PICK OF THE WEEK

Ben Khan
1000 (Blessed Vice)

Out last week but too good to leave out, Ben Khan’s swampy but slick 1000 is wicked fun. There’s atmosphere and wonk aplenty. Metronomic drums pop over tape-dragged synth pads. Muted guitars funk, prickle and wail. Lyrical musings on “just wanting a touch of a crush” are reflected in the flirtatious peacock production. Like a first date loaded with potential and mystery. How long should I wait before calling Ben back?

Wide Awake Feat Tanya Lacey
Down (Speakerbox Media)

This makes me feel I’m having a crisis of confidence in a shoe store. Newsroom string-synths and marching-band snares urgently explain to me the unfeasibly generous returns policy. Tuba parps implore me to enter my Pin. A pinball machination breakdown processes the order and adjusts the stock levels. A tempo shift nudges me towards the exit, my simple spring sneaker mission complete. I kind of had fun, I got what I needed, but I’m relieved and bewildered now I’m out of there.

Will Young
Love Revolution (Island)

A lot of the best records are made by strait-laced artists cutting loose. While it’s not a pop curveball on a par with Cat Stevens’s Was Dog A Doughnut, the energy of Love Revolution is irrepressible. Fuzzy bass, bright guitars, talkback vocals and handclap dropouts give off a vibe of a guy who actually wants to make pop that’s fun. It makes me think of Larry Hagman in I Dream Of Jeannie having a blast in spite of himself. And the video is like a Technicolor episode of Mad Men. Neat.

Laura Marling
Gurdjieff’s Daughter (Virgin)

Much has been made of Marling’s relocation to LA. Change is good. New socks rock. Suitably, this sounds like someone changing. There’s warmth in the voice but a chill in the delivery. I catch Chrissie Hynde-style growls with Laetitia Sadier-like sustain, and even a bit of Kim Carnes’s phrasing. The song never quite settles, and with its simple instrumentation I find this unsettled quality intriguing. The video sees Laura bounding barefoot round a tastefully furnished LA residence, flitting around various inhabitants like an unhinged letting agent.

Sia
Big Girls Cry (Monkey Puzzle/RCA)

Hot Chip supported Sia at an early gig at the Scala so I have to admit to having a soft spot here. Not that our support is required these days. Sia has nipped in and swiped Gaga’s art-pop crown and stuffed it under her white wig, leaving Gaga puking paint into her bacon hat. In the video for Big Girls Cry, Micro-Sia is getting in a full blown mime row with herself, a contretemps that threatens to overwhelm the track. The lyrics are slightly unintelligible but when intertwined with Nano-Sia’s physical flibbertigibbetry in the music video, the overriding emotion is clear. I don’t intend to make much sense when I’m crying into my Snack-a-Jacks in the carpark listening to this.