THE FRATELLIS – Look Out Sunshine!
In a poor week for singles we start with The Fratellis. Is it no secret that we, along with the majority of indie fans, have fallen out of love with this band and with singles like this it isn’t hard to see why. After the outright failure of humiliating album-trailer Mistress Mabel, the only saving grace would have been to release one of a couple of decent tracks from Here We Stand, but instead we are left with this limp, overly-retro excuse for music. Pathetic. 3/10
THE MUSIC – The Spike
A far more commercial turn for the second single to be lifted from new album Strength in Numbers that is severely lacking in the passion and depth that The Music once had to offer. A strange take on the quiet/loud, verse/chorus grunge blueprint, featuring un-naturally hushed vocals from Robert Harvey. It is hard to imagine this is the same band who once had the potential to grab the world by its throat and give it a damn good kicking. 5/10
THE AUTOMATIC – Steve McQueen
Following last week’s tirade against Biffy Clyro, it is with a surprising amount of pleasure that we announced the return of another of our similarly hated below-par indie bands. Thankfully since the last album our sole bugbear about the Welsh boys – namely backing vocalist Pennie who single-handedly rendered their music unlistenable – has disappeared. What is left is an average band with a few decent tunes, including this much-improved, albeit largely uninspiring, poppy anthem. 6/10
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS – Midnight Madness
Released under the Electronic Battle Weapon label, this brings the series to a close and features on new compilation album Brotherhood. While we don’t condone a second Greatest Hits so soon after the first, this mash up of tunes from Tom and Ed deserves its place on that record. 7/10