You get bonus singles this week kids, of course how pleasurable an experience that is for me depends purely upon what has landed on my ‘unwelcome’ mat. Today’s burnt offerings start with the obligatory ‘rock number’ courtesy of Shinedown a Florida based four piece who deliver fairly well produced songs that Jeremy Clarkson might like. Yes folks this is more of that driven blend of lead and acoustic guitars with vocals that have that ‘man straining on the toilet’ vibe all over them and a suite of lyrics that box your ears with metaphor after metaphor after metaphor (‘I toss and turn like the sea’…Oh!, do fuck off.). This is like Nickelback but probably with lower record sales. I don’t even think the tragic big hair market will go for this although doubtless some fuckwit will try and use it as a song ‘to win back his girlfriend’ after being caught shagging her best mate on a sofa at a party. Out October 26th.
Next up is Permpay & Dee ‘DJ play’ featuring Shola Ama, now I love the way they say ‘featuring Shola Ama’ as if she was still actually relevant. The last time she had a lucky touch we probably still had rationing (alright that might be an exaggeration but it has to be the mid nineties). Actually, if I’m going to be completely honest there’s a reasonable vocal at work here, sadly though the production behind it is a touch unbalanced and while a bit of weight on a dance track is pretty much obligatory here it knocks her vocals a bit. There are however remixes that do something to remedy this, Perempay & Dee rework their own track and toughen up the back end and lose that annoying ‘Garagband’ piano lick which spoils the original. Pete Doyle bravely tries to layer the synths up to bring us something with a euro flavour which sadly doesn’t quite come off. Luckily Geeneus drops a fairly loose and chattery two step mix which proves to be the real saving grace for this track. Otherwise this has a somewhat unfinished air to it. Out on October 26th.
I’ll close today with the intriguingly titled Soft Toy Emergency and their new single ‘Critical’. Going for the current vogue of relatively bleep led synth pop topped with one of those cocky ‘I can’t quite sing so I’ll throw a ton of accent and attitude’ vocals…I was fully prepared to hate this but it does have a certain charm about it. Once again there’s a ton of remixes to go at with the standouts coming via Last Japan (very analogue, nice bits of chop and cut on the vocal) and DC Breaks (which like the title suggests ups the ante and dices the track up with a nice breakbeat line underneath it). Fairly warm, out November 16th.
