Daunting horrible subjective lists:1 , Chiara:0 (a.k.a. The Top 10s of 2007)

I was almost hoping Sandy wouldn't be doing any of this "Top of 2007" stuff because it kind of forces me to, too. And I find it a very daunting task. Where did 2007 even start? I have awful medium-term memory and the years blend together. Not to mention it'll still take at least until this summer, maybe longer, before I get a chance to properly listen to all the things I want to that have been released in this past year. Who can keep up with all this, anyway? I need a little dark room with awesome sound equipment, the only disturbances CD- and occasional food deliveries. And throw in a far better memory for good measure.

Right. Enough of the whining. Count to three hold your breath one two three - BUT 1) I refuse to give useful descriptions for most of these as they're my top 10 and I don't feel like ripping into them critically and I also don't feel like trying to describe them for the sake of assigning pretty words - good music refuses to be written down, so just go listen to it, will you? 2) I refuse point-blank to order mine, thus, in no particular order (except alphabetical) - here goes:

*Note: artist names link to myspace pages because I am efficient like that and like to make life easier for you.
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CHIARA'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2007:

Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life (Vertigo)
What a talent. This girl, her smoky voice, insightful lyrics and haunting pop-folk tunes perfectly combine underlying melancholy with an often (but not always) upbeat glazing. Not to mention the production and layering is flawless.
Standout tracks: Youth of Today, This Is The Life, Poison Prince





Blonde Redhead - 23 (4AD)
This album had me from the first time I ever heard it. A surreal dreamscape constructed of ethereal sounds that flit away before you can really grasp them, leaving a soft aural glow in their wake.
Standout tracks: The Dress, 23, Top Ranking, Spring And By Summer Fall






Bright Eyes - Cassadaga (Saddle Creek)
I didn't like this album when it was first released: I felt that Conor Oberst does tortured introspective better than political protest or anything moving beyond the scope of just him. I've since changed my mind - while it's far from my favourite Bright Eyes album, it certainly delivers. The American folk roots take up an ever greater and more obvious space - hints have always been there, and the full-out expression of them on certain of these tracks is like magical release that has been waiting for years. Conor's voice remains melancholic and heartfelt as ever. If you didn't like Bright Eyes before, you won't like them any more after this album; but if you did, then this is a worthy addition to any record collection. Just pretend the track 'Make A Plan To Love Me' doesn't exist.
Standout tracks: No One Would Riot For Less (this is the track that convinced me to give the rest of the album another try), If The Breakman Turns My Way, I Must Belong Somewhere, Middleman

Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta (SideOneDummy)
"Gypsy punk"! - faster, stronger, crazier, more energetic than previous works. The added excitement comes at a price: there are fewer anthemic songs on here than there were on 'Gypsy Punks - Underdog World Strike' or 'Multi Kontra Cult Vs. Irony' , in part due to the lesser Gyspsy influences (there is also less singing in Eugene Hutz's trademark mixture of Ukrainian/Romani/Russian/insert any other language here) - but not to worry, there are plenty of other spices thrown into the mix, from traditional italian music all the way to dub. Leaving racing hearts and sweaty bodies, the entire album barely leaves room for breathing - except the ode to 'Alcohol' that leaves you just enough time to indulge in the song's subject. Party.
Standout tracks: Tribal Connection, Super Taranta!, Forces of Victory, Wonderlust King

Interpol - Our Love To Admire (Capitol)
This is as polished a masterpiece as has been created this past year. Songwriting as tight as this is difficult, but Interpol have managed to beautifully assemble elaborate aural constructions in which not a single note is out of place. Some of their previous works ultimately failed, trapped in the claustrophobic quagmire of an OCD sufferer's sock drawer. Instead, 'Our Love To Admire' easily soars above all this with the ability to both fill large empty spaces as well as seep into the tiniest cracks in the world's fabric.
Standout tracks: Pioneer To The Falls, Rest My Chemistry, Pace is the Trick, Mammoth, The Lighthouse

Lovers Electric - Whatever You Want ( - )
Most of the tracks on this album are remakes of previously released songs - remakes that are fuller and more elaborate than the previous stripped down keyboard-guitar-voice arrangement. Combining pop sensibility with a well-crafted repertoire of electronic sounds and singer Eden's stunning voice, this album will tear your heart out. I'm ignoring the technicality that the album is only available as online pre-release for the time being.
Standout tracks: Honey, Morning Sun, Whatever You Want, Love Waits, Could This Be, Stay Awhile, Closer........

