New Musick Monday

Oh dear oh dear. Last week wasn't the qualified success many of us had hoped for. First of all, Cornershop missed the top 75 altogether, MSTRKRFT and John Legend entered at no. 50 on the singles chart and most miraculously of all, Sandi Thom's collection of her best work seems to have fallen on deaf ears. We're assuming this is some kind of clerical error and we'll be rectified soon, but until then why don't you all go off and listen to 'I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker' and wait with baited breath.

Let's get down to business shall we?

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Complete Me by Frankmusik



Frankmusik, aka Vincent Frank, looks, how can we put this, like a bit of a bell-end. He looks like some kind of mutant creation, grown in a lab somewhere by a major label who added all the ingredients of a 'popstar' - the hair, the '80s influences, the dead-eyed stare - into a test tube and out popped Frankmusik. Luckily, his debut album negates his face and makes up for any urges the listener might have to give him a bit of a slap. '3 Little Words' and 'Better Off As Two' are stone-cold pop classics, 'Gotta Boyfriend?' is deliriously catchy and 'Done, Done' proves that when he wants to he can tackle a moody ballad. Co-produced by Stuart 'forgive me for The Killers' Price, Complete Me is the best album of 2009 to feature a man named Vincent.

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Two Dancers by Wild Beasts



We haven't heard this album, but we have read a lot of good things about it. So, if you have it then please let us know what it's like. (We're well aware that we could listen to it on Spotify but we don't have it because it's new and everyone's going on about it which makes us uneasy).

EDIT: We have a copy now. Phew.

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'Basic Space' by The XX



The XX's debut album, XX, is one of the best things we've heard all year. Most of it sounds like Timbaland remixing The Cure on half-speed. At this year's Latitude the band (all about 17 years old) seemed so shy they almost ground their way into the stage such was the awkward shuffling of feet. This particular track isn't necessarily the most obvious single (we would have gone for 'Islands'), but it's a strangely beautiful concoction with singers Oliver and Romy exchanging lovelorn lines like a drunk Romeo & Juliet over some sparse, percussive beats. You can hear it right here.

New Musick Monday

OK, we're back after a well-earned break to bring you some more essential purchases for this week...only, it's not really us doing the recommending, you'll see. Last week we urged you to purchase Mpho's brilliant 'Box N Locks' and you know what, no-one did. Well, some people did seeing as it crawled into the chart at no. 49, but still, it hardly seems worth it. Shame on you all.

This week is another pretty barren week for albums, but there was one that caught our eye. Normally we'd fudge it, pretend we'd heard it and judge it based on the specific act's back catalogue. This time, however, we decided to get a real journalist involved, one that has actually heard the album. Ladies and gentleman, we introduce Jake Kennedy...

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Judy Sucks A Lemon For Breakfast by Cornershop



Eight years – eight long years since the last Cornershop album. Don’t giggle – lots of people have missed them, this writer included. Here’s a a duo with an ethos that hasn’t changed in the 18 years they’ve been together. To make boundary-free good time music – and Judy has it in spades. Their fifth album isn’t so much eclectic as schizophrenic.
There’s the usual T-Rex riffing 'Who Fingered Rock’n’Roll?'/'The Roll Off Characteristics', Rowetta-tinged funk 'The turned On Truth' and plenty of sweet ass little segues that make it feel more than just a 12” remix spread over an hour. A cover of 'The Mighty Quinn' sticks out as one question mark – at least when they did 'Norwegian Wood' it was in Punjabi – 'Quinn' here sounds a little bit like a step backwards. But everything else is vital sounding (although 2004’s 'Topknot', would have fitted well) – so yes, they’ve still got it.
There. I didn’t mention “Brimful” once….

Jake has a blog, which will one day house his stories. For now it's got some lovely photos on it. It's called Rubber Echoes.

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The Best of Sandi Thom



Stretching the concept of a 'best of' to its absolute limits. Popjustice.com sum up the ridiculousness of it all better then we can so click here.

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'Heartbreaker' by MSTRKRFT feat. John Legend



We nearly managed to palm the entire section off on to other people, but we thought it best to do some actual work of our own. This is a rather nice electropop ditty by two men who don't like vowels and who used to be in other bands but aren't anymore. The singing is done by a certain John Legend who has thus far failed to live up to his surname. This isn't going to change that, but it certainly is a diverting four minutes and that's probably all we can hope for right now. This is the video. We think the guy with the sunglasses on has taken some drugs, so don't let anyone who is easily offended walk down Camden High Street.