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Ella Guru's lead singer John Yates sounds surprisingly like a husky-voiced Stuart Murdoch on 'Park Lake Speakers'. A beautiful tune about good times and bad times, it's a dreamy and thoroughly palatable affair, this single warms the soul. Despite all the hardships that the lyrics depict, the band has clearly emerged from these troubles with their head held high. True, it may be slightly whimsical, but it’s definitely not sickly. Much like the rest of their excellent debut album ' The First Album', this single is inspiring, warm and definitely worth purchasing for those cold winter months ahead.
'Rise of the Eagles' is the absolute fantastic new single from The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. Infectiously packed with attitute, swagger and passion, the single is a joyful celebration of self-belief. Singer Guy McKnight earnestly yells: “I want to fly like an eagle, I wanna sing like Sinatra... I wanna love like a mother”. Such is his conviction, you can genuinely imagine that these qualities are well within his grasp. Tremendous stuff.
Forever rightfully growing in the popularity stakes, The Other's new single is sure to win them new fans. Named after a cult QPR player in the 1970's, 'Stan Bowles', who famously used to blow his earnings in the local boozer after every match, this raw offering is very catchy and arrogant. The jangly hooks and edgy vocals are hardly ground-breaking, but it's good fun nonetheless.
A fusion of good old fashioned acoustic rock n'roll with baggy beats, Kasabian's new single 'Processed Beats' is a violent attack on the modern world, yet musically remains up-beat with a confident strut straight out of the late eighties Madchester scene. Singer Sergio Pizzorno brashly proclaims 'I break bones stealing mobile phones'yet sounds optimistic and full of zest. Well worth buying just for the swirling b-side 'The night workers'.
Akira The Don's supposedly hilariously named debut four-track, 'First EP', is a very bland and monotonous rap ditty. The rhymes are clearly meant to be amusing and deft, yet they ultimately sound contrived and fail to evoke any passion or meaning. Worse still, the home-made production sounds at best amateurish. It’s all a bid of a shame considering the Don has such smooth and effortless vocal potential. Best avoided
Morrissey can do no wrong in 2004. The third single to be released from 'You are the Quarry', the stiring 'Let Me Kiss You' is classic Morrissey - a tale of inferiority and rejection delivered with honest charm. B-side 'Don't Make fun of Daddy's Voice' is decidedly more optimistic, with Morrissey defending the croaky voiced parent by humorously proclaiming 'he got something stuck in his throat when he was in his teens".
Taken from their forthcoming new album 'Gold Metal', The Donna's latest single is an emphatically average affair. Fall Behind Me sounds like Hole minus the venom, petulance and charm - basically all the best bits. The plodding riffs are run of the mill, and the vocals are ultimately uninspiring. In a week of predominately great singles, such is the mediocrity of this tune that it drifts by unnoticed, which is definitely not a good thing.
'Fall to Pieces', the raucous new single from Velvet Revolver sees band members Slash and Scott Weiland playing to their strengths - melding trademark guitar riffs with intense and yearning vocals. True there’s nothing particularly wrong with this as both group members are truly masters of their respective arts. However, dredging up the same formulas is hardly compelling and groundbreaking stuff. Nevertheless this is still cool and well worth buying if you’re a G&R or Stone Temple Pilots die hard.
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