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Singles Club 27/06/11

Monday, June 27th, 2011 at 2:02pm | Comments

Brother – New Year's Day

The purported "next Great British guitar band" (NME, obviously) continue to release music that makes you go, "I've heard that somewhere before." It's Brother's greatest strength and biggest weakness. New Year's Day is so derivative – a necking-breaking nod to Blur, an Elastica twist and a Menswear melody – it feels instantly recognisable to Britpoppers of a certain age. This, along with a Gallagher gob-on-legs attitude, has enabled the Slough band to wrap themselves in an undeserving amount of hype, but it also makes their music completely unlistenable.

Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend

Singles Club regulars will be accustomed to the gushing, Robyn-shaped swoon this post regularly forms. Call Your Girlfriend is aesthetically saccharine and gorgeous, propelled by a big housey beat, shiny synths and tumbling effects. In reality, the Swede is being a right cow, trying to get some chap or other to dump his girlfriend for her... Over the phone! We've changed our mind about you, Robyn. You're horrible.

Kassidy – Waking Up Sideways

Another band currently garnering an inordinate amount of unwarranted praise is this gaggle of noise polluters, Kassidy. They look awful, I mean, really awful; imagine if Topman was sick on Biffy Clyro. That. They sound rotten, I mean, really rotten; image if Nickelback started listening to Mumford & Sons records. That. Waking Up Sideways is a song written by a band that make Keane sound dangerous and sexy.

Snoop Dogg feat. T-Pain – Boom

"I’ll break down herbal til I move like a turtle / My money is green and my Porsche is turbo," drawls Snoop. Despite rehashing the same old clichés we've heard a hundred times before, Boom isn't a totally insipid effort. The Neptunes-esque kick drum and fidgeting keys provide a solid backing for his repetitive but admittedly engaging wordplay. T-Pain's contribution, however, takes this track from average to arduous.

The Kills – Future Starts Slow

Future Starts Slow is the latest release from Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart, taken from The Kills fourth album, Blood Pressures. Sticking to their tried and test formula – Hince's low-fi, bluesy guitars, a relentless drumline and the pair's duelling vocal style – this track is another solid release from the often underrated duo. "And after all God can keep my soul / England have my bones," wails Mosshart with a demented joy.

Gary Evans