White Rabbits - Heavy Metal

Continuing this week, and replacing our weekly singles round-up, our contributors will voice their opinion on a song twice every week. It’s a simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Heavy Metal’ by White Rabbits

Average grade: 5.3

Stephanie: Known for their complicated percussion and gutsy lyrical attitude, White Rabbits have produced a track more cool, calm and collective and a complete contrast to its title. Stephen Patterson’s breathy high pitched vocals layer over a gentle repetitive piano and a dominant bass line. But it’s the infrequent chugging bursts of guitar that give the song that hint of White Rabbits attitude and reminds you of who you’re listening to. 8/10

Thomas: ‘Heavy Metal’ is all about the ultra high tension bassline that bounces through the song from start to finish.  The result is enjoyably threatening, but definitely rock and definitely not heavy or metal. 6/10

Richard: Not heard anything from these guys since ‘Percussion Gun’.  ‘Heavy Metal’ is a languid song which is distracted by irregular thrashing, and distant biscuit tin bashing. I can appreciate where White Rabbits are aiming, finding a footing in that erratic post-post-punk sound, topped up with an earnest vocal melody. Trouble is, the song has no charm. It’s cold, ‘Heavy Metal’ fits the atmosphere that comes when you’re stuck in  the lift with a work colleague and awkwardly stammer out an optimistic “Hello” only to get nothing back in return. Not even a nod or a smile. 4/10

Antonio: Keeping the groove locked down with a repetitive riff and funky bassline, White Rabbits create a cool, slick track reminiscent of !!! or The Rapture. Not really my bag to be honest, but a decent dance track nonetheless. 6/10

Rob: What originally starts as a fairly funky keys-fest with some nice jarring stabs of guitar soon turns into a repetitive slice of monotony. Bonus points awarded for the strutting ’70s cop show bass line just after two minutes in, bonus points withdrawn when boredom sets in seconds later. 3/10

Paul: A nicely put-together piece of laptop rock. Gentle funk bass and soft, pained vocals are paired with reversed piano stabs, reverbed clatters and guitar squall. This is pretty smooth. 7/10

Stef: That glitchy start, not my thing. I do like the laidback funk, but it seems a bit whack-the-mole, with the general funk sound being the mole and all kinds of sounds trying to pierce through it. And it does get a bit dad-rockish at some points. 3/10

The Men - Open Your Heart

Starting this week, and replacing our weekly singles round-up, every week, two times a week, our contributors will voice their opinion on a song. It’s a simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Open Your Heart’ by The Men

Rosie: It’s a poor man’s version of The Buzzcocks’s ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ – except that that’s a bit of an insult to The Buzzcocks. Maybe I’m getting older, but it just seems like a wall of noise coming out of the speakers at me. Sloppy drumming, awful singing…not impressed. 4/10

Ilse: The Men are an awesome band if you enjoy the raw sound of the Replacements, Fugazi and Buzzcocks. Fortunately, this description applies to me and this new track makes me realize what an idiot I am, as I could’ve heard them play this superb track live in Amsterdam last week. Instead, I was being humped by drugged up Spaniards at some random techno gig in Barcelona…. 8/10

Anna: Let’s be honest – the emperor has no clothes. The singer can’t sing. Not being able to sing doesn’t always get in the way of it all but this time it certainly does. This is like hearing someone do a loose cover of Ever Fallen In Love in the shower. 2/10

Stuart: Fine Young Cannibals did a fine if not so young cover of Buzzcocks’s ‘Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t've’ and at least had the manners to title it so and presumably pay the punkers their deserved royalties. Seemingly, The Men simply can’t be arsed. Tough love, perhaps? In any case, to present this as original material is criminality of the highest order and demands inclusion as a secret mission in the next Grand Theft Auto video game. The Men simply shouldn’t've bothered. 1/10  

David: Sounds like The Buzzcocks. Urgent pace. American indie rock vocals. Some jangliness. Vague lovelorn lyrics. Strong enough hooks but really has no more of a place in 2012 than Northern Uproar do. Unless I’m getting old. People will still be releasing music like this in 2112 however. Huw Stephens will like it, he’s an indie sycophant. 4/10

Linda: I believe a lot of people were doing exactly this about 40 years ago. Back then, it was something that needed to happen. Now, it feels a bit redundant. It did get stuck in my head though, but that might be related to the drill outside my window sounding remarkably similar. 5/10

Craig: This is the sound of all of those bands who played at shows you attended when you were in high school: four power chords relentlessly repeated under a straining singer.  Verse, chorus, bridge.  The song sounds live enough to invoke memories of the tiny, perhaps tin sided rock venue you frequented as an adolescent, but is as unoriginal as it is nostalgic. 4/10

Paul: Driving and passionate, this is a glorious throwback to late-70s punk which sounds like it’s being played by four outcast teens on crappy gear to an apathetic working men’s club crowd. Not gonna win any prizes for originality though. 6/10

James: Instantly thrown into a Buzzcocks like state of teenage angst (pretty sure I won’t be the only one). Reassuring to know that not everyone is subscribing to the mainstream pop mold but it takes a few listens to appreciate and is a bit too uncanny of their influences. 7/10

Stef: So many outlets touting this, so many outlets going wow wow wow. And I’m left thinking, but isn’t this just any old punk song? Just not sure what the fuss is about to be honest. 3/10

Average grade: 4.4/10

Saint Etienne

It’s been seven years since their last album, and Saint Etienne have announced their return – the band have made a new single, ‘Tonight’, available to download. You can stream the song below.

