Gillingham, Kent, UK (By Mikey:
[email protected]) -
RECORD OF THE WEEK Room 5 ft. Oliver Cheatham - Make Luv A firm fave with any house jock worth his/her salt since it first surfaced on the Noise Trax label around twelve months ago. Room 5's (aka Junior Jack). Interesting song it's quite infectious and I like it a lot. This song is used in the Lynx TV advert and samples Oliver Cheatham early 80's original song 'Get Down Saturday Night' which peaked at No. 38, around a funky, guitar laced house groove, this potentially huge crossover track is already looking like it could have the legs to become one of the summer's big dancefloor anthems. It could be a contender for No.1, but I don't think so, but a definitely high new entry in the Top 5.
HOT SHOT RECORD
Coldplay - Clocks This band needs no introduction; they are the best band of the moment. Chris Martin is back, with the best track from the album 'Rush Of Blood To The Head', as this is the most infectious single by them yet. Featuring a distinctive goose-bump inducing piano line around their usual uplifting melancholia, 'Clocks' just confirms what we already know, that Coldplay remain one of the finest musical exports this country's seen for years. What more can you say about this single totally melodic, I'm totally lost for words.
ALSO RELEASED
Athlete - El Salvador Best described as a bizarre hybrid that falls somewhere between Steely Dan, Squeeze and welsh rockers Super Furry Animals. Athlete return this week with another dose of wonderful weirdness. The latest single from the band's highly anticipated debut album (titled 'Vehicles And Animals', released in April), 'El Salvador' is another promising single from a talented young band that are quite highly, regarded as one of the best on the way up. Watch them get better in 2003!
Mariah Carey ft. Cam'ron - Boy (I Need You) Lifted from Mariah's excellent comeback album, 'Boy (I Need You)' finds the US diva getting back to the kind of musical form she displayed with ease throughout the mid-late nineties. Featuring a guest spot from Cam'ron (woven around a sample from his own 'Oh Boy'), this Mariah penned Just Blaze co-production shall see the chanteuse back to the top of the pop pile whilst at the same time converting quite a few cynics.
Guano Apes - You Can't Stop Me One of the biggest metal bands around Europe since they formed in 1994, the Guano Apes look like spreading their unique music word far wider with the release of their brilliant new single, 'You Can't Stop Me'. Raw, uncompromising and taking absolutely no prisoners whatsoever, this is an excellent new release and one, hopefully, that'll see this sorely overlooked band getting the attention they completely deserve.
Harry - Under The Covers EP 3 cover versions on one CD, oh boy! The first cover is 'Imagination' was originally a hit for an '86 act Belouis Some. Also the song can be heard as a theme tune to the 'Rimmel' TV advert. And the second is a cover of Salt n' Pepa '88 hit 'Push It (Real Good)' and the third is a cover of Bauhaus '83 hit 'She's In Parties'. This is Harry's (aka Victory Harrison) debut single; again not bad for a debut single, good voice and she sounds like Debbie Harry. I hope it's not just a one-hit wonder for her as she could have a huge fanbase following her.
Hot Hot Heat - Bandages Rollicking new single from these hot punk-rock hopefuls. Yep, Hot Hot Heat are another one of those cool young bands that are currently being touted as 'the next big thing' to hit the music scene. But, on the evidence of debut single 'Bandages', the media hype machine may well have hit the nail on the head with this Canadian four-piece. A fantastically catchy burst of fresh-faced punk-rock, it's a brilliant single, and one that looks all set to set Hot Hot Heat's stall as a band to watch in 2003.
Lemonscent - Help Me Mama Debut single from a five-piece r'n'b girl band, this is quite an infectious and catchy little ditty, it has a good airplay on the music channels, so it should do quite well for them, at least in the Top 20 somewhere. At least they are not another manufactured pop act like Girls Aloud.
Nas - I Can Catchy hip-hop from Nas's latest album; features a nursery rhyme sounding chorus. The latest single from Nas's album (and best) album for sometime, 'I Can' finds the N.Y. rapper taking a leaf from arch hip-hop enemy Jay-Z's book and drafting in a kids choir to supply the insanely catchy vocal that runs throughout the chorus. Featuring a typically nonchalant rhyme from Nas around a laidback, head-nodding groove, 'I Can' proves that the rapper's found his hip-hop feet and can indeed STILL cut it with the best of them.
