16th February, 1998

You don't get many weeks like this to the pound.

Single of the Week

"Every Day Should Be A Holiday" by The Dandy Warhols



It's about time something good came out of America once more to remind us it's not just all Beck and the Beasties. The Dandy Warhols are that something. They have a great name, they look cool (apart from the one that looks like a young Rolf Harris) and they sound majestic. "Every Day Should Be A Holiday" is an explosion of psychedelia, electronica, harmonies and that hard to define something that sets it miles above most of the dross we get forced upon us so often. At times it reminds me of very early Shamen, with an electronic slab of sound and trippy vocals, whereas at others it reminds me of The Monkees gone hi-tech. Whatever it reminds me of, it's damn near essential.

First b-side is the Pixiesesque frightener of "One (Ultra Lame White Boy)", with shriek horror vocals and swirls of sound that sounds like a drug-fuelled party at a haunted house, with the Velvet Underground as house band. Last up is "Head", another harmony-heavy offering hanging off a Hispanic style guitar hook.

Famous for more than 15 minutes, mark my words.

Rating: 10/10

The Rest

"Brimful Of Asha" by Cornershop

Missing the top slot by a gnat's one, this - the catchiest song in the world (tm) - is bloody fantastic. A simple tune, a chorus that squats in your head and won't come out and an addictive quality that Jack Straw's son would appreciate: all these add up to "Brimful Of Asha" being an unescapable classic. Plus it features the word "bosom", which you can't accuse many songs these days of. Two versions are on offer here - the original LP cut, and the amazingly infectious Norman Cook remix which makes the song the biggest indie-dance crossover since the Primals' "Loaded". This must go to number one, or my faith in music will get a severe denting. Make it so.

Extra tracks are an amazingly good extended version of the Norman Cook remix - this will be the one that you listen to most often - and a studio doodling called "u47's", which you will probably listen to twice at the most.

I now have to go and lie down for a few minutes to try and get that "brimful of Asha on the 45" line out my head. Please excuse me.

Rating: 9.5/10

"If They Move Kill 'Em" by Primal Scream

I'm not bouncing Bobby's biggest fan, but this has been touched by the divine hand of Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, so that elevates this hugely altered remix of a track onto a different plane entirely. You can dissect it to find bits of MBV's "Loveless"-era output in there (after the Jazz Club intro is over, at least), but listen to it as a whole and you will get lost in its dark and dangerous soundscape. When the drums kick in after three minutes, this hits you right in the solar plexus and makes you surrender to it utterly. Which you better do, otherwise its metallic juggernaut sounds will break every bone in your body.

On the b-side is Bobby's interpretation of former band Jesus And Mary Chain's "Darklands", the original of which was a marvellous slice of blackness and malevolence. Here, Primal Scream do it justice, wrapping it in phasing waves of ambient sound which if anything make it more threatening than ever. The worst thing about it is that it makes me miss the Mary Chain all the more. The extra tracks are remixes of both the above numbers. The "Disco Mix" of "If They Move Kill 'Em" is MBV-less and sounds more like the theme tune to Starsky And Hutch crossed with Star Trek. And Shaft. And Hawaii-5-0. And you get the picture. "Badlands" is another interpretation of "Darklands" which intensifies its claustrophobia, making it sound like the soundtrack to the bleakest movie in the world. Not one you'll pop on before going out for the night, in other words, but good nonetheless.

Rating: 9/10

"88-92-96" by Six By Seven

Someone's been listening a lot to their Radiohead records, haven't they? A simple picked-guitar tune and a high-pitched vocal pitch the song firmly in "arty" territory, and it has the same sense of paranoia as some of "OK Computer", especially with lines such as "two million lives killed by my own hand", and the self-effacing but brilliant "I'm just a white singer with no tone in his voice" ("Creep", anyone?) Towards the end of the track, Six By Seven have turned into David Bowie and the guitars are glowing away like bunsen burners. And you've forgotten to breathe for the last three minutes. Exhale.

"Your Town" is a much faster beast, but just as claustrophobic and nightmarish, sticking itself in your face and snarling like a madman "there's forty-one girls putting some love in this town". You're not quite sure if it's going to put its arm round you or kick you in. "This" is last, and is a punchier, more traditional indie guitar song, with essence de Pulp.

The NME will probably create a new movement to put them in.

Rating: 8/10

"Little Hide" by Snow Patrol

Lofi in the area now, with new outfit Snow Patrol. Sounding quite a bit like the aforementioned My Bloody Valentine (not a bad band to take as a major influence), and lo-fi gods Sonic Youth, "Little Hide" is scuzzed-up indie white boy music done best. A little meandering in search of a tune that it never quite catches, the song is still impressive in an unassuming kind of way. Quite content to sit strumming away in the corner with its eyes on the floor, "Little Hide" will be nice to you if you speak gently to it.

"Sticky Teenage Twin" is the first extra track, and is more C86 than lofi, and possibly a better song than the a-side. A passionate chorus, a bit of harmony and a lazy J Mascis like vocal add up to a catchy little number. "Limited Edition" can't even be bothered to get out of bed, so it is left to the jangly pop of "Jj" to close the EP and turn the lights off, which it manages to do admirably. A video of "Little Hide" is included on the CD, making it a good bargain.

A touch old-fashioned, but kinda lovable all the same.

Rating: 7/10

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