Playlouder - Music is the Network

Tricky – Council Estate

An unexpected treat from the woofing mad nineties throwback. Having claimed back in the day that his psycho behaviour was the fault of a wheat allergy (as opposed to industrial quantities of bubonic chronic), on this evidence he’s clearly munching through as many pasta sarnies as he can get his hands on. It’s furious, drum-tastic, and jabs through the speakers like at least three (good) songs playing at once.  The sound of neck veins straining.

Little Man Tate – What Your Boyfriend Said

Little Man Tate are going to be livid – Yellow Van Records have sent out a load of promo CVs with a deeply average Arctic Monkeys b-side on instead of their new…what? Oh.

Five O’Clock Heroes featuring Agnes Deyn – Who

Who’d have thunk it? Agnes Deyn is great popstar. She might look like (in the words of the late great Willie Donaldson) a whippet dipped in bleach, but as soon as she turns up this is pop fantabulousness all the way, with a chorus that’s heard a lot of Blondie and in its time and is all the better for it. Will stick in your head and point blank refuse to leave.

Stiff Dylans – Ultraviolet

Has a press release ever started so unpromisingly? “Formed for a part in the forthcoming Paramount Pictures film…”. Oo-er. But as your knee jerks towards the off button, pause a moment – yes, it’s under-12s punk, but it rattles along energetically enough, with the music just raggedy enough to lift it out of the McFly swamp. These boys plainly get prodded awake each day by scaly corporate schlongs, but the money that’s been hurled at them in return has turned up something at least half decent.

Beck – Chemtrails

Nicely atmospheric Brian Wilson throwbacking, although the huge cymbal rattling drums that bash their way in and out feel they might at any moment cause Beck’s trembly vocal to start, sniff the air and bound away. I would complain that you can’t hear the words but it’s Beck so you’re missing nothing. Would sound good very late at night or during the day if it’s enormously sunny, and nowhere in between.