The Cold Cut

Bloc Party- Talons (Link 2)

The hype surrounding 'Intimacy' is slowly ebbing away. In retrospect, you gotta say- what a move by Bloc Party. I'll be posting my full verdict on the album soon, but this I'll say: 'Intimacy' definitely has its charms.

Bloc Party are a pretty solid band by my reckoning. I don't buy into this whole 'Kele is a moody bastard' shit- as long as the tunes keep coming, then I'll be happy. Kele is entitled to his privacy, and his mood-swings. I do, however, have a few niggles with the band, all based around their music, and primarily where its going. Firstly, one of my mates astutely pointed out that Bloc Party always release great songs in the aftermath of an album release. It's happened thrice- 'Two More Years' and 'The Marshalls Are Dead' were nigh on perfect, and could have lifted the latter part of 'Silent Alarm'. 'Weekend In The City' suffered badly from top-heavy track listing, and was followed by a host of bonus tracks that were stronger than most of the songs on the album ('Rhododendron', 'Atonement', 'The Once And Future King' and 'Version 2.0' to name a few).

And now, we have 'Intimacy'. The pacing is kind of wrong on this album... it starts loudly, but the first few songs are weak and jarring, excepting 'Biko'. The album slowly builds to a perfect, redeeming second half. Riddle me this- I purchased the mp3 version of the album, and whilst I recieved their new single (I thought single's were meant to come from albums?) 'Talons' free by email, it is not included in the album listing. This is a move beyond comprehension- 'Talons' is one of the stronger singles they've released in recent years, with chiming bells and a dance riff that is definitive of Bloc Party's new direction. Kele said of 'Talons':

“We wanted to keep things fresh and we thought the fans would be more excited to get a new song rather than something off the album. Talons is one of the last songs we recorded during the Intimacy sessions and I always had it in mind to be one of the extra tracks we promised for the CD if it turned out well. It turned out great so we decided to make it the next single. I’m enjoying this way of working, not over-thinking things, just make a decision and get on with it! It’s quite liberating in a way, I’m sure it’s going to be the way things happen more and more in the future."

The person responsible for the ordering of BP's albums really needs to get the boot. All three have been either top or bottom heavy, with unbelievable emissions- think about 'Intimacy', except remove 'Ares' and 'Mercury' and replace them with the one two punch of 'Talons' and 'Flux'. That's a proposition.

Secondly- where do the band see themselves in a few years time? I get the distinct impression that 'Silent Alarm' was just a front- albeit a fantastic, album of the year front. However, Kele has always made it clear that he wants to experiment- I remember one particular interview where he spoke of his long term wish- to mess around with Timbaland beats, basically. I respect this, but why not just start as you wish to continue? Anyway, back to the present- 'Talons' is another triumph for the band. It's just not going to make as big of an impact as it could.

Intimacy can be bought from the Bloc Party website. In doing so, you can collect your free download of 'Talons'.

Kanye West- Love Lockdown (Link 2)

I feel relieved. I feel happy. I feel exhausted. Many emotions. First, the good news. I am now able to get back into the swing of things. I have internet. I have lots of stuff to catch up with. I need to burst the bubble around me. The Cold Cut needs to become relevant again. Most of all, I have a blog to run. And run-it I will.

So how does one burst the bubble that's been enclosing you? With difficulty... I must admit, my lack of contact with the internet, TV and news has been a bit of an eye opener. As in, what the hell would we do without it? Now I appreciate it even more- I feel lucky to be connected again.

Anyway, back to the music. I've missed it ever so much, looking through my emails longingly on my phone. Able to see, but not to listen. Out of all the music that has flooded my inbox (about 250 emails and counting from the last few weeks- keep 'em coming), one track stands out. It's so 'now'. Kanye West's new track 'Love Lockdown', from the upcoming album release, '808's And Heartbreak'. A live debut at the VMA's was incredibly promising (watch it), and yet the recorded version falls annoyingly flat.

Disregarding an over-generous bass track that I could listen to all day long, it's hard to like this song, let alone love it. 'Love Lockdown' starts, peaks, starts, troughs, restarts... and finishes. It goes nowhere... Instead, we are treated to 270 seconds of Kanye living out a T-Pain fantasy. Jittery pianos and a vocoder dominate proceedings. There is no Chris Martin this time, though. And no intelligent sampling.

The VMA's were the perfect platform from which to launch the new album. Kanye performed well, his voice fragile, but hidden away behind Autotune. He sings better than you might expect, but will struggle with the live demands of this song. Still, it was a great performance, with strong images through lighting and his performance. Unfortunately, these fixtures cannot be translated onto the studio version.

This song hurts. Where has the genius of 'The College Dropout' gone? The concept is all wrong- Kanye isn't a singer by nature. It's brave, but a whole song of slow vocals is really pushing it. And in using a vocoder, you immediately take the emotion out of a song. I mean, who would attempt to prove that 'Lollipop' is an emotionally affecting song?

