SINGLES & DOWNLOADS

Ida Maria

The Cult are back! Raaaaaaaaar. let‘s part, like it's 1987' A;tiiall,/. let's not bother, because Iar‘. Astbuiy and co'f: latest comeback. Dirty Little Hockstar‘ (Roadrunneri 0. is a lacklustre rehash of their Stones and AC DC roots. except creakier in the knees than first time iOund. Metilding Similar influences: into a fr(l.‘3h(‘:r rollock are Kiwi pups The Checks 'What You Heard“ (I'llllilllle l-lobbyi 0.. is a hilariously iinreconstriicted strutting blues wail. yet somehow also uiierringly poppy a bit like The Datsuns wrth more hair gel.

What do you think ‘Alcohol' lSub Pop} 0..

by CSS is all about? Mininiiim. alcohol. Anyway. it's a Sllliably shambling little nugget of BraZilian nu-disco funk silliness. which doesn‘t really go anywhere. and certainly doesn't match the band's live charms. but 's reasonath diverting all the same.

Gravenhurst launch straight in Willi feedback and attitude reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine giVing Husker Du a bloody nose. 'Hollow Men' (Warp) 000. shows only one facet of the rock-folk»dance—indie eclecticisrn of Nick Talbot's band. but it's a tasty taster for the forthcoming fourth album, right enough.

If there was an award for Artwork of the Fortnight. it would go to The New Pornographers. The front cover of ‘Myriad Harbour‘ i’Matador) 0.0 features a spaceman offering up red high heels and panties to a naked cavewoman who's about to club him wrth a big rock. What's that ab0ut. eh? The song itself is equally idi(')syncratic. with Singalong Chants. winding guitar lines and rough rhythms falling over each other in a gleeful pile.

But for actual mUSIC. there's only one contender f0i Single of the Fortnight. and that's Ida Maria. You wouldn't expect a 23—year-old lass from rural Norway to turn in a piece of punk~rock majesty that sounds like a truly unhinged verSion of vintage Stooges. but that's exactly what debut single ‘Oh My God' (Nesna) on... is. Packed full of aggressive charisma and frightening energy, it's matched by B~Side 'We're All Song to Hell'. a gIOrious drunken sea- shanty which sounds like Maria is channelling Joplin and BJOrk, while also tapping into something utterly primal from the bowels of the earth. She's scary. frankly. but undeniably brilliant. (Doug Johnstonel

KAhIYE WEST

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