Watch out Wiley, Alan O'Hare has a warrant for your arrest. Meanwhile some Londoners recall long-lost Liverpool sons to scoop the SOTW prize.
Grantura: In Dreams - Single of the Week
Whatever happened to Deltasonic's The Basement? Anyways ... this is a fine tune - with layered vocals and a distinctly English take on some driving Americana. South Londoners who've got Janice Long and Mark Radcliffe in a state and it's not hard to see why. Great harmonies and a really good song - still gets me every time ...
Royworld: Dust
Vocals from a Delays chorus, layered piano and a driving (or boring) beat. So far, so Coldplay.
Throw in Keane's producer too and you already know what this sounds like, don't you? A chorus that reaches for epic, but arrives at mundane. Q says they sound like Talking Heads, which is a reference from the freakin' moon too. Humdrum, I'm afraid.
Cazals: Somebody Somewhere
They're as English as a Sunday roast and the NME love them. Angular beats, a throbbing bass line and a lyric with some meat: "I wanna' live like the animals live ...". Nice.
Said creatures might have delivered a better chorus though - just as this threatens to get going, a stuttering beat arrives from nowhere , trying too hard and ruining it all. Shame.
White Denim: Let's Talk About It
Loud and proud Americans, fresh from SXSW and supporting Nick Cave, but this doesn't rise above dumb frat rock. Fuzzy, wah wah guitars hide the lack of a decent tune and the lyrics are beyond awful. Back to college I reckon.
Jamie Lidell: Little Bit Of Feel Good
Is he the real thing? Great reviews have followed Warp's one and only soul singer around for a while now and this tune nearly delivers.
Great voice, nice horns and enough soul to require a second listen - but something just doesn't click. Maybe it's the fact that the guitar is the wrong side of funky, but I was hoping for more from Lidell.
Ejector Seat: Not My Girl
Youngsters much liked by R2 and Jonathan Ross and this starts well enough - with a nice intro and melody.
It's a bit nice-but-dim though and the singer's voice sounds very, very young. There is a market for this - but I don't hear enough edge for fans of The Dykeenies and The Wombats to get into it.
Kelly Rowland: Daylight
Apart from Crazy In Love - though what a tune that was - Rowland's released better singles than Beyonce since going her own way.
This is no exception, a nice summer vibe helped on its way by a laid back groove, and a song with Jo Whiley written all over it. Great production job too, the track almost glistens ... and a Jazzy Jeff remix could be cool.
Death Cab For Cutie: I Will Possess Your Heart
Well, my boss wants them too. Everyone (and their boss) has been telling me about this band, but I haven't got it yet.
They've nearly done it with this song, but his voice is still meek and a better producer could have turned the tune on its head. Good song, but no balls - with lyrics that make Dave McCabe sound like a sweetheart too ...
Wiley: Wearing My Rolex
Stop the world I wanna' get off. Wearing your rolex? You didn't buy it with your royalties pal - crap lyrics, a monotone rap and a set of bleeps and Balearic beats straight from the 90s. Grime? This is a crime against hip hop.
Natty: Cold Town
The male Lily Allen! Not quite, but we've been waiting for a record company to find one - a bit of a camp ska vibe, but closer to Battersea than Jamaica in truth. The tune's good though and it's an easy, groovy listen. One to keep an eye on ... maybe.
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