L&P – Reggae Rigby / Fu-Gee-La-Stylee (7″ Single)

L&P RIGBY001: 21st August 2006
1. The Beatles Vs Tanya Stephens – Reggae Rigby
“Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave, no one was saved”
2. The Fugees Vs Junior Byles – Fu-Gee-La-Stylee
“Fake bullets can’t scar me, I can smell the weak out like safari, play you out like Atari, sacrifice you Hari Kari”

I just picked up this great white label mash-up 7″.  ‘Reggae Rigby’ does exactly what it says on the tin by mixing The Beatles classic ‘Eleanor Rigby’ with Tanya Stephens’ Reggae tune ‘It’s A Pity’.  The blend is seemless.

On the flip ‘Fu-Gee-La’ by The Fugees is mixed with another slice of Reggae by Junior Byles called ‘Fade Away’.  It’s superb and a big improvement on the original, but The Fugees always had Reggae influences so it’s not as much fun as the A-side.

You can order this 7″ from Piccadilly records.

THOM YORKE – Harrowdown Hill (CD & 7″ Single)

XL Recordings XLS238CD / XLS238: 21st August 2006
1. Harrowdown Hill
“Don’t walk the plank like I did, you will be dispensed with, when you’ve become inconvenient”
2. The Drunkk Machine
“Spitting nonsense, spitting feathers, talking in tongues, swivelling heads, splitting hairs”
3. Harrowdown Hill (Extended Mix)
“I can’t take their pressure, no one cares if you live or die, they just want me gone, they want me gone”
4. Jetstream
“Between the whip-crack and the moonbeams, ’cause it goes from where we’re heading, the gleaming teeth of the in-between, I can hear some people laughing”

‘Harrowdown Hill’ was the place where weapons inspector Dr. David Kelly’s body was discovered.  Thom Yorke’s first solo single tries to tackle the issue and gives voice to doubts as to whether his death was really suicide, with lines like “Did I fall or was I pushed?” and “Where’s the blood?”.  Musically, it’s most similar to a superb B-side from Radiohead’s last album called ‘Paperbag Writer’.  There is a kind of dry, glitchy and claustrophobic Funk sound with a haunting Piano segment in the middle.  It’s included in the original version and as an extended seven-minute mix.

From the sound of ‘The Drunkk Machine’ it seems entirely possible that Thom was “Drunkk” when he made it.  It’s an incomprehensible mix of scattershot beats and messy Synthesisers, but it’s still worth a listen.  ‘Jetstream’ is far better and is as close to rapping as Thom is likely to come.  He spits lines out at breakneck speed over what sounds like a combination of Human Beatbox and monks chanting.

Click here to download an amazing mash-up of Thom Yorke and Kelly Clarkson (It’s incredible the way the vocals intertwine).

Click here to read Wikipedia’s entry about Dr. David Kelly.

Click here to watch the video for ‘Harrowdown Hill’ on YouTube.

Thom Yorke Website / Thom Yorke Lyrics Blog

MORRISSEY – In The Future When All’s Well (2x CD Singles)

Attack ATKXS021 / ATKXD021: 21st August 2006
1. In The Future When All’s Well
“Armed with wealth and, the best of health, in the future when all’s well, I will lie down, and be counted, in the future when all’s well”
2. Christian Dior
“Christian Dior, you wasted your life, sensually stroking the weaves of a sleeve”
3. I’ll Never Be Anybody’s Hero Now (Live)
“Warm lights from the grand houses blind me, haves cannot stand have-nots, and my love is under the ground”
4. To Me You Are A Work Of Art (Live)
“I see the world, it makes me puke, but then I look at you, and know that somewhere, there’s a someone, who can soothe me”

‘In The Future When All’s Well’ seems an odd choice for the single because there are much stronger tracks on ‘Ringleader Of The Tormentors’. It does have its moments like the catchy Glam riff and the line “Living longer than I had intended, something must have gone… right!”.

