Supersweet

1 December 2008

Tama Impala

Antares, Mira, Sun EP

Label: Modular

Antares, Mira, Sun, Tame Impala’s debut EP is a big chunk of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd, brought into a modern context, then deliberately pushed back again. ‘Desire Be, Desire Go’ kicks in with distorted blues riffs, and the vocals trail in like the echo of Peter Gabriel and the lyrics talk about waterfalls and it all feels a bit trippy, man. The great thing is, that it actually works a treat without stepping too deeply into Kula Shaker territory. Just think, MGMT but with guitars, and a bit less style. - Steve Gislam

M83

We Own The Sky

Label: Mute

M83 have remixed everyone from Placebo to Depeche Mode, but when left to their own devices create the kind of glorious, shoegaze anthemia only a Frenchman can. ‘We Own The Sky’ is a windswept, rain-washed slice of electronic gorgeousness. The Maps’ remix draws out the vocal and attempts to outdo the euphoria of the original track while the hyperbolic ’Je Vous Hais Petites Filles’, with its two-minute, avant-garde rumbling finale, would slot comfortably into a Blade Runner sequel.  - Isaac Howlett

8 December 2008

Kings of Leon

Use Somebody

Label: Columbia

An odd choice for a follow-up to ‘Sex On Fire’, this track holds back its saving grace, that great rolling bass, for the second verse, but sadly still fails to reach the euphoric heights of its predecessor. A weaker track on the album, the bridge builds and builds but a lackluster chorus fails to deliver; overhear this in the newsagent’s and you’d be forgiven for ignoring it completely. A minor glitch in an otherwise spotless career - we all know there’s better to come. - Isaac Howlett

Grace Jones

William's Blood

Label: Wall of Sound

‘William’s Blood’ is the second single from Grace Jones’ comeback album, Hurricane and arguably the most personal song she’s ever recorded. Its content is autobiographical, about her relationship with her family and in particular her strict religious father. Co-written by former Prince collaborators Wendy and Tina, the song ticks about as many 80s retro boxes possible, yet is pulled off in style by the sheer weight of Grace’s unmistakeably domineering presence. She still exudes the same utterly mesmerising vocal style, half-croon, half-bellow, yet with a maturity befitting of a woman of sixty looking back on her early life. - Steve Gislam

Ladyhawke

My Delirium

Label: Modular

It’s a sign of the times that our generation grasps onto retrospect and the days of yore as a means of escapism from the curt reality of our immediacy; however desperate and dissolute these measures may portray, Ladyhawke’s pastiche of the 80s' synth is something to be endeared toward.

‘My Delirium’ excels with a simple pop elegance: undulating waves of elemental metronomic beats, mellifluously carried by a timeless disco resonance grafts a timeless feel. With a sweet euphonious vocal adding colour and coordination to a forlorn lyric, Ladyhawke’s craftsmanship is beginning to inscribe an auspicious future. - Thomas Ward

The Dandy Warhols

Mis Amigos

Label: V2 / Cooperative

You’ll find yourself singing "Inside, outside USA" over The Dandy Warhols’ latest offering, ‘Mis Amigos’; a gloriously repetitive and immediately forgettable throwaway ode to smoking a bit of pot with friends. A plane swoops in over a rumbling tribal beat, a hostess welcomes us to Los Angeles and then the whole track slowly descends into ‘just another Dandy’s record’, with the usual midpoint break down, a bit of Spanish trumpet, clapping, and a hell of a lot of ‘doo doo dooing’.  - Isaac Howlett

Get Well Soon

Listen! Those Lost At Sea Sing A Song On Christmas Day EP

Label: City Slang

In the immortal words of Christmas stalwarts Slade, “It’s Christmas!” and in no way in the same vein, Get Well Soon deliver their own slice of festive spirit courtesy of their Listen! Those Lost At Sea Sing A Song On Christmas Day EP. The lead and title track falls somewhere between the orchestral melancholy of a late-90s Idlewild track, and the stringed majesty of Arcade Fire at (almost) their most histrionic. With as much Yuletide melodrama as the Eastenders Christmas special, Get Well Soon remind us all that the festive season needn’t be a jolly time. - Steve Gislam

