Tags: AQ Wolf, David King, I Need You
Record Label: Immortal Kingdom
Our Rating:
“Girl I need you, that’s no lie, girl I need you or I’ll die, girl I need you to make this right, girl I need you.” Hardly the words of a King, in fact, hardly the words of a five year old and that’s as good as the lyrics get. Nevertheless, ex London party promoter King (aka AQ Wolf) has put down his party poppers and returned to his first love, ‘music’. He really shouldn’t have. The aforementioned ‘lyrics’ are merely words loosely tied to an auto-tune drowned melody which are disguised as lyrics. The production is so minimal and linear that it’s an insult to any producer who has ever worked hard to perfect their craft. Sometimes it’s good to try something new, unless you’re David King.
As soon as ‘The Weather Song’ strikes up you know exactly what season Richard Walters, singer/songwriter, had in mind when he created the track, from the critically acclaimed album ‘The Animal’. The haunting orchestra creates an Autumnal and Wintery ambience, which is slightly reminiscent of Fleet Foxes. Except, being just one man and his orchestra, Walters has a far more intimate and delicate sound probably best described as a mere hush. Walters’ angelic tones penetrate from the dulcet guitar, with only regular slips into his Oxfordshire accent, to offer up some grit. The major thing missing from the record is a warning: this track could seriously affect your mood. The melancholy in Walters voice is so engaging that he could drag you into despair with him, so if you’re feeling slightly down, there’s a chance Mr Walters may just push you over the edge. Perhaps it’s not surprising then that his atmospheric music has been monopolised by various TV soundtracks. If there’s a folk-shaped hole in your record collection I suggest you whack ‘The Weather Song’ into it.
Everyone knows Simian Mobile Disco – whether it’s for anthems such as ‘The Hustler’ or ‘It’s The Beat’, or whether it’s for their dynamic and explosive DJ sets. But here, Ford and Shaw present their lesser-known softer sides to us all with a disco twinged, 90s sounding track. It’s a continuation of the mellower direction that they are heading in, following on from songs such as ‘Synthesize’. Muffled, fuzzy kick drums and echo-y synth stabs underpin Beth Ditto’s surprisingly non-irritating vocals. It sounds like SMD have managed to tame her, making her vocals less like Beth Ditto and more like a soulful singer (you can decide whether that’s a good or a bad thing). Simian Mobile Disco have avoided making an obvious, generic dance track here; instead, they have made an electronic ‘song’. Yet whilst it’s a good song – a classic it certainly is not. And the problem is, songs like this need to be classics to get noticed by the fans. Otherwise the chances are they’ll go largely un-noticed…
Rachel Sage’s new single is a solid track, taken from the soundtrack of the new version of eighties dance school classic ‘Fame’. As you listen to the lyrics of loss, longing, uncertainty and struggle, a rags to riches montage began to play in your head. You can just picture it; Coco is an aspiring dance student from the wrong side of the tracks, but with a heart of gold (perhaps with an alcoholic father). She just wants to learn to dance so freakin’ much! Cue montage: the rain is pouring down on a New York street, her wet grocery bags split open, then cut to Coco dancing in a dusty warehouse, she falls and her old and worn dance shoes split open and she has to tape them up. Maybe she cries a little. Then what’s this in the post? Why it’s an entrance letter to Fame. Hang on a minute, now she’s dancing on her way to work (at Mr Podadopolous’ Pizza Parlour), now she’s having fun again! She strokes a dog and dances a little with Mrs Bernstein from the apartment below on her way down the stairs (who has an old pair of dance shoes she can borrow). Will the other dancers think she’s too poor to dance? And will Tico the cute half-Cuban street dancer even notice her? The song is polished and well produced, with a nice piano lead and a rich bit of ‘wacca wacca’ guitar. But really, it’s a little contrived and for teenage girls to sing along to as they practice in their bedrooms for next year’s X-factor auditions.
If you’re yet to come face-to-face with Aussie Daniel Merriweather in the musical spotlight, then frankly, I ask, are some sort of hermit? Merriweather’s helping hand via uber-in-demand pal Mark Ronson was just the beginning. Cue Adele to aid furthermore, raising his profile on his latest single ‘Water & A Flame’. And they both croon amicably as ever in this pop duet. Like his critically acclaimed ‘Love & War’ album (out earlier this year) this single is for those who like a bid of morbid pop warbling. With Grammy winner Adele on board Merriweather’s fledging career is indebted to another high profile alliance. Let’s not take it away from the guy though, it is rather good!