The new album is as yet untitled, but the single definitely sounds promising – built on a bed of strings and electronica with an, as usual, irresistible pop hook, it sounds like the melancholic/euphoric pop we’re currently missing from the likes of Robyn and Girls Aloud (it’s produced by Xenomania’s Tim Powell and mixed by Richard X). Welcome back Saint Etienne.

Nicolas Jaar

Nicolas Jaar‘s debut LP Space Is Only Noise was one of 2011′s most loved albums – it made our own top 10 of the year – and the new material that has been slowly emerging since that album’s release (nearly a year ago now) suggests there’s much more to look forward to. At the tail end of last year we got the quietly impressive ‘Don’t Break My Love’/'Why Didn’t You Save Me’ single and recently another new track – the jazz inflected minimalism of ‘With Just One Glance’ – has made its way onto the blogs. Mildly interesting fact to mull over while you listen to it below: the singer is the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis.

‘With Just One Glance You’ Nicolas Jaar featuring. Scout Larue and Will Epstein 1 by Bullett Media

Amateur Best - Be Happy

A couple of years ago now, Joe Flory was gaining a fair amount of attention as Primary 1 – there was a bit of buzz, a rather good single with Nina Persson of The Cardigans called ‘The Blues’ and rumblings of an album, until… well, not very much. Flory did put out an LP as Primary 1 last year, but it was a digital-only release that seemed more like a desk-clearing exercise rather than a definitive artistic statement.

Flory has now re-emerged as Amateur Best, and it’s already looking like being an altogether more focused affair – his Amatuer Best guise is going to tell the story of James Best, a “sometime London DJ, latent alcoholic and lifelong amateur” through songs and also a comic book, which will accompany the Amateur Best releases. The first single is ‘Be Happy’, due out on 7″ on Double Denim Records on February 13. You can hear it below.

DD010 A1: Amateur Best // Be Happy by Double Denim Records

Xiu Xiu - Always

Xiu Xiu have been making music that manages to be earnest, melodic, poppy, strange and harrowing at once (often all in the space of one song) for ten years now. Ten years! Today, the band announced the next album (their eighth in all) will be called Always – it will commemorate the relationship between the band and their intensely devoted fanbase, intended to encapsulate “the mutual camaraderie with and deep dedication to each person who has internalized Xiu Xiu’s work, tattooed its name on their skin or soul, and throughout the past 10 years made the band a part of their lives”.

In the meantime, the band have made the album’s first single ‘Hi’ available to stream – have a listen below. Longtime fans hoping that Always will find Xiu Xiu tackling their usual subject matter will be pleased to hear that the tracklist includes songs such as ‘Chimney’s Afire (Mickensian Suicide)’ and ‘I Luv Abortion’.

Hi by Xiu Xiu

Dot Rotten

Dot Rotten found himself on the BBC Sound Of 2012 the other week – while he didn’t make the top 5, it was still a fairly big achievement for a grime MC, even in a post-Dizzee and Wiley world. In interviews, he seems refreshingly unconcerned with what his underground peers are going to make of his move overground – and the sheer number of mixtapes he released between 2008 and last year is testament to the work he’s been putting in. He’s just released the video for new single ‘Are You Not Entertained’ and its neither a retreat to his roots nor a Tinie Tempah style crossover – plenty of grime MCs have got lost in the space between the underground and the mainstream, and it’ll be interesting to hear where Dot Rotten’s album lands between those two worlds.

Scissor Sisters

There had been rumours that New York band Scissor Sisters had sorted out a collaboration with Azealia Banks for their new, as yet untitled fourth album, and this morning Annie Mac debuted the track on her show on Radio 1. It’s called ‘Shady Love’, it features Jake Shears rapping, and a radio rip has been doing the rounds on Twitter. You can hear it below.

Azari & III

Canadian house-revival four-piece Azari & III released on of our favourite albums this year outside of the UK – their self-titled debut has only been available over here on import or limited edition vinyl since earlier this year. The group are lining up a full release on Island Records on February 19, and a ‘Reckless With Your Love’ single will precede the album a week earlier.

‘Reckless With Your Love’ is one of the standouts from the album and now has a suitably camp/odd new video, which you can watch below.

Friends

Brooklyn quintet Friends are looking to build on all the support they’ve been getting over the last few months and have announced a new single – ‘Friend Crush’ will be released on February 6 2012. You can listen to the track ahead of its release below – it’s the follow up to their inescapable, breakthrough single ‘I’m His Girl’. To coincide with the single’s release, there’ll play a trio of dates in the UK – the middle date at London’s The Lexington has already sold out, but there’s still tickets for XOYO in London or Manchester’s Deaf Institute available. Dates and song below.

February 6, Manchester, Deaf Institute
February 7, London, The Lexington SOLD OUT
February 8, London, XOYO

Friends – Friend Crush by LuckyNumberMusic