Buck 65 - Devil’s Eyes

If we had a single of the week, this would be it, especially for the b-side ‘Blood of a Young Wolf’. ‘Devil’s Eyes’ is a dark and haunting slice of Nova Scotian hip-hop, with a sinister string section. Buck 65 is a rapper of some sophistication, not only able to rattle off lyrics at speed when the occasion calls for it, but also able to produce poignant arrays of images to tell his backwoods stories.

Less Than Jake - Overrated (Everything Is)

Yep, that includes this single. Now that they’ve lost the horn section, they’re indistinguishable from Sum 41, Blink 182 Bowling for Soup and a host of other baggy-shorted, angsty, whining green haired goons.

Radio 4 - Enemies Like This

Apparently, they’ve ‘stripped back’ their sound. Not a great move on this evidence. It’s not that ‘Enemies Like This’ is a bad song, it’s just that, where so many of the tracks on Gotham! jumped out and ordered the listener to dance, ‘Enemies Like This’ blends slightly insipidly into the indie background.

The Automatic - Monster

There’s nothing quite like a novelty single, and ‘Monster’ falls firmly into that category. “What’s that coming over the hill? Is it a monster? Is it a monster?” they sing, and it’s clear they’re not referring to some cuddly Shrek-a-like, but an evil rock ‘n’ roll beast, drunken, sweaty and stinking of old fag smoke. Entertaining, like being shouted at by a friendly drunk.

Revere - Skin

Weirdly, no-one’s been calling them the new Radiohead, although, judging by this single, it shouldn’t be long before someone does. They’ll be wrong of course, but the comparison’s not too inaccurate, if a little too flattering. Still, someone probably called Thirteen Senses the new Radiohead at some point, and Revere shouldn’t be put in the same toe-curling bracket as the likes of them.

Placebo – Infra-Red

“One last thing before I shuffle off the planet”, pipes Brian, querulously, keen to remind us that he’s not dead yet. It’s got a slightly nonsensical chorus, in which Brian claims to be able to see in the dark, as he’s “coming up on infra-red”, although how he’s managed to ingest light is left as a mystery.

Singles were reviewed by Mike McGovern, Sara Sayeed and Robin Seaton

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