Noel Gallagher- The Death of You and Me

Perhaps one of the more eagerly anticipated singles of 2011 is Noel Gallagher’s first solo record since the soap-opera split of Oasis in 2009. Under the new name of ‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ and without his now law-suit friendly brother Liam Gallagher, it appears that finally after years of mediocre Oasis albums, Noel has returned to somewhere nearer his best with single ‘The Death of You and Me’.

Reminiscent of ‘The Importance of Being Idle’, Noel creates a deceptively melancholy track, with trademark acoustic strums and falsetto vocals that have already brought about the gleeful dismissal of Beady Eye by Noel’s fans. Somewhat predictably, Liam posted the following response to Noel’s track on his twitter page: ‘1 word…DIDO’. Though this may be harsh on Noel, there is some truth to the response by some that Noel has produced an un-surprisingly similar song to much of his previous work. Comparisons to a poor-mans Beatles were made throughout Oasis’ glittering career and unfortunately for Noel, this may well continue with the release of ‘The Death of You and Me’.

Bombay Bicycle Club- Shuffle 

Returning to an electric outlook for their third album ‘A Different Kind Of Fix’  following their acoustically based second album ‘Flaws’, Bombay Bicycle kick off work for the August album release with the single ‘Shuffle’.

Fans of the band who may have greeted their acoustic efforts with lukewarm sentiment will love this single; boasting glittering vocal melodies and plenty of opportunity to bop your head – everything we love about the North London four piece. ‘Shuffle’ oozes maturity throughout, from it’s opening, bouncy piano sequence to the the bright and textured outro. Bombay Bicycle Club hit home with yet another hit to place firmly on display alongside such songs as ‘Always Like This’, ‘Rinse Me Down’ and ‘Ivy & Gold’. It’s fair to say that August 29th and the release of  ‘A Different Kind of Fix’ couldn’t come fast enough.

Calvin Harris – Feel So Close

Calvin Harris has rightly established himself at the top of the commercial dance/disco tree, with numerous dancefloor fillers to call upon from his arsenal. With new single ‘Feel So Close’ being released today, those left desperate for more from his first two albums may well be left slightly disappointed. Granted, ‘Feel So Close’ has all the qualities you’d expect from a Calvin Harris record: catchy lyrics and sing along riffs in conjunction with a compulsory four to the floor beat. Unfortunately, it never really gets going. Despite it’s best attempts to  induce euphoria and get hands in the air, it falls short. It’s by no means a disaster and the encouraging response to first single ‘Bounce’ suggest all is not lost for the new Harris record. However, ‘Feel So Close’ lacks the immediate punchiness to be considered a Calvin classic in a similar vein to songs such as ‘Ready for the Weekend’.

My Chemical Romance- The Only Hope For Me is You

Unfortunately, my singles round up ended with My Chemical Romance. In ‘The Only Hope For Me is You’, the New Jersey rockers attempt to create an emotional outcry in a not too dissimilar sense to ‘Welcome To the Black Parade’, but instead have created something more along the lines of ‘Bleeding Love’ by Leona Lewis. With head in hands I heard in the chorus, ‘Can I be the only hope for you? Because you’re the only hope for me’ and couldn’t think of anything other than an X Factor hopeful attempting to gain credibility in rock week, choosing to sing My Chemical Romance instead of Rod Stewart. Most frustrating is the fact that they are very capable of creating the emotion they are aiming for, but unfortunately, ‘The Only Hope For Me is You’ just doesn’t do it any way shape or form. What a shame.