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features /  music column
editor content by: editor
singles and downloads
singles and downloads
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This week, Scotland the brave.

If you ever find yourself drunk, horny, sad and feeling very, very Scottish then be assured that, at that precise moment, there are few bands who’d be more suited to cater to your emotional and musical needs than Arab Strap. Veterans of five studio and two live albums, Aidan Moffett and Malcolm Middleton have been walking a unique, eccentric and gently pervy path for some time now, and have evolved their sound from the evocative-but-raw Casio-pop that defined their early days into something altogether more solid and satisfying. Their supoib new single Dream Sequence (Chemikal Underground), for example, sounds like a classic Badly Drawn Boy tune that’s been gatecrashed by a heartbroken, poetic vagrant – and there aren’t many songs you can say that about.

Elsewhere this week, we have the much-acclaimed but little-heard Clor with the admirably odd Good Stuff (Regal). They’re a bit of a funny ‘un, Clor: you have to doff your cap to their bracing way with a wonky pop melody, but it feels like there’s a piece missing from the puzzle that prevents you from truly embracing them. Still, it beats Athlete doesn’t it?

Other than that, it’s a bit of a dry week in Singlesville. We’ve got Stephen Fretwell coming down with the wistful-man-with-acoustic-guitar blues on New York (Fiction) (there’s a lot of it going about); finger-snappin’ soul-jazzers Emmanuel with the woozy cocktail funk of Damelo (Vital); and actually-not-as-ropey-as-it-coulda-been electro pop from the apparently immortal Depeche Mode on Precious (Mute).

So it’s a slightly grey week on the singles front, but down the road in Downloadtown it’s as sunny as you like. Firstly, you should skiddadle over to the Cityslang website, as there are a number of fine (and free) MP3s on offer from the esteemed label’s roster – including 7/4 Shoreline from the very marvellous Broken Social Scene. After gorging yourself there you should then breathlessly jog over to the official site of avant-rock types Deerhoof and bag yourself no less than 12 cover versions by fans of this none-more-cult outfit. One of the bands involved is called Madonna Over Yorkshire – I think we need say no more.


Joe Madden 06 October 05
All singles are released on 10 October 05.
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related info
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see also
arab strap
album review

l. pierre
album review

m. middleton
album review

clor
album review

arab strap
by durberry

clor - clor
by mark e

depeche mode - buyer's guide
by mark e

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