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Single Review

Exlovers/ Monocle Rose/ Golden Silvers/ Morton Valence/ Dance To The Radio compilation/ Health/ Broken Records
Singles round-up

Article written by Ged M - Apr 30, 2009

The second single from London band Exlovers is understated genius, with subtle not strident boy/girl vocals, melancholy lyrics and a jangly guitar sound somewhere between Pavement and the Go-Betweens. ‘Photobooth’ (Young and Lost Club 7”) has insinuated itself onto my cerebral jukebox and there’s no intention to get rid of it anytime soon. ‘Weightless’ is a slow-building, atmospheric guitar-fest showing another side of the band. You’ll kick yourself one day if you miss out on one of these 500 copies. Myspace

Did the song title or marketing wheeze come first, I want to ask Monocle Rose, who include a heart shaped lollipop with their debut 7” ‘Lolly’ (Short-sighted Records). The postcard within the sleeve suggests the latter as the band look like a quartet of image conscious glam-punk dandies but the song holds up; ‘Lolly’ could be the early Manic Street Preachers with a lot of rock’n’roll front and a big soppy romantic heart at the centre. It’s clearly post-Libs East London rock’n’roll but with a bit more effort than usual. Myspace

Golden Silvers’ ‘True Romance (True No9 Blues)’ (XL Recordings) is cowbell-laden dance-pop, suitable for Hoxton discos but, frankly, it’s a weak-vocalled drudge when you’re listening to it sober during the day, like a less-interesting Hot Chip. band website

Morton Valence have thrown everything at ‘Chandelier’ (Bastard Recordings); like the light scattered from a mirrorball, it dazzles with its lush, romantic instrumentation, perfect for a DJ’s ‘erection section’. The flipside, ‘Hang It On the Wall’ is inspired by the Vladimir Trechikoff ‘Chinese Girl’ print that’s so 60s and so kitsch-cool now. Morton Valence are busy decorating their own idiosyncratic pop world in strange but attractive ways.
Myspace

Dance To The Radio has churned out its share of landfill indie but that hasn’t stopped the label making it to 50 releases, and is now issuing 4 12” singles to celebrate the fact. Here's Volume 1. Broadcast Society’s ‘Behind Your Back’ is the pick of the tracks, a shot of double espresso guitar rock while Wonderswan’s ‘Hey Nature’ is loud and polite pop but a bit too influenced by late 90s guitar bands to really stand out. Pulled Apart By Horses not only have the worst song title in history (‘E=MC Hammer’) but Tommy Vance (God rust his soul) could have played this song on the Friday Rock Show. Puns + metal are just not on. The last track by Bear Hands (Cale Parks remix) is rather uninspiring MGMT-meets-Prince electropop by one of the more average Brooklyn bands. A celebration maybe, but just the one cheer. Label page

Health come from the Los Angeles scene built around the Smell club and whenever I’ve heard them before they’ve always sounded like in-your-face noiseniks, using music as a weapon. The dramatic screeches and elemental percussion are still there but sculpted into a more palatable, dancey sound on ‘Die Slow’ (Lovepump United 7”), where that Liars-like rhythmic pounding starts brutal but morphs into your heartbeat. ‘Market Yourself For Blood’ on the flip throws Afrobeat to the mix. Very moreish. Myspace

After three singles, Broken Records are now signed to 4AD, for whom ‘Until The Earth Begins To Part’ is their debut single. I found it passionate, surging, swelling and, if I’m honest, disappointing because there’s too much post-rock padding. It's only when the trumpets kick in that we get full orchestral-pop take-off. They’ve got a way to go to catch up with Arcade Fire if that’s their target. ‘And They All Fell Into The Sea’ is more encouraging, starting with everything playing and just getting wilder, folkier and more dramatic after that, especially Jamie Sutherland’s falsetto that could be Hayden from Wild Beasts. A promising band, but flawed. Myspace

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