art brut, operator please, los campesinos! and more - singles for THE week beginning feb 18!

WINDMILL / TOKYO MOON (MELODIC) Matthew Thomas Dillon is Windmill. He walks the tightrope of adding sonic fire to Americana traits and at times ‘Tokyo Moon’ hits the raucous heights of Wolf Parade and dare I say it, Neil Young. At the other extreme though it worryingly reminds me of James Blunt’s abominable Pixies cover. Alas still some work to do my friend.

OPERATOR PLEASE / GET WHAT YOU WANT (BRILLE RECORDS) Jesus, how old is this band? One of the guys looks like he’s 13! If they are that young then ‘Get What You Want’ is competent but craves more of the florescent riot girl fun it only offers in short bursts. Catchy sure, but with the singles chart resembling little more than a jumble sale these days, catchy drowns in a sea of jumpers and crumpled Blondie records.

JOE LEAN AND THE JING JANG JONG / LONELY BUOY (VERTIGO) It’s ironic that the Jing Jang Jong are probably the kind of drivel Joe Lean’s forlorn character in Peepshow would have rushed to see on his dream trip to the Kings Road. The endless conveyor belt of sickening Dohertyborrell hybrids continues to clunk us all into a sad abyss.

ART BRUT / PUMP UP THE VOLUME (MUTE) Where the Ding Dong Don’t fail miserably, Art Brut could pick up the same instruments, add a little wit and imagination and come up smelling of roses. ‘Pump Up the Volume’ is the glorious rattle of camp guitar pop played over Ed Argos’ humble admission that he prefers music to sex. A perfect gift for Valentine’s Day.

THE ORB / VUJA DE (BUTTERFLY RECORDINGS) I can’t say I’ve heard a new Orb track since ‘Toxygene’ in the mid-90’s, but ‘Vuja De’ harks back to the strengths of the duo’s pioneering heyday. Maybe that’s why it’s called ‘Vuja De’? Ambient textures, repetitive vocal loops and something like Jah Wobble’s bass booming all over it – it’s typically what you would want and expect from the Orb. Music to wash your face to.

FIGURINES / HEY GIRL (BUZZIN FLY) ‘Hey Girl’ is a harmless but somewhat uneventful two and a half minutes of rigid contemporary surf-rock. The Copenhagen ‘indie darlings’ have mastered the Beach Boys’ school of barbershop blues, but put them into a song so dull, even a deranged and coked up Brian Wilson would struggle to stay awake to.