Singles- October 13th

Wild Beasts- Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants-
One of THE bands of the year release one of THE singles of the year, only surpassed by their previous effort 'Devil's Crayon'. Bad Sneakers have come up trumps with Wild Beasts- a one off, eccentric and innately English band. In lineage with The Smiths in terms of literate and intelligent mentally challenging pop music Wild Beasts are a joy to the ears. 'Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants' is trademark Beasts with Hayden Thorpes extraordinary vocals claiming all the credit. It soars and swells in equal measure, disappearing down rabbit holes and emerging with a grin. Wonderful.

MGMT- Kids-
And you thought 'Time To Pretend' was the hit? MGMT come up trumps with this electro tinged smash. Possibly the most frustratingly 'almost incredible' bands of recent years MGMT show here that when they stop being daydreaming self-indulgers they write incredible pop songs. Alongside 'Time To Pretend' and 'Electric Feel' the band have produced some of 2008's finest singles. Now if I can just erase all memories of their gigs....

The Last Shadow Puppets- My Mistakes Were Made For You-
A third fine single from the Arctic/ Rascals offshoot. Alex Turner takes the lead here telling a tale of a relationship torn apart (By "innocence and arrogance entwined"). Much is said of the Scott Walker influence in LSP work and his presence undoubtedly looms large over songs like this. Having said that this is as lush and classic as either Turner or Miles Kane's previous output.

M.I.A- Paper Planes-
Only M.I.A could make a song about immigration and make it into the smash 'Paper Planes' is. Having seemingly been around for ages ('Kala' was released in August 2007) the song has had a re-invigoration of interest being on soundtrack to the Seth Rogen film 'Pineapple Express'. The gun Shots and cash registers are still as attention grabbing as ever (and poignantly drown out the childrens voices too). A great song from a great talent.

A Place To Bury Strangers- I Know I'll See You-
Another fine slab of industrial gloom from the New York duo. It may be less abarasive than previous singles but 'I Know I'll See You' still loses none of APTBS intense darkness. Oliver Ackermann's nonplussed vocals sit well with the metronomic sonic swoops developing in the background. It's not as instant as 'To Fix The Gash In Your Head' was but this shows the depth of the band. Catch them supporting on the upcoming MGMT tour/ borefest.

Times New Viking- Call & Respond-
Currently shredding their faces alongside No Age and Los Campesinos on the Dis approved tour Times New Viking unleash 'Call And Respond'. A typically lo-fi affair it pitches somewhere between Moldy Peaches esque off key vocals twinned with Seattle style distorted guitars. A nagging incessant refrain permeates throughout clawing it's way into the listeners mind and making this more accesiable than you assume the band want it to be.

The Cool Kids- Mikey Rocks-
The Hip-hop duo from Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan release 'Mikey Rocks' named after group member Antoine Reed. A slow hypnotic beat is the bed for this track with Reed and Even Ingersolls raps taking on a similarly lethargic nature. Whilst not bad it's hardly single material and would probably be better left on 'The Bake Sale' as part of an ensemble.

Snow Patrol- Take Back The City-
That band from X Factor? Chasing Cars? Yeah I love that song. They have a new single? Urgh, power chords? Yuck. This can't be played over karaoke singers crying over dead relatives. Next!

The Decemberists- Valerie Plame-
Colin Meloy et al return with two minutes of plodding sub Ben Folds gumpf followed by a more uplifting second half reminiscent of The Polyphonic Spree. Nothing special on show here.

Sia- Soon We'll Be Found-
Post- Tori Amos self aware quirk. The press quotes on her jump from superlative to superlative but to these ears there is nothing more than bog-standard Radio 2 B List material. Bat For Lashes does this ten times better.

Singles- October 13th