shitdisco, lupen crook, trout and more - singles for THE week beginning november 12!

YOU SAY PARTY! WE SAY DIE! / (A) LIKE I GIVE A CARE (B) OPPORTUNITY (FIERCE PANDA) They’re back! They’re angry! They still love using exclamation marks! Dance-punksters, YSP!WSD! are a band with world domination firmly in their sights – and you get the feeling they might just do it too. ‘Like I Give a Care’ and AA side ‘Opportunity’ share the same frenetic pace you’ve come to expect from the Vancouver 5-piece, although the vocals on the latter sound mysteriously like a certain fox… a Lovefoxxx. TROUT / NORMA JEAN (ROCK ACTION) Now, my Glaswegian isn’t what it used to be, but from what I can gather this song is about… er… hang on, what the hell is it about? Every third word appears to name-check some sort of confectionary and there appear to be a comparison between Norma Jean and jelly beans. Confusing indeed, but beneath all this there’s a strange sort of genius packaged with dirty guitars and chaotic drums. They may well be Scotland’s answer to the Eagles of Death Metal LUPEN CROOK AND THE MURDERBIRDS / MATTHEW’S MAGPIE EP (TAP N TIN RECORDS) The first few bars of ‘Matthew’s Magpie’ could easily be dismissed as the bizarre ravings of the crazy person that lives in your local park. However, this inspired slice of modern punk is not the product of 3 litres of white lightning, but result of a well-timed hiatus with his band the Murderbirds. Drifting between Crook’s eight-string acoustic and the Murderbirds’ scathing electric riffs, ‘Matthew’s Magpie’ screeches it’s way through a torturous tale of isolation, desolation and, well, a Magpie. BLOC PARTY / FLUX (WITCHITA) There was a time not so long ago that you were able to get excited about Bloc Party. Unfortunately the heady days of Silent Alarm are long gone and what we have been left with is pure lowest common denominator. ‘Flux’ is the Channel 5 of singles and relies heavily on synth loops and faintly trite lyrics, the most bizarre of which are ‘If your right hand is causing you pain, cut it off, cut it off’ – no Kele, leave it where it is and get to A&E. JOHNNY FLYNN AND THE SUSSEX WIT / THE BOX (TRANSGRESSIVE) ‘The Box’ is Johnny Flynn’s attempt at an English version of Americana; an attempt to produce a country song that is steeped in English tradition and history. It’s a little worrying then that the subject matter is a homeless person who lives in a box. Whilst ‘The Box’ may be the lyrical equivalent of the Littlest Hobo, Flynn’s fiddle and banjo laden ditty makes a fine European assault on the Americana genre and is certain to go down well with the Green Man crowd. HARD-FI / CAN’T GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU (NECESSARY RECORDS) Hard-Fi has done little to dispel the myth that the A30 is the only good thing to come out of Staines. For the record, it isn’t the only good thing to come out of Staines – there’s also the A320. Can’t Get Along (Without You) sees Archer wax lyrical about sleeping rough, becoming a borderline alcoholic and picking fights with men twice his size. You can almost hear the nation yawning in unison. The song tries to mask its flaws by wrapping itself in a string section, but the truth is that this is only steps away from the horrible territory once inhabited by the Ordinary Boys.