| 1998 |
September. First of all, isn't it just typical that after weeks of scraping the pennies together and buying Led Zeppelin's Remasters double CD, it and the rest of their back catalogue gets reissued at mid-price. Oh well, such is (my) life...
Anyway, without further ado; Singles of the Month! Perhaps not as fruitful as August, but of
higher quality. Sitting side by side at joint number 1 are The Sundays
and The Verve. Summertime by The Sundays
is a song I can hardly attach enough superlatives to. Within just a couple of listens I was
proclaiming it Single of the year, decade, eon etc... In reality it is a triumphant return for the band,
and a wonderfully warm and catchy tune too. Harriet Wheeler's voice is
something special too!
The Drugs Don't Work by the Verve is another beautiful acoustic guitar
and string washed song, set at a gentle pace and quite moving. It deservedly debuted at number 1 following
last months hit, Bittersweet Symphony. If you listen carefully you may be able
to hear a kind of scribbling or scratching sound in the background to this record. That's just Noel Gallagher
taking notes.
Sitting in third place is the new material from Scottish Duo (and friends) Arab Strap.
The Girls of Summer EP could easily fit in with the material on their album,
but shows a progression into slightly tighter songs and cleaner sounds, and as opening track Hey!Fever
shows, the future looks bright in Falkirk.
One of the most interesting of this months releases is the single Does Your Heart Go Boom? by
the Ramones influenced punk-popsters Helen Love. Not only does it manage to put
the boot into Kula Shaker, Bush and Manchester Utd in less than 2 and a half minutes, it's
also a cracking and extremely energetic tune too!
Portishead are back, and responsible for the James Bond theme soundalike All Mine
that recently shot into the top ten. The b-side features the earlier limited-edition single release
Cowboys, both of which will appear on their forthcoming eponymous album. While remaining
the same old Portishead both tracks are excellent, so it's all looking good for that long
awaited second LP.
Later in the month The Verve's third album Urban Hymns
hit the shops. It has quickly been confirmed far and wide as monumentally good, and should see
them catapulted amongst the greatest bands of all time!
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