15 December 2008

Portishead

Magic Doors

Label: Island

With the luck of the threes, third single 'Magic Doors' is released off Portishead’s returning album Third, spinning away sensuous sorrow this past year. The apocalyptic bleep of a terminated transmission, the hollow tap-drum of percussion, the crackling silence before the vocals hit, it’s vividly chilling and so Portishead. Haunting lyrics, “I can’t deny what I’ve become, I’m just emotionally undone,” thread the expressive demise in the empathetic piano.  Available on 12" etched vinyl and a digital bundle of live 2008 Coachella tracks, old and new, Portishead effectively keeps tradition fresh. - Gemma Dempster

Tanlines

New Flowers

Label: Young Turks

‘New Flowers’ is the debut single from Brooklyn duo Tanlines, and is a slice of the best kind of dance music served up by the likes of !!!, Gang Gang Dance and The Juan MacLean.

With the tribal drums intro, and the rising, ghostlike vocal track it breezes along across Casio style rave riffs and generally feels like a sort of aural representation of dancing in the summer rain. In short, it’s really good!. - Steve Gislam

We Are The Physics

Bulimia Sisters

Label: This is Fake DIY

Ever wondered what it would sound like if Devo decided to record the theme tune to Mission Impossible with added squeaky vocals to boot. Then wonder no more, Glasgow punkers, We Are The Physics, just did it for you and it’s called ‘Bulimia Sisters’. The driving bassline, hyperactive drumming and kneejerk guitars combine perfectly on this track. It leaves the listener feel slightly out of breath, but in a good way. Still bit of a rubbish song title though. - Will Holloway

NB - The real geeks should grab EXTREMELY limited edition (100) floppy disk packages while you can now from the DIY shop!

The Brute Chorus

She Was Always Cool

Label: SKA

Having moved from Hawley Arm's label to SKA Records, The Brute Chorus's brazen influences and rock'n'roll style feel fresh enough here to be of interest to the most jaded of listener. Like a cross-breed of Razorlight at their most flamboyant, and The Libertines at their most experimental they are lyrically obtuse ("I had wandered for weeks/lost at sea and without a sail/ when she rescued me/from the belly of a killer whale"), energetic and toe-tappingly addictive. Love 'em or hate 'em, you'll soon know. - Matthew Coxon

The Boy Least Likely To

The First Snowflake

Label: To Young To Die

Hotel staff lobbying to ban Slade from their Christmas playlist should look no further for a replacement than The Boy Least Likely To’s ‘The First Snowflake’. If they were to install giant speakers in Oxford Street and play this song on repeat SUPERSWEET would put good money on there being a significant drop in the amount of elbows jabbed ribs and consequent voices raised in unseasonal anger. Now all we have to do is find a bunch of elves willing to do the market research… - Isaac Howlett

frYars

Visitors

Label: frYarcorp

The 80s really are refusing to lay down and die this time around but if that means we continue to receive such aural delights as this, long may they reign. London-based knob-twiddler and case-meddler ‘frYars’ (a.k.a. Ben Garrett) sounds at times vaguely like an updated Buggles (remember ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’?). Catchy, danceable and clever, there’s not a lot more that a fashion-conscious Hoxton-gadfly could want for Christmas, except perhaps a blue flannel to wear on their head (so hot right now). - Isaac Howlett

29 December 2008

Noisettes

Wild young Hearts

Label: Mercury

Everyone is going to be obsessed with this song within the next couple of weeks. You won’t be safe from the lazy London jazz drawl of "Damn this wild young heart…lalala lalala..." It’s catchy, has syncopated piano and you will want to know what the words are simply because it won’t leave your head. From the second you wake up and hear it on that fashionable radio station you listen to to impress whoever has stayed over to the end of the night when it’s playing in the taxi home. 

'Wild Young Hearts' – welcome to the sound of your new life. You’ll love it. - Benjamin Pester