More single reviews for you from Philip Lickley of music blog Wav Goodbye, featuring Emeli Sande, One Direction, Scissor Sisters and Snow Patrol. If you want to contribute to All-Noise, send your music news, views and reviews to [email protected].
Emeli Sande – ‘Next To Me’
[rating:4.5/5]
Buy Next To Me
‘Heaven’ was a great song, ‘Daddy’ not so much, but ‘Next To Me’ is an amazing song. Built around a fast-paced piano line, one that can join the Scissor Sisters’ ‘Laura’ as one of the modern great ivory riffs, and an addictive drum beat plus, of course, Sande’s exciting vocals, ‘Next To Me’ deserves to be this month’s big single. With a simple, but no less compelling, chorus of just the title and some well-placed woo-ing, this is a tip-top mix of pop, gospel and soul with some nice background production that compliments the stripped-back tune without overpowering it that should top the charts if there’s any justice this week.
One Direction – ‘One Thing’
[rating:3/5]
Buy One Thing
The band’s third single from their debut, ‘One Thing’ is very little departure from their previous hits with a similar sound to ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ as if created in its template. Granted it’s poppy and uptempo and harmless, and certainly ticks the boxes for a radio friendly distraction, but it’s a little too forced and manufactured compared to their great debut and the ending of the chorus sounds like a sofa advert jingle coming to an end. Good as far as off-the-shelf pop goes but a little disappointing compared to their first number one.
Scissor Sisters Vs Krystal Pepsy – ‘Shady Love’
[rating:3.5/5]
After the immediacy of ‘Laura’, ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’’ and ‘Fire With Fire’ as lead singles from their albums that immediately stick in your head, the first cut from the Scissor Sisters’ fourth album puts me in a quandary.
The song itself features a catchy beat and musical composition that the band is famous for but the addition of Jake Shears rapping Robbie-Rudebox style on the verses – under the pseudonym of Krystal Pepsy which seems a weird way of crediting yourself – in particular the first, raises my eyebrows and the repetitive chorus is tedious. The best bit is definitely Azealia Banks’ post-chorus section which rumbles along catchily and is far, far better than her solo offerings and may help justify her appearance in the BBC’s recent Sound of 2012.
‘Shady Love’ with its different sound to their past releases, thanks to its urban stylings and voyage into the world of rap-delivery, may prove to be a big grower but at the moment I’m not that impressed by this return. It’s certainly different and experimental but I’m not sure if that’s necessarily a good thing, and some of the lyrics sound very corny for the group that have delivered such good material in the past.
Snow Patrol – ‘In The End’
[rating:3.5/5]
Buy In The End
The fourth single from their album Fallen Empires, ‘In The End’ is much more promising than their recent material and sounds very much like Keane mixed with the Klaxon’s ‘It’s Not Over Yet’. The chorus doesn’t perhaps live up to the promising build up in the first thirty seconds of the verses but this is definitely classic Snow Patrol. It’s not a revolutionary addition to their back catalogue but the drum and guitar work really steps this song up a level and I enjoyed the thoughtful lyrics, Lightbody’s delivery of them, and the overall feel of the song.
