The Verve – ‘Love is Noise’
Disgusting. Ten years ago, I would never have though you could use that word to describe anything The Verve did. I loved Urban Hymns; they did some gorgeous stuff on that album. Unfortunately, now trying to reinvent themselves a decade later, Ashcroft and the boys have delved into dance beats, a U2-esque fist-pumping chorus and rubbish lyrics. Ashcroft’s voice has deteriorated too, and the character he once had seems to have disappeared into a faux-rock ‘n’ roll star, Liam Gallagher-style whine. I wish for two things: for the indie dance movement to slow down a little and for The Verve to realise their mistake and grow old gracefully. Boooo! Hissss! Play ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’!
Wild Beasts – ‘The Devil’s Crayon’
With Wild Beasts, it’s all about the voice. On their other tracks, Hayden Thorpe amazes with his soaring falsetto melodies, but here Tom Fleming takes the microphone in equally-impressive fashion. His Antony Hegarty, theatrical croon is beautifully offset by the song’s futuristic groove. There’s not so much you can infer from a debut single, but this possibly the most excited I’ve been since Midlake’s ‘Roscoe’ caught my attention.
Ratatat – ‘Shiller’
There’s a subtlety to Ratatat that belies their name. Sounding more like a soundtrack to a delightfully kitsch horror film than anything else, this track centres around a beautiful little organ melody, and proceeds to transform itself into an 80’s electro-rock solo reminiscent of something you’d hear, not in Highlander (the first film), but perhaps one of the ill-fated sequels. Nonetheless, unlike many other artists, they manage to move gracefully and seamlessly from the aurally-exquisite to the rudely distasteful, so much so that you actually enjoy reminiscing about Christopher Lambert… one of the actors that time forgot, unfortunately.
The Poison Arrows – ‘Casual Wave’
From their upcoming EP comes The Poison Arrows’ first track, ‘Casual Wave’. It’s a strange beast, this ‘Casual Wave’, sounding at times like Tool have tripped into a surf video, there’s enough fullness of production to make it sonically alright, but far too many guitar licks and 80’s organ parts, and far too little in terms of melody or dynamics. Not too sure what they were going for with this, but there are a lot of eggs being put in a variety of genre baskets… there’s even something that sounds like a synth bagpipe, which is a bit of a worry.
The Carrots – ‘Beverly’
It’s always nice to be sent back to the ice cream soda days of 50s pop, and The Carrots are joining the fight, alongside those sexy Pipettes and Melbourne favourites Little Red. Unfortunately, ‘Beverly’ is a catchy-enough tune – with doo wop harmonies, hand-claps and all that – but the vocals are lazy, the production underwhelming, and the band that should be all fun and games, all dance-inducing joyfulness, are just a twee, flaccid attempt at retro cool. They can write the songs, but the execution is just half-arsed.
And the best of the bunch is…
 Spun Rivals – Spun Rivals EP
Although much-maligned by some for not living up to their prog-rock label, ou can’t deny that Melbourne’s Spun Rivals give it their all. The energy of ‘Nineteen Ninety Eight’, which possesses the band’s most potent hook, is immediately noticeable. But aside from Spun Rivals’ default sound, the acoustic, glockenspieled ‘Money Song’ is an absolute stunner. Rich Davies’ vocals are undeniably Elvis Costello-ish, and the band deprts into a realm of Brit-pop to wonderful effect. The cherry on a rather tasty cake is the manic ‘An Ordinary Man’; possibly the standout track, its discord, rhythm changes and chaotic crescendo all add to the potency and underlying feelings of frustration. If there’s a flaw here, it’s that perhaps the uber-produced sound doesn’t do the band justice: get ‘em drunk, chuck them an 8-track and I think you’ll get more of an idea of how Spun Rivals roll.
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