seeing in believing

Saucy Aussies, Sneaky Sound System, fresh from their Mardi Gras appearances, have just unleashed "Really Want To See You Again", the third single from their current longplayer, "From Here To Anywhere".

The singles a slinky synthy number with Miss Connie Mitchell's confident and assertive vocal over a cool wash of plinks, plonks and rubbery bass lines. The video is an homage to everything 90s from Milli Vanilli to C+C Music Factory and MC Hammer.

once more with feeling

Rod Thomas, aka Bright Light Bright Light, has a penchant for laying down on floors flat on his back. He also has a habit of writing intelligent pop songs with massive singalong hooks. His latest single, "Waiting For The Feeling", is no exception.

The long awaiting follow-up to last year's tears on the dancefloor epic, "Disco Moment", is a thumping dance choon with a deliciously jagged piano riff and a killer chorus that's guaranteed to earworm its way into your heart. Think Pet Shop Boys with a splash of Black Box. Very 90s in a 2012 kind of way.

Furthermore, yours truly has reswizzled the tune for maximum discotheque flammability. Pass the poppers, ladies and gents. Glitter cannon at the ready.

"Waiting For The Feeling" is the single of the year. Hands down. There's even a brightly colored video to accompany the tune.



Lovely. I see Rod doesn't mind having his hair messed up by someone's random hands. Perhaps his floor fetish is really just a reason to reference the lyrics of the song. Has he been thrown there? Is it a metaphor for love? So many questions.

"Waiting For The Feeling" is available on iTunes right now! The remix EP will be available from all fine digital retailers on April 30. "Make Me Believe In Hope", the debut longplayer from Bright Light Bright Light (please note - no comma between the bright lights), will be released on June 4. Mark your calendar!

all I ever wanted

Alphabeat are back, back, BACK! The Danish collective have been busy tinkering in the studio in order to deliver the follow up to "The Spell", their second longplayer. Of course, if you bought that sophomore effort in the UK it was called "The Beat Is...". Christ on a cracker! That was a shit title.

Anyway, the first single from their forthcoming elpee is called "Vacation". Thankfully, it is not a cover of the Go-Go's tune.



Ooh! That's got a fun, fresh, colorful, sunny vibe to it. It's like a scoop of raspberry sherbert! Just in time for an unseasonably warm, springtime winter. Love the cheesy synth horns. Glad to see they didn't go down the electro route. Instead, they revisited the sound of their debut album. Well played!

Look for their third, as-yet-untitled longplayer by the end of the summer.

cinematic strangeland

Keane are about to return from the wilderness with "Strangeland", their first new music since the "Night Train" EP in 2010.

It's their first, full longplayer in nearly four years since the sound altering "Perfect Symmetry" which saw them replace their delicate, piano led lushness with lots of buzzy synths and clattering drums. I, for one, loved the album and thought it was a bold and necessary step forward for Tim Rice-Oxley and co.

For the new album, it appears the band, now a foursome with the official addition of Jessie Quinn on bass guitar and percussion. And it appears they've returned to the velvety simplicity and cinematic scope of their first two albums. Tom Chaplin's yearning vocal soars above the beautifully produced arrangements and he seems to sing with a greater sense of assuredness and confidence

In anticipation of the album, the band have cobbled together a lovely overview of it and whacked it up on their website. Let's have a peek.



Ooh! That's lovely.

Keane's fourth, studio longplayer will be released on May 7th 2012. The tracklisting is as follows:

1. You Are Young
2. Silenced By The Night
3. Disconnected
4. Watch How You Go
5. Sovereign Light Café
6. On The Road
7. The Starting Line
8. Black Rain
9. Neon River
10. Day Will Come
11. In Your Own Time
12. Sea Fog

As well as the standard CD and digital versions of the album, "Strangeland" will be available as an extended CD with four bonus tracks and a vinyl elpee. Additionally, a deluxe CD/DVD combo will be released which includes the bonus tracks, five acoustic videos and a book packed with photographs as well as, a short story by British author William Boyd. That's a lot cash for fans to drop in one day. It's reminds me somewhat of the days when singles were released in five or six formats. Ah, the eighties. Bless.

"Strangeland" will be available from all fine "shops" on May 7.

punk movement

Unlike most people, I am getting quite sick to death of Adele. Girl is gonna have a bitch of a time following up her sophomore longplayer. I want to gouge my eyes out with hot knitting needles everytime I hear some poor karaoke queen butcher one of her songs.

However, one thing I am enjoying is the creative way people have been splicing, slicing and dicing her work. There are far too many bad remixes out there of all three singles from "21". But there are a small handful of well produced reswizzlings that I play from time to time. It's almost refreshing to hear her songs in a different setting.

And now the mash ups have started making appearances across the interwebs. Again, there are a ton of ill conceived train wrecks. But there are a few gems like "Something About The Fire" which is a beautifully constructed collision of "Set Fire To The Rain" and "Something About Us" by Daft Punk which originally featured on their 2010 elpee, "Discovery".

This magnificent of marriage of sound was produced by Carlos Serrano and it deserves plenty of attention. My only criticism is that it hasn't been given a more extended treatment. Bliss.

single tonight

Saint Etienne have revealed the artwork and tracklisting for their current single, "Tonight".

As you can see from the image above, the photo captures the spirit and excitement of attending a gig by your favorite band. Also, it's an homage to The Specials as it is reminiscent of the cover art to their EP, "Too Much Too Young". Because ver Et are sticklers for detail, the photograph was also taken at a gig by The Specials.

"Tonight" will be available on March 12. It will be released on 7", 12" and as a digital download bundle. The physical configurations are being limited to 1,000 copies each. Once they are gone, no more will be pressed. Snatch yourself a copy tout de suite!

The tracklisting for the 7" single features "Tonight" on the a-side and a cover of "Manhattan" which was originally recorded by Scott Walker in his latter day period. Saint Etienne first released it in 2009 as part of "Scott Walker - 30th Century Man", a collection of Mr. Walker's finest moments as interpreted by contemporary artists.

The 12" and DL will include mixes from 2 Bears and Club Clique while Richard X turns in an old school, 1980s style extended version. Huzzah! Someone has answered my prayers.

However, it unsettles me that a CD single won't be released. Surely, their fans would prefer a shiny CD over the less viable 7" single. Why not issue four formats? Have the chart rules shifted once again? Certainly, there is a way to make it as collectable as the other formats.