Singles Review

Probably worth saying that I don't actually buy singles. In fact the only CD I've bought in the last year is Flying Lotus. Only bought Future Of The Left last year as well. Downloads (legal of course) are the format of choice these days. This is more a summary of the four tracks that have been sending those crazy cats over on Hype Machine wild. You know, those tossers who have Pitchfork as their homepage.

First up is Klaxons with Flashover. First thing you notice is how dirty it sounds, like they've spent their entire time playing in the mud as opposed to honing their sound. It's not too much of a departure from their usual shtick but that's in no way a bad thing. Solid opening. 8/10

Kanye is also back with his first song since Gay Fish with newie Power. It's got a big beat to it that almost harks back to Jesus Walks. More than anything there's not a hint of that horrible T-Pain esque auto tune that was all his last album seemed to amount to. The lyrics are the usual "Kanye is amazing" stuff, but that's probably what we love him for. 7/10

Most excitingly really is Papermill from Madvillian's long awaited second album. The beat is amazing, the perfect evolution from the 50's comic book aping debut. The mixing of DOOM's rap however, is less good riding much to high and making him sound lazy and almost uninterested in the going's on. Undoubtedly Madlib will be layering on the polish before this one hits though. Optimism still at a maximum. 6/10

Finally (the) Arcade Fire have returned with the bewilderingly uplifting Suburbs. It opens like the long lost cousin of The National's So Far Around The Bend and pretty much continues in that vein. A nice catchy chorus saves the day on this one, hinting at a more pop orientated sound for the new album. But this is the Arcade Fire so they could have recorded them weeping into an accordion for 45 minutes for all we know. 9.6 on Pitchfork probably then. 7/10

5 Albums for 2010

So I've been thinking today about music I'm looking forward to. I tend not to get in a frenzied excitement like I do with games (I'm going to have a sad little cry the first time I see Mass Effect 2 in the shop and realise I can't afford it). That's probably because the coverage tends not to be like a flood of information though. "Breaking News: They're still making the album". Although saying that I remember from my NME reading days there was a fair bit of that. So here's the 5 I'm almost quivering in excitement about. Almost being the key word, because this current quivering is from the painfully depressing cold of my house. So, so cold. Also, before the list, the picture is really shit. I felt guilty choosing it, it's like something you'd see on a BBC article talking about "modern music" or something.

1. LCD Soundsystem - TBA
There's no real order for this list although if I was pressed I imagine this would creep in near the top. Sound Of Silver is undoubtedly one of the best records in my collection. Although I own a Junior Senior album, so you could argue it's not exactly a challenge. There's an April tour over here in the UK and I think the album is down for March, so I guess we'll find out soon enough. Could go either way with this one I think.

2. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
If you're one of the 10-12 people who aren't wildly in love with Frightened Rabbit yet then you need to firstly question where your life went so wrong and then have a listen to The Midnight Organ Fight which is one of the best albums of the last decade. Still feels weird saying that. Ten years ago I was 11. Scary fucking stuff indeed. Lead single Swim Until You Can't Sea Land encapsulates everything that makes them a great pop act. Melody, catchy, great lyrics and a little bit of a Scottish accent. Got to love Scottish vocals. Due to "drop" in March.

3. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
This combination is like a musical wet dream. Danger Mouse and that bloke from The Shins. He has a name, but it's not relevant. Only heard The High Road a few weeks ago and it's infectious to say the least. So catchy it almost counts as physical abuse. But in a good way. Apparently (as in this did happen) the album leaked around Christmas, although you'd be hard pressed to find it now. I say that because I couldn't find it. But there is only so much work Google can do for you. Also out in March. Going to be a heck of a month.

4. Arcade Fire - TBA
I can safely assume I'm not the only one excited about this, my love for Funeral was rekindled not so long ago so it's very much at the fore front of my mind. I wasn't a massive fan of Neon Bible as well which makes me slightly more nervous. Although in fairness I didn't give it an awful lot of time. But given this isn't rumoured to arrive till May (for a change) I've probably got enough time to mend that.

5. Radiohead - TBA
Would any list from be complete without Radiohead? Well, yes. Any that doesn't involve music for a start. Anyway, they've been beavering away on this since 2007 so it's about time you'd hope. But of course it's Radiohead so they might just hide it in skips around the country and not tell us for 6 months just to be difficult. They've certainly got to top the drama of In Rainbows release anyway. Judging by last year's These Are My Twisted Words it's going to be as unpredictably perfect as ever. I would hazard internet meltdown in Autumn.

There's a few other biggies coming out this year; The Strokes, Flying Lotus, Laura Marling, The Streets, Gorillaz, Deftones, Daft Punk to name but a few. I've still got to listen to Vampire Weekend as well (sort it out Spotify!). So at this stage my album of the year is Hot Chip. As it's the only one I've heard. But that's not even out yet. Dear, oh dear.

There Will Be Blood, Assassin's Creed 2 and A Bit Of Music

I wasn't going to write about this film to be honest because I didn't really know what to say. It's a tightly wound, overbearing piece of cinema to say the least. In many ways it trundles along for it's two and three quarter hour running time but you become spellbound by it. Most of that factor though can be attributed to Daniel Day Lewis who is sublime in this film to say the least. I feel like I need to watch it again really though to fully grasp everything going on it. But from a first viewing it's deserved all the praise it's got for me, some scenes from this film won't leave me for quite some time and the score perfectly feeds the tension at work. Glad I plucked up the courage to sit down with it, I was initially worried that this film was going to be above my understanding of high end cinema. Fortunately it turns out I underestimate my own intelligence. Or that of the film. But let's go with the former on that eh?

From high end cinema I go to the frantic mess of a narrative that is the end of Assassin's Creed 2. Not to spoil it, but the pay-off explanations at the end really are a bit of a disaster. There's one more thing that nags me about the game though. How much control do you assert over the character? Given you're supposed to be Desmond inhabiting the memory of Ezio and re-enacting his past. So in the cut-scenes is it Ezio or Desmond? How far does the control stretch? I feel like this game has pushed me into a philosophical nightmare. First Moon and now this. Probably wasn't paying attention in the cut-scenes. Should have warned of the intellectual quandaries you'll blunder into if all the information at the start is not fully understood. At least now I've got the relaxing opportunity of picking up the last 100G left in the game before sending it back. Bioshock 2 doesn't hit for a few weeks yet so still plenty of time!

Also, feeling fairly musically nostalgic lately and have been listening to a lot of the Arctic Monkeys debut. Lot of memories I've got with that record; some good, some bad. Still stunning lyrically though, a sharp wit that I don't think I appreciated as much when I first heard them. A lot of their newer matierial has left me a bit cold, I'm sure given time it's got some depth to it but their first record (or even the demos circulating long before the album) is the one I'll never forget. Might even slip you a sneaky weekly top artists chart from Last FM;

1. Arctic Monkeys (50)
2. Arcade Fire (30)
3. Radiohead (26)
4. Flying Lotus (24)
5. The Prodigy (19)