MARINA & THE DIAMONDS
MOWGLI’S ROAD
(WARNER)

Ready for a vibrant combination of Regina Spektor and Paloma Faith? Welsh lass Marina Diamondis is cuckoo, but not in a completely deranged mental-patient-shitting-in-their-hand-so-they-can-paint-a-brown-flower-on-the-wall kind of way. Mowgli’s Road combines the arty pop of forgotten ‘80s whackjob Toyah with a simple chord progression, stomping bass, ratchet guitar effects and a strident vocal guaranteed to put the wind up Florence and her machine. She’s something of a cheeky myth-maker (her tune Hollywood compares herself to Catherine Zeta Jones and Shakira), but Marina’s output to date raises hopes of February’s The Family Jewels being a striking debut album. Diamonds are forever; the best is yet to come.

THIS WEEK’S SINGLES PICKS INCLUDE:

WOLF GANG
THE KING AND ALL OF HIS MEN
(WARNER)
At the moment it seems that marauding wolves are ruling both the film and the music industry, but this latest lupine howl is more exciting than trailers for Benicio Del Toro’s much-delayed flick The Wolfman. The layered pop vehicle of Scottish musician Max McElligott, The King And All Of His Men’s XTC highs mark out this shy intellectual as this generation’s Andy Partridge. A last minute 2009 radio hit that seems a shoo-in for a spot in this week’s Triple J’s Hottest 100, it’s the sort of extravagant mix of individual swirls and commercial hooks that Talk Talk never balanced. Gangbusters.

OWEN PALLET
LEWIS TAKES ACTION
(EMI)
It’s been four years since Canadian singer songwriter Owen Pallet released his debut, but methinks the gap between albums is simply down to the fact that topping the title of his 2006 solo debut He Poos Clouds has proven impossible. His output isn’t as light and fluffy as a coil of cumulonimbus, but new single Lewis Takes Action sounds like Rufus Wainwright and Brian Wilson sharing a chocolate milkshake with the local high school orchestra. You wouldn’t expect anything less from this slightly askew affiliate of Arcade Fire.

THE REQUESTERS
WARRIOR
(HUSSLE/EMI)
I rarely review instrumentals since without lyrics my mind often wanders to other important things – such as whether car companies phased out sideboards in an effort to quell gangster behaviour. Despite ‘vocalist’ not being in their vocab, Hussle’s latest Spanish signings The Requesters’ latest six-minute instrumental epic is freaking awesome. Sounding like the bastard offspring of a frisky Justice trip across the Espanol border, Warrior features all the best bits from a cheap ’80s horror soundtrack combined with funky bass, synth drums and Midnight Juggernaut moodscapes. Parklife would be clowns if they didn’t book these guys before they blow up.

NEWTON FAULKNER
OVER AND OUT
(SONY)
It was my New Year’s Resolution to stop being so hard on dedicated musicians who put their heart and soul into their music, only to have flippant cads like myself make hurtful, throwaway remarks for the sake of cheap fun. That excludes you, Newton Faulkner – you still sound as enticing as a steaming cup of excrement.

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