Taken from the film ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ – taken a while to land as a download it seems – Charli XCX return to her poppy side after her deviation into Iggy Azalea territory. With a shamelessly radio-friendly chorus, it balances her more serious RnB side with her commercial outings like ‘SuperLove’, so should […]
Author: Philip Lickley
This Week’s New Single Releases (18th August 2013)
My round up of the new singles available for digital download this week. Alistair Griffin and Leddra Chapman feat. Grimethorpe Colliery Band – ‘The One’ Fame Academy’s Griffin teams up with newbie Leddra Chapman on this ballsy ballad. Though their voices complement each other and there’s a welcome sound from the inclusion of the Colliery […]
Single review: Rita Ora – ‘I Will Never Let You Down’
The first single from Ora’s upcoming second album begs the question, if Calvin Harris can write songs like this, why doesn’t he have better songs for himself? Harris’ sound is all over this record but Ora makes it her own with her best single to date, balancing an RnB feel with a poppier sound that […]
This Week’s New Single Releases (11th August 2013)
My round up of the new singles available for digital download this week. 2 Chainz feat. Pharrell – ‘Feds Watching’ As 2013 continues to turn into the year of Pharrell, he pops up here with 2Chainz. Far from his best moment, ‘Feds Watching’ is a cliché-ridden one-note tediously-written song with a chorus that fails to […]
This Week’s New Single Releases (4th August 2013)
My round up of the new singles available for digital download this week. AFI – ‘I Hope You Suffer’ The charmingly titled ‘I Hope You Suffer’ from AFI is a slow, lumbering, atmospheric track covering the well-trodden path of romantic breakdown. Resisting the temptation to go too screamo, the tempo gives it a sense of […]
Single review: Jessie Ware – ‘Tough Love ‘
Jessie Ware releases her album’s titular track, a smooth sensual number that really showcases her voice. Much less electronic and bass-heavy than you’d necessarily expect from Ware, her airy, breathy voice makes the track – lifting up the chorus. It’s perhaps not above the sum of its parts, but she certainly delivers a distinct and […]
Single review: Franz Ferdinand – ‘Stand On The Horizon’
Though it now seems like an age since the album came out the singles are still coming, and here is ‘Stand on the Horizon’ – a more subdued track from the band that, though finding a place on the album, doesn’t feel like their strongest single. Fans who liked their debut album sound will find […]
Single review: Hannah Grace – ‘Meant To Be Kind’
With a powerful, soulful, evocative and emotional voice, ‘Meant To Be Kind’ has a power behind it that belies the youth of the artist. Without resorting to the temptation of wailing random notes at the end as often happens in power ballads like this, Grace keeps the energy ramping up whilst keeping to a solid […]
Single review: Eric Clapton and Friends – ‘Call Me The Breeze’
Sometimes an artist will come back with a song that sounds like a classic. And this really already is as the 12 bars blues song was originally recorded back in the 1970s. Clapton and friends don’t do a huge amount with it but if it brings this smooth, rhythmic number to the attention of more […]
Single review: Clock Machine – ‘Wonderland’
‘Wonderland’ is not the most subtle of songs, very clearly on the subject of sex and performance, but it’s wrapped up in a funky, head-nodding rhythm that will get you up and moving, matched by the very listenable deep voice of Clock Machine’s vocalist. I’m not as keen on the lighter secondary vocals, but the […]