‘Christian Dior’ can be added to the long line of dead gay icons in Moz’s personal ghostly hall of fame (Like Oscar Wilde, Candy Darling, Andy Warhol, James Dean, Jobriath etc). This time, instead of singing their virtues, he scorns Dior for wasting his life. But in the final verse we find Morrissey is really angry with himself at wasting his own life when he could’ve “Run loudly and proudly”. It’s one of his finest B-sides and could have easily been the single instead.

The fact that the last two B-sides are live tracks would be a little disappointing, if they weren’t so damn good (They were recorded at The London Palladium in May). On ‘I’ll Never Be Anybody’s Hero Now’ Moz’s voice seems to strain towards new heights with every line. On ‘To Me You Are A Work Of Art’ there is added bite in the way he spits out the word “Puke” compared with the way he sighs “Art” and he even barks like a dog at 1.58. I would love to get my hands on a bootleg of this concert, it sounds like he was absolutely on fire.

Once again, I must mention Fabio Lovino’s fantastic cover photography. Such is the strength of Morrissey’s carefully constructed image that a photo of him licking an Ice Cream seems satirical, contemplative and even sexually suggestive.

I’m Playing Easy To Get (Janice Long Session) mp3 (An excellent song that somehow got lost between Moz’s current album and his last).

Here are links to get Sandie Shaw’s breathtaking covers of ‘I Don’t Owe You Anything’ and ‘Jeane’ as mp3s (They’re better than The Smiths’ versions).

Click here to watch the video for ‘In The Future When All’s Well’ and ‘The Making Of’ video on YouTube.

Other YouTube highlights include ‘The Smiths On Charlie’s Bus With Sandie Shaw’, the ‘Importance Of Being Morrissey’ Documentary part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4, ‘Morrissey Sings The Frosties Commercial!’ okay not really, ‘Bernard Manning Sings The Smiths’, ‘November Spawned A Monster’ and lastly nothing brightens my day like ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now on Top Of The Pops’ (Probably my favourite Moz clip).

There are countless Morrissey fansites but three of the best are ‘Shoplifters Union’ (For extensive links), ‘Wor(l)d Of Morrissey’ (A large and up-to-date lyrics archive) and ‘Passions Just Like Mine’ (The most complete Discography available).

Kristeen Young (She supported Moz on his last tour) has just released a 7″ on Morrissey’s own Attack imprint. Visit her Website site here and her MySpace Page here.

Morrissey Website / Morrissey MySpace Page / Morrissey Official Fansite

MAD STARING EYES – Walking In The Streets (7″ Single)

Retina RET16: 21st August 2006
1. Walking In The Streets
“Don’t wanna play your games, no points or prizes, I thought I told you once, no more disguises”
2. Shiny New Car
“It’s an imported motor from a foreign power, foot down, accelerator, engine growler”

Musically ‘Walking In The Streets’ is like all the best bits of Roland Shanks, Maxïmo Park and The Killers. Over the top of that, vocalist Alex Jay spits out the lyrics like a psychotic Robert Smith.

‘Shiny New Car’ is something completely different and sounds like a great lost Jon Spencer Rocker. Check out Alex’s sneering, gravel-raw Elvis vocals and the handclaps at the end, I ask you, what more do you need. Given that ‘Walking In The Streets’ has already been on a couple of EPs, this could easily have been the A-side instead.

Click here to buy Concrete’s ‘Glastonbury Unsigned Bands 2005’ compilation which features the track ‘New Thing’ for only £5. Half the money goes to Charity and it features 24 other bands that you might be hearing from in the future.

Click here to watch the video for ‘Walking In The Streets’ on YouTube.

Also visit Mad Staring Eyes’ Website to buy three other releases.

Mad Staring Eyes Website / Mad Staring Eyes MySpace Page

S.M.O.V. – EP W1 (12″ & Free Download EP)

Wack Records WACK001: 21st August 2006
1. Big Love mp3
“And when it comes to gettin’ nookie, I’m not a rookie, I got girls that make that chick Toni Braxton look like Whoopi”
2. Jazz Trap mp3
“I don’t really wanna lose you, but I don’t want your folks to, turn me over to the hands of the law”
3. Kool Blues mp3
“So to the next weasel that freezes, your beggin’ and ya pleases, only gettin’ ya closer to meetin’ Jesus”

I bought this three track mash-up 12″, but I’ve found out it’s also available as a free download.

