Rioting, Likely Lads and Ramones-esque punk in Singled Out!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs new single ‘Y Control’ is a visceral slice of dirgey guitars and ear-aching feedback and is one of the highlights of their great album ‘Fever to Tell’. Clocking in at just four minutes it feels much more epic and drawn out than this – the swirling feedback at the end of the tune seems to go on forever. Karen O delivers the vocals in a typically blasé and trashy style and sounds particularly like the love child of Brian Molko and Chrissie Hynde - if that’s possible. The only shame is that it’s only released as a limited edition 7” and is unlikely to get the airplay it demands.

The buoyant ‘What Became of the Likely Lads’ is the latest luminous release from The Libertines. Following The Libertines has been like watching a warped soap opera unfold before our eyes for the past few years – it’s just great to now witness their meteoric rise. Hopefully this new release will build on previous successes. No where near as good as the number two hit ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, this is still an irresistible and thoroughly satisfying gem.

‘I believe in the Good of Life’ is a short and cheerful piece of Americana Indie from the Toronto based The Hidden Cameras. Taken from their forthcoming second album ‘Mississauga Goddam’ the single is a jangly and jovial affair, which, as the title suggests, is packed full of optimism. The big problem is that it sounds a bit like a poor Pavement B-side and lacks a decent melody. Front man Joel Gibb’s vocals are a bit feeble as well – you just get the feeling that a stiff breeze would blow this single away.

Sweeping orchestrals and soaring guitars reverberate out the speakers before Robert Smith’s yearning vocals burst in on The Cure’s ‘Taking Off’. It’s the perfect way to start what is a brilliant song. They sound like a band with a new found cause and direction. It’s rammed full of a rekindled energy and enthusiasm – the stuff they’ve so lacked in recent years. Also, the single shows that they’ve rediscovered the knack of writing catchy tunes – ‘Taking Off’ is a real return to their late eighties pop days. Highly recommended.

A six track pure adrenaline rush of brutal Ramones-esque New York punk, Brighton’s The Mutts’ eponymous EP is one hell of a dirty slag. Filthy basslines, screeching riffs and pained vocals are the order of the day - it’s guaranteed to make your ear holes feel physically abused. The production is a very jagged, but this is definitely a good thing as it perfectly captures the raw oomph of their live gigs. The demented final track ‘Uniform’ is a typically intense affair and leaves you hungry for more. We’ll look forward to their debut album with a due sense of fear and anticipation. 

'Summer Jets' by Iain Archer is the kind of single Radio One would love. A pleasant, lightweight indie tune that’s remnant of Keane and Snow Patrol, the single wafts by unnoticed. Highly unoriginal, it’s the kind of average tune that’s devoid of zest, creativity and life and is enough to send you into a temporary coma. B-side ‘Colouring In’ is a collaboration with Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody and is just as monotonous as the title track. 

Following on from their critically acclaimed debut single ‘Oh My God’, The Kaiser Chiefs’ new release, ‘I Predict a Riot’, deserves at least to emulate the success of its predecessor. It’s a confident and assured offering that inspires you to jump up and down like a demented lunatic on speed. Singer Andrew White captures the passion and conviction of seminal punksters Wire, while at the same time delivering a very melodic vocal. Catch them on the remaining dates supporting the Ordinary Boys if you can.

You can’t fault Norwegian femme-synth-punk outfit Surferosa’s enthusiasm on ‘Satin Con Blonde’, but the big problem is that Mariann’s yappy vocals are extremely irritating. Lacking the sultriness of Karen O, Mariann just howls on and on - imagine Safron Republica with issues. In fact when the CD stops spinning you’ll be thankful the ordeal is over. Also, fusing electronica to your songs can often be a good thing – but on this the Kraftwerky synthesisers just sound derivative and outdated.

Centring round the outrageous sample “Motherfuckersgonnadropthepressure”, Mylo’s ‘Drop the Pressure’ is a thoroughly enjoyable slab of Daft Punk-esque house music. With vocodered vocals and a cheeky beat, it’s a big surprise that Mylo does not hail from France – but the lonely Isle of Skye. Mylo is clearly not pushing the boundaries of dance music forward but he has undoubtedly created a catchy tune. Probably not strictly one for indie-purists, if you’ve got a slight penchant for dance music you should love this. 

The Departure are a band who sound beyond their years. It’s difficult to believe that they only got together ten months ago, singer David Jones sounds like he’s been playing the circuit for the past twenty years. On ‘Be My Enemy’ his shaky voice is hoarse and powerful and is nothing short of rousing, resembling the husky warbling of The Psychedelic Furs. The actual tune is brilliant as well. It’s little wonder they got snapped up by Parlophone and this single is plastered all over the radio.

Manchester quartet Nine Black Alps debut single 'Cosmopolitan' is tolerable enough but is hardly exciting. It’s hard to ascertain what they’re trying to get across – the song is slightly angry and also a bit elated. Having supposedly formed over a shared love of Eliot Smith and Sonic Youth – they lack the soft vocals and anxious atmospherics of their influences. For such a hotly tipped band, ‘Cosmopolitan’ is a bit underwhelming.

Image the reviewer’s surprise to find that Placebo have finally produced a fairly decent single. At the time of they released their eponymous debut, the band were a genuinely refreshing androgynous scuzz-rock group but they soon became boring and contrived and released monotonous after monotonous singles. On ‘Twenty Years’ Molko’s vocals are admittedly a bit whiney and it all sounds very self-indulgent, but it’s a good tune nonetheless.

The press release ominously reads “… the kind of stage presence unseen since Symposium’s demise” – it’s hardly a good introduction. Fortunately, ‘Master Blaster’ by Yorkshire’s thisGIRL is not as bad as might be anticipated. A driving, passionate tune, the vocals are serious and earnest. The single is a bit overshadowed however by the mauling of Massive Attack’s Angel on the B-side, which lacks the brooding darkness of the original.