Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
released 2 April 2012 on Universal/Island


It’s taken a little less than two years for Nicki Minaj to go from being a hotly-tipped MC championed by Lil Wayne to becoming a genre-straddling global megastar. However, Minaj’s debut studio album and breakthrough record, Pink Friday, asked more questions than it provided answers. Does she want to be the fierce, dextrous rapper who’s fit to go toe-to-toe with Eminem or the lightweight, homogeneous pop star who duets with Natasha Bedingfield? Does she represent a shift in power in the male-dominated world of hip-hop or has she played the female rap objectified archetype in an attempt to get to the top? And just why does she sometimes rap in an English accent?


You’d hope that Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded finally dropping would provide a little clarity around these issues. However, if anything, the waters are now muddied even further. 2012 has been a bizarre year for Nicki Minaj thus far, with an album campaign that’s been a misinformed mess. Originally due for release on Valentine’s Day, the record didn’t hit the shops until April. We’ve had a record-breaking video for a song that hasn’t even had an official release (Stupid Hoe) while another single (Starships) has been bouncing around the upper reaches of the charts for weeks while still not having a promotional video at the time of writing. In an era when release campaigns are choreographed to precision and you’ve got an infinitely marketable star like Minaj, such events seem like madness. That’s not to mention giving your album of entirely new material a name that makes it sound like some Katy Perry-style bonus-tracks-hastily-added cash-in to squeeze money out of fans who deserve better.


If Pink Friday’s main fault was that it tried to tick too many boxes, then Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded repeats that mistake and then some. In fact, if we take away the two bonkers tracks that bookend the record (Roman Holiday and Stupid Hoe) then Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded neatly breaks down into three disparate parts, which seem to be from different records entirely.


The first part of the record is the traditional, hip-hop side of things. Here, beats are sparse, and frills and instrumentation are minimal. It’s all geared up to make Minaj’s rhymes the focal point, and it gives the record something of a mixtape feel. It’s an interesting decision to front-load the record with perhaps its least commercial tracks, but it does provide the bulk of the quality. Come On A Cone features oppressive synths and is underpinned by a Flight Of The Bumblebee-like riff. I Am Your Leader and Beez In The Trap are similarly thrilling and make good use of cameos. You really get a sense of why Minaj is so popular; there’s something distinctive and utterly compelling about her style and flow. This is probably best displayed in the otherworldly and regal Champion. Her lyrics do fall into the pitfalls of hip-hop braggadocio a little too often though – many of her lines are about previous successes and haters, while one track (Roman Reloaded) includes sirens as well as the sounds of guns cocking and firing.


Once Minaj has finished with proving her gangsta credentials, she’s out to show that she likes partying ‘til dawn in a club as much as anyone else in the charts. The transition between the two styles begins with two of the record’s worst tracks: future single Right By My Side and the nauseating Sex In The Lounge. It’s difficult to believe any self-respecting woman would be willing to put her name to something as relentlessly misogynistic as Sex In The Lounge, with its crude 2010s slow jam style and highly objectionable lyrics.


However, if you can get past those, you’re rewarded with one of the singles of the year so far: Starships. It’s essentially a mish-mash of Super Bass and We Found Love, but none the worse for it, as it perfectly captures the hedonistic feeling the best dance music can provide. Lyrically we’re on pretty tame ground (“I’m on the floor, floor / I love to dance”), but as far as tracks go to forget your responsibilities and lose your inhibitions to, it’s right on the money and has the addictive quality and irresistible hooks that 99% of these type of tracks lack. Unfortunately, Minaj follows up Starships with a run of four songs which all sound like inferior re-treads. We’ve got references to Ibiza, over-produced radio-friendly backing tracks and the general feeling of a David Guetta B-sides collection.


By this point, Minaj’s desperation to be liked is becoming wearing, and this is before we get onto part three of the album: the R&B ballads. Though there’s nothing inherently wrong with Minaj’s singing voice, it’s not particularly distinctive and while she continues to insist upon making tracks like this, she’ll never be anything more than a second-rate Rihanna or Beyoncé. It’s faceless, dispiriting stuff, and we get to witness the supposed outspoken queen of forward-thinking rap grumble about fame, compare herself to Marilyn Monroe and sing about how she really just wants to be a wife, all in the space of ten minutes.


Before the release of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, much talk centred around Minaj’s male, British alter-ego, Roman Zolanski, and how his character would be explored throughout the LP. However, he’s only really brought up at all on those aforementioned tracks that open and close the record. The title may lead you to believe it’s some kind of concept album, but if that’s its intention, that concept is quickly dropped before being picked up again right at the end as if you wouldn’t notice that there’s actually no common thread holding any of this together (this is a bit of a jump in logic, but it’s the same thing that happens in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band).


The two Roman Zolanski-featuring tracks, Roman Holiday and Stupid Hoe, are the most inventive songs on the record, and the two that pander the least to current musical trends and expectations. The melodrama may be a little irritating, but there’s no doubting that Minaj is a fabulous pop star who you simply can’t ignore. Due to the rest of the album, however, Roman Holiday promises more than Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded can deliver, and Stupid Hoe sticks out like a sore thumb after a quagmire of clichés and dullness.


As Stupid Hoe throbs to its conclusion, Minaj leaves us with five final words: “I am the female Weezy”. She’s got a decent claim to such a title, but it’s as if that’s not enough. If she’s the female Weezy, she’s just as much the female Drake, the female Akon, the female David Guetta, the female Bruno Mars and the female Usher. Hell, with her love of over-the-top make-up and multiple personas, you could make an argument for her being the female David Bowie or the female Adam Ant too. Would you want to listen to a record that sounded like all those people? Probably not, as it sounds like a recipe for disaster which tries to please everybody and ends up being enjoyed by nobody. Unsurprisingly, that’s exactly what Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is.

The Singles Bar: 09/04/12

There’s a running theme in The Singles Bar that when I pick a track to be Single Of The Week, that song invariably goes on to be one of the worst-selling singles by that artist. Even big-hitters like Beyoncé and Madonna aren’t immune to this curse. However, the baton was passed on to Andrew Baer last week for his first appearance in this column and what happens to his Single Of The Week by Carly Rae Jepsen? Of course, it goes straight in at the top of the charts.

