Single Releases 29/10/07

It surely has to be a cause for celebration that in 2007 we can have a week with new single releases from Brand New Heavies, Cliff Richard, Simply Red, Celine Dion and Elvis Presley.

And whislt we're here, how the hell can Simply Red "split up"?

Anwyay, onto the serious stuff.

Ladytron's Destroy Everything You Touch gets a pointless re-release this week, but my god it is a killer track.

It's better than New Young Pony Club's Get Lucky, but that's a bloody good tune too.

Other good ones this week are Gilt Complex by Sons & Daughters, Terra Firma by The Young Knives and Handle Me by Robyn (no matter how the fact that the likes of Edith Bowman are banging on about Robyn as if she's some totally new artist that no one had heard of prior to With Every Heartbeat annoys me).

Not very good this week are You And Me by One Night Only, We Used To Vacation by Cold War Kids and The Night Sky by Keane.

Absolutely terrible, of course, is the new Westlife one. But did anyone really expect anything else?

Robyn - Robyn

There's probably few people who have the Robyn Is Here album, including the smash hits Show Me Love and Do You Know (What It Takes). I, of course, am one of them thanks to WH Smiths having it in their bargain bin for a quid many many moons ago. That is all a million miles away from the Robyn of today though. Now she's seen as the epitome of cool by those pop pundits "in the know."

Still despite Popjustice's proclamations, upon hearing the Konichiwa Bitches single I remained a little nonplussed. It was alright, but not exactly my favourite song ever. In fact it was almost an attempt to be too left-field; as if making pop music didn't mean having to have such a thing as a catchy chorus. Still, lyrically it was one of the sharpest pop songs of the year so in it's own way it did mean that there was bound to be a lot to look forward to as the album finally got it's official UK release.

And thankfully not everything is as wilfully difficult as that song was. Who's That Girl is the best song the Sugababes have never done, Jamelia wouldn't be whoring herself out with sample-heavy singles if someone could write something as good as Handle Me for her and, quite frankly, Pink would deserve the mass acclaim she recieves if she did something as fresh and as funky as Cobrastyle.

These are far from the only highlights, with another great track being the ever so slightly lyrically x-rated Should Have Known.

It doesn't always work, Crash And Burn Girl for instance sounds like the kind of insipid "floor-filler" Liberty X might try to pass off as sublime pop, and album closer Anytime You Like is just too dull, but for the most part it does.

Robyn has spent years in the wilderness in this country. If there's any justice, this album should see all of that change.