A.R. Rahman & Pussycat Dolls – Jai Ho!
Banghra Fever is here!! Multi Oscar winning movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has everything to answer for with this track. Hot on the heels of M.I.A’s ‘Paper Planes’ which was featured in the film, just listen to the end credits to hear where this one came from. It’s a remake of the movie theme, by the soundtrack creator, A.R. Rahman. Jai Ho! is a typical Bollywood composition, that has been, rearranged, translated, re-edited and interpreted from the original, with the addition of the Pussycat dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger to make a great up-tempo R&B tune that does not disappoint. (I actually found myself walking around singing the Jai Ho! part of the chorus to myself!!). I really like this tune. It contains an epic percussive Banghra theme, combined with the winning formula of the Pussycat dolls sound, making it an unusual collaboration that makes you want to hear it again, and again. High chart positions in the UK, and Ireland, plus heavy plays on all the major music channels have made this a tune that you will have heard lots and lots of before it disappears!!
******** 8/10
Noisettes – Don’t upset the rhythm
All good pop records have something in common, they all contain a hook that literally stays with you for weeks, even months after the song has left the chart, and this song by The Noisettes is certainly no exception. Featured at the start of 2009 on the TV ad for the ‘Mazda 2’, this tune’s hookline will go down in pop history as one of the most infectious, easy to remember choruses since S Club 7’s ‘Reach’ in 2000. Featuring the lyrics ‘Go baby, go baby go’, it’s as easy to remember as your name. ‘Don’t upset the rhythm’ is a very commercial tune considering that The Noisettes are actually an Indie band! Although you may not have heard of them, they are certainly not the sort of band to emerge from nowhere, have a single that climbs into the top 5 in the chart, and then disappear into the vault of one hit wonder history. They have been on the go from 2003, and have released seven singles including ‘Don’t upset the rhythm’, which incidentally is the second single from their second album, ‘Wild Young Hearts’ which was released earlier this year.
******* 7/10
Calvin Harris – I’m not Alone
Calvin Harris is back with a tweaked sound, hitting dancefloors hard with his new single ‘I’m not Alone’ - which is the 1 st single from his 2 nd album which is due for release later this year. Already reaching the No.1 spot on the official UK top 40 chart proves just how popular this song already is. To many, this is Calvin’s best tune to date, and it’s not hard to understand why. The intro features Calvin himself on lyrics, and continues to a powerful ‘hands in the air’ uplifting riff, that will appeal to clubbers and electronic music fans alike. The later released tracks from his last album ‘I Created Disco’ didn’t do very well in the charts, although his last non-album track with Dizzee Rascal – the fantastic ‘Dance wiv me’ was a huge success, so it’s good to see Calvin right back on form. Remixes by Deadmau5, DJ Tiesto and Herve, ensure that this will remain on dancefloors for a while yet. If this is the shape of things to come from Calvin Harris, the future of Scottish dance music is looking very good indeed.
******** 8/10
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