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SINGLE OF THE MONTH!
THE VON BONDIES - "C'mon C'mon"
We'll admit it - choosing an SOTM this month wasn't an easy one. And not for good reasons either - while there's a fair few singles falling into the "above average" bracket, there's not really much that could be described as "world-changingly brilliant". But this new effort by the other bunch of chart-shagging garage psychos from Detroit comes acceptably close. Sounding like a bastard US cousin of King Adora's brilliant "Bionic", it's a superb glam-punk-Pixies pile-up of a single and well worth the three quid investment. Watch out Jack, it may just be payback time... (5/5)
THE REST
Okay so some of the stuff here we hardly need to tell you to steer well clear of. So, just for the record - "Who's David?" (1/5) by Busted (usual puddle-shallow piss-poor pop-punk), "Moviestar" (1/5) by the Stereophonics (usual fourth division sub-Bad Company piss-poor pub rock), "Black Cherry" (1/5) by Goldfrapp (usual "three years too late" sub-Portishead piss-poor trip-hop) and "Room In Brooklyn" (1/5) by John Squire (totally predictable piss-poor attempt at blooz-rawk for which the penalty should be a public lynching using Jack White's top E-string) are out this month and should all be avoided like the plague. Cheers.
Right, now we've got that out of the way, on to the better stuff - Funeral For A Friend's newie "Escape Artists Never Die" (3/5) you'll doubtlessly have heard already if you've even got a vague interest in this admittedly rather good Welsh emo crew but it's still a passable song. Meanwhile, fellow Brit-rockers Oceansize are being called "the British Tool" by some which should be warning enough although on "Catalyst" (3/5) they do a reasonable impersonation of "Siamese Dream" era Smashing Pumpkins but really, why would you want to try and improve upon an unimprovable formula? But hey, at least it's better than Kings Of Leon who veer dangerously close to the dreaded territory of the Thrills with the ultra-lightweight jangle of "California Waiting" (2/5). Reviewer's verdict - must do better. Also making the mistake of sounding like the Thrills for more than five seconds are the Stands and their shockingly derivative slice of East Coast '60s-style pop that is "Here She Comes Again" (2/5). Two words lads - original ideas. Don't bother us again until you've had some.
Which is not an accusation you could level at the still-brilliant Ikara Colt whose "Wanna Be That Way" (4/5) is a fantastically vicious boot up the arse of half-arsed NYC Television wannabes and ideas-free West Coast revivalists everywhere. Very unlucky to miss out on Single of the Month but welcome back anyway, you lot.
Similarly fierce are Leeds natives the Blueskins whose "Change My Mind" (4/5) single is a welcome addition to the Winnebago Deal-piloted psychobilly revival. Should you need a soundtrack to chasing Flaming Lips fans across fields in the dead of night wielding a pitchfork and a double barrel shotgun, this should be high up on your list. In a similarly nasty mood this month are the Rapture who continue their "why did no-one think of this before?" quest to be a PIL for the 21st century with "Love Is All" (4/5) which sounds like Franz Ferdinand being savagely beaten around the head by Gang of Four and is rather fantastic.
The Mutts are also trying to jump on the psychobilly revival train this month (see, we told you one was happening, didn't we?) with the none-more-heads-down "Missing My Devil" (3/5) as are 10,000 Things with "Food Chain" (3/5) both of which suggest good things may be to come here but...well, the Blueskins' tune is just a little bit better I'm afraid. Sorry lads.
Taking a look at the more melodic side of the coin this month, Alfie's "No Need" (2/5) and Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" (2/5) may both be of interest to bored Coldplay fans but really, they'd do much better to check out the far superior Easyworld. Or, for that matter, Elbow's "Not A Job" (3/5) although anyone with any sense will own it already via last year's rather fantastic "Cast Of Thousands" album.
Canadian types the Constantines meanwhile are yet another bunch of Queens of the Stone Age wannabes who sadly lack a songwriter half as good as our Josh or Nick. "Night Time" (2/5) is an okay-ish song, nothing more nothing less. Cut from the same cloth but more satisfyingly crunchy are Norweigan types Span with the "worth a look if you need some rawk this month" "Don't Think The Way They Do" (3/5). Hold on, a Norweigan Queens of the Stone Age? The mind boggles...
Moving back over to emo corner, this month's Clash of the Titans sees Jetplane Landing's "I Opt Out" (3/5) claim a narrow victory on points over Hundred Reasons' "What You Get" (2/5) and Hidden In Plain View's "Hidden In Plain View EP" (2/5) by virtue of being that crucial bit less clean-scrubbed and having a heavier riff. The Icarus Line meanwhile continue to be a band with top song titles like "Up Against The Wall Motherfuckers" (2/5), plenty of heavy grunting and cement mixer riffs but totally unmemorable tunes. Shame.
On the "annoying" front, the Stills' "Lola Stars And Stripes" (2/5) is yet more post-Strokes ultra-derivative NYC indie-punk which isn't worth bothering with, Stellastarr's "My Coco" (2/5) sounds like Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" only (and here's the twist) a bit crap while the Cribs' "You Were Always The One" (2/5) is tedious meandering indie-rock which sounds like Seafood only rubbish. Annoying is also a word which tends to get chucked in Placebo's direction a lot although at least with "English Summer Rain" (3/5) they've picked up one of the better tunes off the "Sleeping With Ghosts" album for release. Though as that's been out for nearly a year now, it's pretty much anyone's guess who's gonna buy this.
At least there's some new bands out there who are showing signs of (gasp!) ambition beyond trying to jump on the coat-tails of either the Strokes, the Stripes or the Thrills. Well okay, perhaps Eastern Lane's "Saffron" (3/5) and the Features' "The Way It's Meant To Be" (4/5) do owe a slight nod in the direction of old Fiery Jack but the former has such a naggingly catchy riff and the latter is just a simply great mix of all the things that make garage rock so great when it's done right that we're happy to forgive 'em both. Setting their sights slightly higher are Kasabian whose "Reason Is Treason" (4/5) sounds like Primal Scream at their heaviest and is an absolute joy to listen to. Or to scare those hippy Coldplay fans who've moved in next door to you at 3 in the morning with.
Finally, it's a pleasant surprise to see Courtney Love back and sounding, y'know, quite good again with the typically growly fem-punk of "Mono" (4/5) which gains an extra mark for the line "Well, they say that rock is dead/And they're probably right". For all her irritating publicity seeking it remains a foolish person, it seems, who would write her off.
All singles reviewed by Andy James
