SINGLES S: DOWNLOADS
The trQUtilrg with being trendy and much muted is that, at some point. you've got to produce the goods. Indie ugly mugs The Cribs Slflgularly tail to do so ‘f/lllt 'l'in a Realist ‘VVlCl'llla, O . a tuiieless. l isipid. po-taced subBazorlight tangle. Ditto for Young Knives' 'Up All Night' {Transgregsivei Q. _ wliiCl‘i is a tedious. shouty new wave shuttle. like Futureheads on autopilot.
Much more inventive are Goldfrapp. who return in yet another incarnation. having ditched the electro-glam perv-sex for nu-tolk on ‘A8E' (Mute) COO . Alison's sumptuOus and intimate vocal carrying the whole thing off With aplomb.
'lnventive' is not an accusation to level at Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on the ewdence of ‘Dig. Lazarus. Dig!' llvlutei O. . a trudgingly boring slab of pub-rock dressed up as clever- clever death-angst. but really iust a derivative and lacklustre lQ—bar boogie.
Next up. Duffy. the latest in the conveyOr belt of leisty women Singer—songwriters. except she's actually pretty boring. ‘Mercy' (A&M) 00 aims for Motown sass and sparkle. but falls way short. all the vocal huffing and putting in the world not lifting it out of the ordinary.
Kathryn Williams and Neill MacColl fare much better on “Come With Me' (Caw) 000 a Simple but effective piece of plaintive folk which trundles sweetly along in a lovey-dovey way Without descending into schmaltzy sentimentality.
All of which paves the way for a head-to-head for Single of the Fortnight. Just shaded into runner-up spot 28 Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon whose ‘In Search of the Youth Crew' (Blg Dada) 0000 combines edgy. underground rap worthy of Roots Manuva With a slick dancetloor-tilling beat. as if cLOUDDEAD woke up one day and decided to sound like Deee-Lite.
But even better is 'Time to Pretend“ Columbia) 00” by MGMT, who are trendy and much touted. but also well werthy of the hype on this showmg. Desp:te spouting some terrible new age mumbo-iumbo. the Brooklyn duo produce a thrilling racket. blending the fragile heart of Flaming Lips With the lo-li weirdness of Beck and the triumphant melodies of The Polyphonic Spree. all in tow sprightly, enigmatic minutes. (DOLig Johnstone)
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"1-2": :‘fi, 2’, ,'~, THE LIST 69