Single Review: Tomorrow - Ladytron

Next month sees Ladytron release their new single from their last album Velocifero.  Entitled Tomorrow it has been freshly remixed for some radio airplay - the re-work is actually quite subtle but definitely to BlackPlastic's preference - the vocals sit slightly higher in the mix and the drums pack just little bit more punch.

Potentially more interesting are the remixes and the gorgeous video, shot in Kansas and Barcelona by Neil Krug:

As a sample of the remixes, check out the Vector Lovers remix we have to share. It takes things in a much more dancefloor orientated, minimal direction but the whispered vocals are gorgeous and with a lush little bouncing melodic bassline at the end it is well worth a listen.  Download here (right click & save as).

Tomorrow is available as a digital download on 3 March.  Ladytron - website & MySpace

Single Review: Coming Clean - The 39Steps

Busy preparing their debut album for its April release on Bad Sneakers, the 39Steps represent a jazzy blend of soul and hip-hop.

With the album produced by Kato, if this is anything to go by BlackPlastic is rather excited - title track (and single) Coming Clean sounds like Portishead if they spent less time strung out in suburban Bristol and more time performing caberet in smoke filled jazz clubs and with something to feel genuinely guilty about.  The quality of the production oozes sophistication and Laura Fowle's vocals out-class all those artsy female singer-songwriters currently propping-up the charts.

The single is available now on eMusic, 7digital and iTunes.

Watch this space for news on the album...

The 39Steps - website & MySpace.

BP x

Single Review: Method of Modern Love - Saint Etienne

In which Saint Etienne prove they can out-do Girls Aloud at sounding like Saint Etienne. If Girls Aloud 's The Loving Kind sounded like a relatively enjoyable Saint Etienne rip-off (it did) then this is the real thing.

Back in our hearts again this track deserves to be huge - it has the accessibility of the best pop singles yet doesn't struggle to squeeze in words like disinclined in the way that The Loving Kind does. What's more the production starts with the gorgeous washes that made the afformebtioned track feel fresh and builds on them... This feels like a hot coffee and a winter coat on a cold day like today.

Also back from the brink is Richard X, who provides his first remix in ages (as far as BlackPlastc can recall). Unsurprisingly it's good - he always was great at getting the most out of this kind of cotton-candy-with-female-vocals sound - if slightly more conservative than expected.

Available on iTunes or on 7" now.

BP x

Single Review: The Day (We Fell In Love) - Appaloosa

One of the best tracks from Kitsuné Maison Compilation 6 that we never actually mentioned at the time is Appaloosa's The Day (We Fell In Love).  Now it is getting a single release it is definitely worth checking out if you are yet to hear it.

What makes this track so great is the humble beginning - a girl and a piano - that gradually blossoms from a coy ballad into a stirring electronic anthem.  What's so beautiful is that the path of the song is a metaphor for love itself.  It starts out like a relatively simple and innocent feeling yet soon, in the words of Tears For Fears, something happens and I'm head over heels: I never find out until I'm head over heels.

To give you a taster of track in case you haven't heard it here is James Kane's remix (whose talents we have commented on in the past).  James strips away the intro to make the song a little more dance floor friendly but other than that this remix is quite faithful to the original, retaining the feelings of cautious optimism.

BP x

Single Review: Paris - Friendly Fires (again)

Let's keep this brief as we have all but bestowed single of the year status on this track already anyway but it is worth noting the re-release, which comes packed in with a couples of remixes.

The Aeroplane Remix lifts the foot of the gas slightly to create a more electronic but slower paced track. Befittingly it sounds French (Aeroplane are actually from the home of Soulwax and the Glimmers, Ghent in Belgium) but importantly it gives those lovely Au Revoir Simone vocals a bit more space. The result is a bit melancholic and beautiful, a soundtrack for the journey home from Paris rather than the trip out.

The Justus Köhncke Remix is similar in many ways but twists things in a slightly different direction. It still feels retrospective but has a touch more positivity. It lacks those Au Revoir vox though but what it does have my friends, is space. Bags of it. Over it's ten minutes it is one of those pieces of music that is more about the parts that aren't played than those that aren't. The drum kick is nice and fresh and it combines well with some warm melodic instrumentation to make a sophisticated big room sound that is much more understated than you would expect from a remix of a track as exciting as Paris.

Both are awesome and compliment each other well. Grab on iTunes, eMusic, Boomkat or in Woolworths (joke, they've probably closed down since I wrote this).

BP x