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Single/Download Review

Amida / Dan Black / Yeah Yeah Yeahs / The Rumble Strips / Lion O'Brien / Peter Parker
Singles round-up

Article written by Paul M - Jul 12, 2009

A fistful of 45s

Not the Only Person is the first evidence of The Rumble Strips ditching their Dexys fixation and finding their own soul vision. It of course still features Charlie’s mighty yodelling vocals but he’s now surrounded by strings and piano as well as the guitars and brass. It’s a pretty grand, heart on your sleeve booming affair, with wonderfully dramatic flourishes. On the flip Many Many is glammed up Mozzer and certainly as a pairing the two sides make me gladioli all over. (Out now on Island)

The new Yeah Yeah Yeahs single Heads Will Roll is a glorious disco stomper that borrows the riff from PiL’s This is Not a Love Song but adds Karen O’s trademark heady mix of menace and sultriness. An absolute guaranteed dancefloor filler, it really does not need a remix though and while Passion Pit try their best on the b-side by paring everything back including the vocals, they inevitably fail to improve on the original. (Out now on Geffen)

I’m not sure whom the Manc quintet Amida named themselves after the mystical Buddha or the crawly beetles, but I feel suitably enlightened rather than grubby after listening to their If the Wave Loses Two Suns EP so I’ll assume the latter. These Are Golden Times recalls pre-Albini Wedding Present, the mumbled downbeat vocals contrasted by the upbeat jangly riff. Lovely stuff and one of five decent tunes here. Weather is a melancholic dreamer, reminiscent of Robert Wyatt while another (You’ve Changed, Baby Girl) has a great C86 vibe and a fourth is shambling Cardiacs style mayhem (Beauty Fades). All in all, indiepoptastic. (Out now on Weepop - Amida band site)

After the lo-fi charms of Amida, Dan Black’s Symphonies sounds like a lifetime’s efforts rammed into under four minutes which is hardly surprising when you remember that Black has already put in a fair old shift as The Servant without achieving much. Listed in the BBC’s 15 to Watch in 2009, he’ll be hoping for better luck here and appropriately enough this is a B-I-G record. With a choir, orchestra and a lovely string strewn chorus, it’ll send shivers down the spine of those who get their thrills from sensitive orchestral pop. (Out now on A&M)

Peter Parker are a three quarter female Glasgow quartet who apparently include Davy Henderson and Steven Pastel as fans. It’s easy to hear why on strident hook happy Britpop stomper Temper Temper but that’s just the b-side. Unfortunately there’s an A-side, Swallow The Rockets, that’s laden with a hugely repetitive clichéd riff. Fortunately for spiderman, a visit to their Myspace page reveals this track to be an aberration so no arachnophobia here. (Out now - Their Myspace page)

Lion O’Brien’s Raincloud Vs Sunshine EP is a collection of four upbeat airy gems. The afrobeat rhythmed title track is the highlight, a happy clappy, perma grinning slice of lightweight pop. Out next week on download.

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