Scooter - Weekend! Scooter return with another blast of catchy Euro-styled rave-pop. The first taster of the mighty Scooter's forthcoming album 'Weekend' sees the Euro-dance posse getting right back down to business with another energetic slab of catchy rave-pop. Containing all those instantly recognisable Scooter hallmarks - pitched-up vocals, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and self-styled rave guru HP on the mic - 'Weekend' might nor be big or clever, but what it lacks in subtlety it more than makes up for with a complete lack of self consciousness.
Mark Schwartz presents Sholan - Can You Feel (What I'm going thru) Keeping the Data Recordings quality control-o-meter set at max, Sholan debut on the label with a beautiful pop-dance song that represents a slight change in direction for this ever-reliable UK label. A three minute silver of wistfully melancholic pop lifted by a heart-rending vocal by ex-model Sholan, the sublime original is helped onto the centre of the dancefloor by another typically strong remix package.
Snoop Doggy Dogg ft. Pharrell - Beautiful The Neptunes Pharrell joins Snoop Dogg on this funky new single. Its official; The Neptunes (aka N*E*R*D*) can do no wrong! Returning behind the scenes on Snoop Dogg's latest, the celebrity knob-twiddlers do their funky best whilst Pharrell also lends his falsetto vocals to proceedings. Already a big with all the top urban/hip hop jocks, this is another of those incredibly funky N*E*R*D* productions whilst Tha Doggfather waxes his lyrical over the beats in his own inimitable style.
Stuart - Free (Let It Be) Originally starting life as a instrumental dance cut used as the soundbed for a mobile phone ad in Holland, Stuart's 'Free (Let It Be)' resurfaces on UK dancefloors this week thanks to an uplifting, sing-a- long vocal from 20 year-old vocalist Lara McAllen. Catchy and completely irresistible, this is one of those rare tunes that manage to dip its toe in both house and pop pools whilst at the same time not alienating fans of either form of music. This was my first choice for the Hot Shot Record but Coldplay won in the end.
Westlife - Tonight The seemingly unstoppable Irish boyband's 14th single, 'Tonight' finds Westlife kicking into spring 2003 in all-conquering pop form. Another boring ballad, and it sounds like a Bryan Adams song, intentionally this should have been a doubled A-sided single but Westlife have decided not to cover 'Miss You Nights' as they didn't like the song, If you think this song will enter the chart at No.1, you've got rocks in your head, there's no way, not in a hundred million years, with Room 5 having the highest new entry on chart, there's no way these batch of pansies get anywhere within the Top 5, its gonna flop and downhill from here on.
And the following acts are also releasing, but probably won't penetrate the Top 40
Bent - Magic love
Biffy Clyro - The Ideal Height
Des'ree - It's OK
DJ Alligator Project - Lollipop
The Donnas - Take It Off
Elviss - Radio (Kill It!)
Finch - Letters To You
Jools Holland with Dionne Warrick - What Goes Around / Rock Me
Mew - Comforting Sounds
NOFX - Regaining Unconsciousness
Slipmatt - Space
Forthcoming Singles
March 31 Atomic Kitten - Love doesn't have to hurt
March 31 Avril Lavigne - I'm with you
April 7 Daniel Bedingfield - I can't read you
April 7 Kym Marsh - Cry
April 14 Aaliyah - Didn't know what to tell you
April 14 Robbie Williams - Come undone
April 14 Madonna - American life
April 21 David Sneddon - Don't let go
April 21 Good Charlotte - Boys and girls
April 21 Pippa Fulton - Don't wanna miss a thing
April 21 Kelly Rowland - Can't nobody
April 28 Ronan Keating - The Long Goodbye
April 28 Puretone - Stuck in a groove
May 5 The Androids - Do it with Madonna
May 5 Electric Six - Gay Bar
May 5 S Club - Love ain't gonna wait for you
May 12 The Cheeky Girls - Take your shoes off
May 12 Girls Aloud - No good advice
May 19 Emma Bunton - Free me
May 19 t.A.T.u - Not gonna get us
May 19 Justin Timberlake - Rock with you
May 19 Stereophonics - Madame Helga
