PICK OF THE WEEK
Big Boi
Shutterbugg (Def Jam)
It's a crying shame that Big Boi has always worked in the shadow of Andre 3000, who seems to win points purely for being the more sartorially adventurous of the two. Had Hey Ya! not been released simultaneously, it's clear that The Way You Move would have been declared "song of 2003". My fingers are crossed, therefore, that Andre stays quiet for the rest of 2010, so that this tune can get its dues, unimpeded.
Big Boi just totally owns all over this thing; there's nothing but well-earned gloating here. Incidentally, we thought producer Scott Storch was either dead or making Britney Spears records, but the beat is amazing; he gets a free pass to make whatever Christina Aguilera records he wants after coming up with that vocal bassline.
Crowded House
Saturday Sun (Mercury)
Had Coldplay written this, it'd have been inoffensive radio fodder, and sold a billion (more) albums for them. In the hands of whoever produced this it's toothless and squishy and designed to trick middle-aged listeners into assuming that their ability to digest a little electronic infusion means that they're still "with it". Whatever, though – the song is good, and Crowded House are great. Don't Dream It's Over alone means that I'll forever limply defend whatever they release.
Katy Perry Feat Snoop Dogg
California Gurls (Capitol)
Yikes, every single person involved in this project totally phoned it in. You'd imagine that Perry was halfway through improvising the second verse before Dr Luke realised he'd accidentally pulled up his bass tracks for Tik Tok. Granted, this demolishes that odious song, if only because Perry is infinitely more charismatic than Ke$ha, and because Snoop Dogg is, well, Snoop Dogg. His lethargic bon mots provide a nice distraction from the generally tossed-off lyrics. What, though, are "gurls"?
Harper Simon
Wishes And Stars (PIAS)
Look, Harper Simon is obviously immensely talented, and this song's clearly a labour of love. All I'm going to say is that, were I Paul Simon's son, I would never write a song which would sit very comfortably on Bridge Over Troubled Water. Instead, I'd be in a death metal band, singing about marauding hellbeasts. Anything to distance myself from my father's suffocating legacy.
The Wurzels
Ruby (Absolute)
What … what is this? Was this recorded as some sort of art-therapy program at a progressive asylum for the criminally insane? If so, I apologise. It seems to me that the No 1 item on today's "to-do" list for Kaiser Chiefs' management needs to be "Prevent the band from ever hearing the Wurzels' version of Ruby". That said, the animal noises are an inspired addition
We Are Scientists' new LP Barbara is out now
