EOIN BUTLER's guide to downloads, singles and free audiostreams
STEPHEN MALKMUS
SenatorMatador Records ***
"All that the senator wants is a..." Wait, woah! This single from the Beck-produced Mirror Trafficalbum is so infused with 1990s nostalgia that even the period detail is just so. Of course, these days, politicians prefer sending photographs of that particular appendage to strangers via Twitter. Get with the times, Malkmus!
SBTRKT ft LITTLE DRAGON
WildfireYoung Turks ****
He’s remixed the likes of Basement Jaxx and M.I.A., but now south London producer SBTRKT is ready to take centre stage himself. Some are calling him this decade’s Timbaland. Others are calling him “Sorry?”, “Could you repeat that?” and/or “What kind of a stupid name is that?”
KATY PERRY
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)Capitol *
A summer party anthem, pitched pretty explicitly at teenagers, which celebrates alcohol-induced memory loss? Jesus, this makes Milk Milk Lemonadelook like Blowin' in the Wind.
THE RAPTURE
How Deep is Your Love?DFA Records ****
Out of the "Where are they now?" file and onto the tracks, Luke Jenner and co are back and they're partying like it's 2003. A new album, In The Grace of Your Love, is due later this year.
BEYONCÉ ft ANDRE 3000 AND KANYE WEST
PartyColumbia ***
Finally, expectations for this long-mooted collaboration could hardly be higher. Andre 3000 contributes a verse of his trademark tongue-twisting non sequiturs. But the fireworks one might have expected, don’t quite materialise. A grower, hopefully.
BEADY EYE
The Beat Goes OnBeady Eye Records **
Like England’s 1998 World Cup squad, Liam Gallagher seems intent on shoehorning as many dodgy song titles into proceedings as possible here. “Somewhere in my heart,” he sings, “the beat goes on.” Glad to hear it, Liam. A beating heart is kind of a prerequisite for life. We’d hate to see you join the great “gig in the sky” (also name-checked).