So, let’s see who I can curse this time round in this Easter edition of The Singles Bar. I apologise in advance to the winner.

Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans

Oh no, I’m really confused. I haven’t had a memo for a few weeks – are we allowed to like Lana Del Rey now? As you know, us writers in the music biz get together in a dark room every few weeks and decide who we’re going to hype, and who we’re going to trash. I must have lost my invite to the last meeting – now I’ll have to judge her on the quality of her music alone; OH NOES! The submissive starlet routine is a little wearing over an entire album, but LDR still puts out great singles, and Blue Jeans ticks those boxes. It’s got a little more weight and pep to her previous releases and there’s a great vintage, scuzzy feel to the instrumentation. Whoever this guy is that Del Rey is so devoted to, he must be an incredible catch. Blue Jeans is vocally great, a bit gothic and pretty catchy too. Of course, if I’ve been misinformed on what my opinion should be, I reserve the right to take all the above back. 7/10

Usher – Climax

Now, here’s an interesting one. Usher’s decided to come out of his comfort zone and work with Diplo for this track, so do we give props to Usher for that decision, or question what the hell Diplo’s doing teaming up with the crown prince of 21st Century bedroom-eyed soul? Instantly, this is about 1,000% better than anything Usher’s done in seven years or so – there’s a real emotional distance to the music which works brilliantly against the vocal. It builds and envelops wonderfully, but never quite spills over into a euphoric, er, climax, like you’d expect it to. The production shows that slow jams can still be inventive and affecting; Usher’s “I’m-a-bit-sad-I-am” vocals are a little on the strained side, but it’s a fantastic song nonetheless. 8/10 – SINGLE OF THE WEEK

Santigold – Disparate Youth

Santigold’s one of those artists you want to be great, but never seems to quite deliver. Initial signs aren’t promising here, as the opening arpeggios recall Kate Nash’s ghastly single, Mouthwash. However, once the vocals come in, there are buzzsaw guitars, atmospheric strings and off-beat, reggae piano loops, dispelling any such fears. Santigold is never anything less than intriguing, but Disparate Youth shows that she could still do with adding a few hooks to her songs before stepping into the recording studio. There are expert touches all over this piece, but there’s no chorus and, as such, it seems to meander along without reaching a satisfactory conclusion. Whereas the Usher track above builds and wrong-foots you with its lack of chorus, here, it just seems like a jigsaw puzzle that’s missing a vital piece. 6/10

Bombay Bicycle Club – How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep

I’m not sure whether it’s simply down to a lack of decent competition, but Bombay Bicycle Club seem to have carved a niche for themselves as one of the UK’s most consistent and inventive guitar groups. How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep starts with around a minute of delicate guitar and swirling vocals, before drums which are almost hip-hop in style enter the fray to get things really going. As the track develops, it becomes clear that it falls between two stalls – not heartfelt and melancholy enough to be truly affecting, and not energetic enough to set the pulse racing. Therefore, it isn’t a classic, but it’s still a decent effort. If you’re waiting for new BBC material, this will probably tide you over nicely. The kind of thing that will keep existing fans happy, but is unlikely to win them too many new ones. 6/10

Monica & Brandy – It All Belongs To Me

When this duo released their mega-hit, The Boy Is Mine, in 1998, they were billed as Brandy & Monica. It’d be fascinating to know what legal wrangling and internal battles have been fought to change this billing around (there’s a good chance that you and I have different views on the meaning of the word, ‘fascinating’). Anyway, onto the track in question, and it’s all a bit of a mess. The heaviness of the beats doesn’t match the thinness of the production in any way. There’s a good deal of sass on display, as a man who’s wronged our heroines (What? Both of them?) gets told to return the goods that aren’t his. It’s in a similar vein to Beyoncé’s Irreplaceable or Destiny’s Child’s Independent Women (Part One), except nowhere near as good as either. Also, hearing an impassioned warble enunciate, “Log off your Facebook – it all belongs to me”, is genuinely funny, though not for the right reasons. Perhaps it was all an evil ploy by Brandy, so The Boy Is Mine gets more attributed to her, and the blame for this track lies more with Monica. Cunning. 2/10

Joker – Lost

Whenever I’ve heard this track on the radio, the DJ has always felt it necessary to mention that Joker is from Bristol, as if it were some dim and distant place where talent could never come from, rather than a city of nearly half a million people only 120 miles from London. There’s some pretty decent dance-style production work on Lost, and there’s a bit of an early 21st Century R&B/two-step feel to it as well, but both the MC in the verses and the children’s vocals in the chorus are irritating. It feels as if Joker is trying a little too hard to make something relevant to today that could push him into the mainstream, when he may be better off sticking to beats. Lost shows promise, but there’s a fair way for Joker to go just yet. 4/10

Cornershop – Milkin’ It

Whether they’ve been successful or not, in fashion or persona non grata, Cornershop have just carried on regardless, and there’s something kind of admirable about that. Milkin’ It has a real whiff of cartoonish, old-skool hip-hop about it (the lyrics even contain the line, “Let’s take it back to ‘88”). In fact, it seems to be a tribute to that golden age, but it’s not really fit to hold a candle to it. There’s just a list of references, a wandering bassline, the odd effect and some laid-back beats. It feels like a first attempt at a collage piece, and contains none of the invention and quality songwriting that Cornershop are renowned for. In fact, having just listened to this, I’m still surprised to learn it is really Cornershop and I’d probably believe anyone who told me it was someone else. 3/10

Drake feat. Lil Wayne – The Motto

I bought the latest Drake album, Take Care. I went into a shop, handed over money and received a CD in exchange. Now I learn that The Motto is a “digital bonus track”, meaning I’d have received this single if I’d have just sat on my sofa and purchased the album as a series of zeroes and ones. How is that fair? I’d ask Drake myself, but he’s probably too busy having emotionally unfulfilling sex with a procession of jaw-droppingly beautiful women, the poor guy. The Motto is a stripped-back, sparse track, with hand-clap percussion and warm, bouncy bass underpinning the MCing. While the lack of other instrumentation can draw attention to Drake and Lil Wayne’s grating drawls, it does add a real atmospheric edge to the composition. The Motto is a lean song, and all the better for it. It’d be nice if it had been on the album I legitimately purchased though. THANKS, GUYS! 7/10

