Single Reviews – June 8

Beirut – No No No

No No No is Beirut’s first new track in four years, following frontman Zach Condon’s mental breakdown in the intervening time. In this light, it’s quite surprising how little has changed. Over a bouncy just-under-three-minutes Condon’s distinct, warbly vocals dole out a pleasant but virtually meaningless verse (in a twee AAAA rhyming pattern) and a chorus composed entirely of la-la-las. If the upcoming album is planning on mixing up the group’s style or pushing any boundaries, then this title track does not indicate this. But for Beirut fans longing for some more of that same old sweet, inoffensive, hum-worthy stuff, this should satisfy. – Eoin Moore

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Neon Indian – Annie

Recently, more and more musicians have been throwing their hats into the disco pop ring. With Annie, Neon Indian show themselves to be another convert of the trend. Gone is the muddy lo-fi sound with its droning synths that had previously defined them. Annie sounds expensively produced, droneless, and subsequently unrecognisable as a Neon Indian song. The backbeat guitar line sounds similar to something you would expect from Sting, and the vocal melody is more elaborate than anything that came before. All this makes ‘Annie’ a pretty catchy affair, destined to become one of those songs constantly played wherever “trendy” resides. Yet, in the process of stripping away all the distinguishable features from their previous sound, Neon Indian seem to have forgotten to replace them with new ones. In short, Annie seems a little generic, sounding more like the product of commercial sterilisation than artistic re-imagination. – Conall Monaghan

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Michael Mayer – The Stickler

Kompakt boss Michael Mayer returns with new track The Stickler, the featured A-side to a collaborative single with Reinhard Voigt, Time Is Running. It’s standard fare from the German veteran, nothing of the craft that he initially demonstrated in his his first 12” single Heaven (released now nearly twenty years ago) having been lost. His latest track is carried along by a thick, menacing bassline and pummelling drums, although these are countered somewhat by a set of recurring keys that manage to relax the tone. The Stickler is a pure and unadorned piece of dance music that you are sure to hear being dropped in festival sets over the summer. – Finnán Tobin

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Dux Content – Snow Globe

Snow Globe is the first track released by A. G. Cook and Danny L. Harles’ collaborative project, Dux Content, since 2013’s Like You. The song is exactly what we have come to expect from the PC Music label. PC Music is punk for the kids who want to be famous on youtube. It hurtles along for just over four minutes with female vocals reciting clichéd feel-good slogans like a dubious life-coach. Nothing is done in half measures with this song – it is loud, brash, and incredibly garish. Some people are going to hate it, but the silliness of the track belies the fact that artists like A. G. Cook and GFOTY are talented and have a unique, if demented, take on music. PC music released a collaborative album a couple of weeks ago, you can find it here. – Josh Kenny

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Muse -The Handler
The Handler will prove to be a key track on Muse’s latest album Drones. Its main riff is slow and crunchy, accompanied by a fuzz-heavy bass tone reminiscent of fan-favourite Fury. The simple verse-chorus structure is concealed by a delicate bass riff that is both interesting and short enough that its repetition works without compromising Muse’s latent prog-rock spirit. Arpeggios, falsetto vocals and other “traditionally Muse” tropes are re-used, but the tune is catchy enough that it doesn’t sound recycled. A surprising bridge deepens the personality of the song. The only catch is that the band, having gained a considerable commercial status in recent years, has developed a cautious approach to production. – Jack O’Donoghue
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Skepta’s latest grime anthem Shutdown, released March 1st in anticipation of his much-awaited album Konnichiwa, has recently undergone a remix featuring a surprising bit of UK MC talent. Idris Elba, most notable for his role as fearsome Baltimore criminal kingpin Stringer Bell in HBO’s The Wire, has taken up the mic to deliver an energetic ragga patois over the song’s hard-hitting instrumental. Alongside Skepta’s formidable lyricism and refrain-based chorus which earned the song its original acclaim, the actor adds a rough dynamism to the track including colourful references to his past characters and career. The album release date remains unconfirmed but is sure to promote both the rapper and his genre to new heights of popularity. – Sam Marriott

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