Rod Electro’s four to five 45s — 18.04.2011

This week’s selection features surprisingly few Easter related singles. Indeed, the Easter single in general seems to have never found favour as a commercial concept. Nobody ever gets nostalgic for the golden age of Easter song writing, Top of the Pops 2 has never put together a special Easter compilation show, and never has a Brummie in a curiously shiny hat bellowed “IT’S EEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAASTER” at you via the BHS PA system. What we do have this week is a much stronger set of singles, I don’t think any of them would make you switch the radio off – and not one of them can be legitimately compared to J. Mascis. It’s not much of a minimum standard, but it is progress.

This week’s first challenge is to review a Wave Pictures single without mentioning Hefner. Fortunately, this is relatively straightforward, as new single ‘Little Surprise’ sees an unexpected lurch into death metal. Oh, wait, no it doesn’t – they still sound very much like Hefner. Much of this apparent similarity is due to David Tattersall’s cutesy, slackly enunciated vocals and the lyrics’ eloquent exploration of the mundane. However, thanks to the usual intricate guitar work, Little Surprise is able to sufficiently distinguish itself from its very obvious influences. It remains very much exactly the song we would expect from the Wave Pictures, but given the tribal nature of indie fans, this is probably exactly what Wave Pictures fans would want.

“Do you feel like less is more?” ask Spokes in the opening verse of ’345′ – showing they are at least familiar with the idea, even if the rest of the track demonstrates their reluctance to apply it. If The Wave Pictures exist to fill the void created by Hefner’s absence, then Spokes reason to be is surely to provide suitably epic closing credits music for BBC Sport. ’345′ follows the well used soft rock template of the quiet start and big finish, with layers of strings, chugging, choppy guitars, pounding drums and some good old fashioned rock ’n’ roll shouting thrown on to create an anthemic finale. It may be an old ruse, but it is very well done here, and although ’34′ may not grab you immediately, on repeated listening its quality comes through.

80s pop music had many fine qualities, but – thanks to rotten chancers like Modern Romance – it is also the decade that taught us to be wary of acts who deliberately position themselves as producing “fun” songs. Hence the trepidation with which I’ve often approached The Go! Team. There’s just something about that exclamation mark that instantly puts you on guard. Constructed from a welter of samples and sound effects, with an engaging keyboard riff and an everything but the kitchen sink approach to percussion, ‘Apollo Throwdown’ is a relentlessly upbeat track that showcases a more polished sound than previous releases. Admittedly, it does at points wander dangerously close to the novelty hip-hop of The Rocksteady Crew, but its uplifting, infectious nature does give it a certain appeal. You’d probably like it – if you let yourself.

The aptly named Brights single ‘A Cameo Can’t Last Forever’ is something of a throwback to the days of shiny, smiley indie. Not sounding like your peers is often an advantage, and given the wealth of grungy shoegazing rambles with the customary buried vocals we had recently, The Brights are definitely distinctive. ‘A Cameo Can’t Last Forever’ is built upon a distinctive Motown style bass line, set against a mass of cymbals and jangling guitars. The winsome vocals sit perfectly with this backing to deliver a fine, upbeat track. It’s all very mod, but perhaps lacks the killer chorus that would lift it from being a good solid single to being a great single.

Last up is Kitty, Daisy and Lewis’ double ‘A side I’m So Sorry’/'I’m Going Back’, which raises the question if all of their songs are titled as though they are some kind of abbreviated facebook status, and – perhaps more importantly – if any two songs are in the same style. The slightly eclectic pairing put forward here is a shuffling ska number (‘I’m So Sorry’) and a swinging rockabilly track. Each of these styles is appropriated wholesale, and the effort put into both recreations is such that only the cleanness of the sound belies the modernity of the recordings. However, whilst admiring the faithful replication of early 60s pop, there is also a sense that Kitty, Daisy & Lewis might be better served by adding a little of their own personalities into the songs.