Singles - March 2011

Transfer – Losing Composure

Transfer hail from San Diego and “Losing Composure” is their first UK release, and was recorded in their own White Horse Recorders studio in San Diego. A beautiful, eclectic sound with brilliant vocals, that keeps you wanting more. There is no doubt that this band will become a known name amongst the music scene in the UK, and I can only expect brilliant things from a live performance.

The band is on tour throughout the UK in February with the Bravery, followed by European dates with the White Lies. Check out their website for full details and for a free download of their single “Losing Composure” http://www.transferband.com/

Toy Horses - And It Was You

Gentle story-driven piano led pop, crafted from Neil Finn-esque melancholic melodies with a twist of a Beatles harmony in the chorus. And It Was You is a subtle and atmospheric snapshot of a tired life performing below expectations.. the sort of tale you'd expect from Billy Bragg, but in tune and without the politics. Genuinely pleasant and definitely worth a listen.

We Are Enfant Terrible - Filthy Love

Slight more edge and consistency than their last single, but it still sounds like amateurs stringing samples together without knowing if they work. What we end up with is a minimalist dance/funk tune where each instrument plays at least one note hugely out of key every few seconds, and I can't work out if this is post-modern or just a lack of ability. Just like last outing, there's no soul here and the whole thing is curiously unaffecting.

Twin Atlantic - Edit Me

This is a bit less aggressive and more uplifting than you might have been expecting, but it shows a different side to an already great band. Edit Me has a freewheeling style, loose and fuzzy with lots of space to breathe between the fireworks. This reminds me a bit of 90s guitar rockers Kerbdog, which is definitely a good thing. Hefty dynamics, loads of attitude and feeling, good track.

Human League - Night People

Solid retro electronica backing, but with a strangely misjudged vocal - it just bounces between cropped and repeated samples of Phil singing 'Night People', and a series of cringeworthy lyrics delivered flatly. It's as if they were aiming for the darkness of older classic tracks like Being Boiled, but the result isn't quite good enough for an amateur remake of Rocky Horror. I have a huge amount of respect for the band, but this isn't even in their car park, let alone making in into the ballpark.

Pendulum - Crush

A logical extension of the journey into melody that began with In Silico, Crush picks up the pace after the last, more subdued single with a single-minded focus that recalls the oddball quirks of electronic pioneer Thomas Dolby. It's huge, fuzzy, anthemic and quite easy to like, but doesn't have its own unique character along the lines of Tarantula or Propane Nightmares. It's definitely nice to have the breakneck speed back, but I wouldn't say it's the strongest of the bunch.

Sunday Girl - Stop Hey

Stop Hey pushes all the right buttons for drivetime radio - it's happy, dynamic, inoffensive pop-soul and plays it utterly safe. Unfortunately it doesn't reach beyond that and leaves you feeling that you haven't really heard anything - it's the musical equivalent of a bag of prawn crackers. It's also recorded so hot that it gave me a headache after 2 minutes, so I presume it wouldn't have grown any further.

Innerpartysystem - American Trash

Aggressive glitchy electronica, heavy on the distortion and disorienting jump-cuts. Think Daft Punk crossed with Nine Inch Nails. American Trash sounds like it would rock on a soundtrack in intense bites, but ultimately lacks the guts to go the distance solo. It's OK, but imbalanced and a bit too schizophrenic to take root.

Love Amongst Ruin - Alone

Slightly spacey and moody indie guitar track that never really takes off. The ingredients are mostly good, but the uninspired lyrics and dull delivery drag it down. It's a fine backing track in need of a great vocal and a killer chorus, which implies that they've got the potential but just aren't tapping it yet.