Happy New Year! It’s January 6th already! When do you think we can stop saying Happy New Year? We reckon very soon, but actually it is a happy New Year! The sun is shining, our desk is unusually tidy right now and RealMusic Blog is ready for whatever 2009 has to offer - bring it on! After the pre-Christmas musical rush, January is off to a gentle start but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t already fabulous. No siree! For we have new videos featuring men in pants, men gurning and men on TV - we’re so 2009, innit? Welcome then new singles from Keane, the Sugababes, Pendulum and Ra Ra Riot…
Keane - Perfect Symmetry - Out now
The title track to their recent album, unlikely as it might seem this song is at times reminscent of Springsteen’s Born To Run - yes, really! Listen to the bit where Tom sings “Boy you oughta leave this town” and tell me it’s not. You can’t, can you? Elsewhere this sounds like Keane circa now, all earnestly epic and at times Biblical lyrics teamed up with swooping melodies that leave you gasping for breath. In a good way, like. And the video? Well, it has Tom on TV again, which they already did in the Spiralling video, but let’s be kind and say that perhaps they forgot because it was at least, ooooh, a few months ago. Lights flash, colours flicker and then there’s clouds, waterfalls and waves, which seems metaphorically GRAND to us. By the end, Tom looks a bit manic - and also a bit like he’s itching to whip out his stars & stripes hanky and wave it above his head…
Sugababes - No Can Do - Out now
Here come the girls! Yeah! Only they’re not singing that song - no, the Babes have got a new tune for the New Year and it’s chock-full of lyrics and music too. As for the video, it basically goes like this: rip off Kylie’s Slow a bit, then have the girls stomping around in high heels and lashings of metallic eye shadow atop near-naked muscle men in boxers. At times the men become cars and bikes; at other times, lampshades. It’s like, surreally cosmic man but don’t watch it after a big night out or nuffin. As for the song itself, it’s… Well, it’s the Sugababes: slick, no-nonsense and well-produced. But if you want to be picky - and RealMusic Blog loves nothing but - it’s no Freak Like Me or Round Round. Y’see, the Sugababes worked so well to begin with because they were edgy and had something else to offer; nobody else’s songs sang about having a one-way ticket to a mad man’s situation did they? So while this is a solid, radio-friendly pop song, we still pine after classic Sugababes: more edge in future please, ladies. You can watch the full video here…
Pendulum - Showdown - Out now
RealMusic Blog saw Pendulum at Wakestock Festival last year, in a field on a cool June evening after consuming several cans of Merrydown cider. If you happen to spy said band after a certain amount of alcohol, they nearly make sense: rawk guitars, heavy on the drums, repetitious beats. We’re not so sure whether or not they make as much sense sober mind… The problem we have with this song is that it seems to go nowhere - it just gets stuck on repeat. Here at RealMusic Blog, we don’t necessarily need a beginning, middle and an end - we’re not that retro, right? - but we like a track to have some substance, some identity. This fails to ignite in our book, but the video does feature ladies fighting and men getting ever so excited about it, if that floats your boat. It ain’t no Christina though, you get me?
Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell - Out now
We don’t actually have a video for this but we do have the audio track, so it’s not all bad is it? In fact, this is a natty gem from this New York quintet who feature a cellist and a violinist - now that’s something to get excited about isn’t it? People playing actual instruments! It’s got a wonderfully gentle melody a la Noah And The Whale, but also throws in some coarsely delicate vocals like a proper indie pop band. Which they are. Albeit with strings. Hoorah!
(Clare Lydon)