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (Epic)
This album will never ever bore you, moving smoothly between soft crooning and loud aural attacks without stopping to take breaths inbetween - there is something pure and raw about this album and its energy; this is chaos with purpose that strikes hard. Enough said.
Standout tracks: Florida, Spitting Venom, Fly Trapped in a Jar, March Into The Sea



Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero (Interscope)
Trent Reznor did desolation best, now he does apocalyptica and dystopia best. It is difficult to keep up a consistent level of quality throughout a concept album, but NIN have certainly managed (I'll accept criticism that says the album doesn't quite reach the same level of intensity as older works, but what can you do? It's still more than anyone else has given us in the past few years in that area). Chaotic electrical noise, anxiety-inducing beats and entrancingly interweaving guitar is overlayed with the occasional glints of hopeful beauty in a note or melody here or there to form an industrial soundscape made up of sharp corners and edges of glass glittering softly in cold light; Reznor's voice is as loaded full of poison and sex as ever.
Standout tracks: In This Twilight, The Great Destroyer, My Violent Heart, Capital G, The Good Soldier

Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet (Roadrunner)
I said I wouldn't name a number one on this list, but this may well be it. Putting words to this would be a futile exercise.
Standout Tracks: all of them.








Ok, that was the first 9. For the 10th, pick any of the following:

Bedouin Soundclash - Street Gospels (SideOneDummy)
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup (Ba Da Bing!)
Fanfare Ciocarlia - Queens and Kings (Asphalt Tango)
Oi Va Voi - Oi Va Voi (V2)
Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position (Loog)
The Scare - Chivalry (Below Par)
Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound (Touch and Go)

Other Mentions:

DeVotchKa - How It Ends (ANTI-) -- for finally getting its European release this year.
Tina Dico - Count To Ten -- this hasn't been released in the UK yet (only her native Denmark), so I'm saving it for next year's list.

Things That Would Probably Make It Onto The List Once I Get A Chance To Properly Listen To Them:

Tegan & Sara - The Con (London)
Jason Webley - The Cost Of Living (11)

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CHIARA'S TOP 10 EPs AND SINGLES OF 2007:

Aqualung - Cinderella (Epic)
Aqualung prove once more that they do 'beauty' like no other. (And for once, a single edit beats an album version.)

Beirut - Lon Gisland EP (Ba Da Bing!)
Zach Condon's drawl and the masterful instrumentation of this is like a post-rain day in the countryside, dancing around in still-soaked grass. Or maybe an evening walk through the dimly lit streets of an old town in a music box.

The Blood Brothers - Set Fire To The Face On Fire (Wichita)
Masterful chaos with no barriers in sight? You know it makes sense.

Channel One - Permissions EP (SFR)
Dark, apprehensive, fervent, manic tension woven into an electronic soundscape with threads of breathy vocals that runs smoothly into aural explosions before stripping down to nothing... and back again. Side-effects may include accelerated breathing or no breathing at all as well as a feeling of anxiety.

The Killers ft. Lou Reed - Tranquilize (Mercury)
Why I would suddenly take a liking to the Killers was a mystery to me until I realized it was far more Lou Reed than Killers even style-wise. This song makes me alternately melt and shake. It's almost disappointing that they didn't collaborate for more tracks. This might be number 1 on this list.

Laura Marling - My Manic and I EP (Virgin)
I kind of want to avoid saying anything about her age - it seems to be the fate of young artists to get "they sound great despite their age" reviews - but, well, despite her age Miss Marling could easily keep up with some of the most accomplished female folk singers, and she does it with a freshness and charm that is inescapable.

Manu Chao - Rainin in Paradize (Because)
Reminiscent of his earlier Mano Negra days, this track is upbeat, bouncy, energetic, driven, fun, smoothly combining various influences into a colourful patchwork soundscape as only Manu Chao can do.

Oi Va Voi - Yuri (V2)
Combine Klezmer and electronica, screw together using plenty of musical talent, spatter some humour on top and fire off into space.

My Passion - BooMan ( - )
Punk, disco, 80's synths, a healthy dose of hairspray and you'll be ready to dance the night away.

Queens of the Stone Age - Make It Wit Chu ( Polydor)
Few people do sexy as well as this. Note that strictly speaking the single version of this would probably go under the honourable mentions, and only the album version (the guitar solo is the key point) would actually make it into this top 10. Details.

