
This Week’s Singles: Atoms For Peace, Space, TOY, Cayucas, Scherzinger, Times Red and several others!
Published on March 13th, 2013 | Jonny Abrams
I reckon those are this week’s singles down there…
AlunaGeorge – “Attracting Flies”
Ooh, parental advisory. How thrillingly illicit! What a surefire way to earn our instant respect and attention. It’s just a shame that the song sounds like a chipmunk covering Ace of Base. You go, girl!
Still, the chorus refrain of “Little grey fairy tales / And little white lies / Everything you exhale is attracting flies” is dead clever, working as it does to anticipate Rocksucker’s intention to attribute its fly-attracting to it being the aural equivalent of a turd, doing so by displaying lyrically that AlunaGeorge and her committee of writers are only too aware of this mental association.
This, however, does not prevent “Attracting Flies” from fulfilling its ‘being a steaming turd’ potential, and furthermore to an extent that not even a chipmunk covering Ace of Base could reasonably aspire to.
Rocksucker says: One Quail out of Five!
Atoms For Peace – “Judge Jury and Executioner”
This sounds like “Emergency Surgery” by Gomez, albeit we’re not able to back that up with a YouTube link as there doesn’t seem to be one. This is very ‘difficult’, ‘paranoid’, ‘jittery’ and all those things that by now are pretty much par for the course with Thom Yorke, but the subtle time signature trick of the groove maintains interest levels throughout. Simultaneously one of this week’s best and least surprising singles.
Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!
Cayucas – “High School Lover”
Dayum, it’s like Beck and The Beta Band got together to invent a new kind of college rock. You know that’s got to be good, and – with a little bit of Tame Impala in there too – it resoundingly is. Excellent stuff, with more to follow no doubt on next month’s Bigfoot album.
Rocksucker says: Four Quails out of Five!
Deniece Pearson – “Close to Nowhere”
Imagine if Tracy Chapman was really, really rubbish, and you’d be close.
Close to Nowhere, that is! Har!
*Clears throat, shuffles bowtie*
Seriously, this is like Smooth FM brought to its logical, terrifying conclusion. Avoid at all costs.
Rocksucker says: Half a Quail out of Five!
Eyes on Film – “Waking Up Dead”
Sleazy, sinister, Motorik and ingenious sort-of-goth-punk from the Londoners, front man Dan Mills sealing the deal with his totally commanding baritone croon of lines like “hearing the witches howl at the wolves”. Smart, smart chorus – keep an eye on this bunch, as it were.
Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!
Hadouken! – “Levitate”
Going by Hadouken!’s name alone we took them to be some hipsterishly retro-named indie band that perhaps racketed out a half decent song or two. We were not prepared for the brutal onslaught of emo dubstep that “Levitate” entails, and we don’t mean brutal as in a positive sort of “yeah man, that’s some heavy stuff right there” kind of way – no, we mean brutal in more of a “wouldn’t wish this upon anyone” kind of way. 240,000 YouTube views and counting sees sadomasochism once again win the day.
This is sodding horrible, basically.
Rocksucker says: Not a Solitary Quail or even Half of One!
Hurts – “Miracle”
“You crucified my heart of gold” – really? Sorry mate, didn’t realise. “Look at all the damage you have done” – alright, no need to keep going on about it. In fact, you’re the ones who started it by releasing an album of total guff that is now shedding singles in the manner that Cloverfield shed those weird spidery things that were also deadly. To be fair, this is one of the album’s stronger tracks, but consider that more of a condemnation of the album than an endorsement of the song.
Rocksucker says: One and a Half Quails out of Five!
Jim Lockey & the Solemn Sun – “New Natives”
Now here’s a band who either think Nickelback is a good thing, or who deny liking Nickelback while steadfastly refusing to admit that they sound a bit like them. Vocal seems to fall flat at regular intervals, which mightn’t have mattered so much if the rest of it hadn’t had all that hideous sheen applied to it. This is quite ridiculously over-earnest, so it figures that it’s getting way more views on YouTube than pretty much all of the far superior singles out this week.
Rocksucker says: Half a Quail out of Five!
K Koke feat. Rita Ora – “Lay Down Your Weapons”
“Lay Down Your Weapons” is a song that asks tough questions. Questions like: “Who needs to shut up more out of K Koke and Rita Ora?” And, of course, the unavoidable: “Which of them is the more awful?”
“Listen to my voice / Can you hear my pain?” demands/asks K Koke, and it’s only then that it strikes us that he does sound a little bit like someone’s got a harsh grip on his curlies.
Next.
Rocksucker says: One Quail out of Five!
Letherette – “D&T”
How would you describe this? Glitchy chillwave? Chillrave, even? Whatever it is, it’s on Ninja Tune, and it’s strangely alluring.
Rocksucker says: Three Quails out of Five!
LULS – “Never Let It Go”
Learned are LULS in the ways of meh-rock.
