Hudson Mohawke
Chimes (Warp)
If you ever wondered what the end of the world would sound like if it happened to hit during a warehouse party in Shoreditch at 4am as the light flattens and greys, then Hudson Mohawke is here to help. Chimes should not be called Chimes; there isn’t much that’s peaceful about it. Starting off with a fairly amiable skittering drum pattern, it’s not long before the doom-laden horn synth kicks in, plus there’s a wolf barking and (you imagine) people jumping from windows for a quicker death. If the Grim Reaper and Voldemort hooked up in a David Cronenberg film, this would be “their song”.
ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
Ella Eyre
Comeback (Virgin)
The video to Comeback starts with awful acting in a cafe advertising grilled cheese in Comics Sans font, but it’s all up from there. A thumping piano intro, like Xenomania-produced Girls Aloud at their best, sees Ella pushing her theory that all men are cheating ratbags (“Dig their grave / Let that motherfucker burn”). You could look at Comeback as three minutes of murderous misandry but TBH, sod the patriarchy. Ella’s great soul voice just about stays on the right side of Auto-Tune; add lashings of disco and this is a summer banger for autumn. I’ll visit you in prison, boo.
Jessie Ware
Say You Love Me (PMR/Island)
In more “love sucks” news, Jessie beseeches a lover to wear his heart on his sleeve – or possibly a sandwich board – and stop mumbling “Yer all right, I guess” at his Converse. It’s much slower than usual Jessie, eschewing electronics for acoustic guitar. Not a patch on previous single Tough Love and veering terrifyingly close to dull, it hits its stride with a final two minutes of choral chants and handclaps. Handclaps are an excellent thing in pop songs, which is why the Shangri-Las were so good, before Scouting For Girls ruined it for everyone (dig their graves and let those motherfuckers burn).
Gerard Way
No Shows (Warners)
The former My Chemical Romance frontman flushes his last baggy down the loo and dumps those hideous fingerless gloves. This new 80s direction is gonna have the mascara of emo fans running black rivers, but the fuzzy guitars and random sax solo are fun. Never mind that it aims for Gang Of Four but comes off a bit Blink-182.
First Aid Kit
Stay Gold (Columbia)
I’d put this below Spandau Ballet’s Gold, Kanye’s Gold Digger and Neil Young’s Heart Of Gold, and on a par with Bat For Lashes’ All Your Gold. Stay Gold is what First Aid Kid do well: make beautiful 70s-ish Swedish pop-folk with lush strings, heartfelt vocals about “dreams” and “rugged land” and plinky guitars. It’s really nice, but is “nice” enough to overcome the career-drowning that is an endorsement from Sam Cam? Is anything?