Honourable Mentions:

Battles - Atlas (Warp)
Editors - The Racing Rats (Sony BMG)
Evelyn Evelyn - Elephant Elephant EP (11) -- so, it's Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley, in one. Enough said.
Marcus Mumford - Feel the Tide Turning ( - ) -- not technically a single release (yet?) or any release at all, but a massive talent.
Mark Ronson ft. Lily Allen - Oh My God (Columbia) -- for being the track that has probably gotten stuck in my head the most times this year.
The Outside - Something Urgent EP ( - ) -- Ok, so I like 90s alternative rock with an occasionally raw grungy element, and these kids have just brought it to the future. Particularly the intricacy of the drumming deserves pointing out, as does the emotional capacity of singer Tree's voice. Track Gravity Never Buckles, The End Is Always Near is another contender for this year's number 1 spot. [see, this is where I messed up. This was actually a 2006 release, but since I wrote all that I decided it deserved a spot here].
Silversun Pickups - Pikul EP (Dangerbird) -- this was released a while ago in the US but only just got a UK release. Fantastic.
The Smashing Pumpkins - Tarantula (Warner) / Doomsday Clock (Warner/digital release only) -- the former for being elaborate and wonderful and showing the kids of today how it's done; the latter for being as good as anything the Pumpkins have ever released. Neither are in the top 10 because I hold a personal grudge against them for raising my hopes as regards the rest of the album.
Stateless - Bloodstream (K7)

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No, Radiohead is not on this list.

Conclusions:
+ 2007, despite pro-offering a few gems, was overall not a great year for music. The upside to this is of course that I had a lot of time to delve back and seek out older things.
+ Sandy and I, while we can co-exist quite peacefully, really don't have all that much in common when it comes to the fundamentals of our music taste.

So, what am I anticipating most about 2008?
Amanda Palmer's solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer? of course.

Chiara over and out
lovelovelove

The Obligatory Best of 2007 According to Sandy - Albums part 2

So at last we come to the end - the 5 best records of 2007. Seek these out and you shall find aural pleasures beyond your wildest dreams. Listen and love...


5.Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future

Overhyped by certain music publications this is nonetheless a great debut album. A mess of sounds crafted with some sublime production into a whole that somehow manages to cling to coherence by its fingernails, this is a high-pitched manic record that rattles along at a frenetic pace. Full of high pitched vocals, manic yelps and slightly out of tune harmonies this is not a purist musician's album, it's about the whole being more than just the sum of its parts. Forget the labels, don't even try to dance to it - just stick it on loud and try to work out how the hell it works. I dare you.

Key Tracks: Atlantis To Interzone, Golden Skans, Gravity's Rainbow, Two Receivers




4.Mumm-Ra - These Things Move In Threes

Just when you though nobody could make a proper British starry-eyed pop album anymore these guys create an absolute masterpiece. This albums is all about two things- tunes and enery and it as more than enough of both. Theres a sweet childlike innocence on display here - everything is full of sunshine and glee throughout with no real dark moments. Don't mistake this for a lack of depth though, the lyrics are neat and never trite and the songwriting has a real sophistication behind it. Like a well produced kids TV programme, they have made something enjoyable for kids and parents alike. This is the years perkiest album that is irresistable in tis enthusiasm. Just listen to 'Out Of The Question with a group of friends and odds are you'll all be daning around the room like a bunch of loons before even having a drink. If you are looking for an album that is fun, unadshamedly poppy and yet doesn't get boring, irritating or predictable after a few listens this is undoubtedly what you are looking for.


Key Tracks: The Sick Deal, Out Of The Question, Light Up This Room, Starlight


3. Reuben - In Nothing We Trust (Hideous)

One of my favourite bands ever returned with a third album that did not disappoint one single bit. At both the most visceral and the tenderest they have ever been this is a heavy rock album unafraid to be varied and original in it's approach. Freed of their label and going it alone Jamie, Jon and Guy take themselves to te next level, in the process creating one of the most complicated and groundbreaking rock abums in quite a while. From the brutal social commentry of 'We're All Going Home In An Ambulence' and the crazed genius of 'Deadly Lethal Ninja Assasin' via the tender acoustic duet of Good Luck and possibly the worlds first guitarless piano metalpopcore track in Agony Agatha (which shouldn't work yet somehow really really does), this is an album that runs the entire spectrum of emotion in the most innovative and varied manner full of light and shade yet still maintains an honsty and directness that only Reuben can bring. It's a monster of a record and deserves its place in the hearts and minds of every rock fan out there and quite a few others besides.

