Single File

A selection of this week's new singles which will be judged against the following ratings:

***** Ramones
**** Sex Pistols
*** The Stranglers
** Angelic Upstarts
* Peter and the Test Tube Babies

"J Smith" - Travis
Kinda sounds like a mini rock opera by The Police...well, a Police tribute band anyway. They seem to be trying to shy away from the wet and dull sound we've become accustomed to, which deserves some credit.
But I couldn't help but feel bored while listening to it.
**

"Council Estate" - Tricky
A mish mash of rock, hip hop and trip hop and it works really well, while the Trickster angrily screams over the music.
Apparently, he takes us on a journey through his upbringing and it's easy to settle in and enjoy the fraught ride.
****

"Buff Nuff" - Roots Manuva
Not his best by some considerable distance but there's still quite a bit of fun here.
He frantically raps over some electro which appears to have been taken from a Commodore 64 or ZX Spectrem game.
***

"Mermaids And Slaves" - Paul Heaton
An absolutely terrific, feel good summer tune from the master of witty songwriting. Amazingly, it's his first official solo single too.
Ok, so it doesn't stray too far from the Beautiful South or The Housemartins, but when you're having this much fun - who cares?
****

"Cola Coka" - Rosie Oddie And The Odd Squad
She's the daughter of Bill Oddie. Yeah, yeah, I know she's bound to want to be recognised in her own right but, come on! Bill Oddie!! The ex-Goodie turned birdwatching legend!!!
Anyway the song, apparently about the Camden drug scene, is kooky, mental and absolutely fantastic. Sorry, but I'm still impressed with the Bill Oddie connection...
****

"Does The Lion City Still Roar" - Less Than Jake
I'm less than impressed (see what I did there?) with this one, truth be told. It's one for their fans really.
It's too ska punk by numbers for my liking and doesn't seem to want to jump out and be memorable in any shape or form.
**

"Paris Is Burning" - Ladyhawke
Close your eyes and listen to this and tell me that you can't picture Bananarama singing over Gary Numan's classic "Cars".
This is more 80s than Live Aid, leg warmers and Limahl. Which probably explains why I actually quite like it!
***