Quickbeam – Seven Hundred Birds

The debut single from Glaswegian trio, Quickbeam, is a careful, considered and gorgeous piece of work. It’s difficult to place what producer Chris Gordon has added to the sound, but somehow there’s a real organic, live ambience to the song, as if all the instruments were recorded simultaneously. The vocals are delicate and come replete with an appealing Scottish burr. Quickbeam have been compared to Low and Sigur Rós and, on the evidence of Seven Hundred Birds, it’s a valid comparison. A slow, ponderous track, laden with beautiful strings; the only complaint is that it doesn’t come with the climactic, noisy release that some of the best post-rock epics do. At under four minutes, it’s actually a little too short, and it cuts away when it just feels like it’s getting going. As a mood-setting, melancholic work though, it’s absolutely wondrous. 8/10

Rizzle Kicks – Traveller’s Chant

When Rizzle Kicks released their last single, Mama Do The Hump, I posited they may have run out of goodwill and would soon be on the way out. I was then roundly laughed at by a Singles Bar reader (and rightly so) when the track went on to be a huge success. Despite that, I’m going to make the same assertion with Traveller’s Chant. Whereas Rizzle Kicks’ previous singles have had an admirable amount of excitement and zip about them, Traveller’s Chant is a contemplative song, unsurprisingly about the concept of travelling. In truth, it’s laid-back to the point of being sleep-inducing and although it’s got a head-nodding groove to it, it’s ultimately a pretty forgettable song. It’s three and a half minutes which has got ‘album track’ written all over it and as the fourth single from their debut LP, it could be a pretty futile attempt to wring out those final few sales. What do I know though? Given my track record, it’ll probably sell a bajillion copies and make Rizzle Kicks bigger than Adele. 4/10

The Singles Bar: 26/03/12

Roll up, roll up! We’ve got debut singles, we’ve got established artists, we’ve got rappers, we’ve got singers, we’ve got major labels, we’ve got indie labels, we’ve got righteous fury, we’ve got cover versions, we’ve got metal, we’ve got rock, we’ve got R&B, we’ve got dance. All this in only ten tracks? A cornucopia of all that makes up popular music today can be found here, at The Singles Bar.

Azealia Banks feat. Lazy Jay – 212

A mere four months too late, 212 is finally getting an official release. It’s difficult to see why, since surely everyone who likes this track will already have it in some capacity. This is possibly the best example yet of why the singles chart should take metrics other than sales into account, since people consume music in so many different ways these days. Anyway, luckily for Polydor, the lag hasn’t done anything to diminish 212’s potency, as it’s still a jaw-droppingly astonishing record. Ridiculously assured for a debut release, 212 is effectively a track in three parts, each one better than the last, which all do a fantastic job of showcasing Banks’ flow. Fun, filthy and flirtatious, it’s not difficult to see why 212 made the world sit up and take notice of Azealia Banks. If the much-anticipated album is even half as good as this, we’re in for a treat. 9/10

Paul McCartney – Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

I can tell you now, there won’t be too many singles review columns around that go from Azealia Banks to Paul McCartney. In fact, there aren’t many singles review columns at all, but that’s a conversation for another day. McCartney’s version of this much covered song from 1944 is a lovely, jazzy stroll which, sound quality aside, sounds as if it could have been recorded in the year it was composed. The lyrics are a little trite and McCartney now sings a little like someone doing a Paul McCartney impression, but this really isn’t bad at all. Enjoyable stuff, if a little pedestrian but let’s be honest, if you were half of the main songwriting partnership in The Beatles, you’d be allowed to do whatever the hell you wanted, wouldn't you? 6/10

Funeral Suits – All Those Friendly People

The latest single from Dublin natives, Funeral Suits, bounds onto the scene pulling off the clever trick of combining rock and electronica without ever sounding like they’re bandwagon-jumping. There’s a gorgeous, widescreen feel to the production (courtesy of one Stephen Street) and despite the high word count in the verses, there’s still a great, singalong atmosphere throughout. The chorus is perhaps a little lacking considering the relative quality of the preceding verse but this is still a highly impressive track nonetheless. There are also shades of some of the more intelligent moments of Britpop in All Those Friendly People but most of all, it’s the inherent quality of the writing that makes this track shine. The word ‘anthemic’ is heavily over-used in the music press, but Funeral Suits have captured the required magic and may well provide the soundtrack to your summer. 9/10

lostprophets – Bring ‘Em Down

lostprophets are also potentially providing the soundtrack to your summer… provided it’s summer 2004 you’re talking about. Kudos to the Welsh metallers for still being alive and kicking, but they’re still churning out the same crunching riffs and pleading vocals that were their stock in trade when they arrived on the scene a decade or so ago. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of ‘woah’ing and a fairly vague call-to-arms in Bring 'Em Down, but they really have been re-treading the same ground over and over again for far too long now. Chances are they have an incredibly dedicated fanbase who are more than happy to be fed music like this every couple of years but it’s an extremely dated sound. They’ve clearly got pop nous, but it’s all irrelevant really. 3/10

Plan B – iLL Manors

In the aftermath of the London riots last year, I wrote an article bemoaning the lack of articulate protest music arising from the events. I may well have spoken too soon. iLL Manors is Plan B’s look into the social causes and effects of the unrest in Britain, set to a thrilling and oppressive soundtrack. It’s an extraordinarily brave move – he became a household name with his soul alter-ego, selling 1.5 million albums, yet he’s moved back towards his hip-hop roots and tackled a political hot potato to boot. From being spot-on about the voyeurism and demonisation surrounding the inner-city working classes (“Keep on believing what you read in the papers, council house kids – scum of the earth”) to pinpointing some of the root causes of the tension (“Don’t bloody give me that, I’ll lose my temper, who closed down the community centre?”), iLL Manors is the kind of track the country needs. It’s something people can get behind, rally around and call their own. I don’t think anybody necessarily needs a singer to tell them what to do or be a role model, but Plan B may well be speaking for a large group of people who feel their voices aren’t being heard. It’s a little reductive and simplistic in places, but it’s too complex a situation to pin down in under four minutes. With iLL Manors, Plan B may well have created one of the most thrilling and important singles in UK chart history. 9/10 – SINGLE OF THE WEEK

