Singles time again folks what better way to kick off our look at what’s going on in the fickle short attention spanned world of popular music than the Queen of reinvention herself Madonna. Quite an odd one this because while you can tell Madonna came to the party she sure isn’t the focus of attention on this the precursor to her new album ‘Hard Candy’.
‘Four Minutes’ shows Madge in collaborative form as Timbaland mans the helm for this duet with Justin Timberlake. Oddly enough though both vocalists take something of a chinning when it comes to the brass heavy production that is the true star of this song. Timbaland might be a safe pair of hands in the production stakes and this song has a certain lumbering charm tempered with some nice smooth transitions but while the track has merit you can’t help but wonder when The Salvation Army is going to turn up banging tambourines. Undoubtedly a grower. Digitally available now and physically on April 21st.
Yoav’s new single ‘Club Thing’ is released on April 28th. Imagine if all of sudden there was no electricity and dance music producers had to fall back on natural sounds and rhythms to peddle their wares. Well, that’s a bit what this song is like, a very organic take on dance music mixed with a gentle self assured delivery. It all makes for one of those ‘stop and stare’ moments where you find yourself gently having a spell woven in your ears. The impression I get right now is Yoav is a bit of a secret, if this is anything to go by it won’t be for long.
Flo Rida (you see what he did there) has his debut single ‘Low’ out right now, very much in the established slightly formulaic direction certain areas of hip hop have settled in. Clean almost European synths dominate the back end while the beats land fairly hard with just a hint of springy reverb to them, saddling up behind a well trodden path of lyrical content that includes the usual references to ‘smacking that booty’ and various references to brand name clothing. I’ve heard worse, that much I will concede and the delivery is nimble (if not particularly original). I’ll not write Flo Rida off on the strength of this single because while not being the most exciting thing I’ve heard it does illustrate some potential. I wonder if he realises the potential irony of calling his up and coming album ‘Mail On Sunday’ to the UK audiences.
Staying across the pond for a moment our next single is courtesy of Seattle based A Fine Frenzy (22 year old singer songwriter Alison Sudol). ‘Come On, Come Out’ doesn’t make the most immediate impression with its ‘made for TV movie soundtrack’ style piano but this mid tempered pop lament does build sufficiently to win you over with its musical surrounding gradually swirling to something of a crescendo while Sudol’s vocal anchors the piece without wandering into the territory of histrionics (which with this kind of song is a potential risk). She could be a live curiosity with a date at the Islington Bar Academy on April 24th.
The Warp label might have made a name for itself in the nineties for its offerings of bowel shearing bass and bleep anthems but times have changed and perhaps one apt example is Jamie Lidell’s new single ‘Little Bit Of Feel Good’, its got one of those elastic soul vocals which would make the greats proud and a fluid backing that is separated from its peers by having just that little extra muscle in the bottom end to fatten the sound out a little and make it more appropriate somehow for a label of this lineage. Why…its almost ‘haunted funk’ (if that becomes a genre name I want my credit!). Its out on April 14th.
That’s your lot, have a good weekend (or if you’re reading this on Monday, slacking off at the screen fans, welcome back to the grind).
