white denim, THE hair, grantura and more - singles for THE week beginning june 16th!

WHITE WILLIAMS / VIOLATOR (DOUBLE SIX) This art-synth song has a wishy washy approach that reminds me of Bowie doing his dreadful Andy Warhol impersonation. It’s hip but hookless, fresh but fashionista. Who’s side are you on? Make your own mind up as the Brooklyn based act supports Vampire Weekend this summer. THE HAIR / BLOOD (4 PLUS 5) After kicking off with a ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ style guitar riff, this hand claps-a-go-go tune zooms along like one long hyperactive chorus. You can’t fault their lusty performance, even if it lingers in the mind for about as long as a goldfish memory. GRANTURA / IN DREAMS (RUFFA LANE) This band knows how it feels to slam your foot down on the pedal, leaking gas at 90MPH while your bike screeches into a fireball of speed! And yet, their 1960s style garage rock is being performed with…. banjos and acoustic guitars?! What the damn?! This is like Scott Walker having a bash at Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Dolly Dagger’. FIGHTING WITH WIRE / EVERYONE NEEDS A NEMESIS (ATLANTIC) That angular-riff sound is mutating into the mainstream, with horrifying results: this basically sounds like Nickelback trying to ape the artrock crowd. It lasts about 30 seconds, until they shoot their load and become just another muscle bound rock band ripe for a superhero movie soundtrack. LESS THAN JAKE / DOES THE LION CITY STILL ROAR? (COOKING VINYL) In the realm of American pop-punk, Less Than Jake sit just above Green Day in my book because they seem a bit more, well, piss takey. They sound like they’ve done time. They sound like men who prop up bars. They sound like men who don’t groom. And because this is a passable, bouncy but generic single, they sound like men who could do better.