Art Brut – Alcoholics Unanimous
For anyone wondering what Art Brut have been up to since their 2007 album It's a Bit Complicated – and we're sure there's at least, ooh, 12 of you out there – then we have the answer: getting sozzled. Over hectic, trashy indie, Eddie Argos puts on his best Damon Albarn voice and paints a craggy image of a life spent either blitzed on booze or severely hungover. It all sounds jovial enough, but listening to him sing lines such as, "I've been up all night, making mistakes, I've been hiding it well, but I don't feel great", makes for some pretty unsettling listening. Is Argos making light of his own insalubrious lifestyle? Or is this a genuine cry for help? Can someone please find out, we're worried for the guy.
Lady Sovereign – So Human
Just as Flo-Rida's horrific reworking of Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Right Round drops from the top of the charts, here's another grim sample of an 80s classic. "I'm an individual," raps Lady Sovereign over a jazzed-up version of the Cure's Close to Me, before forgetting to add anything in the way of, say, actual evidence for this claim. Unless, of course, you count being the first pint-sized female grime artist to ruin an otherwise brilliant song.
Bat for Lashes – Daniel
Subtle. Not a word that automatically springs to mind for someone whose shamanic persona is often a collision of witches, blonde alter egos and headbands. But there is something wonderfully restrained about Natasha Khan. Her voice is gentle and her melodies take their time to seep into your consciousness. Daniel sees her paying tribute to a character from 80's kids movie The NeverEnding Story. Sadly it's just the small boy, rather than that big, pink flying monster thing. Damn you, subtle!
John and Jehn – Oh My Love
Real-life couple John and Jehn relocated from the French suburbs to London's Wood Green a few years back to make dark and aloof music, fuelled by little more than passion and a drum-machine. They claim to be as inspired by jazz as they are by Joy Division, and sing about all-consuming amour. He provides industrial-strength guitars, she wails intensely. It not only sounds superb, but is pretty much the Frenchest thing on record since Serge Gainsbourg muttered dirty nothings to Jane Birkin.
Metronomy – Radio Ladio
Despite first seeing the light of day more than a year ago, Metronomy's bonkers homage to the joys of the airwaves gets an inexplicable re-release. Perhaps the general consensus at Metronomy HQ was that this slab of infectious electronica was too good to risk being forgotten about. And with its jerky broken-down beat, half-sung lyrics and a chorus catchier than that winter vomiting bug that did us all in, I'd have to concur.
