White Rabbits – Percussion Gun
No, this is not one of the singles of the new Alice in Wonderland film, the plural might make that story just a bit too chaotic, wouldn’t it? No, ‘Percussion Gun’ is the new single of the six piece hailing from Brooklyn, New York, who’ve last year released their sophomore effort, tentatively entitled It’s Frightening. And though some bands ought to be frightened of releasing a second album, White Rabbits shouldn’t. ‘Percussion Gun’, produced by Spoon’s Britt Daniel, starts of with some driving drums that form the framework for the rest of the song, and possibly also the title. Soon a layer of vocals is added by either Greg Roberts or Steve Patterson (having two similarly sounding vocalists can be quite confusing at times), closely followed by the guitar and bass and a second layer of vocals by, well, whoever’s left after the lead vocal part I guess. This layering is completed by some keys and the rest of the song plays around with adding and removing each of the layers. Even with the simplicity of that concept, White Rabbits are able to produce a rather complex sounding song by using off beat melodies and interweaving of the different layers. “Just give me some piece of mind!” is exclaimed at the end of the song. Well, OK then: great song.
Released 11th January 2010 by Mute Records
You Don’t Know Love – Editors
I really, really want to like this song. Editor’s debut album, The Back Room, is one of my favourite albums of the noughties (though I now feel I have to add that it’s quite an elaborate list) and after being slightly disappointed by their second effort An End Has a Start, and even more by single ‘Papillon’, I didn’t even dare listen to their third album, In This Light and On This Evening. And after listening to this single, I must say that I’ve made the right decision there. Editors seem to have a solid idea of what they want to sound like, but utterly fail at achieving that. Tom Smith’s warm voice sounds enchanting as ever, but appears to hold no connection to the accompanying late ‘80s/early ‘90s synth-inspired
music in whatever way possible. The whole thing sounds just a bit uninspired, like they’re just focussing on what they want to achieve without actually involving themselves in the music they’re making. Lyrically the song’s pretty shaky as well. “You know the truth when you lie,” sings Tom Smith. Why yes Tom, that’s kinda what lying is all about. The chorus, if you can call it that, is where the song gets really gut wrenching. It’s just... camp. And that’s not the kind of genre you want to use to describe a band like Editors.
music in whatever way possible. The whole thing sounds just a bit uninspired, like they’re just focussing on what they want to achieve without actually involving themselves in the music they’re making. Lyrically the song’s pretty shaky as well. “You know the truth when you lie,” sings Tom Smith. Why yes Tom, that’s kinda what lying is all about. The chorus, if you can call it that, is where the song gets really gut wrenching. It’s just... camp. And that’s not the kind of genre you want to use to describe a band like Editors.
Released 25th January 2010 by Columbia Records
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