EOIN BUTLER's guide to singles, downloads and free audiostreams
Cheerleader Warp ****
It’s hard to reconcile the frenzied hype accorded these Brooklyn- based indie rockers with the woozy, laidback feel to the music. But that praise is not misplaced. This is slanted – hell, virtually horizontal – and enchanted.
Shoot You Down Le Son Du Maquis ****
The 202s are a Dublin band whose debut album has just been released on a French label. They claim to combine a healthy appreciation of the past (by which they mean the 1960s, obviously) with a passion for future (meaning the 1980s). The most obvious reference point here is Primal Scream, but this has a slick charm all of its own.
Save It for the Bedroom Slam Dunk Records *
Mindless pop rock fodder. The song itself is utterly forgettable. But that unfortunate band name/ song title combination may linger in the memory just a little longer.
No Time for Tears Warner **
“The morning after the revolution” it begins. That’s not really the lyric they’re going with, is it? Has there been a band meeting about this? Truly, there are times when you suspect The Enemy’s entire career is an audition for Most Unimaginative Generic Indie Band Tripe Lifetime Achievement at some future NME award ceremony.Terrible.
Farewell to the Fairground Fiction ***
Maybe it's the writer in me, but if I were Harry McVeigh I'd go back and have another crack at that song title. It's inelegant. Otherwise, I really hated White Lies' previous single, To Lose My Life. This, I must admit, is a modest improvement.
Time After Time Polydor **
Lock up your grandmothers, Ronan Keating is in the house. This insipid cover of Cyndi Lauper's Time After Timeis taken from Ronan's Songs for My Mother. The album went straight into the UK charts at No 1, beating No Line on the Horizon. Daniel O'Donnell, beware: Your demographic is under serious threat.