Middle Class Rut’s new single ‘All Walks of Life’ storms out of their album ‘25 years’ with fist-waving aplomb. Despite hailing from Sacremento the duo, singer/guitarist, Zack Lopez and drummer/vocalist Sean Stockham some how seem to omit an English swagger usually only born of having grown up in one of our Northern cities, with a certain amount of resentment. But, it’s hardly like ‘All Walks of Life,’ comes to a Muse-esque crescendo, in fact the guitar and drum’s repetitive rhythm begins to make you feel like you’re on the beginners level of guitar hero. However, with sinister lyrics like, “I watch the clock and realise it’s watching me” and “I’ve been hiding in the middle classes” the band have created the perfect fight anthem for an Orwellian world. They may not make clear who they’re declaring war on but MC Rut, with their 10 years experience of bands gone wrong, have made their mark as a force to be reckoned with. And more importantly they had me headbanging at my keyboard none the less….
‘Orally Fixated’ isn’t the most catchiest of records. It’s easy to envisage people jumping onto the dancefloor when it comes on, only to be confused by the stop start nature of the song. The opening promise of Balearic beats and funky disco sounds gives way to a track that doesn’t quite know what it is. The chorus is reminiscent of 80s band Scritti Politti but the rest of the track sounds like classic Moloko. Murphy’s seductive voice gives a warmth to the cold, electronic backing track but the arrangement makes it sound more like a remix than the proper version of the record.’ Orally Fixated’ will be a Marmite record. Some people are going to love it for its originality but others are going to find it annoying, repetitive and strange.
In `Knees, Toes, Teeth` The Ghost Of A Thousand deliver a no-frills exercise in beat-‘em-up rock and roll, and it’s incredibly good fun. Distorted guitars bludgeon you to the ground whilst pitbull drums aim straight for the head. The tight riffage sounds like a tape of Jimmy Page on fast forward, and the whole glorious racket is underpinned by singer, Tom Lacey’s nightmarish howl. Not that there isn’t refinement to the band’s primal sound. Much like Canadian hardcore luminaries, Fucked Up, The Ghost Of A Thousand are expert at condensing their riotous energy into joyous, three minute bursts. This is pop music for people who hate the X Factor, and only watch it in the vain hope that Simon Cowell will spontaneously explode (it could still happen people). “Fucking New Romantics, it’s only Rock-N-Roll”, “I’ll die without a care, but that’s cool”, “We all kneel down to the beat of the sound.” These are just a few of the über cool mission statements you’ll find in `Knees, Toes, Teeth`. The Ghost Of A Thousand are clearly believers in the mighty, transcendental power of rock, and if you are too, I would strongly advise you to join them.
Up and coming electro-sleaze band, Junkstar, here release a remix single of one of their sole EP’s tracks. The original version of ‘Bluebottles’ is a solid, reasonably catchy tune in the cross vein of The Bravery and Placebo. However, three of the four remixes that follow are a little too similar. Each retains the original four to the floor pounding kick and synth combination with only minor subtleties distinguishing them. Essentially they are decent tracks, but with today’s advanced technology you would encourage a little more diversity from a remix package. Fair play to the ‘DTD Bassline’ remix, though, which does pack something of a punch. Seizing on the current ‘wobbly/fidget house’ phenomenon, it is a lively, bounding house slammer with plenty of little production tricks that keeps the funk alive. As the lyrics in the song say, this one goes for the jugular. Buzzing!
A collaboration between Jon Lawler of Fratellis’ fame and up-and-coming jazz multi-instrumentalist and singer Lou Hickey, the Codeine Velvet Club unleash their lavish debut single, a track soaked in glitter, jazzy charm and a cheeky slither of bitchiness. An upbeat intro leads into a brassy, vibrant number bursting with cabaret cool. Lawler and Hickey share vocal duties, with Hickey taking the bulk of the lead, a role which Hickey, who has two self-produced EPs under her belt, rises to superbly. Meanwhile, the song’s sassy chorus, which finds Hickey sultrily telling us “Life’s a roll of the dice/But you pay the price”, has a vibe wedged somewhere between a Bond theme song and a Hollywood show tune extravaganza. Glitzy and dramatic, ‘Vanity Kills’ easily musters enough cinematic atmosphere to demand repeat listening, while offering something entirely different from the pack of copycat indie and electro-pop bands out there.
