Shuffle

Eoin Butler'sguide to singles, downloads and free audiostreams

THE SHORTWAVE SET
No Social
Wall of Sound
**
That man Danger Mouse certainly keeps himself busy. Here he takes on knob-twiddling duties for London indie trio The Shortwave Set, on what is one of the few singles in living memory to use the term "so-and-so" as an insult. This song, alas, has deodorant commercial written all over it.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
Water Curses EP
Domino
****
Recorded during the sessions, with producer Scott Colburn, that spawned last year's Strawberry Jamalbum, these four tracks could just as easily be outtakes from Van Dykes's trippy 1968 masterpiece Song Cycle. Yes, they really are that weird.

WILL.I.AM FEATURING CHERYL COLE
Heartbreaker
A&M
**
With all the tabloid hype about Cheryl getting her revenge on her "love rat" husband, one almost expects the Girls Aloud singer to grab the mic here and start (figuratively) tearing Ashley a new one. Instead her contribution is limited to some anodyne backing vocals and cringe-inducing "street dancing". Plenty more Will.i.am to go around as a result. Ouch.

JACK MCMANUS
Bang on the Piano
Universal
*
The debut single from yet another fresh-faced Brit School of the Performing Arts alumnus (Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Kate Nash etc). "I'm not Michelangelo painting the ceiling," admits the ever-modest Mr McManus. Mate, you're not even Vera Duckworth washing the dishes.

CAPTAIN MOONLIGHT
What Is It Worth?
***
His old nemesis Bertie Ahern may just have walked the plank, but that won't be enough to silence Kilkenny rapper Captain Moonlight. This guy is rough enough to be your binman, old enough to be your uncle, and angry enough to be your politically damaging Chicago pastor. What's Is It Worth?is yours for just 99 cent at  www.downloadmusic.ie

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Click, Click, Click
**
"The Block is back!" declares their website (I kid you not). The good news is that the New Kids still love their fans. The bad news is that they now have a combined age of 289. By the way, is it just me or has Danny Wood's neck gotten even fatter in the intervening years?  www.nkotb.com