Bumper. BUMPER. BUMPER. There are many words for large. Massive. Gargantuan. Biblical. But we like bumper. It has a nice ring to it.
We're searching for words that describe size because of the sheer magnitude of this weeks tracks round up, which hits double figures. That's an awful lot of tracks. So even if you don't think it's that nice, you should definitely still feel a certain sense of value.
TRACK OF THE WEEK: Solange - Losing You
As undeniably great as Beyonce is, there's a school of thought out there that claims her little sister is the more interesting Knowles. Her last album Sol-Angel & The Hadley St Dreams may not have been a massive hit, but it was one of the more experimental and creative RnB records of recent years.
Now she's linked up with none other than Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion and Blood Orange, and the results are startling. Hynes has created a smooth, lush pop soundtrack for Knowles, which is light, breezy and full of sorrow, especially with that chorus of "tell me the truth boy, am I losing you for good?". You can almost imagine Robyn dancing on her own to it.
It's lovely, lilting and incredibly addictive, and should be the track that propels Solange to superstardom.
Adele - Skyfall
In possibly the worst kept secret in the history of secret-keeping, it was officially confirmed last week that Adele would indeed be joining Shirley Bassey, Wings, Gladys Knight and, erm, that bloke from Soundgarden in recording the a Bond theme tune.
And, what do you know, this is a proper Bond theme. Composer Thomas Newman (taking over from David Arnold) and producer Paul Epworth have harked back to the glory days, arranging some dramatic brass and a big swooping chorus. Of course, Adele's voice is perfect for this, and it definitely makes a nice change to hear her singing about someone not like you.
Actually, it's been a while since we've had a really good Bond theme, and this goes a long way towards erasing the horror of the Jack White & Alicia Keys debacle.
Little Mix - DNA
For a while, it seemed like Little Mix may be the ones to buck the X Factor trend. Their first 'official' single Wings (let's not count that Damien Rice nonsense, eh?) was terrific - fun, catchy and full of life, and gave the impression that the quartet may be following the Girls Aloud route to success.
DNA suggests otherwise. It's woeful. It sounds dated, dull and auto-tuned to death. The chorus sounds like TATU, there's a completely pointless yet apparently now obligatory rap, and unlike Wings, which was instantly memorable, this isn't.
Someone get them in a taxi to Xenomania's offices, and quickly.
Why? - Strawberries
Long before Alt-J even discovered what pressing 2 keys on your MacBook would produce, there was Why?. The duo have produced three albums of off-kilter indie-folk with woozy vocals. Strawberries is the second single to be taken from their new album Mumps Etc, and it seems there could be a lot of people mistaking them for that group who are obsessed with triangles.
It's beautifully put together, with a nagging piano refrain, clattering percussion and whistling (a good bit of whistling always improves a song, scientific research may not have proven), but it's the lyrics that really make this something special. Every line is lyrical gold, from "I don't wear rubbers and I don't wear sunscreen / I wanna heat my hide, not hide under something", to talk of someone's grandmother reading Garrison Keillor while smoking weed. It's the sort of record that you stop what you're doing just to listen to it.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Jeremy
Brooklyn's The Pain Of Being Pure At Heart have always been quick to pay tribute to their inspirations with both The Wedding Present and Smashing Pumpkins looming large over their first and second albums respectively.
Now they've gone the whole hog and covered two of their heroes, by recording East River Pipe's My Life Is Wrong and this, Jeremy by Magnetic Fields. The Pains have taken Stephin Merritt's paean to lost summers, beefed it up with some guitars and made it sound like an out-take from their first album. Which, if you've heard that debut, you'll know is a rather good thing.
It's a good reminder that Merritt can be an extraordinarily evocative songwriter, and it also acts as a decent stop-gap while we're waiting for some new material from him.
Jessie Ware - Night Light (Joe Goddard remix)
Yes, yes, Jessie Ware. We know. She's old news, man. She's SO July 2012. It's October now, move on. We're all discussing singers who don't even exist yet.
Ordinarily, we wouldn't bother mentioning tracks that can already be found on an album that's been out for a while, no matter how good it is. But this is the first fruits of Ware's collaboration with Joe Goddard, the man who is one-fifth of national treasures Hot Chip, half of The 2 Bears and the man behind one of last year's best, and most overlooked, tracks Gabrielle.
The results are, predictably enough, rather brilliant. The original languid ballad has been transformed into a jittery disco number without losing any of its class and, most importantly, never diminishing Ware's terrific vocals. A Goddard production credit on album number two surely awaits.
Major Lazer & J Cole - Get Free Coleworld
A year ago, J Cole released his debut album (and launched a thousand tired 'well, he's better at that than he is playing football' jokes), and to celebrate this auspicious anniversary, he's now released this previously unheard collaboration with Major Lazer.
It is, in fact, one of the year's best tracks that's being revisited, which originally featured Amber of Dirty Projectors on vocals. She's still on the chorus, but the verses are given over to Cole's passionate rap. The second verse is particularly impressive, with Cole spitting fury about "I smell bullshit, this must be an election year", before waging all kinds of lyrical fury on "the elite".
Another fine vehicle for Diplo's talent, and a reminder that ROC isn't all about Jay and 'Ye.
Linnea Olsson - Dinosaur
Joanna Newsom has a harp. Linnea Olsen has a cello. Both instruments must be hell on earth to tour with, but in a similar way that Newsom plucks on the heartstrings, it's impossible to listen to Olsen without falling a tiny bit in love.
Dinosaur has been available in her native Sweden for quite a while, and it's eventually receiving a release in the UK. A quirky yet affecting piece of chamber pop in the mould of Regina Spektor, it has that peculiarly Scandinavian quality of wistful melancholia in spades.
Simply Olsson's voice, a multi-tracked cello and some subtle percussion, this is yet another example of sublime Swedish pop.
Little Dragon - Sunshine (Starslinger Remix)
Little Dragon released one of the best albums in last year with Ritual Union, Star Slinger is one of the hottest producers around right now. How exciting would a Star Sling remix of a new Little Dragon be?
Well, it would be just fine, if it wasn't just a fancy advert for a vodka company. The original version of Sunshine was a typically euphoric yet melancholy slice of quality synth pop, with a gorgeously sultry vocal from Yukimi Nagano. Star Slinger adds some BPMs, raises the tempo and creates a pretty decent dancefloor anthem.
However, the back story to this is that it was "created as part of a creative partnership with Absolut Vodka" as a soundtrack to an art project where people enter a soundproofed booth, and dance to a track, thus creating art as they move, or something. It may be dressed up as a maverick Warholian art project, but it's just a different way of flogging alcohol. And, as such, it just leaves a bit of a nasty taste in the mouth. Or is that the vodka?
Solange MP3s or CDs
Solange on Spotify
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