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Single of the month:The Kills - 'Satellite'

Source: The List (Issue 678)
Date: 4 March 2011 (updated 12 Apr 2011)

Single of the month: 'Satellite', by The Kills

Single and downloads 3 March 2011

It’s all gone a wee bit duff for Duffy of late hasn’t it? Following her flop of a second album, the Welsh soul-pop warbler’s reportedly quitting music, and the snooze-worthy ‘My Boy’ (Polydor, ●●) suggests she won’t be missed. It’s your comeuppance for that rage-inducing Diet Coke ad, love.

No less soporific is James Blake, whose much slavered-over talent this particular reviewer still struggles to get its head around. A dull song – ‘The Wilhelm Scream’ (Atlas/A&M) ●● – remains a dull song even if you apply ‘edgy’ production akin to submerging it in the bathtub, right?

Another artist with possibly inflated ideas of their artistic worth is Tinie Tempah, who by ripping-off Kanye West’s ‘Touch the Sky’ in the video for ‘Wonderman’ (Parlophone) ●●● – an average hip-pop knockabout featuring a typically beige Ellie Goulding – seems to be wishfully hinting at whom he considers himself a British answer to.

Much better is Anna Calvi, who channels PJ Harvey and Jeff Buckley with elemental drama on ‘Blackout’ (Domino) ●●●●. Grinderman’s Stonesy groover ‘Palaces of Montezuma’ (Mute) ●●●● meanwhile, finds Nick Cave banging on about pleasant things like ‘the spinal chord of JFK wrapped in Marilyn Monroe’s negligee’. It’s okay Nick, I wasn’t enjoying that sandwich anyway.

Blasts from the indie-pop past The Primitives, Morrissey’s favourite band circa 1987, return with the ‘Never Kill a Secret’ EP (Fortuna Pop!) ●●●● the janglesome title track of which is beaten to Single of the Month only by The Kills with sleazy dub-strut ‘Satellite’ (Domino) ●●●● as Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart blow-off Kate Moss and Jack White respectively to get back to putting the shits right up us as only this perennially peely-wally looking twosome can.