electric engineering

"Dresden" is the second single to be plucked from "English Electric", the twelfth longplayer from Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark.

The song is classic OMD with shades of "Enola Gay" well represented by Andy McCluskey's driving bassline and Paul Humphrey's sparkling synth melody.

The lads even had time to lens a beautiful, brightly colored video for the track which starts out with a short James Bond reference and follows a couple as they fall in and out of love in the space of a three minute pop song. Something tells me this little ditty was inspired by Paul's recent divorce.



Clearly, one of many highlights from their current elpee which is chock full of amazing songs and quirky sounds. The album contains all the best bits of OMD distilled into one album.

And as luck would have it, I was commissioned by the label to reswizzle the single. Have a listen and boogie around your handbag.

axis of love

Barely a year after the release of "Elysium", their eleventh longplayer, Pet Shop Boys return with "Electric", a much less subdued affair on a brand new label. In fact, it's the first time Neil and Chris have not issued something through Parlophone, the division of EMI that was their home for the last 28 years. Their new label, the appropriately named x2, will be issued through Kobalt.

"Axis" is the first taste of ver Boys new album and it's quite a striking change of pace for them. It's not a pop song. It's an 80s retro dance track. Very nearly an instrumental except for some spooky whispered words from Neil. Big synths, chunky drums, twinkling bells and a great big nod to Giorgio Moroder which is all the rage in reference these days. Thank you, Daft Punk.



Produced by electronic wunderkind, Stuart Price, "Electric" will include the following nine tracks.

1. Axis
2. Bolshy
3. Love Is A Bourgeois Construct
4. Fluorescent
5. Inside A Dream
6. The Last To Die
7. Shouting In The Evening
8. Thursday
9. Vocal

While "Axis" is the first track to be heard from "Electric", rumor has it that "Love Is A Bourgeois Construct" will be the first official single. "Thursday" features British singer/rapper Example and "The Last To Die" is a cover of a Bruce Springsteen song which original appeared on The Boss' album, "Magic", which was released in 2007.

"Electric" will hit the "shops" on July 15.

Jaxx in the boxx

Basement Jaxx are back, Back, BACK! The duo have resurfaced with "Back 2 The Wild", a manic, slightly cartoonish track that borders on the verge of ADHD. In other words, it's brilliant and loadsafun!

Continuing their tradition of featuring different artists on their singles, this time ver Jaxx installed South Korean singers Miss Emma Lee and Baby Chay on vocal duties. The track is loopy, grin inducing and full of Afrocentric rhythmic joie de vivre. Another one for the crates! It's also the first single to be lifted from their forthcoming seventh longplayer.

And my ears detect some unlikely influences. A bit of Tom Tom Club and a dash of Thompson Twins?