Single Reviews – 1st April
This weeks single reviews by Philip Lickley. If you would like to contribute to All-Noise, send us your music news, views and reviews to [email protected]
Blue October – ’The Worry List’
[rating:3.5/5]
Buy The Worry List
‘The Worry List’ is a piano-led ballad that flatly refuses to change its pace or sound throughout its four-and-a-half minute running time but alongside it’s notes and brush-drumming is an emotional set of lyrics that paint a beautiful, if gloomy, story, and it does have some deceptively less-obvious hooks. It’s not a particularly noteable ballad along the lines of, say, Daniel Powter’s ‘Bad Day’ but it is well done and a well created slice of glum-indie.
Florence & The Machine – ’Never Let Me Go’
[rating:3/5]
Buy Never Let Me Go
After the frankly excellent ‘No Light, No Light’, a Florence track that I enjoyed more than any other, it’s a little bit disappointing to hear this which upsets as a follow-up. A little bit too wail-ey for my liking, it’s a perfectly pleasant track but doesn’t particularly excite at any point, though the breakdown two-thirds in is very atmospheric but becomes equally repetitive as it drags on far too long. Very much taking Enya as its inspiration, it has interesting production by the bucket-load but is too middle-of-the-road to impress.
Laura Marling – ’All My Rage’
[rating:3/5]
Buy All My Rage
The second single from her third album A Creature I Don’t Know, ‘All My Rage’ is, contrary to the multitude of comments on YouTube, very much along the lines of her previous work and that of Noah and the Whale – of which she was a member. Mixing up the sound of White Stripes from the Get Behind Me Satan era with some Scottish / rural-esque folk tunes, it’s an interesting sound and different to what else has been released recently. I can’t say it’s a track I would actively seek out to listen to or download but it’s an interesting composition and musically shines thanks to its instrumentation, chorus work and well-written storyline.
Olly Murs – ’Oh My Goodness’
[rating:3.5/5]
Buy Oh My Goodness
Much slower-paced than his last two excellent singles, ‘Oh My Goodness’ is an addictive mix of Olly’s smooth vocals and a jazzy backing track and a smiley outlook that belies its pace, but it’s not a particular exciting follow-up to his previous album cuts though it is a grower thanks to a speedier chorus. Not as stand out as his previous singles but quickly builds and works it’s magic on you.
Paul McCartney feat. Tinie Tempah and Nicki Minaj – ’It’s Not Real 2012’
[rating:4.5/5]
It’s an interesting combination of artists but one that works really well. Mixing in McCartney’s Liverpudlian vocals, Tempah’s rapping and Minaj’s innuendo-filled breakdown, it must have taken a lot of effort to get these artists into the same recording studio at the same time, and I’m glad they did because it works really well. If you don’t believe me, check out the video below…
