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 to access audio and video on collective you need real player.This week, Matt riots on an empty street. Those Norwegian masters of acoustic serenity, Kings Of Convenience, make a return this week with Misread (Source). Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Boe build on the success of their chilled debut, Quiet Is The New Loud, by introducing a few more instruments to the mix of beautiful weaving hushed harmonies and finger-picked guitars. Have no fear though, this is done with careful restraint and the ethos is still the same – their new album is titled Riot On An Empty Street, out in a couple of weeks.  more infoAlso plying us with acoustic folk melodies is Rough Trade’s latest recruits Aberfeldy, who greet us with Vegetarian Restaurant (Rough Trade). It’s a catchy little tune realised with boy-girl harmonies and that particularly mad form of violin playing that’s normally reserved for Irish pubs. Like the small Scottish seaside town they’re named after, it’s very nice in a twee, quaint sort of way. Something that’s not strictly a single but, fortunately, a download is Four Tet Live In Copenhagen. This is a recording of one of Kieran Hebden’s famous live extravaganzas featuring mash-ups of his tip-top Rounds album. It’s a limited CDR but Domino let you download the full MP3 version for free. A good alternative if you can’t get to see him or can’t be bothered to stay up until 3am, which is when he normally takes to the decks. Not that I’m bitter. download four tet liveBack to the 45s as squelchy Bristol punksters Chikinki kick off their second album campaign with Ether Radio (Island). I say squelchy because it’s their bottom-heavy keyboard basslines that normally stick in my mind, but actually this song doesn’t have one - which does make a refreshing change. There are all the usual sorts of other crazy keyboard antics here though, which elevates their tunes above the average. Which segues nicely into Razorlight who also have tunes that slip neatly into the “more interesting than boring indie” category. This track’s almost really good but seems to lack that extra 10 per cent. Don’t ask me what “it” is, but Golden Touch (Vertigo) doesn’t quite have it. It’s got something, but not “it”. Which is ironic since the refrain goes, “You’ll never do the things that you wish you could do so well.” Also guilty of “almost but not quite” is crazy German pop maverick Pet, who releases a second single from Player One Ready, Snooze (Gronland), once again displaying his love of GameBoy beats and glam-rock melodies, and is spoilt by the use of a vocoder. When will people learn that vocoders turn records to shit in exactly the same way daylight turns vampires into dust? It’s backed by several remixes, including one by Boom Bip. I hate vocoders…
Matt Walton
All singles release 07 June 04.
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