Rocksucker says: Meh. (* There are approx. two quails to the meh)
MS MR – “Fantasy”
Florence, is that you?
We like the cheerleaders throwing up glitter in the video, though. Definitely the throwing up part reminds us of listening to Florence.
So who’s this again?
Rocksucker says: One and a Half Quails out of Five!
Mumford & Sons – “Whispers in the Dark”
We made our thoughts on Mumford & Sons perfectly clear in our review of last year’s Babel album. Instead of “Whispers in the Dark”, please enjoy this clip of Peter Sissons bitching about Anne Robinson…
Nicole Scherzinger – “Boomerang”
Nothing to see here either, folks. Instead, please enjoy this humorous video of a man falling of his chair…
Scherzinger could learn a thing or two from that guy’s showmanship.
O. Cohen – “Paint a Happy Picture”
Beautiful, spot-of-sunlight-on-the-wall fingerpicking and lovingly weary vocal, this might be a little too earnest for some’s tastes but it’s never in danger of feeling overwrought, while its melody dances with such elegant sweetness/sweet elegance as to be damn near irresistible.
Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!
Soap & Skin – “Sugarbread”
Something this bloody weird and downright sinister has no right to be called “Sugarbread”, but it’s only gone and done it. That Anja Plaschg is quite the maverick, as well as owner of a commandingly Nico-ish voice.
Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!
Space – “Fortune Teller”
Another ace precursor to October’s Attack of the Mutant 50 ft Kebab album, “Fortune Teller” welds Space’s sci-fi-pop genius to their new-found predilection for a good old ska-punk skank. A fitting addition to a lineage of great singles, and with twisted lyrics about “too much booze from the Cash & Carry” and ripping a condom.
Rocksucker says: Four Quails out of Five!
Sparrow and the Workshop – “Shock Shock”
Smartly laid-out, broodingly fuzzy Pixies-meets-PJ-Harvey kind of thing from the Glasgow-based trio, and all within two minutes and thirty-five seconds. ‘Gleefully doomy’ isn’t an easy thing to pull off, but this lot manage it.
Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!
Stacey Jackson – “Pointing Fingers”
HELP! WE’VE GONE BACK IN TIME!
Oh no wait, it’s just “Pointing Fingers” by Stacey Jackson. Phew. For a moment there we thought we were trapped in the rubbish bits of the ’90s. It sure was dark in there.
Very serious Boyzone-looking bloke in the video, there.
Rocksucker says: Half a Quail out of Five!
The Good Natured – “5-HT”
It’s like a cross between SNAP!’s “The First the Last Eternity” and that ATB remix of Olive’s “You’re Not Alone” that got to number 1. This means we like it and won’t have to resort to some kind of childish joke as per above, “THIS IS A PILE OF 5-HT” or some such.
Rocksucker says: Three Quails out of Five!
Times Red – “Just No Good For Me”
Our feelings exactly, Times Red. This is everything we hate about everything: it’s so douchey that we felt moved to turn the volume down lest anyone overhear us listening to it. This is truly, truly, truly, truly depressing fare, and everyone involved in its inception should be thoroughly ashamed of their lives.
Rocksucker says: Have a Dead Quail!
TOY – “My Heart Skips a Beat”
Thankfully not the Olly Murs feat. Rizzle Kicks song of the same name, this dreamily MBV-lite stroll is so elegantly fuzzy that household pets will be queuing up around the block to come and snuggle up next to it. Laid-back, romantic sludge, however badly that may read.
Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!
TS7 feat. Taylor Fowlis – “Heartlight”
Pleasingly bonkers backing track utterly ruined by identikit, TV ‘talent’ show vocals. That’s about all you need to know.
Rocksucker says: One and a Half Quails out of Five!
Walk the Moon – “Tightrope”
ENOUGH OF THE “OH OH OH”-ING AND “WOAH WOAH WOAH”-ING, EVERYONE!
ENOUGH ALREADY!
Jeez.
Rocksucker says: Two Quails out of Five!
We Cut Corners – “Go Easy”
“I woke you up with a communist kiss” is either the best or worst opening line of the year so far, the ensuing languorous jangle-pop merely pleasant…then it all steps up into crashing tumult and wins us over. Playfully bittersweet.
Rocksucker says: Three Quails out of Five!
Wideboys – “Addicted 2 the Bass (2013 ReFix)”
Blimey, if this is the “ReFix” then how bad was the original?
For anyone who hasn’t jarringly abrasive rave synths before, here is an unsuccessful example of their deployment.
Rocksucker says: One Quail out of Five!
Wild Smiles – “Tangled Hair”
Totally derivative and yet still hits the spot with that winning surf-rock riff and its stoned, fuzzy energy. Simple pleasures, well executed, like a cross between Crocodiles and Supergrass without being as brilliantly frenetic as the latter.
Rocksucker says: Three Quails out of Five!
See you next week, everybody!
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