Single Reviews – 15 July
Single reviews coming at you from regular contributor Philip Lickley. If you want to write for All-Noise, send your music views and reviews to [email protected].
alt-J – ’Tesselate’
[rating:2.5/5]
Buy: Tessellate
Set initially to the beat of an old Grandfather clock, at least in sound, with the ticking theme continuing through the track, it’s another ethereal-sounding track from the band that flows nicely but it doesn’t have the hook of ‘Breezeblocks’ as a single. Interestingly produced with some great soundscapes and styles but not as strong as it could have been and ‘triangles are my favourite shape’ is a contender for the most off-the-wall lyric in a while. Nice to chill back to but nothing incredible.
Delilah – ’Inside My Love’
[rating:3.5/5]
Buy: Inside My Love
A cover of the 1975 Minnie Riperton single, most famously sampled in the 2001 hit ‘2 People’, it takes the original and, though not doing a massive amount different with it, does give it a much sexier sound. It’s a well-produced single and very atmospheric and sensual, giving the forty-year-old song a more modern rnb sound with added tribal drums, with Delilah adding more variety to the vocals, but it’s not a vast change and its free-flowing structure might not appeal to everyone, but I actually enjoyed this interpretation for its style.
Elton John vs. Pnau – ’Sad’
[rating:3.5/5]
Buy: Sad
Taken from an EP of remixes of a collaboration between Elton John and Australian artist Pnau, it very much channels his other work as part of ‘Empire of the Sun’, creating a very laid-back calming summery track from older Elton John songs. It’s not a particular bombastic song and it seems to just float past you but you will find the simple chorus sticking quickly in your head and it goes to show what some well-done production can do to resurrect a track.
Misha B – ’Home Run’
[rating:3/5]
Buy: Home Run (Radio Edit)
Another reject from the X-Factor hitting the charts, ‘Home Run’ showcases her soulful voice but wraps it up in a mid-par dancehall track. The bridge works better than the fast chorus and her giggle, which appears at several points, is better to hear than the rest of the track which seems to just throw too much into it in the hope that something sticks. Not a bad first single but could have done with a little tidying-up and stripping back.
Angel – ’Wonderful’
[rating:3/5]
Buy: Wonderful
The new single from Angel has a good mixture of elements to enjoy with a well-written and catchy bridge and chorus and some nicely put together production elements, but it equally has a few sections that don’t fit as well. It has its moments certainly but doesn’t really work as a whole but there is some areas to like.
