New music releases

Coldplay's new single is free to download. And they're playing at Brixton Academy for nothing, as well. How is an honest hard working record label supposed to make any money these days?
Here's ten more cash haemorrhaging tax write-offs in waiting...

It's been a while since their last record so we've been expecting Delays (did you see what we did there? Delays, you see... expecting... oh forget it...) Anyway, Delays are back. Hooray! And their new single is called 'Hooray' (Fiction). Say what you like about Delays (really, say what you like. What are they gonna do about it?) but they're not afraid of enormous hands-in-the-air pop songs, are they? This is certainly one. And, apparently, it's about obsessive compulsive disorder. We'd rather it was about Tourette's but you can't have everything.

Kenna is friends with Mark Ronson and N.E.R.D. so probably gets to go to all the best parties. His debut single has that same buzzy bass sound the Neptunes put on the Kelis records but his getting-worked-up-over-nothing yelp renders 'Out Of Control (State Of Emotion)' (Star Trak) tuneless and not a little bit annoying.
The only two differences between a Jamiroquai record and Jamie Lidell 'Little Bit Of Feel Good' (Warp) is that no one tries to persuade you that Jamiroquai's own aping of Stevie Wonder is in anyway cool, and he'd have remembered to write a song to go with the plagiarism. 'Little Bit Of Feel Good'? Little bit of wee, more like.

That one who used to be in Belle And Sebastian (until it all got complicated) and that one who used to be in Queens Of The Stone Age (for a bit) return to pretend they're Lee & Nancy, or Serge and Jane or Nick and Kylie. It's nice to have a hobby. But, as with most hobbies, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan 'Who Built The Road' (V2) isn't much fun for those not directly involved.
Yoav 'Club Thing' (Island) is kind of what you'd hope N.E.R.D. had come back with - restrained, seductive falsetto and organically created beats. It's rather marvellous. He's from South Africa, you know? It's true, we read it on some paper.

Do you remember when British music was all just people talking about "their lives" over beats? It was only a year or so ago, you must remember. It seems Natty is keen to revive the sub-Streets genre with 'Cold Town' (Vibes And Pressure), adding a hefty dose of reggae. Rejoice! That is unless, like us, this sort of thing makes you envious of those on long waiting lists to have their ears syringed. We bet Suggs would love this. Exactly.

Oh good, some indistinguishable, perky, piano-based, indie pop from One Night Only 'It's About Time' (Vertigo). One day, our grandchildren will ask us why men with certain hairstyles always sang with such stupidly affected voices and we won't be able to answer them. We'll just be glad that phase passed. And it will pass, won't it? Won't it?

Thank frig for something with a bit of balls to it. Black Ghosts 'I Want Nothing' (Southern Fried) has some good electro noises going on, slightly marred by a bargain-bin vocal. Hopefully there's an instrumental version.

Hadouken! have, according to some fans, "sold out" with 'Declaration Of War' (Surface Noise). What we think they mean is there's now a tune nestling between the shouting and arcade game noises, where once there'd just've been more screaming and bleeping. We call that progress.

Bringing up the rear is Beggars 'The Future' (Heavenly) with the lyrical request: Give me crack and anal sex, well it beats asking for blue Smarties on your tour rider. The four-piece come from Reading, which doesn't explain the scally accent of the singer on this thinks-its-sixties-but-sounds-nineties non-event of indie bravado. Perhaps they all talk like that in Berkshire now.

What a poor week for pop music. Quite frankly, you couldn't give it away.


» Reviewed by: Tim
» Talk on the boards