VINCENT VINCENT & THE VILLAINS – Johnny Two Bands (CD Single)

EMI EMVVVCD001: 30th October 2006
1. Johnny Two Bands
“It’s not easy, giving up on a friend, especially one with a voice so strong, but you always doubted the music that we made, and you were wrong, oh you were wrong, Johnny two bands”
2. Seven Inch Record
“Well today I bought a seven inch record, I’m gonna play it all night ’til the sun comes up yeah, well outside it’s all doom and gloom, I’m gonna turn it up loud, gonna dance around my room”

This is Vincent Vincent & The Villains’ first major label release after a few singles on Smoking Gun and Young & Lost Club records.  If you’ve not heard them before, they’re almost like a Rockabilly version of The Libertines.  Both songs have been doing the rounds as demos for a while, but now they’ve enlisted the help of legendary producer Stephen Street to perfect them.

‘Johnny Two Bands’ is a song about Vincent’s feelings when his band mates left to form The Rumble Strips.  It can also easily be read as a metaphor for friendship, love and life in general.  You can sing-along with the chorus and it’s The Villains’ best single since ‘On My Own’.

‘Seven Inch Record’ has got that seductive Dick Dale Surf-Guitar sound and Kevin Rowland meets Elvis vocals.  It’s an ode to that exciting feeling when you’ve dug through crates of vinyl and found that nugget of gold that everyone else has missed.  I remember having to stop myself leaping into the air when I found a copy of The White Stripes ‘The Big Three Killed My Baby’ in Camden a couple of years back with a £3 sticker on it (It goes for anything between £20 and £50 on Ebay… but I’d never sell it).

Here are links to watch videos for ‘I’m Alive’ and ‘Johnny Two Bands’ on YouTube.

Vincent Vincent & The Villains Website / Vincent Vincent & The Villains MySpace Page
The Rumble Strips Website / The Rumble Strips MySpace Page

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE QUEEN – Herculean (CD Single)

Parlophone CDR6722: 30th October 2006
1. Herculean
“Standing by the old canal, by the gas works, celebrate the ghosts, flow by, when all love hurts”
2. Back In The Day
“Instrumental”
3. Mr Whippy (Feat. Eslam Jawaad)
“Colours and shapes, shapes and colours, we’ve walked, seen wrongs with our own eyes and have not forgotten”

In case you haven’t heard The Good, The Bad & The Queen is a supergroup with Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz) on vocals and keyboards, Paul Simonon (The Clash) on Bass, Tony Allen (Africa 70/Fela Kuti) on Drums and Simon Tong (The Verve) on Guitar. ‘Herculean’ is the first single from an album that’s promised early next year and it’s produced by the ever-present Danger Mouse.

‘Herculean’ sounds allot like what you’d expect if you glued bits of Gorillaz, the Dubbier moments of The Clash, Tony Allen’s exciting Drumming and the shimmering rock of the early Verve together. It’s a wonderfully eclectic mix of sounds with Damon Albarn’s Keyboards being particularly powerful. ‘Back In The Day’ is an instrumental that I can only really describe as “Pleasant”. ‘Mr Whippy’ has Eslam Jawaad rapping in Arabic (Visit the official Website for a translation) about London over, yep, you’ve guessed it… music that sounds like an ice cream van.

You can listen to The Good, The Bad & The Queen’s live set from the Electric Proms on the BBC radio player by clicking here (Also, if you’ve got digital, stick it on the Beeb and press the red button to watch the show).

The Good, The Bad & The Queen Website
The Good, The Bad & The Queen MySpace Page

INBETWEEN DAYS – Right Here Waiting / Single Thing (7″ Single)

Remake/Remodel Records RRR002: Late November 2006
1. Right Here Waiting
“If you feel a bit down and you need someone to talk to, then I’ll be right here waiting, and if you need to scream for the sake of screaming, I’ve got ears to listen”
2. Single Thing
“When I was a young boy I dreamed about stars above, all the little things in life that would take you far, or hold you back or erase the little changes, plans you made in life”

‘Right Here Waiting / Single Thing’ is the second release on Remake/Remodel Records after the recent brilliant single by Monster Bobby. It’s the debut single by London based band Inbetween Days.

‘Right Here Waiting’ has an addictive chugging rhythm that had me banging my head along. It’s got the kind of huge Rock sound that demands to be heard on the radio and played in front of huge crowds (If the world makes any sense it will be). ‘Single Thing’ is even better and it’s got a Guitar sound worthy of Pink Floyd and U2. The lyrics reminded me of some of Michael Stipe’s finest from ‘Automatic For The People’.

These guys are gonna be huge and this is limited to just 500 copies, so grab one now. It isn’t out for about a month but you can pre-order it straight from Remake/Remodel’s MySpace Page.

Inbetween Days MySpace Page / Remake/Remodel Records MySpace Page