Key Tracks: Good Luck, We're All Going Home In An Ambulence, A Short History Of Nearly Everything, Deadly Lethal Ninja Assasin, Blood Bunny Larkhall



2. Frank Turner - Sleep Is For The Weak (Xtramile)

A far cry from his screams at the front of Million Dead, Frank Turner's debut album is an acoustic masterpiece. Steering clear of the trite ramblings of many a singer-songwriter this is a wonderfully direct, charismatic album with plenty of force where needed and a genuine emotion behind it. With a clever wit and brutal honesty this is possibly the most human album of the year as well. Add to that a voice with real power that sets him apart form many of his wimpier, moaning peers and songs so personal in their nature that somehow they become universal and you're left with something irresistably anthemic and individual. Its an album full of contradictions that pulls everything together into something so complete that even after almost a whole year stands out, as well as having the most defiant track of the year in the closing 'The Ballad Of Me And My Friends'.

Key Tracks: Wisdom Teeth, The Ladies Of London Town, Father's Day, The Ballad Of Me And My Friends




1. The October Game - Box Of A Billion Lights (Carmandie)

Despite technically being released last year this is without a doubt the album of 2007 (I't my list and I'll break the rules if I want to...) I've reviewd this album at length elsewhere on this blog but from start to finish this is the most absurdly brilliant thing I have heard this year. From its forceful rhythms through it's serpentine guitars to it's passionate, thoughful vocals and artful lyrics this is a triumph in every respect. This album takes my breath away every time I hear it, and every time there is something more to love. Seek it out and you will find something truly rare and special

Key Tracks: Gatherers Hands, No Time For Feelings, Satellites, Serpentine and every other track on there


Honorable Mentions: Feist - The Reminder, Paramore - Riot!, Roisin Murphy - Overpowered, Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City, Yourcodenameis:Milo - They Came From The Sun


Conclusions

So what have we learned from this year then?

~ British unsigned/independent label music has some fantastic talent (making up over a third of these lists and taking both number one spots is a real achievement)
~ The Barfly is already better than the Loft was
~ Cambridge has some damn good gigs going on at all levels
~ Reuben can do no wrong
~ Bjork and Tori Amos can unfortunatly
~ Mark Ronson is turned on by horn sections. There's no other explanation for it
~ British indie has moved back about 3 steps. Everyone wants to be Oasis again dammit (see The Enemy, The Twang et al)
~ Being Northern doesn't make you automatcally cool (see above)
~ Biffy Clyro can do the mainstream - who'd have thunk it?
~ The Young Knives hit bum notes occasionally
~ Mumm-Ra ooze fun from every pore
~ The new album from the Automatic will be interesting...
~ Amy Winehouse will somehow live until the ripe old age of 89
~ Pete Doherty is still a c***

oh and 2008 is going to be great - look for our ones to watch very soon

Happy New Music y'all!

The Obligatory Best of 2007 According to Sandy - Albums part 1

Creating a good album is much harder than making one perfect single. Producing a great album is an incredible feat. It's not just the fact that there are more songs on it that makes producing a worthy long-player so tricky. Its about the way the piece works as a whole, the

We've been spiled for the last three years with some incredible music and for me, as with the singles this year represented a little bit of a downturn on the whole. Follow-up albums from big artists have often been rather disappointing, while a proportion of the fresh takent as taken a step backwards, following successful formulae to some extent but never managing to find something original or great (just look at the tonnes of Arctic Monkeys/Libertines/Oasis copyists out there at the moment and you'll see - I won't name names here).

That said when the highs came they really were high. The best albums of this year stood out like fireworks above the darkened ground showing us that there was plenty of flash and bang in 2007 yet. 2007 wasn't a bad year. It gave us these...

10. Bat For Lashes


In a year when the big singer songwritresses have largly disappointed this album shone brightly. Etherial, dangerous and tribal this is not the sort of album you would expect to come out of modern Brighton but it carries itself with a real sense of flair and mystgery that cannot help but pull you into it's warped worlds and enchant you with its menace and beauty. Natasha Kahn is a lady with a mesmerising voice and real individual character and all of that shows through in this superb debut.

Key Tracks: Priscilla, What's A Girl To Do?, Tahiti


9. Joey Nightmare - Polytechnic (4Real)

Proving that you don't have to be American to produce a great pop record with guitars Joey Nightmare have created an album that takes a subtly different tack from the crowd and produced an album that belies their youth. Putting the simple riffs and empty hooks to one side instead we get an album built around some fantastic tunes and chiming guitars that is subtly direct and never overly or falsely angsty. These guys have the talent to go far and deserve a much bigger following than they have, and on the strength of this should get it too.