'808's And Heartbreak' drops on December 16th. Pre-order it on Amazon. The chips seem stacked against Kanye at this point in time. I'm not even going to mention the whole arrest fiasco. Still, I would never bet against him. Oh, and good luck Kanye. May you shock us all.

I'm not going to post this one (it's red-hot- if you had synesthesia, this song would have 'cease and desist' written all over it), but you should hop over to Myspace for an exclusive first listen to Kings Of Leon's single, 'Sex On Fire'. Instead, enjoy an early song from the 'Holy Roller Novocaine' EP. 'Sex On Fire' is another brilliant addition to the new album, some people will be happy to hear that this is a fully fledged song with a chorus and verses, rather than 'a groove' (as certain individuals have described 'Crawl', although this doesn't bother me personally). Oh, and as a side note, Caleb must have one of the best voices in rock? Right?

Kings Of Leon- Wicker Chair

NME have also just announced the official tracklisting for 'Only By The Night', released on September 22:

'Closer'
'Crawl'
'Sex On Fire'
'Use Somebody'
'Manhattan'
'Revelry'
'Seventeen'
'Notion'
'I Want You'
'Be Somebody'
'Cold Desert'

I'm not a 'report every piece of music news' kind of guy, so I wasn't going to talk about Bloc Party's cryptic countdown (see full story) until it came to fruition, and it has. The countdown was (as suspected) for the release of new material. Or more specifically, a new single, entitled 'Mercury', to be released on 11th August.

At this point, I would struggle to describe it as anything but 'different'. And a live enigma- with a combination of blaring trombones and vocal loops, Bloc Party's original set-up will struggle with the amount of noise generated for their new songs (although 'Flux' comes off well). It's a tad repetitive at this point in time, but still continues the theme of electronic experimentation that Kele has obviously fallen in love with.

Both guitar and bass are neglected in favour of this new direction, although the heavy synth line- used as the basis of 'Flux'- pops up a few times. I'm slowly falling in love with this song, but honestly, if it wasn't Bloc Party, I really wouldn't give it the time of day. But then, maybe that was Kele's plan- find the way into our hearts with perfect pop songs, and then pull the once over in search of his true love- beats/electronica. Whether the rest of Bloc Party are so enamoured remains to be seen.

Watch the official video below, and hear the interview Kele gave before premiering the single with Zane Lowe on Radio 1. The single will be released as follows:

'Mercury' CD:
1. Mercury
2. Mercury (Hervé is in disarray Remix)
3. Mercury (CSS Remix)
4. Mercury (Flosstrodamus Remix)

Heavyweight 'Mercury' 12”:
Side A. Mercury (12” Version)
Side B. Mercury (12” Instrumental)

'Mercury' Heavyweight 7”:
Side A. Mercury
Side B. Idea For A Story

Pre-order the single from the band's website!

Coldplay- Violet Hill (Link 2) (Link 3)

My initial reaction to this song was a resounding 'hmmm'. My fears weren't entirely misplaced. Coldplay haven't stepped too far astray, but 'Violet Hill' isn't quite good enough to justify a 3 year absence. The band, however, have not lost their radio friendly roots. My brother found himself humming the tune a mere 5 minutes after listening to the song.

Many people have drawn Oasis comparisons, mostly due to the vocals and newly beefed up backing section. Piano, however, runs the show- kicking in 40 seconds in (after a resounding drone), the keys power this song through to its finish. The lyrics are weak: 'I wanna be a soldier who a captain on some sinking ship would stow far below. If you love me, won’t you let me know?', but all in all, 'Violet Hill' is a nice introduction to the new album.

Even though I'm slightly dissapointed, I'm happy to have them back. However, with this (and the shoddy album cover), Coldplay have become a little less untouchable.
The song is available free for one week only: head over to the band's slightly pretentious website to download it.

'Viva La Vida' has been brought forward and will now be released on June 12!

The Go! Team are no ordinary band... having a lead rapper named Ninja, two drummers and cheerleader chants in many of their songs, this band was a bit of a surprise last year, popping up in last years top 100 albums frequently and being nominated for the Mercury Award for their first album- Thunder, Lightning, Strike. I really enjoyed their first album; it was a new blend of rap, hip-hop and samples which was exciting to listen to whilst remaining upbeat. The Go! Team have been away for a year since they were very much in the limelight, and recently released Grip Like A Vice, a recently cut single for their currently untitled second album, out on September 4th. Its a little bit different; darker, I suppose, but the quality of their music is still obvious. Click the links below to get the track, and leave a note if you like it. Has anybody out there in the blogosphere seen this band live? I've heard some good stories about them...

The Go Team- Grip Like A Vice.mp3