powerful vocal pairing of Grönemeyer and Hegarty. As with Anthony & The Johnsons material, though, it’s an acquired taste… a track that does, admittedly, get better the more you hear it, but which may be a little too melancholy and emotionally distant for some. Grönemeyer’s forthcoming album, I Walk is due for release on Monday, September 24, and held the working title of Das English Album – for it is a tribute to the country that Herbert sought refuge and comfort in, following the deaths of both his wife and his brother within three days of each other. Film buffs may recognise Grönemeyer from his role in Wolfgang Petersen’s epic Das Boot or his cameo in the Ian Curtis biopic Control, directed by Anton Corbijn, whom Grönemeyer later teamed up with to score the George Clooney film The American.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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GRÖNEMEYER – WILL I EVER LEARN (Single Teaser) from Grönland Records on Vimeo.
NIFE – CHEMICALS: NIFE are a female fronted three-piece rock band from London via Austria and Bath who describe themselves as ‘60s psych meets Krautrock in a classic rock casing’. New single Chemicals is also the title track from their forthcoming album (out August 13) and showcases the more radio-friendly side of the band. It’s packed with nicely melodic guitars, powerhouse vocals from lead singer Nicky and a chorus that invites a little “woo hoo”-ing whenever played live. It has an art rock quality about it too, with some excellent guitar work that provides a thrilling finale that smacks of the classic rock values the band is seeking to honour. If the remainder of the album doesn’t always match up, it’s refreshing to find a new act pandering to so many classic values… and doing it well.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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BOY KID CLOUD – A BETTER VERSION OF ME: Boy Kid Cloud, aka Darryl Reid, is described as a multi-faceted beatmaker whose dedication to the UK bass scene has seen him gain thousands of fans online, blog posts aplenty and bookings for some of the best clubs and underground parties in the country. His approach seems to be to combine sweet vocals (his own) with slick beats and edgy synths that conform to the bass scene, while also aspiring to chart-pleasing pop. EP opener From The Start combines Casiotone keys and bass throbs with a voice that veers towards the falsetto and has its own distinct sound, while Keep Hold ebbs and flows with ‘80s inspired synth stabs and ‘90s house piano, as well as deep fuzzy bass. It’s arguably the pick of an EP that only fires in fits and starts. Gone ends things on a downtempo note with hushed sounds and a more sombre vocal, but it does kind of bring you down with it, thereby ending the EP on a sobering night, while 89 combines pop sheen with a dirty grime beat undercurrent, not entirely successfully. Boy Kid Cloud has potential but sometimes his mix of styles fail to gel in a totally convincing manner and just when you think you’re going to start to enjoy a track, it goes and does something frustrating, often when indulging his more underground, grimey sensibilities.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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WILEY feat MS D – HEATWAVE: Wiley’s return is quite possibly the lamest excuse for a big party summer anthem so far this year. Built around strings, handclap beats and euphoric synth arrangements, it’s a track that’s designed as a blatant homage to summer sexuality and sweatiness. Wiley himself encourages listeners to play his song while asking “who’s in a heatwave”, while guest vocalist Ms D insists she’s going to dance while inviting revellers to “put your hands upon my body”. It’s geared as a good time record and, to be fair, isn’t without that dance-along vibe associated with most disposable dance anthems. But it’s devoid of any real merit and is pretty forgettable, right down to the video featuring any number of scantily clad women dancing along. Or maybe that part’s not such a bad thing!
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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LATE NIGHT FICTION – POLAR: Late Night Fiction refer to themselves as melodic post-hardcore and new EP Polar is designed to showcase that. To be fair, there’s elements of melody, Goth and post-hardcore throughout… sometimes appealingly so, other times not so much. Lead track Black Watch, for example, is a fairly generic slice of slow-fast tempo changes and impassioned vocals punctuated by the odd Goth wail and some spiky, meaty guitar riffs. It’s not really doing anything you haven’t heard before, even though it’s pretty accomplished. Better is the follow-up, Exits, Pursued By A Bear, which adopts a more restrained approach while still mixing the heavy-soft tempo. It’s got a heightened sense of melody and benefits from its slower build approach. The vocals still have a tendency to over-indulgence in the metal elements but it’s an improvement. Smashy ‘Smashy Beast’ Beast is, however, the pick of the EP, perhaps because it doesn’t have any vocals. An instrumental driven by guitars, it showcases the band’s ability to marry the melodic with the heavy as well as keeping an ear out for the cinematic and epic. It’s a nice surprise at the midway point of the EP. Dialectics isn’t bad, either, while Relax Please closes things out with an intense, edgy, post-hardcore explosion of energy. It’s probably our second favourite track!
Rating: 3 out of 5
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SHOWBIZHEROES – THINKING & DRINKING: Thinking & Drinking is the third single to emerge from Showbizheroes forthcoming album Tales From Behind The Curtain. It offers a glimpse into the more jangly pop sound of the band with a summertime vibe that’s designed to get the festival crowds swaying, preferably with pint glass in hand and a nod of appreciation. It has a bit of an early Manson vibe attached to it and certainly boasts a radio-friendly, anthem-like quality about it. The guitars, especially, lend the track it’s notable edge, pumping up the melody to ear-pleasing effect. It’s arguably the sound of this band at their most commercial and puts them in a good position for wider success.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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