Singles Reviews
Six Nation State, Where Are You Now?
One of Jonathan Ross’s favourite new bands. Does this say it all? Not really. Cuter and jollier than their wavy-haired celebrity fan, the single bounces around on a Space-Hopper beat through childhood memories of the British ska revival and its American counterpart. As it hits the cruel, cruel tarmac of the modern indie scene, new wave guitar makes sure it carries on nicely. Wherever Six Nation State are at the moment, it certainly sounds delightfully sunny.
Bondo Do Role, Solta O Frango
Now that CSS have thrown open the door for sublime Brazilian party music, we are surely in for countless treats like this, the debut single from South Brazilian three-piece Bondo Do Role. Opening with a blippy electronic pulse not a million miles away from ‘21 Seconds’ the track collapses beautifully into a cacophany of whooping, beats and Portugese rapping. The Music team is split as to whether this sounds like the best party ever or the Tellytubbies on crack, and if the latter is, necessarily, a bad thing.
Gisli, Long Way Down
First Brazil, now Iceland; Bjork and Sigur Ros have set the tone for quirky inventiveness and floaty atmospherics, which emerging artist Gisli is now displaying with a similar level of national talent in the field of indie-pop. Whimsical lyrics with a dash of politics means that this is a sound to rival the Shins’ latest efforts, but inventive use of what sounds like Bertha the big green machine sets it apart.
Deftones, Mein
Dissonance? Brooding intensity? The emotive, experimental rock that is the Deftones’ stock in trade is starting to sound a little dated. Despite repeated claims by critics that the band are superior to the sounds of the late-90s nu-metal explosion, the first band that this single brings to mind is Limp Bizkit, minus the fun (which was, let’s face it, the only good bit). This is the sound of a band taking themselves far too seriously.
Archie Bronson Outfit, Dart For My Sweetheart
Don’t let the boarderline emo name throw you, this is rock ‘n’ roll in the vein of The Raconteurs or BRMC, with a na-nanana-nana chorus that sounds like the chant of a religious sect devoted to the blues, guitars and beards. Achieving the sort of brooding instensity that the Deftones single would sell its distortion pedal for, the third single from the band’s second album ‘Derdang Derdang’ is fantastic.