Feist – The Bad In Each Other

I have a confession to make. I spent about ten minutes reviewing this track, writing about what a beautifully understated and regal piece of work it was and how Feist was one of the finest songwriters working in music today, until I realised I’d listened to the wrong song. Instead of The Bad In Each Other, I’d listened to Graveyard, the following song from last year’s Metals LP. So, ahem, onto the actual track. There’s a more bassy, bombastic feel to the production on The Bad In Each Other than you’d normally expect from Feist’s work. However, Feist can’t quite do bombast, and her fragile, expressive voice is more suited to the more delicate end of the spectrum. The Bad In Each Other is an enjoyable, affecting track, but it’s no Graveyard – I recommend you go and listen to that instead. 7/10

All The Young – The Horizon

All The Young have clearly set their arena-rock phasers to stun for The Horizon. It’s the kind of song bands make when they’ve released five albums, been on a seemingly never-ending world tour and are so detached from everyday life that they think this kind of nothingness is aurally appealing. There’s a strong feel of latter-day U2 to The Horizon (including vague-yet-sort-of-profound-sounding title). Also, despite being from Stoke-on-Trent, they constantly sound like they’re trying to ape the huge sound of American stadium-rock and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they recorded a music video on Route 66 some day soon. Insipid, pointless music which incorporates every negative element and hackneyed cliché of rock music in the last two decades. 1/10

volcano! – Piñata

There’s one thing you can’t accuse volcano! of being, and that’s dull. Piñata has discordant keyboard stabs, disorienting effects and drums that occasionally sound like someone being thrown down the stairs. Despite this, at some point, a pop song somehow manages to get out and, set aside from all the self-conscious quirkiness, a mighty fine one it is too. It’d be interesting to attempt to dance to Piñata, principally because its spasmodic, jerky beats would probably make you look like you were having a seizure. An exciting, inventive track that could have come out like an utterly horrendous mess but somehow seems to hang together wonderfully despite itself. volcano! certainly aren’t short of ideas or inspiration; a curio to invest in and treasure. 7/10

Jessie Ware – Running

Jessie Ware has one of those voices that’s extremely familiar-sounding, yet you can’t quite place it. Its closest musical cousin is probably a more restrained soul voice of the mid-90s; it’s as if one of En Vogue has gone solo. However, Running is a million miles from Whatta Man, as it’s dark, addictive and atmospheric dance. It builds fantastically throughout and is as sleek and stylish as modern pop music gets. Running has some similarities to the more sedate moments of the Katy B album, but Jessie Ware has an identity all of her own. This is music it’s difficult to pin down or claim as part of any scene, so hopefully it doesn’t fall between the cracks. Running proves that dance music can have a heart and have soul; Jessie Ware is going places. 9/10

Chris Brown – Turn Up The Music

If I were to reveal the full extent of my feelings about Chris Brown and Rihanna working together again, we’d be here all day and I’d end up with a world record reading for high blood pressure, so that’s probably best avoided. Turn Up The Music is the worst kind of say-nothing, do-nothing song, made by idiots, for idiots. Thumping dance beats, lyrics that have been recycled from countless other tracks and a general, pervading feel of the moronic. It’s been a decent Singles Bar this week, but this is life-sapping dross of the highest order. Why won’t Chris Brown just please, please go away? Look, if we all put some money together, we can achieve this. Someone set up a fund-raising site, I’ll help, I’ll run ten miles in a deep-sea diving suit if it gets sponsors. Just anything to make this violent, cowardly misogynist stop releasing records, please. 0/10

The Belbury Tales

Belbury Poly - The Belbury Tales
released 24 February 2012 on Ghost Box


In the days and weeks following his death, there were a substantial number of column inches and hours of television devoted to the work of animator and writer Oliver Postgate. Talking heads and cultural commentators were summoned, and those of a certain age were quick to acknowledge their gratitude to Postgate for shaping parts of their childhood with his creations. Even for someone not of the appropriate vintage to have grown up with Bagpuss, Noggin the Nog, The Clangers and more besides, just small snatches of film are sufficient to grasp the Postgate aesthetic. Here was a man who wished to create his own universe and invite you, the viewer, to share in all the wonder it had to offer. There was a charming, slightly amateurish – yet utterly distinctive – feel to the animation, warmth and a sense of mischief through the narratives, and a real sense of care in the development of the characters. As is often the case with such things, it’s only when given a moment to reflect that the true scale of what has been lost can be appreciated.



This sense of otherness and the creation of something bizarre yet simultaneously entrenched in a view that’s particularly British is something shared by the not-lost-but-very-much-back Belbury Poly. Jim Jupp, the man behind the fictional education establishment, is also co-founder of Ghost Box Records; an organisation with a very clear directive who have admitted in the past that their original idea was to build “not just a record label but an imaginary world”.


Over sixteen LPs and seven 7” singles since 2005, they’ve done just that. Ghost Box release music that has an English pastoral feel, yet is firmly rooted in analogue electronic experimentation of a BBC Radiophonic Workshop persuasion. Their output simultaneously recalls 1970s public information films, B-movie horror, psychedelia and the jingles of long-forgotten regional television idents. Their only real modern-day counterparts are Stereolab, Broadcast (who released a single with Ghost Box’s Focus Group in 2010) and the early work of Saint Etienne.


In adhering to the goals of the label he helped establish, Jim Jupp’s Belbury Poly are the quintessential Ghost Box act. They're named after an institution from a C.S. Lewis work and The Belbury Tales is their fourth full-length album. It doesn’t take too many musical diversions from their previous work, but there remains tangible evidence of progression, and a willingness to draw from other styles. However, this being Belbury Poly, those styles are put through the group’s own filters and come out the other side sounding as if they were always created to be interpreted in such a way.


