The Unbelievably late... Singled Out!!!

22-20s - Why Don’t You Do It For Me? (Heavenly/EMI) released- 05/04/04

Why Don't You Do It For Me?, the second release from the 22-20s forthcoming album (out in June), is bound to boost the lads from Lincolnshire’s already huge popularity.  Having toured with Kings of Leon in the USA, being labelled as the British White Stripes, and currently headlining the NME Brit pack tour, the band are already well up there, but it’s about to get better. With influences ranging from Dylan to the Stones, and Primal Scream to - unfortunately - the Stereophonics, the band pursue a raw, energetic sound.  Why Don’t You Do It For Me? is catchy, if a little repetitive.  The obvious blues and country influences, combined with contemporary lyrics should be strange, but it works.  So expect to see and hear a lot more from the 22-20s in the near future. 

The Divine Comedy - Come Home Billy Bird (Parlophone) released- 22/03/04

A single by The Divine Comedy, featuring guest vocals from Lauren Laverne (yeh, her outta Kenickie)- you would be forgiven in thinking we were still in 1996, a year which introduced the world to Mr Twee (Neil Hannon) and friends, and a year which saw Kenickie crash into the charts at…24! Oh yeah, those were the days! So what’s changed in the past eight years for Hannon? Well we’ve seen a dodgy beard come and go, a Parisian waltz here and there, a “greatest hits”, and a musical equivalent of ethnic cleansing, i.e. he sacked off the band to save money! So presumably the music has changed then? Well, no, the production is still as fresh and crisp as ever before, with supple strings and celebratory toms to accompany a wonderful narrative about the ‘kerazee’ life of Billy Bird. Come Home Billy Bird parodies Hannon’s previous jet set lifestyle and like Hannon, Billy Bird eventually finds his way home- self-indulgence has never sounded so sweet. Hannon really is back to a form akin to that which produced Something For The Weekend and Becoming More Like Alfie. So welcome home Billy Bird, and welcome home Neil Hannon.

Sixty Mile Smile - Our World (Schizo Records) released - 05/04/04

With their latest single, Our World, this pop-punk band hailing from the, er, “badlands” of Essex(!?) mix old and new school punk with some metal and rock thrown in as well (oooh, how original).  Sixty Mile Smile do have a certain energy, but their sound and style is predictable.  They claim to be “a band that can write good songs; memorable songs.”  Well, OK.  Just let us know when you do yeah fellas?…