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SINGLE OF THE MONTH!
THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSE - "Promises Promises"
Good to see a band that's promised a lot pretty much from the word go still churning out the goods two years on. "Promises Promises" is an electro-rock fireball, seething with anger at the music biz. And, with the CTC being one of those bands who always seem to sound better when they're angry, it makes for four vicious minutes of downright essential listening. Welcome back lads, it's good to have you with us again. (5/5)
THE REST
Celebrate my friends, there is a new White Stripes single out this month in the form of their sandpaper-raw version of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" (4/5). And damn fine it is too. So why then is it not Single of the Month? Well, firstly, we've already given 'em one of those for "Seven Nation Army" this year so it seems a bit unfair on the competition to do it again. And secondly, the video has Kate Moss poledancing and the buggers didn't include a version to load on your computer on the CD. Gits. Ah well...other than that, pretty damn good.
Also well worth a look this month are the Raveonettes whose "That Great Love Sound" (4/5) single has the sort of low-slung cool that few these days can get away with. A great prospect, make no mistake. And speaking of low-slung cool, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have a newie out as well in the form of "Stop" (4/5) which is another fuzzed-up slice of riffarama which is well worth your three quid.
Worth a look for very different reasons is Elbow's new single "Fallen Angel" (4/5) which sees Bury's mopiest discarding their previous whiny sub-Coldplay schtick for a sleeker electronic approach which could well see them go stellar if there's any justice in the world. So that's "in at number 45 and out again with an anvil round its neck" then.
Progress, however, doesn't appear to have been as rapid in the Supergrass camp. "Rush Hour Soul" (3/5) is a likeable enough slice of buzzsaw pop-punk but you can't help but think that this band's best days are now almost certainly behind them.
Less salubrious comebacks this month include another dire Busted single in the form of "Sleeping With The Light On" (1/5) which, unless your hobbies include DIY lobotomies and Prozac is probably best avoided and Korn's "Did My Time" (2/5) which is the usual downtuned growly stuff except not as good as before. D'oh. And as for the Bluetones, someone should tell them that releasing a song called "Never Going Nowhere" (2/5) is pretty much asking for the NME to kick you. Not one of the better ones off their current album.
Anyway, on now to this month's "Singles To Avoid At All Costs" bit - do not, whatever you do, buy Radiohead's "Go To Sleep" (1/5) (dire indie prog crap), Robbie Williams' "Something Beautiful" (1/5) (stop moaning about how much grief being famous and getting all the drugs and blow-jobs you could desire is giving you, you spoilt bastard) and the Libertines' "Don't Look Back Into The Sun" (1/5) (please God let this be the last we hear of these talentless faux-smackhead twats). The last thing these people need is encouragement.
More interesting is to see former Mo Wax types South back in town with a new single called "Loosen Your Hold" (3/5). More indie than before, it still has sort of ragged charm about it that just about draws you in. Similarly, Richard X and Kelis' new single "Finest Dreams" (3/5) is a neat slice of bootlegging that has enough of a tune to make even the most miserable of indie kids happy during these hot summer months. Even better though is the Rapture's "House Of Jealous Lovers" (4/5) which sounds like "Death Disco" by PIL and is cool.
Also in the indie corner, Grandaddy return with a new single "El Caminos In The West" (3/5) which further cements their reputation as one of the few US alt bands who can actually do this "shrill vocals with prog tendencies" stuff and actually pull it off (Mercury Rev being the other). Meanwhile, Manics wannabes Miss Black America have their hearts in the right places with the frenetic "Drowning By Numbers" (3/5) (no relation to the Placebo song of the same name) but are evidently still searching for a killer tune to call their own. As opposed to the Thrills who, judging by the lack of originality shown on Monkees pastiche "Santa Cruz" (2/5) are just searching for an actual idea to call their own.
There seem to be an awful lot of punk-pop bands poking their heads over the Vault parapet this month with new offerings. These range from the dire (Good Charlotte's downright terrible "The Anthem" (1/5)) through the "you WHAT?" (Wheatus' "American In Amsterdam" (2/5) which simply makes absolutely no sense and is pretty much career suicide in three short minutes), the electronica indebted (Simple Kid's chirpy enough "Average Man" (3/5)), the "you still here granddad?" (A's ultra-generic "Good Time EP" (2/5)), the "fun enough in its own dumbass way" (Bowling For Soup's rather silly but ultimately good fun "Punk Rock 101" (3/5)) and the "oi, nerds aren't supposed to be playing pop-punk you prats" (Finch's dull "New Beginnings" (2/5))
So how shall we fight these upstarts? Why, with some proper old-skool rock 'n' roll, of course. Normally, we'd call on Queens of the Stone Age for this but their "First It Giveth" (3/5) single, while still head and shoulders above some of the stuff we've heard so far this month, isn't one of the stronger cuts off "Songs For The Deaf" (why hasn't "Hanging Tree" come out as a single yet guys?) And as for Aussie retro-rockers Jet, someone really needs to tell these guys that it isn't 1975 anymore on the evidence of the "so retro it probably wears plaid" trad rock-isms of "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" (2/5). But don't worry, we will leave you with two great slices of proper RAWK'N'RAWWWWLLL to cheer you up - the Datsuns, thank God, have finally seen it fit to release their best song "MF From Hell" (4/5) which you should buy for the title alone - the fact that it contains a killer attitude-laced tune within is just a bonus and Turbonegro's pure white heat of "Lock It Down" (4/5) which is yet another triumph from these Scandinavian deviants and kind of leaves you hoping they have a "chance meeting" with Busted or the Libertines in the near future. Now that would be fun...
All singles reviewed by Andy James
