EOIN BUTLER'Sguide to downloads, singles and free audiostreams
JANELLE MONAE
Cold WarBad Boy ****
No prizes for spotting that the latest video from intergalactic pop princess Janelle Monae is a blatant homage to Sinéad O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U. For Sinéad, it was the flowers that died in her backyard which prompted her tears. For Janelle, it's the recollection of a painful childhood memory. Both videos are as compelling as they are discomforting. But this one is also very, very odd.
OLLY MURS
Please Don't Let Me GoSyco **
Please don't let me go, begs Olly Murs. And given the fate of most recen t X Factoralumni, his pleas could soon be directed at Syco's famously unsentimental boss. Not to write off the guy's career before it's even gotten off the ground, but his debut single is fluffy, inoffensive and instantly forgettable.
PERFUME GENIUS
Mr PetersonMatador **
Confessional songwriter Mike Hadreas is being touted as a delicate genius in the Daniel Johnson mould. On this phenomenally pathetic ballad, he tells the story of his doomed love affair with a teacher who let Hadreas smoke weed, lent him Joy Division albums and ultimately committed suicide. Like the death of Little Nell, one would need to have a heart of stone to sit through the whole sorry tale without laughing.
THE DIVINE COMEDY
I LikeDivine Comedy Records **
Thirteen years ago, Neil Hannon struck just the right balance between foppish whimsy and wide-eyed romanticism on the hit single Everybody Knows (Except You). Here he attempts to repeat the trick, but with less success. Not that this is a complete disappointment. The video finds him romping in the countryside with an inflatable sex toy. As one does.
A-HA
Butterfly Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)Warner ***
The 1980s legends are splitting up. How many had realised they were still together?
THE RECLUSIVE BARCLAY BROTHERS
We Could Be Lonely Together**
This unsigned British act have taken the trend for giving music away one step further – they’re paying the public to listen to this track. There are terms and conditions, but trust me, getting paid to listen to music this terrible isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. newlowformusic.com