‘Big Love’ combines a sample of the killer intro to The Supremes’ 1966 single ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ with the rap from Big L’s ‘Put It On’. By taking just the intro, it’s been turned into something that sounds like Iggy Pop’s ‘Lust For Life’ with added bombastic horn flourishes (Which raises the question, is some budding remixer gonna combine Iggy and The Supremes?). It’s absolutely irresistible, I can’t stop playing it and it’s going to be one of the tracks of the year.

‘Jazz Trap’ is either simply a jazzy remix of a Colonel Abrams’ 1985 house tune ‘Trapped’, or a mash-up with something else that I can’t identify (If somebody knows, please tell me). ‘Kool Blues’ combines Kool G. Rap & D.J. Polo’s ‘Ill Street Blues’ with the 1968 proto-chillout track ‘On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)’ by The Peddlers. ‘Jazz Trap’ and ‘Kool Blues’ are both outstanding tunes but they can’t help but seem inferior when compared with ‘Big Love’.

I’ve included links to download the songs that have been sampled on the above mash-ups.

Big L – Put It On mp3
The Supremes – You Can’t Hurry Love mp3
Colonel Abrams – Trapped mp3
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo – Ill Street Blues mp3
The Peddlers – On A Clear Day You Can See Forever mp3

Also click here to download a fantastic thirty-minute mix by S.M.O.V. Any mix that kicks off with The Ghostbusters theme followed by a Coldcut sample has got to be worth having in my book.

Wack Records Website

DECORATION – Candidate / Job In London (7″ Single)

13 B Sides BEES3: 21st August 2006
1. Candidate
“They call you echo, ’cause you always answer back, and you’re the focus of my attention, and how you must love that”
2. Job In London
“I got more chance raisin’ Lazarus, than to turn you round, ’cause there’s more life in this mattress, than we’ve got here in this old town”

Musically ‘Candidate’ is very reminiscent of a Pixies song, but I can’t remember which one.  Lyrically it paints a picture of shy embarrassment worthy of Morrissey and I love the way Stuart Murray sings the line “I can do that for myself, thank you”.  ‘Job In London’ is a slow building anthem that explodes halfway through.  It’s the kind majesty that Snow Patrol strive for, but never quite attain.  Once again I love the way Stuart’s voice drops right down for the line “To mend this bleeding heart”.

I can understand why this is a double A-side, I can’t put a hair between the two, quality wise.  I liked their last single ‘Pine’, but I’m absolutely in-love with this.

Intercom mp3

As a stop gap before the new album you can pre-order a compilation of rarities called ‘Flippant’ from the Decoration Website (You can also buy all the other releases).

Decoration Website / Decoration MySpace Page

THE INDELICATES – Free Downloads

http://www.indelicates.com: 2006
1. Julia We Don’t Live In The 60s mp3
“You’re just like Cinderella, on the screen in Technicolor, off the chart, you’re goin’ stellar, your friends are queuing up to tell yer, your lips are full and moist, you could be the Pepsi-Cola seller”
2. New Art For The People mp3
“I followed your perfume, as you ran down the street, I caught you and held you and pushed back your fringe, and swore undying loyalty”
3. Vladimir mp3
“They shot him in the heart, beyond the London strand, the last words that he said… you’re only gonna kill a man”
4. Waiting For Pete Doherty To Die mp3
“Someone come and tap this pain, I haven’t cried since Kurt Cobain”

I just found out about this band called The Indelicates through beethobear’s great Blog. He had an image showing the cover of their new single ‘We Hate The Kids’, and it really caught my eye, and you’ll see why if you click here. They make partly acoustic Rock with hints of The Pogues, Chris T-T or Regina Spektor and pair that with painfully sharp lyrics. They are a five piece led by Simon and Julia Indelicate (She used to be in The Pipettes apparently). The lyrics are packed with little gems like “You sound middle class, but I’ll let it pass”.

