The Dirty Dozen – May 2011

Wild Beasts – Albatross (Domino, 2 May)
Albatross (****) marks the first fruits of our cover stars’ imminent third album, Smother. Hayden Thorpe’s falsetto delivery has often been a bit of a barrier on past efforts, yet with a turn towards more ethereal electronica, it’s starting to sound more at home here.

Stalking Horse – Heathen Head, Howling Heart (Too Pure, 9 May)
As a jangly, up-beat number Heathen Head, Howling Heart (**) doesn’t ask much of the listener. Not an issue in itself, but where's the chorus? Not that we’re sticklers for pop etiquette, but sometimes there are reasons things are done a certain way.

Beastie Boys – Make Some Noise (Capitol, 16 May)
After the overly-conscious To The 5 Boroughs, Make Some Noise (***) finds Brooklyn’s finest shouty rap mongers in spirited form. Throwaway, good time title – check. Inspired, yet goofy lyrics – check. Insane, wiggly electronic, brain-burrowing tune centrepiece – um, check! It’s good to have them back.

Comet Gain – Working Circle Explosive (Fortuna Pop!, 23 May)
The dirty garage jangle that kicks off Working Circle Explosive (****) may be entirely derivative but it marks a fine turning point in this month’s singles. Merging chugging guitar and laconic Wire-esque vocals with squalling 60s reverb solos produces a surprising breath of fresh air and will likely have you rifling through dad's record collection to source out their influences.

Herman Dune – Tell Me Something I Don’t Know (Fortuna Pop!, 23 May)
On a personal note, I have never ‘got’ Herman Dune, their album Giant being one of the few CDs I’ve ever returned. So it would take something pretty special to change my tune and unfortunately Tell Me Something I Don’t Know (**) isn’t it. It’s nice and jaunty enough, with whimsical, everyday lyrics but it’s fairly anaemic and utterly forgettable to these ears.

Arctic Monkeys - Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair (Domino, 23 May)
Who would have thought the Arctic Monkeys would have come this far? Lord knows what the kids who shook their bits to ‘Dancefloor’ make of the Sheffield lads these days, but Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair (***) sounds pretty fine. Creeping in on a Cramps-esque spidery guitar line before exploding into a not-too-chanty chorus and bowing out on some QOTSA-lite guitar chops. That’ll do.

Young Legionnaire – Numbers (Wichita, 9 May)
Comprised of some blokes from Bloc Party and, er, The Automatic, Young Legionnaire seem to be one of those bands that exist to occupy the lunch-breaks of cocksure ‘lesser’ band members. Numbers (**) tries far too hard to be crunching of guitar and angsty of voice with twiddling, derivative solos to boot. Basically, even if you haven’t heard this yet, you already have.

P.U.M.A.J.A.W – Mask (Bedevil, out now)
Gliding in on some cinematic John Carpenter style brooding electronics will always win you points 'round these parts. Mask (**) bolsters this with Pinkie Maclure’s ethereal and somewhat genderless vocals, until... a fairly routine 4/4 disco drum beat kicks it into an all-too-familiar shape. Promising but ultimately disappointing.

Bronto Skylift – Italo Calvino (Dino Rawk, out now)
Brutal and unrelenting, Italo Calvino (****) packs a number of ear-fizzing punches over its modest three-minute duration. It’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from this badass Glasgow duo. The drums are ‘pneumatic-drill’ ferocious, the guitars are of the two-chord unrelenting and pummelling variety whilst the vocals, well, they’re just terrifying.

Washington Irving – Abbey Gallop (Instinctive Racoon, out now)
The fey pipes of Abbey Gallop (***) are a world away from the dark Bronto underbelly. Yet there’s still a snarl in these young folk troubadours with lines like “Your domesticity appalls me and I’ll bite off the hand that feeds me”. It tempers their floatier aspects although overall it’s hard not to hear the rustic anthemia of Frightened Rabbit lurking around.

Beady Eye – Millionaire (Beady Eye Records, 2 May)
What on earth is this sub-Bluetones, workman-like trudge through a countrified Status Quo off-cut? It’s the new Oasis-sans-Noel single, Millionaire (*)?! Really? This is what gets the cover of Q Magazine these days and is winning the minds (such as they are) of pub lout-oriented rock fans up and down the land? They're quite welcome to it.

Single of the Month: King Creosote and Jon Hopkins – Bubble (Domino, 30 May)
Perhaps there’s been enough praise heaped upon parent album Diamond Mine (not least from these pages) but that’s no reason to go all contrary on Bubble (****). Absolutely gorgeous right from the off, even before the dream-like keys and plaintive banjo take hold and transport you to a world of idle coastal charm in which you’ll swear you want to take up cosy residence.