The Belbury Tales is front-loaded, and the squelchy melody and nightmarish guitars of Cantalus provide a great opener (after the obligatory Belbury Poly “logotone” track) to the album. Next song, Green Grass Grows, has an airy bassline that flits and bounces like a glide hockey puck, which is then teamed with an eerie childlike vocal that sounds as if it could be coming from a small girl warning you of the dangers of driving too quickly on rural roads near schools. The vintage ambience continues throughout the album and you get the feeling of a parallel universe where digital never existed and you could hear the synthesiser valves open and close if only you were to listen close enough.


But, as mentioned, the longer The Belbury Tales goes on, the more the group begin to flex their stylistic muscles. The Geography has Eastern-sounding vocals and what appears to be a gamelan fairly prominent in the mix; Unheimlich is a slow, ponderous waltz replete with crackling, fizzing harpsichord melody that sounds similar to a madrigal; Goat Foot mixes whirls of organ and cheap-sounding keyboard into a jam-band freak-out. You’re not going to get this kind of thing from your average Foo Fighters record.


The only real criticism is that, while each track is underpinned by a hook, the importance of which can’t be underestimated in pieces often without vocals, there’s nothing of absolutely stunning quality, nothing to make you play it again the second it’s finished. The Belbury Tales is a solid record and a fantastic listen but, if you’ve heard previous Belbury Poly work, this album isn’t going to make you jump up and down and pester your as-yet-uncoverted friends of the band’s genius.


However, it’s still likely to charm old and new fans alike. If you’re currently unfamiliar with the work of Belbury Poly (and indeed, the roster of Ghost Box Records), you’re in for a treat. If you already like Belbury Poly then, good news: they’ve released an album that sits comfortably within their already stellar back catalogue.

The Singles Bar: 19/03/12

Introductions? I haven’t got all day, you know. Let’s get straight on with the best this week’s new single releases have to offer.

Coldplay – Charlie Brown

Have to say, it remains a surprise that Coldplay haven’t yet released Princess of China – their Rihanna collaboration – as a single. Surely that’s sales gold? Anyway, after previous singles Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall and Paradise suggested a (very small) departure from their usual sound, we’re back on familiar ground with Charlie Brown. This is one of their mid-tempo, epic tracks that will probably be accompanied with lots of kaleidoscopic lights during live performances. The riff that repeats throughout is exceptionally simple, yet also incredibly liable to get stuck in your head. There’s no denying that Coldplay do this sort of thing better than anyone else. They’re a highly efficient, professional group, but that’s not exactly what gets your pulse racing. 6/10

Blood Red Shoes – Cold

Cold starts with drums… lots and lots of drums, and then the vocals hit. There’s a charming, ramshackle feel to this track. It’s as if someone’s given The Kills a few too many energy drinks and forced them to make their scuzziest ever song. The male vocals unfortunately are full of awkward post-Britpop enunciations, and halfway through, Blood Red Shoes allow the song to lose momentum, at which point the interest starts to wane. This is the trouble with such an audacious beginning; it’s difficult to maintain that level of intensity and Cold doesn’t manage it. Towards the end we’re almost on over-wrought, emo territory. A shame, because there’s some great moments in this song, but it fails to deliver on its initial promise. 5/10

Ajimal – Footnote To Love (Part One)

Footnote To Love (Part One) is the first single to be released on Pop Sex Ltd. – the label run by Frankie & The Heartstrings – which isn’t by F&TH themselves. That said, guitarist Mick Ross is one half of Ajimal. This track is built upon an acoustic tremolo guitar line, very reminiscent of Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition (or Destiny’s Child’s Bootylicious, depending on your preference) which wouldn’t be much to write home about in itself, but there are beautiful dream-pop embellishments over the top which really set this off a treat. The vocals are a little too strained, and the track doesn’t particular have hooks or a chorus to get your teeth into, but as a standalone piece, it’s a really gorgeous work. This would soundtrack a bittersweet tale of teenage love in a film perfectly, but it’d be just at home on your stereo. 7/10

Angel feat. Wretch 32 – Go In, Go Hard

Go In, Go Hard, as well as having a terrible title, is a slightly odd mixture of Guetta-esque house-pop, early 21st Century hip-hop and boyband vocals. There’s a really annoying, “ay!” on every second beat which takes attention away from what’s going on elsewhere. In fact, once you’ve noticed it, you can barely escape it. This could be Taio Cruz, Flo Rida, Iyaz or any number of identikit pop rappers. There’s really not much else to say about it: Angel and Wretch 32 go in, they go hard and, um, they’re fairly pleased with that approach. After an eye-catching debut single with Traktor, it sadly looks like Wretch 32 has lost the individuality that looked like it may set him apart. 2/10

Labrinth – Last Time

He’s was already relatively well-known for his association with Tinie Tempah, but his debut solo single, Earthquake, was so huge it properly escalated Labrinth to part of the chart furniture. Oddly, while Earthquake was prepared to take risks production-wise, with skill and dexterity beyond your usual chart fodder, Last Time doesn’t quite give the same giddy thrill rush. The busy strings in the chorus are a nice touch but it seems Earthquake may have been the exception rather than the rule. It’s incredibly slick and genetically engineered to garner huge sales figures, but would you expect anything less from the only recent signing to Simon Cowell’s record label who wasn’t a TV talent show production? 5/10

Summer Camp – Losing My Mind

I found it hard to warm to Summer Camp’s album, Welcome To Condale. I’m as much of a fan of nostalgia as the next person, but the sheen and 80s homage was so blatant, it felt like a complete re-treading of old ground, with the band forgetting to put their own spin on things. Losing My Mind is all lo-fi fuzz, wandering bass and tinny drums. The boy/girl vocals are a nice touch, especially when they trade alternate lines but the voices and the production don’t quite match. There’s a decent song buried in here, but there’s no middle to the sound range and the influences being cherry-picked and appropriated seem a little too considered and studied. In short, Losing My Mind suffers from the same issues that plague Summer Camp as a project, so if you’re able to see past them, you’ll probably find plenty of enjoyment in this. 6/10

