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[Rich]

Singles Out: Week Beginning 20th March 2006

It’s here, your weekly fix of what’s hot and what’s not (and this week with new releases from MVP, Ne-Yo and Nelly it seems the not category is going to be full to the brim of crapness). Embrace return with their first new material since 2004’s “Out Of Nothing�, in the form of “Nature’s Law� which is taken from the band’s forthcoming fifth studio album This New Day. Erasure through out the rule books as they release excusive acoustic album next month Union Street, from it Boy the first single from that very album which receives a very special makeover. MVP release the follow up to last years Rock Ya Body/Mic Check 1 2, “Bounce, Shake, Move, Stop�, if unoriginality is your thing, you’ll love Ne-Yo’s debut single So Sick after weeks of promotion finally receives a release this week. Nelly makes his comeback this week with Grillz one of the worst songs I have heard in years, and that’s no exaggeration. After a two year absence Pink returns with Stupid Girls, the first single to be taken from her forthcoming forth studio album “I’m Not Dead� which is set for release next month. Sean Paul releases Temperature, the third single to be lifted from his Trinity album, Heart In A Cage becomes the second single taken from the Strokes third album “First Impressions Of Earth� whilst The Yeah Yeah Yeahs make their long-awaited comeback single with Gold Lion taken from their new album Show Your Bones which is out at the end of the month.

Embrace - Nature’s Law


Certainly one of my most anticipated comebacks of 2006, this week sees Embrace return with the first single taken from their forthcoming fifth studio album “This New Day� which is out next week. Nature’s Law is the band’s first new material since 2004’s “Comeback� album Out Of Nothing which spawned four top 30 singles peaked at No.1 in September (was released on my birthday) and is the band’s biggest selling album to date. Nature’s Law is the lead single from This New Day which took just nine days to write and record last year and starts with just one simple piano line which expands to sweeping strings and a gospel choir over its four minute entirety. For those who thought Embrace were just a one album wonder Nature’s Law sets out to confound any critics and win new fans along the way. Nature’s Law is the comeback that the fans wanted and it’s the comeback they got, what a return to form!

Erasure - Boy


“Boy� is the first single to be taken from Erasure’s up-and-coming acoustic album “Union Street� (out April 3rd). First featuring on the album Cowboy, Vince and Andy have taken a hugely big and boldly experimental step (especially for that of an electronic band), that step being unplugging all instruments and adding an acoustic texture to eleven songs which span the duo’s entire career. With millions of albums sold around the world Vince Clarke and vocalist Andy Bell are among the top 100 most successful acts of all time. Whilst I don’t expect Boy and Union Street to be massive sellers, I believe that they’ll keep fans happy in between “Nightbird� and the duo’s forthcoming next studio album which is set for release at the start of 2007.

MVP - Bounce, Shake, Move, Stop


Should we thank Most Valuable Playas or MVP as they are better known for last year’s summer anthem Rock Ya Body/Mic Check 1 2? No I don’t think we should. That aside those Valuable Playas are back this week with another irritating, unoriginal record that just screams UK hit. Riotous Bounce, Shake, Move, Stop is one of those records that sound great in a club or whilst at a party but should be avoided elsewhere. The hip hop hooks and beats don’t really help add to the songs credibility and overall leaves MVP with another average record that will more than likely irritate the nation in weeks to come if not at first. The band didn’t even provide another video with hot girls in, something that was on MVP debuts side.

Ne-Yo - So Sick


It’s slushy, it’s cheesy and boy will it sell well, one only has to look at how well the song is selling on downloads this week to understand what I’m talking about. So Sick is the first single to be lifted from Ne-Yo’s debut album “In My Own Words� which was released last month. Whilst So Sick is pleasant enough, it’s nothing new or original and is rather forgettable. No doubt the young teens and Chav’s will go wild for this song when it’s officially out on physical release next week and send it straight to the top of the chart instead of Embrace, Pink or even the Yeah Yeah Yeahs who actually deserve the top spot. Overall as already mentioned nothing to get excited about but he’ll be forgotten about in a month from now so it’s nothing to get to worked up about (having said that watch Ne-Yo have an even bigger follow up single and his debut album have shifted over one million copies by the time the years end).

Nelly feat. Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp - Grillz


The worst record of 2006 so far, even the Whistle song is better than Nelly’s latest attempt. DIRE!!! Avoid this piece of utter drivel at all costs.

Pink - Stupid Girls


With three critically acclaimed million selling albums to her name and a forth set to follow Pink is no stupid girl (see what I did there?), and this week sees the release of the first single from Pink’s forth studio album titled “I’m Not Dead� which is released early next month. It seems Pink’s two year break from the music business hasn’t had an effect on her attitude as Stupid Girls sees Pink as vivacious and as outspoken as ever, not that that’s not a bad thing. Written about glamour models and D-list celebrities over the world. Stupid Girls and its satirical jibes at those slew celebrities that dominate the world’s media come together to produce one heck of a comeback single that any artist would be proud of and a record that will hopefully give Pink her second No.1 single, the first being Just Like A Pill in September 2002, and with the promo that accompanies this song I think there’s an extremely strong chance that next week Pink will be feeling rather pleased with herself.

Sean Paul - Temperature


Temperature is the third single to be taken from Sean Paul’s third album “The Trinity�, and follows up previous releases from the album Ever Blazin’ and last summer’s anthem the massive comeback single We Be Burning. After taking a well earned break over the festive season Sean Paul has been on a tour of Europe and the release of Temperature the inferno theme that is coincides with that very tour. It’s the lyrics that stand out once more with Sean’s latest offering, another samey and predictable video backs the song up to leave Sean fan’s feeling rather disappointed. An extremely average release to say the least, nothing compared to that of his previous two releases and whilst catchy it seems that as a result of hardly any promotion Sean Paul could once again have another flop on his hands. Here’s hoping the track with Nina Sky is the next release and puts Sean back in the top ten where he belongs.

The Strokes - Heart In A Cage
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Whilst Juicebox shimmered with brilliance, The Strokes No.1 album First Impressions Of Earth failed to live up to that ground breaking album we had all longed and hoped for. Having said that though The Strokes this week release the second of three highlights from their third album in the shape of “Heart In A Cage�. It’s the razorsharp beats, riffs and roaring drumbeats that make Heart In A Cage the full-throttle three minute anthem that it is. Fresh from winning their NME award for “Best International Band�, based on their recent success it seems that the pretty boys of rock who originate from New York are at their best yet in terms of chart success, we can all hope and pray for the amazing “You Only Live Once� to be the third single lifted from the band’s third album. Ooh and one last thing, if you want to recreate the band’s video for Heart In A Cage, feel free to lie down on the floor in a crowded place and sing the song itself as everyone walks past and effectively treads on you.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion


New York’s finest new export “The Yeah Yeah Yeahs� this week release Gold Lion taken from their forthcoming album Show Your Bones. It’s the searing guitar riffs and over pounding, menacing drumbeats that stand out on the band’s new single which ends their creative sabbatical as Gold Lion finds the band at their most vociferous and audacious yet, proving that their time spent away was used wisely. Gold Lion screams progression in every sense of the word and sends out a strong message for the release of the band’s forthcoming album Show Your Bones which looks set to be their most polished, original and musically evolved album to date. It seems that The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have found that all important magic formula and are using it to their advantage.