This weeks singles (released 14th October 2002) - Tiscali Music News

2002-10-16

Simian - Never Be Alone (Source)

On this track, Simian successfully blend a driving indie beat and slightly off-kilter vocals and tune with quirky organ synth noodlings and disjointed falsetto backing vocals.

The overall result is oddly effective; a slightly folky little nugget of dark pop, full of musical and lyrical asides and rhythmical sideglances.

The video, currently banned on MTV (yes, you can watch it below!) captures the melange of unease and agression that Simian hint at on this tune.

I'm left not quite knowing whether they are my friends or not - whether I have missed something that has been insinuated.

And I quite like it.

Buy this single here

Watch the video here:
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Check the Simian site here

Badly Drawn Boy - You Were Right

Taken from the forthcoming album 'Have You Fed The Fish', you'd have had to be quick to get a copy of this as it was deleted on Tuesday, one day after its release.

It's a superb love-song cum warbling monologue about celebrity, love, and LUE (Life, The Universe and Everything) sung by the master of such all-prevading lyricism.

I'd catch it on the album if I were you.

Pre-order the album here

Samantha Mumba - I'm Right Here (Polydor)

On a kinda 'Independant Woman/finding a man' tip, Samantha Mumba very bluntly lists what she requires from her 'beau (!)' on her new single, in an apparently non-insulting stylee.

On balance the music is sometimes catchy, but mostly it comes across as over-produced R&B nonsense, and fades into the ether as quickly as it arrived.

Complete with the requisite chord shift at the end of the tune, this is a tired re-plough of already over-ploughed J-Lo/Christina Milian ground.

Buy this single here

Graham Coxon - Escape Song (Parlophone)

The man rumoured to be leaving Blur comes up trumps with a new single.

A strange mixture of country and indie (similar angle to his previous solo efforts), this single will surely only appeal to hardcore Coxon fans...

But I love to be proven wrong.

There are all the mod influences you would expect from someone who has been instrumental (literally) in Blur for the duration of their career: oblique punky guitar solos and strained vocals, but yep, you guessed it - cool all the same.

Buy this single here

The Streets - Don't Mug Yourself (679 Records)

What can you say about the lyrical genius of Mike Skinner that hasn't already been said?

Well, for starters, one of his greatest skills is to take the everyday and make it epic.

This single charts the conversation between Mikey Streets and a few of his mates after a big night out, as he goes through the throws of been warned off phoning a girl he met the night before by his very protective friends.

Intriguing subject matter, yes, but it's his delivery that makes it special.

He explores the nature of relationships, gender roles and the double-standards of male friendship with such style and conversational wit that you are laughing before you know it.

And, it's all set off by one of the most exhilirating dark garage bass-and-beat-backdrops you are likely to hear this year.

Watch the video for this single here

Buy this single here