Katy Perry – Part Of Me

I may be a cynic, but it seemed to me a little too convenient that as soon as there were tabloid reports of her marriage being in trouble, Cheryl Cole launched her solo career with a track entitled Fight For This Love. In a similar ‘twist’, Katy Perry’s first single post-separation is a thinly-veiled tale of defiance and finding strength following a bad situation. Sample lyric: “this is the part of that you’re never gonna ever take away from me”. There are also references to “sparkling” and not “taking my soul”; basically a load of chick-lit empty platitudes seemingly written by the kind of focus group who think women are one-dimensional creatures who worship chocolate. Musically, it sounds like a hastily-made Katy Perry track, i.e., all of the sledgehammer drums and attention-grabbing, Pro-Tooled noise but without the hooks that make Firework and California Gurls memorable. 2/10

JLS – Proud

Proud is the official single for Sport Relief 2012 so, seeing as it’s for charidee, I should probably be nice about it. It sees them try to recreate the formula of earlier singles Eyes Wide Shut and She Makes Me Wanna and, while it’s not as good as either of those, it’s got a bit more pep to it than their more recent ballad-heavy efforts. It’s a little soulless but sounds like it would provide a good bed for footage of people being generally athletic and energetic, which is probably what it was designed to do. Unsurprisingly, the lyrics are about not giving up, believing in yourself and, yes, making people proud. It’s not the worst charity single by a long shot and, having seen the title before hearing the song, I’m absolutely delighted to report it is in no way a cover of the Heather Small track of the same name. Lucky escape there, I’m sure you’ll agree. 4/10

Modestep – Show Me A Sign

As I’m not entirely au fait with all this young person’s electronic music, I often get confused between Modestep and Modeselektor (mind you, I also get confused between The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays, so what do I know?). Anyway, Modestep are a dubstep duo (I think… yep, that’s right) who seem to specialise in the atmospheric, radio-friendly tracks that Chase & Status and Nero appear to be able to make in their sleep. In fact, this is so similar to Chase & Status that if you were told it was them, you’d probably believe it. There are the obligatory dubstep wobbles, squeals, sirens and huge drums – sounds that were thrilling and exciting not long ago but have already fallen into the pit of cliché. It also shows all the lightness of touch and subtlety of a Skrillex track and – advance warning: this is going to make me sound a lot older than I actually am – it’s just a load of horrid old noise, really. 1/10

Rihanna feat. Jay-Z – Talk That Talk

Unbelievably, this Rihanna track actually sounds restrained and almost quiet after the Modestep endurance test. Yes, you’ve probably heard this song by now but the thing is, Rihanna is getting so good at putting out instant classic singles, you start to take it for granted. This hits all the spots her rivals can’t – it all seems so effortless and laid-back, but it’s just got so much to keep you coming back for more. Ok, lyrically, it’s the usual, tired Rihanna come-ons, but it, yet again, cements her place as the undisputed leader of modern-day pop. Synths fizz and aren’t too heavy-handed and although it doesn’t ever reach top gear, it got just the right amount of pace and bounce to stick in your head all day long. 8/10 – SINGLE OF THE WEEK

The Singles Bar: 12/03/12

News reaches us here that, in the UK, Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye has become the first track to shift 500,000 copies in the year of 2012. If that doesn’t hasten the need for new, fresh, exciting music to descend on the singles charts, I don’t know what does. Luckily, there are a smorgasbord of tracks ready for you below, so pull up a chair and tuck in.

M.I.A. – Bad Girls

It’s difficult for M.I.A. She’s on the verge of mainstream success but to achieve it, she risks losing what made her distinctive in the first place. In fact, I’m about to stake claim to the headline, “How do you solve a problem like M.I.A.?” so you need to talk to me first if you want to write that article. You get the feeling there will be mis-steps along the way but on Bad Girls, M.I.A. judges things perfectly. She manages to combine catchy rhymes with a commercial sensibility, hip-hop beats and the kind of Middle Eastern hook that 99% of pop stars wouldn’t go near. It’s done with aplomb, and while it lacks the punch of some of her earlier work, it could well be the catalyst to full crossover commercial success. 8/10

Alexandra  Burke – Elephant feat. Erick Morillo

As far as I can tell, Alexandra Burke won X Factor due to her ballad-friendly voice but, cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah aside, she’s concentrated primarily on club-friendly R&B instead since that victory. That powerful voice which caused so many to pick up the phone back in 2008 has been stripped of all semblance of character and auto-tuned to death on Elephant, with the consequence that this track could be by pretty much anyone. It’s yet more chart-friendly faceless Ibiza-influenced pop and, even for that most unlovable of genres, this is a poor and forgettable effort. Also, while this elephant in question may be the “elephant in the room” of a failing relationship, we’ve certainly learned that ‘elephant’ is not a word that goes particularly well with huge dance anthems. 1/10


Katzenjammer – I Will Dance (When I Walk Away)

As well as being the surname of Tamsin Greig’s brilliant Fran in Black Books, ‘katzenjammer’ is also German for ‘hangover’. See, you like this band already, don’t you? IWD(WIWA) is a chirpy piece of indiepop full of glockenspiel and melodica, that also has a slightly traditional Irish folk dance feel to it. There are some great singalong vocals though, and a sense that you’ve stumbled across an exquisitely hewn pop gem that’s going to get stuck in your head for a good few days. It’s also absolutely perfect for radio, which makes you wonder why it’s not completely unavoidable and why Katzenjammer aren’t the must-see band of the festival season. Listen to IWD(WIWA) and you’ll smile, you’ll dance, you’ll play it again as soon as it’s finished, and you’ll really feel that summer is just around the corner. 9/10

Michael Kiwanuka – I’m Getting Ready

The retro-soul sound of singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka has already won him the BBC’s Sound of 2012 poll, as well as plenty of plaudits elsewhere. He almost seems like a man from another era, and in an age of bountiful musical excitement, it seems a little sad that a hotly-tipped artist has to look backwards in time so obviously for inspiration. That said, Kiwanuka’s velvety croon is simply gorgeous, and the backing vocals in I’m Getting Ready complement his tones perfectly. It’s an immersive track, with the feel and structure of an old gospel song. It’s so easy and free, that’s it’s a lovely experience just to let the soothing sounds wash over you. Of course, it would be nice if the sound of today didn’t sound so indebted to the past but when a song’s this good, it’s hard to care too much. 8/10

