Single reviews

The Hours

Back When You Were Good

A&M

Every now and then a song comes along that you know you shouldn�t like, and try as I might,I thought I could resist this but if it�s a guilty pleasure then so be it, I love this song! There may come a time when The Hours are massive and it is deemed uncool to like them but on the basis of this one song, they deserve to be given a chance. A piano led, pompous, mini-epic recalling the criminally under rated Puressence and the criminally over rated Echo and the Bunnymen, this is currently on playlists everywhere so does not need me to hype it further but expect big things from this lot.

John Paul Mason

I Killed Pharoah

Home EP

When a up and coming rock band list the best-forgetting Three Colours Red as an influence, one�s natural instinct is to run away. While the requisite low slung guitars and squealing solos are all present and correct, this four piece (whose line up includes a guitarist with the rather exotic name of Lukather, which conjures up images of lots and lots of Scandinavian death metal) do have one trump card up their sleeves � namely an affection for the work of Brian Wilson. The commendable attempt to graft multi-layoured harmonies over the usual metal mix may not be entirely successful, but as least shows this outfit are one willing to try something different.

Paul McGarvey

Juliette And The Licks

Sticky Honey

Hassle

Serving up three minutes of saccharine-sweet guitar pop, this would have been a surefire hit back in the summer. Bouncy, light, and clearly aimed at the popular market, �Sticky Honey� unfortunately feels all-too-easily discardable when it suddenly comes to a close, lacking even a final chord to fade out on. Like Ronald McDonald�s honeycomb-studded McFlurries, this provides a few moments of pure delight for the sweet-toothed among us, but ultimately fails to fill the hole in our bellies.

Dan Coxon

Kasabian

Me Plus One

�Shoot the Runner� proved that Kasabian could revive glam rock, but �Me Plus One� reveals a more subtle, brooding nature. Due in no small part to Serge Pizzorno’s engaging vocal, this is a wonderfully harmonious dance-rock classic that should see them established as the most refreshing, original, exciting band in Britain. It ebbs and flows so effortlessly, dragging you into its tranquil world. This is music more inventive and stylish than their compatriots Oasis at their peak. Quite simply, a band that may soon be found in the high echelons of musical greatness.

Paul MacDonald

The KBC

Test The Water

Mashing early 90’s psychadelia with a Doves-indebted Madchester groove, The KBC manage to sound completely fresh even though �Test The Water� sounds as though it could easily have crash-landed on your I-pod (or shall we say tape player) ten years ago. Getting Bjork producer Damian Taylor on board also hasn�t harmed them any, as �Test The Water� sounds as though it�s ready to soar off your hi-fi and straight into your nearest indie-disco dancefloor. Pretty shit name though.

Clarke Geddes

Seth Lakeman

King and Country

Okey-dokey, so far, so pleasantly folky�Not the most original song I�ve ever heard, but this gently nags away at you, until resistance is futile. The understated guitar playing (knew there was a reason for instrumental versions in 2007!) is a real joy. Repeated listens to this track may warm your heart, if not blowing you away entirely.

Ed Jupp

Larrikin Love

Well, Love Does Furnish A Life

Infectious

Once it�s stumbled over the ridiculously clumsy title, this new single from Mr Larrikin mixes and matches musical styles as if he�s raided his vinyl collection with gay abandon. Opening with jangling guitars that bring to mind vanished indie gods The La�s, it then slumps into a pseudo-reggae beat, before the Top Ten-friendly chorus finally surges through. Jumbled, slightly confusing, but remarkably infectious and memorable, �Well, Love Does Furnish A Life� sums up Larrikin Love in a nutshell. The jury�s still out on that title, though.

Dan Coxon

Little Barrie

Pin That Badge

Genuine

Little Barrie return (did anyone notice they’d been away?) with an unashamedly retro EP that claims to have �funk� and �soul� but in reality has as much bite as a toothless chihuahua. This sounds like it took about five minutes to write, and it takes about five seconds to forget it completely. The B-side, ‘Green-Eyed Fool’ takes a swipe at people who �haven’t had the balls to do it for themselves�, which seems a little rich, coming from Morrissey’s jobbing guitarist.

Kate Connolly

Sean Lennon

Dead Meat

Parlophone

Lennon Jnr could be forgiven for taking the fast track route to fame. After all, what�s the point of trying to emulate your father�s career when he has secured his place as one the greatest of all time? Surely a lost cause?

Not for this single-minded gentleman. Whilst there are elements of dad�s work spliced into this single acutely, individuality is almost certainly the defining word for this, and indeed all, of Sean Lennon�s work. Rather than be cast under a shadow of a parent�s previous success, �Dead Meat� sounds fresh, unique, and indicative of his tribulations to find perfection in the eight-year sabbatical since his last effort. Emulation this ain�t; this stands on its own two feet as a beautifully arranged, gloriously implicit record. He may be as much the spokesperson for the underground as his father was for the mainstream. Not really what you would expect from a Lennon record, and, probably, all the better for it.

Paul MacDonald

Joe Matson

DTA

Self released

Trip-hop has always been a mystifying genre. Too banal to be either trippy or hoppy, its protagonists sailed lethargically through the scene before shipping off to new shores once they realised no-one actually cared. So, with this in mind, the proposition of self-confessed trip-hopper Joe Matson�s new single fails to fill the heart with hope. And from the first silky smooth down-tempo beat its clear �DTA� won�t breathe a fresh lease of life into a dying scene. Inoffensively bland, it�s a late night smoking track for those unable to solve anything more taxing than what makes the best roach material. Trip-hop: seriously, who needs it?

Billy Hamilton