Singles Club – January

No, not that sort of singles club….but whose new release deserves to get swiped right this month?

Don Broco –  Come Out To LA

Surprisingly muscular cautionary tale about being shown the dark side of the industry from Bedford pop punkers, complete with Terminator aping video. Lead singer Rob Damiani promises new Deftones-influenced album Technology due next month is “As abrasive, as angular, as hard-hitting as possible.”

 

James Blake – Vincent

Austere cover of Don Mclean original (He of American Pie fame – the song, not the film) emphasises how far Blake has distanced himself from the avant-techno of his earlier work. Touring with Kendrick Lamar next month. Which should be interesting.

 

The Vaccines – I Can’t Quit

The boys are back in down, this particular ‘burg being the one full of the power chords and brassy surf-pop of their debut “What Did You Expect From...”. I Can’t Quit precedes their fourth album Combat Sports, on which Justin Young has revealed he bravely faces his songwriting fears: “I was insecure about the fact that all I sung about was sex and love. I realised its all I care about. So I’ve kind of come to terms with that.”

There’s a relief.

 

MGMT – Hand It Over

Nope – no need to check your calendars, MGMT may be back after just a paltry five years gap since their eponymous third album. New record Little Dark Age will be out at some point, but in the meantime here’s another cut from it, a sort of dreamy Four Tops does chillwave thing, with a bit of Chicago’s If You Leave Me Now chucked in for good measure.

 

Single of the month

And the winner is…

Belle & Sebastian – The Same Star

The veteran Glaswegians pilot light may have flickered occasionally but this – culled from the How To Solve Our Human Problems EP – is as life affirming as anything they’ve recorded in decades.  A bold, classic pop song with Sarah Martin on vocals, it may remind you a little of Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, and that’s rarely bad thing.

And finally….

Superorganism – Everybody Wants To Be Famous

Achingly hip eight piece synth pop collective – one of them even goes by the name of Soul – craft mind-annexing nursery rhyme bomb with all the charm of a lift floor announcement tape. That said, you will kill, or be killed by, your co-workers for the constant singing of it.