Jay-Z & Kanye West – Niggas In Paris

It seems odd that a collaboration between arguably the two biggest stars in rap hasn’t set the world alight. Sure, there’s been plenty of attention on Watch The Throne, but nothing like you’d expect from the combined pulling power of Jay and Kanye. On Niggas In Paris, the two seem so wrapped up in their own rhymes and style, they’ve neglected to give too much attention to what’s going on outside of the vocals. This is ill-advised because, while no-one can deny they’re mega-stars, Jay-Z and Kanye West aren’t huge purely for their technical ability. In fact, on this tired effort, Kanye’s annoying drawling is turned up to eleven and there’s not much to latch onto. Really, it’s just the sound of a pair of gazillionaires boasting about how great they are – why wouldn’t you like it? 5/10

Rufus Wainwright – Out Of The Game

The lesser-talented Wainwright sibling (opinion: reviewer’s own) returns with a typically understated effort… or not. Of course, Wainwright’s voice is like incredibly rich food; wonderful to begin with but utterly insufferable if you’ve had too much. ‘Too much’ in this case relates to around 90 seconds or so, and the female backing vocals are just as overpowering. In fairness, Rufus has turned down the melodrama on this Out Of The Game – there’s not a symphony orchestra in sight – and it’s a fairly straightforward, guitar-led track. Yes, there’s the odd flourish and an attempt at a big climax (this is Rufus Wainwright after all) but this could be an appropriate entry point for any Rufus non-believers. Overall, it’s not too much to get excited about, whether you’re a fan or not. 4/10

Tango In The Attic – Paw Prints

The new single by Scots Tango In The Attic starts with a statement of intent: huge drums and intense riffing (which sounds awesome on headphones, by the way) that just seem to build and build. By the time the first section is over, we’ve got swirly, shoegazey guitars and unusual time signatures for company too. It’s a full two minutes before the bass comes in though, and Paw Prints is really missing it until its arrival. Blasts of visceral noise and an intricate structure elevate this above the average and push it in the direction of math-rock, but it can come across as an attempt to mask a lack of quality in the songwriting itself. That said, Paw Prints is certainly worth a listen and will blow the cobwebs away any day of the week. 6/10

Paul Weller – That Dangerous Age

Despite having spent the last decade or more releasing poor facsimiles of former glories, Paul Weller continues to be feted by an ever-fawning music press. Perhaps he’s especially nice to journalists, I don’t know. Anyway, Weller usually seems to be oblivious to the passage of time (and not just in his attitudes to haircuts) but on That Dangerous Age, he addresses his advancing years directly. Much of his latter-day work has been stodgy and bereft of inspiration, but here, there are handclaps, cowbells and a fuzzy bassline you could have a stab at busting a groove to. A welcome change in musical outlook from the man we’re contractually obliged to refer to as The Modfather, yet still anything but a classic. That said, not bad for a man on the verge of releasing his eleventh solo studio record. 6/10

Saint Etienne – Tonight

It’s unlikely I’ll ever be a member of royalty but if the unthinkable does happen, one of my first acts will be to award the members of Saint Etienne a collective knighthood. For over twenty years they’ve provided the world with dance music with substance, marvellously bonkers cut and paste albums and a general sense of musical joie de vivre. Tonight harks back to the classic three-minute instant pop of their 90s singles and is impossible to not get caught up in. Gloriously, it’s actually about going to a gig, getting caught up in the anticipation and then the “surrender to the sound” that comes with the best music. A little meta, perhaps, but a hook-filled wonder that never outstays its welcome and leaves you wanting more. Exceptional. 9/10 – SINGLE OF THE WEEK

Future Of The Left – Sheena Is A T-Shirt Salesman

We don’t have ‘Song Title of the Week’ here at The Singles Bar but if we did, this would win by some distance. Either way, it’s nice that Sheena is making a living and her days of punk rockerdom didn’t leave her entirely employable. SIATS is a breakneck thrash ride that races along without leaving room for you to breathe. There’s a hint of a band who are far too pleased with themselves though, and really, attention-grabbing titles aside, this is in no way enjoyable to listen to. Living under a (mainly) Conservative government, I can’t help but hope the future of the left is a whole lot brighter than this. 2/10

The Singles Bar: 05/03/12

Now we’re into the third month of the year, the biggest festivals are starting to reveal their line-ups. With no Glastonbury in 2012, there’s a chance for an act at one of the smaller events to make a late surge and soundtrack the summer. To do that, you need a good build-up, and perhaps by releasing a top quality single, you’ll win No Ripcord’s Single Of The Week award, and all your dreams will come true. Let’s see who’s aiming for the summit this week.

Turnpike Glow – 1986

We begin the first Singles Bar of the month with Anglo-Italians Turnpike Glow. Instantly, the keyboard riff brings MGMT to mind, particularly Kids, but from that point on it’s enjoyable, punchy indiepop with elements of shoegaze fuzz. Reportedly inspired by a Guardian headline, 1986 is a slick track that has the hooks of a band far more renowned and established. Turnpike Glow may not be tearing up the rule book, but who cares when the sugar-coated melodies are this strong and addictive? On the production side, it’s a bit too lo-fi for its own good at times, but that’s the only thing from stopping 1986 being a bona fide power-pop classic. Turnpike Glow are most certainly a band to watch. 8/10 – SINGLE OF THE WEEK

Dot Rotten – Are You Not Entertained?

