Singles reviews 6/03: Kanye West, The Spinto band & Jason Mraz' shock pop
7 Mar 2006
Taking a critical aim at this week's European singles releases.
Sound Generator's Single Of The Week
The Spinto Band mix folky Belle & Sebastian or Adem-esque tones, with a slightly rockier approach on the amusingly-titled 'Direct To Helmet'; unlike the aforementioned Scottish alt-folksters, however, these guys hail from Delaware, USA. Bright harmonies and a wistful atmosphere permeate this tune, the debut single from forthcoming album 'Nice And Nicely Done'.
Placebo 'Because I Want You'. Brian Molko and co keep churning out their homogenous, angst-ridden, teenager friendly anguish fests, with barely an effects pedal or a strained vocal different from how they sounded ten years ago. "Fall into you/Is all I ever do/'Coz I'm afraid to be alone" whines ol' Brian; this time, at least, he's got a beefy rock track to pour his heart out over.
Things haven't brightened a great deal in Dave Gahan's world, judging by the doom-laden, dark-toned feel of Depeche Mode's 'Suffer Well'. A typically pounding electronic beat and a chorus which, despite the downbeat lyrics, has touches of brightness, make this more of the same from the 'Mode - but their pleasingly menacing aura is still as apparent as ever.
It seems The Concretes are pretty happy with life at the moment though. 'Chosen One' is a pleasant, summery little guitar pop track, with chiming guitars and a kiddie-catchy chorus where singer Victoria Bergsman implores us to help her find her special guy, and does it so sweetly that if we refuse it's pretty likely we'll break her happy little heart.
Kanye West proves once again that the formula for a massive hit in the rap game is to take a classic soul sample and spit some dancefloor friendly rhymes over the top. This time it's Curtis Mayfield's 'Move On Up' that gets the treatment, while Kanye bigs himself up as a "Hip Hop legend", amongst other things, over the top. He's rapidly becoming right, though...
Jason Mraz is the self-proclaimed 'Geek In The Pink'. Taken from recent album 'Mr. A-Z', this is ultra-slick US pop, something like a collision between Scissor Sisters and Maroon 5's 'This Love', with rapid-fire vocals delivered in an almost hip-hop style. A mish-mash of styles then, but one that has produced horribly sickly-sounding results.
By: Chris Watkeys
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