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Weird Dreams - Choreography (album)

Crocodiles - Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9) 7”

The Hairs - I’ve Been Working Out 7”

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - Third Swan single

Cate Le Bon - Cyrk (album)

Tashaki Miyaki - sings the Everly Brothers 7”

Antony Harding - The Birds Sing Goodnight To You And Me (album)

Veronica Falls - My Heart Beats 7”

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Single/Download Review

The Rosie Taylor Project / Allo, Darlin’ / The Big Pink / Silver Shampoo / The Lodger
Singles roundup

Article written by Ged M - Jul 24, 2009

The Rosie Taylor Project’s new single ‘Lovers of Something Like It’ (Bad Sneakers Records) slakes the thirst like a cold Budvar in a pub full of Carling. ‘Lovers…’ is more folk-tinged sweet melancholy and vibrant melodies, freshened by blasts of trumpet. There’s a hint of the heartbroken Belle & Sebastian in the song, especially in the line: “there’s no defeat like a kiss from an ex-lovers lips”. ‘Sloe Gin Fizz’ is another observational tale in the tradition of ‘A Good Café on George Street’ with a mournful, outsider air but a hint of desert-dry humour, showing off their immense potential.
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Elizabeth Darling of Allo Darlin’ has a beautifully skewed view of life and love. On the wild and smart indie-bop of ‘Henry Rollins Don’t Dance’ (Weepop 7”), it’s musical incompatability in your crushes that concerns her, especially when said crush is some squareheaded straightedge meat mountain with no interest in the Grease soundtrack. If it’s not the outstanding cover (Tony Manero Rollins) that captures you, the line “then he raised his tattooed fists to Dancing Queen” surely will. The b-sides are just as odd; she seeks the help of the world’s leading theoretical physicist to describe the cosmology of love in the Latin-rhythmed ‘Dear Stephen Hawking’ while she uses ukulele and finger-snaps, and a line of Johnny Cash, to dish up the recipe for ‘Heartbeat Chilli’. Slightly barking but addictive.
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I thought The Big Pink’s previous single ‘Velvet’ was fine but self-consciously cool to a painful degree. ‘Stop the World’ (4AD 7”), though, is awful – what were 4AD thinking of? It’s part over-amplified shoegaze, part underpowered electro-pop. Flip it over and the groaning synths and screeching synths of ‘Crushed Water’ is pretentious ritual music bullshit. But they know how the game’s played so we’re going to hear much more of this (although thankfully it’s not a track from the forthcoming album).
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‘Silver shampoo’ is a product designed to “reduce the brassy tones in blonde hair”.
Silver Shampoo is also a Texan group who want to be in a bike gang but only if they are BMXs ridden by the Television Personalities. ‘Jethro Skull’ is scratchy, catchy early punk-inspired lo-fi genius: “I don’t wanna choke/ on smoke/ from a smoke machine” will be bouncing round your head for weeks once you hear it. There are three more gems on the same single, including a hymn to the Hell’s Angels leader, the Ramones-like ‘Sonny Barger’, and the insanely catchy and perhaps just insane ‘Dogs’. More wonderful no-fi-ness from What’s Your Rupture records and proof that punk rock ist nicht tot.
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I’ve always liked Ben Siddall’s songs so it’s a bit of a disappointment that he’s treading indiepop water with The Lodger’s ‘I Think I Need You’ EP (Elefant Records 7” on green vinyl). Chiming guitars abound on the title track and it has a 60s influence while the lyrics have an appropriate sense of uncertainty and melancholy but it doesn’t soar like the best of his work. ‘I Can’t Stop’ is very Katrina and the Waves powerpop and it’s only the slower ‘This Is Good Fortune’ that really stands out as different. Disappointing - if he doesn’t do better he’ll be The Evicted.
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