this week's post ...

Black Lips
I'll Be With You new single
Black Lips have a very raw 1960's production on this two minute tune, echoed up. Stripped back loose guitar and vocal ... haunting. A maybe

Brakes
Don't Take Me To Space (Man) new single
Why Brakes aren't bigger is a mystery to me. Here's another short sharp single 2 mins 30 secs utilising the word play connection between Space and Man to come up with a similar combination to The Killers and way back Babylon Zoo. They just played a fine gig in Cardiff, I hope this single from their new album 'Touchdown' due 20 April boosts their fanbase

Depeche Mode
Wrong Remixes new single
Nine mixes of Depeche Mode's new song 'Wrong' included here. Mixes by Thin White Duke, Dim vs Boys Noise, Magdas Scallop, Caspa, trentmollar and Frankie provide plenty of options. And it's a good song with an intriguing vid... top twenty we reckon

Just Jack
Embers Remixes new single 30 March
A superb Bimbo Jones remix of the new Just Jack single could point it chartwards. Bongo and 30cm provide further alternative opportunity to play this track. Top forty maybe

Kevin Rudolph & Kid Cudi
Welcome To The World new single
'Let It Rock' was a deserved success for Rudolph and now here comes a hook-up with Kid 'Day N Nite' Cudi. 'Welcome To The World' is perhaps not as strong as its predecessor but nevertheless should score a top forty placing and keep the album turning over

Operahouse
Genius Child Remixes new single 30 March
Operahouse are right on the pulse for the electro pop dancefloor, 'Genius Child' is a fine single which is remixed by Vandal and Jagz Kooner in both club edit and radio edit form. Should pick up plenty of indie alternative airplay and with a bit of luck, maybe a top forty slot

PJ Harvey & John Parish
Black Hearted Love new single
In her fifteenth year of CD making PJ Harvey is as dark as ever but on a lighter note for the first time her producer gets co-billing. 'Black Hearted Love' pulls in around four and a half minutes, a stripped down guitar bass drum vocal arrangement with a mean lyric. The first taste of 'their' album 'A Woman A Man Walked By' due on 6 April. They tour the UK together in April and will play Shepherds Bush Empire.

Maccabees
Love You Better new single
Maccabees 'romantic observational' trademark sound seems a little more down cast than you may expect on their comeback. 'Love You Better' ... "I will I will I will I will love you better" cries Orlando Weeks pleading vocal. They still sound fresh but somehow sad as in "take a sad song and make it better". Touring 'Wall Of Arms' soon, maybe a wrong turn, not sure ...

Marmaduke Duke
Rubber Lover new single
I really like this track, it's got a strange rubbery feel, uptempo and a short sharp 1'50". Bizarrely, MD feature a sample of Billy Joel's 'Sleeping With The Television On'. Sleeve notes say written, produced, engineered and performed by The Atmosphere & The Dragon so there. This is different enough to stand a chance of hitsville, sweet

Silversun Pickups
There's No Secrets This Year new single
Silversun Pickups played a sell out show at Cardiff Barfly a couple of years back and here's another interesting new tune from the band. 'There's No Secrets This Year' is a kind of a fuzzy affair, a keyboard whizz of an intro into a pretty standard kind of a song, difficult to see this band making headway with this, it's not bad but it doesn't magnetise. Sorry

U2
Magnificent new single 4 May
You'd probably have to go back to 'The Joshua Tree' in 87 or maybe even 'War' in 83 with it's scorching singles 'New Years Day' and 'Two Hearts Beat As One' to achieve an unbiased assesment of Bono and Co. However some things are easily quantified, each U2 album includes a musically adventurous item as 'Get On Your Boots' is. 'No Line On The Horizon' seems at times to rely almost completely on the interaction between Bono's vocal and The Edge's guitar, Bono's vocal sometimes feeling secondary. 'Magnificent' is another fine single but the days of U2 going straight to number one on the singles chart seem to be over. They won't be worried with a million copies of 'No line On The Horizon' sold and a number one position in thirty plus countries. Ther'll be plenty more worthy causes for inspiration too ...

Vinny Peculiar & The Blue Poppies Of Ambrosia
Sometimes I Feel Like A King new album 26 May
As ever there's some fine music coming out Manchester, Lucien Caine impressed recently and now here's the latest from Vinny Peculiar "former Smiths collaborator, Bill Drummond associate and Manchester's Tony Hancock of pop"! Trailing the new album 'Sometimes I Feel Like A King', the 139bpm 'Uniform' is a fine short sharp 2 minutes 26 seconds of choppy pop with a strong lyric and vocal. Vinny should pick up important airplay with this and several other tracks on this album which stand out with lyrics that 'sting'. 'Welfare Satement' is a cleverly titled song highlighting amongst other things how attractive people soon become unattractive. Superb titles like 'Nurse Of The Year', 'To Hell With Fashion' and 'Sun Comes Up It's Tuesday Morning'. Well worthy!

Wintersleep
Oblivion new single
Three excellent tracks on this new CD single begin with the haunting 'Oblivion'. Then the strangely titled 'Archaeologists' and 'Weighty Ghost'. Wintersleep do sound somewhat different from the norm, they've created an upbeat airy accoustic atmosphere which could serve them well.