Key Tracks: Pirate Disco, Nothing, We're Down AT Polytechnic

8. Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures

Quite a few critics gave Maximo Park's sophomore album a rather lukewarm response but I think they're entirely wrong. Taking a step backwards from the raucous, jerky sounds of 'A Certain Trigger', 'Our Earthly Pleasures' is the sound of a band that have refined their songwriting to an immense degree. Just listen to album highlight 'Books From Boxes' and you can hear why. Subtle twisting guitars and a greater dimension of feeling mix with their original energy, wit and charm. Without a doubt one of the years best returns

Key Tracks: Books From Boxes, The Unshockable, By The Monument


7. Puggy (Talkio)

A quirky album full of Gallic charm from this Belgian-based three-piece , boasting some great little acoustic guitar led ditties with plenty of delicacy, power and complexity. Some fantastic European sounding guitarwork and a powerful vocalist in Matthew Irons make this album quirky, underrated winner. Only available online at the moment from the band's website this is well worth seeking out.

Key Tracks: Chez Madame Louise, Burned, Insane, Lonely Murder


6. Biffy Clyro (14th Floor)

One of the surprises of the year - Biffy Clyro go mainstream! This was an album that alienated quite a few songs with its embracing of the big pop chorus and a much lighter, less vicious and complicated sound to its predecessors this also gained them some new ones, bringing their complex rock sound to the masses. While never rocking out and screaching like a true Biffy album should there are some luscious songs here (check out the stunning 'Love Has A Diameter) mixed in with some of the most aggressive twisting rock singles to ever hit mainstream success (Who would have ever predicted that 'Living Is A Problem...' would become such a big hit?). Where they go from here will be intersting but this album deservedly has a lot more people joining in the chorus of 'Mon The Biffy!'

Key Tracks: Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies, Love Has A Diameter, Semi-Mental, Who's Got A Match?

The Obligatory Best of 2007 According to Sandy - Singles part 2

So we reach the top of the pile - the final five!

5. Stateless - Bloodstream (!K7)

Piece together a truly haunting piano riff that toys with your spine as it swirls around with a sultry, slow chilled beat and desperate, sorrowful vocals that sound a little like Thom Yorke had his sinuses cleared up and this is the glorious result. This is not the sort of track you normally expect to see come from a dance label but what you have is a beautiful plaintive song that benifits from some superb production and subtle shifts in tone to create one of the most moving songs of 2007.





4. Air Traffic - Shooting Star (EMI)

If you want a single that soars higher than an eagle strapped to a jumbo jet this is the only choice. What could have been an utterly saccharine piece of indie-pop turns out to be a hearfelt classic with a chorus that can blow hole in walls and a finishing guitar solo that ties you in knots before pulling the ropes and unravelling you in one gleeful spinning burst. Giddy joy in just over four minutes.







3. Laura Marling - My Manic And I EP (Virgin)

This was so close to the top spot. Laura Marling is a girl with phenomenal talent. In person she is like a ghost, yet put a guitar in her hands and a mic at her doisposal and the only thing epherial is the music. Haunting, moody acoustic tremors delived by a vocalist that can send the most lovely shivers up the spine are her trademark and this EP shows them off at her best so far ahead of a debut album in February. Live she is a revelation as well, transforming a room in the space of a few notes. We were lucky enough to have her in session too and even going solo these songs have the capability to leave you in a totally different dimension. Hunt down the atmospheric 'Night Terror' or the the multi-faceted 'My Manic and I' and see for yourself.

Right here you might expect to find number 2. but there was a problem. However much I tried I couldn't seperate these two singles out. Both of these have been so important to me this year that I couldn't decide so in a complete departure from the rules - I give you my joint #1's:

1.. Arthur - The Blue EP (unsigned)

Ok so technically this wasn't released or recorded in 2007 but to me this is very much a 2007 record and so makes the list (it's my best of 2007 and I can break the rules if I want to). I first found out of this band early in 2007 after hearing their singer would b guesting on the new Reuben album. I had a spare few minutes, checked out their myspcae and was immediately blown away by 'Heart Stopping Specialist'- the lead track from this EP. A few weeks later they were all over the station and topping our charts. Pretty good for an unsigned band still at 6th Form College!