‘Julia We Don’t Live In The 60s’ is about meeting a politically active girl but you’re just far too cynical. You’ll be tapping your toes to the beat and bobbing your head to the shouts of “We’ve never had it so good”. ‘New Art For The People’ is like a Rock version of ‘Streets Of Sorrow / Birmingham Six’. It starts with a gentle Piano part and then a wave of Guitars crash in when you’re least expecting it. ‘Vladimir’ is about following a man who’s marching on London, which is reflected in the marching rhythm. At the end of the song he is shot, but I’m not sure if it’s about a real historical figure. For it’s title alone ‘Waiting For Pete Doherty To Die’ will get The Indelicates the most attention. It reminded me of ‘Thatcher Fucked The Kids’ by Frank Turner. It’s not so much about Pete himself but more about the generation that holds him up as it’s icon.

They were sharing two other tracks but they’ve just put them on a single so you’ll need to buy that to get them. Click here to order it straight from their site (I’ll post a review as soon as my copy turns up).

Click here to watch a video for ‘New Art For The People’ as a Mov file.

The Indelicates Website / The Indelicates MySpace

HOW TO CURE DYSLEXIA – Falling Over (7″ Single)

Output OPR97: 21st August 2006
1. Falling Over
“I hear Bag-Pipes when I breathe in, and ‘most every single evenin’, is sat in by the Telly, alone and empty belly”
2. Around The Houses
“Instrumental”

‘Falling Over’ is like a gentler Syd Barret or a male Aimee Mann taking a comical but ultimately sad look at being old and finding yourself alone. David Miller’s vocals also remind me of Russell from The Research. It’s mostly played on the Acoustic-Guitar with delicate touches of Organ and that ‘clipity-clop’ percussion you get in old western movies. After just one listen, it sounds like an old favourite that you’ve heard a million times before.

‘Around The Houses’ is a Country tinged Instrumental that exhudes summery magic. The images it conjures up say more to me than any lyrics probably could’ve, and that’s a high compliment.

Instead of buying this 7″ you might want to go and buy a copy of July’s ‘Take It Outside’ EP since it features both tracks. It also has four others and will only cost you a few pounds more.

Click here to watch a video for the song ‘Little Else’ on YouTube.

How To Cure Dyslexia MySpace Page

JOANA & THE WOLF – Purple Nights (7″ Single)

Regal REGALSC001: 21st August 2006
1. Purple Nights
“Each word I say now’s, a little snake babe, I’m slowly growing in your head, now call me prophet, your little prophet, a comfort for the plastic age”
2. November
“It is bad, whatever I do, it is wrong, whatever I say”

Joana & The Wolf are Joana Glaza and Ali Milne and they’re like a more theatrical version of PJ Harvey.  This is the first 7″ in a singles-club series from Regal records.

On ‘Purple Nights’ the vocals alternate between a low snarl and a piercing falsetto, which might be too much for some people. Joana’s words are backed by a stomping beat and sexy Guitars. ‘November’ has a slightly more bouncy Pop feel and a Siouxsie Sioux influence on the vocals. There is a wonderful part in the middle where it all slows done, then with a shriek they tear back into the song.

Joana & The Wolf Website / Joana & The Wolf MySpace Page

THE BLACK ANGELS – The First Vietnamese War (7″ Single)

Light In The Attic Records LITA227: 21st August 2006
1. The First Vietnamese War
“You gave a gift to me, in my young age, you sent me overseas, and put the fear in me”
2. Nine Years
“The heavy breathing, the pounding of your heart, do you start to sweat and, do you scream out”

‘The First Vietnamese War’ opens with the sound of Choppers similar to those at the start of Apocalypse Now.  The lyrics draw the obvious parallels between Vietnam and the current Iraq war.  The singer Alex Mass brings to mind Frank Black, Eamon Hamilton and Jim Morrison to name a few.  The music is a heavy mix of Psychedelic Guitars, rumbling Bass and hard Drums.

It may just be the use of the world “Control”, but Alex’s vocals on ‘Nine Years’ reminded me of Joy Division.  All though the ominous Bass line probably has something to do with it as well.

Click here to watch the video for ‘The First Vietnamese War’ on YouTube.

The First Vietnamese War mp3

Click here to watch the famous intro sequence from Apocalypse Now on YouTube.

The Black Angels Website / The Black Angels MySpace Page