It’s a joke that could get old fairly quick but, for the time being, I still find it pretty funny that an MC has named himself Dot Rotten. It’s a fairly aggressive lyrical attack that sounds like a turbo-charged, UK grime version of Mos Def’s Oh No. There’s a real edge to Are You Not Entertained? but Dot Rotten seems to have found the perfect meeting point between hard grime and chart-friendly pop and, as a result, the track manages to remain exciting while appealing to a wide audience. The buzzing bass propels things along and as Dot (or should that be Mr. Rotten?) half-sings the chorus, it’s difficult not to get swept along by the whole shebang. If someone like Labrinth can be hugely successful in the UK (though he is signed to Syco, admittedly), there’s no reason Dot Rotten can’t reap similar rewards. 8/10

Enter Shikari – Arguing With Thermometers

I was on the verge of pronouncing Arguing With Thermometers the most ridiculous song title of all-time, until I noticed there’s another track on the Enter Shikari album called Gandhi Mate, Gandhi. Arguing With Thermometers is a bizarre song, starting out as screaming hardcore before morphing into bouncy Latin-inspired rock and then a dubstep-influenced spoken word piece. If this all sounds like a complete mess, that’s because it is. It’s the Lostprophets meets Funeral For A Friend meets Hadouken! mash-up that the world didn’t really need. There are flashes of melody and a tune, but they seem accidental really. Overall, Arguing With Thermometers is messier than an Eton Mess that’s been dropped on a messy floor and then been trodden on by Lionel Messi. 3/10

Jakwob – Electrify

Fans of nominative determinism are sure to love Jakwob, as it appears to be the noise that’s synonymous with dubstep (go on, say it, “ja-KWWWWOOOOOOOOOBBBBBBBBBB!”). Actually, although there are dubstep elements to Electrify, it owes far more of a debt to the dance sound of the early 90s, particularly breakbeat and rave. It’s a fairly non-specific kind of track that doesn’t push the kind of extremes needed to make it anthemic, affecting or particularly memorable. It’s a 21st Century reading of an older sound, but if you’re in the mood for this kind of thing, you wouldn’t listen to Jakwob. No, you’d dig out your Baby D and Livin’ Joy records and have a whale of a time with those instead. 4/10

Black Stone Cherry – In My Blood

Oh, please no. It appears Black Stone Cherry are the kind of over-earnest, country-based rock that does well in America but, thankfully, rarely troubles the UK. Yes, Americans, in our wondrous land of plenty, hardly anyone’s even heard of Creed, and Lady Antebellum can barely get arrested. That said, the dull Southern rock of Black Stone Cherry did apparently reach the UK Top 20 album charts, so perhaps I shouldn’t be so smug. This is still the first I’ve heard of them though and, hopefully, the last too. It’s a bit Nickleback, a bit Kid Rock, a bit Kings of Leon and is the kind of derivative, say-nothing music that can sap the life out of you at a rate of knots. Thanks, but no thanks. 1/10

Deaf Havana – Leeches

Quick check – are we still in 2012? I’m only asking because for Enter Shikari, Black Stone Cherry and now Deaf Havana, it’s like the last decade or so never happened. I never thought I’d be saying a track sounded like Funeral For A Friend twice in one week but here we are again. However, on the positive side, Deaf Havana clearly have a way with a tune that made some of FFAF’s earlier stuff genuinely great listening. I’m sure those cheeky ruffians with silly fringes and flesh tunnels you see hanging around precincts will lap this stuff up and fair play to them – there’s a professional quality to Leeches it’s hard to deny. Also, Deaf Havana are from King’s Lynn and, having been there, anybody who can make something of themselves coming from somewhere like that deserves a pat on the back. 6/10

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Look Around

After the success (you’re right, I do have an odd way of defining success) of Florence + The Machine bingo a few weeks back, I’ve developed a Red Hot Chili Peppers version, so dobbers at the ready, everyone. Reasonably high-pitched, wah-wah style guitar accompaniment? Check. Needlessly complicated funk bassline? Check. Nonsense, semi-rapped vocals? Check. House? No, not quite because, surprisingly, there is not a single mention of the state of California in Look Around. Sorry, better luck next time. As for what it sounds like, well, you’ve heard a Red Hot Chili Peppers song before, right? It sounds like a Red Hot Chili Peppers song. There’s a bit more substance to this one than most though; it somehow burrows into your subconscious and sits there poking the bit of your brain that responds to musical stimuli. Yes, despite being opposed to all the elements of this track, I somehow quite like it. 6/10

Marcus Collins – Seven Nation Army

Somewhere in the world, there’s a person who thought, “You know what? That Joss Stone faux-soul cover of Fell In Love With A Girl worked really well. Her career’s gone from strength to strength, she’s a permanent fixture on end-of-year best-of lists. No-one at all think she’s a complete laughing stock. Let’s repeat this sure-fire trick to critical and commercial success.” Pity that person, because it’s probably not mathematically possible to be more wrong. Former X Factor contestant Collins has wrung all the good things out of the White Stripes’ original, replaced it with an oddly staccato rendition of the signature riff, borrowed Mark Ronson’s horn section and warbled all over it. Even if you didn’t like this song in the first place, you’d be hard pressed to argue this hasn’t made it worse in every conceivable way. Awful, awful stuff – I’d rather listen to a song by Justin Lee Collins than this. 0/10

Estelle – Thank You

Although according to music industry insiders (i.e. Wikipedia), Estelle’s been steadily releasing material for the past few years, she hasn’t really been on the radar since 2008’s fantastic, Kanye West-featuring American Boy. Thank You is a smooth, soulful ballad that’s a world away from the hip-hop MC we’ve seen in the past. However, it seems Estelle is that rarest of things – someone who can both rap and sing with considerable skill. Thank You isn’t the most dynamic or exhilarating of songs, but Estelle manages to place real emotion and depth into the vocals without feeling the need to resort to talent show histrionics. There’s the odd touch of autotune, which sadly dehumanises the track in parts, but overall, Estelle has shown real star quality to transform something merely average into something great. 7/10

Loverush UK! feat. Bryan Adams – Tonight In Babylon

Presumably, Loverush UK! (no, me neither) saw the success Chicane had when they teamed up with the Canadian AOR-peddler and thought they’d get in on the action (over a decade too late). The effect is largely the same: a forgettable Euro-trance song with the familiar blues-inflected vocal stylings of Bryan Adams over the top. They make for incongruous bedfellows and – Chicane precedent aside – it’s difficult to see why these artists have paired up. This might well sound “well amazing” when you’re “pilled up” in an Ibiza club but it’s March, it’s cold and dark outside, and this kind of music tends to bring me out in hives. So, while Adams might be spending, “to-naaaaat in Baaaabylowwwwwwwn”, I’m going to bid you adieu, eat my dinner and hopefully never be subjected to this song again. 1/10