Why is this EP so good? Quite simply it is the best 4 track EP I have ever heard. Fantastic tunes, a voive that is destined to make every teenage kid fall in love with Hannah Shark without even seeing her face, energy and maturity all rolled into an impossible whole this is irresistable. Listen to the desperate coyness and come-hither smile of Heart Stopping Specialist or the heart-breaking chimes of self-deprication of Mirror and if you tell me it doesn't touch you then I won't believe you. It's as simple as that


1. Dead Letter Society - Mr Profound/On Too (unsigned)

Dead Letter Society are Cambridge's best band. Period. And the fact that they are unsigned is absolutly criminal. And to be honest any of their tracks could have got to the top of this list but once again this is one that has shaped my year on CUR1350 - listen to almost any of my shows on even a semi-regular basis and you will have heard this for no other reason than that it is fantastic. Proper British pop music with some lush guitarwork, brilliantly used piano flourishes and a vocalist in Matt Start with rare style and charisma to go with the powerful voice and lyrics.

2007 wouldn't have happened anything like it diod for me without this band and their music. That's why it deserves its place with Arthur at the top of this tree. The album is on the way early next year and I cannot wait - 2008 is theirs. Don't forget where you heard them first

Honorable mentions: Fish Go Deep - The Cure And The Cause, Pendulum - Granite

So the singles are out of the way - tune in from tomorrow for the big ones - thealbums!

The Obligatory Best of 2007 According to Sandy - Singles part 1

Singles-wise 2007 has been decent if not extraordinary - I'm not sure why, maybe it's just the last 3 years of awesomeness catching up with us. That said it was still tricky to narrow it down to just ten absolute bangers.

Be warned nothing on the singles list appears on the albums list starting in 2 days time. When it comes to the albums I will be noting down key tracks and singles so don't think you're going to be missing out on that front.
Ok so here goes - singles 10 through 6 of the best 10 singles of 2007 according to
Sandy that are not on the 10 best albums of 2007 according to Sandy.

That was a bit of a mouthful (or would have been if I wasn't typing)

[Disclaimer - all lists here are entirely subjective, if you disagree or want to give us yours then comment away - that's what it's there for. Who knows we may even do a listener's best of sometime!]


10. The Duke Spirit - Lassoo (Vital)

'Cuts Across The Land' had some great singles on it (check out the sublime 'Love Is An Unfamiliar Name') but this is the way to announce your return. Leila Moss' vocals show their true power and potential here over some sumptuous horns and striking crescendos, all building to to a brash and forceful chorus that is enough to take the wind out of any indie kid's sails



9. The Pistolas - Take It With A Kiss (unsigned)

This tune that had me breaking out into falsetto in the studio every single time I played it regardless of who was around (Just ask my co-presenter Ella on The CUR1350 Music Show). The Pistolas gave us a single that just screamed at us to get our asses on the dancefloor with some ridiculously high vocals and a bassline capable of shifting tectonic plates in a funky manner. Unashamed frenetic fun for three and a half minutes, and we all need that sometimes don't we. These guys promise a lot for the future.


8. Sky Larkin - One Of Two (dancetotheradio)

If you have listened to CUR1350 Berakthrough you will know that Leed's dancetotheradio is one of the best independent labels out there and these guys are one of their best new signings. 'One Of Two' is an odd, intense little pop gem that stands out like a diamond with a gorgeous tune delivered with a gorgeous urgency and softness.




7. Kosheen - Overkill (Pinnacle)

After inexplicably choosing to follow up one of the greatest dance albums of the decade with a collection of indie-ish misfires this single finally announced that Kosheen were back to what they do best - supremely atmospheric dance music with a real spine and big tunes. Sian William's vocals are on mean form here, slithering along like a Welsh cobra before rearing its head and spitting brashly at you in glorious fashion. Combine that with some dangerous sounding samples and 'Kokopelli' is finally forgiven.



6. Operator Please - Leave It Alone (Brille)

By far the spunkiest single of the year, these Australian kids gave us a song that hits you repeatedly in the face with a bat made of fun and doesn't stop until you're well and truly shattered. This track boasts one of the choruses of the year in a quickfire banger with vocals that put Beth Ditto to shame and enough speed and energy to leave you exhausted when it's done. Making violins sound cool again and not just those sweeping instruments you use when trying to be all emotional and stuff is no mean feat. Infinatly more fun than a high-school orchestra.


Tune in tomorrow for the final five...