A seemingly random selection of new singles and videos released in the past week or so, song titles stitched together to provide possibly Dubhed's longest and most meaningless post header yet!
Starting things off is Pet Shop Boys with their cover of All The Young Dudes. A shame that the You Tube simply credits it as "Song by Bowie" and makes no mention of Mott The Hoople's version, which let's face it will remain the definitive and the best.
This isn't even the first time I've posted PSB covering this song. At the end of August, I posted a Dubhed selection of BBC Radio 2 Piano Room sessions, with Neil and Chris nestling between Sharleen Spiteri and Dave Gahan.
I'll be honest, I prefer the Piano Room session (and the Richard X remix) over the James Ford-produced single version and the video is a bit predictable and bland, compared to the usual PSB fare. I would have picked the superior double A side, New London Boy, but they haven't got around to releasing a video for that yet.
Laibach are no stranger to the cover version, often beating out and fashioning surprising and new metallic shapes from songs by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Europe, Juno Reactor, Opus, Prince, Queen and The Rolling Stones. This time it's Strange Fruit, interpreted over the years by UB40, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Tori Amos, The Twilight Singers and Bettye Lavette.
None (apart from Nina Simone) quite capture the power of Billie Holiday's original version, but Laibach's version is unexpectedly...well, delicate is not the right word, sympathetic, maybe.
Just Sašo Vollmaier on piano, Luka Jamnik (unseen) on "effects and electronics" and Milan Fras' unmistakable voice (though looking alarmingly like Robert Carlyle's twin brother in the video). The pummelling chords and Fras' growling gargle of the song's final word ('crop', in case you're wondering) leave an impression that lingers long after the song has ended. The song's lyrical theme and message are sadly no less relevant now than when it was first published as the poem Bitter Fruit in 1937.
Fontaines D.C.'s penchant this year for single word single titles accompanied by great videos continues unabated with Bug, springing out from the album Romance, which came out in August but I still haven't got around to buying yet.
The video is essentially a three-and-a-half minute re-edit of Andrea Arnold's latest film Bird, released in the UK & USA on Friday (8th). Bug is the name of the character played by Barry Keoghan. It's a good song, elements reminding me of Echo & The Bunnymen and New Order in their more 'rock' moments.
After a memorable live set in Bristol in the summer, Sam Morton (the band) is back with a new song, Never Understand. Not a cover of The Jesus & Mary Chain, sonically it's firmly rooted in the 90s, dare I day some of the outlier trip hop artists such as Mulu or Mono and possibly other acts beginning with 'M'.
Samantha Morton (the actor)'s vocals are a step up from the debut album, perhaps a confidence that's come from honing her craft live on stage. If this is a nod to what may be coming next, then I look forward to Sam and co's future music. Engaging performances from Safia Oakley-Green and Conrad Kahn in the video, too.
I have to admit that before coming across the video for Wish Defense, I had never heard of FACS or the band that preceded them, Disappears. However, I will be checking out their back catalogue on the strength of this song.
Wish Defense is the title track of FACS' forthcoming album (their sixth, I think) due in February. The song gets straight down to business with some angular bass, drums and guitar, Brian Case's vocals coming in bang on the one-minute mark, ramping up the urgency of the band's performance for the remainder of the song. Nothing ground breaking perhaps, but I'm intrigued enough to want to listen to more.
The band perhaps wisely excuse themselves from the video and leave the heavy lifting to Megan Paradowski's choreography, which is mesmerising. Great stuff all round.
Dialling right back to an almost glacial pace, is Jon Hopkins with Forever Held, a collaboration with Ólafur Arnalds, written for NASA and employing a full orchestra.
One of the first reactions to the 3:21 video on YouTube is that "There should be a law enforcing Jon Hopkins tracks to be at least six minutes long."
This is the 'extended version', mate, the single release on Bandcamp is 2:38!
But I get the point. Jon Hopkins at his best creates deep, achingly beautiful music and whilst it's astonishing that he manages to deliver a complete and satisfying journey in two or three minutes, I could easily listen to a twenty-odd minute version of this. Unless it's incorporated into the opening of the new Coldplay album (true).
There's only one way to follow that and it's with another cracking single and video from Du Blonde. Solitary Individual the song features Laura Jane Grace - Du Blonde's previous single featured Skin from Skunk Anansie to similarly great effect - and it's another scuzzy punk pop earworm.
Beth Jeans Houghton wrote, performed and produced the song and directed, animated and edited the video. The YouTube posting includes Beth's brilliant acerbic lyrics, so that you can learn them and sing along, annoying your family in the process (if Clan K is any measure).
If like me, you want to buy the digital versions, all of today's featured singles are available on Bandcamp. The only exception is Pet Shop Boys, but you can easily find New London Boy/All The Young Dudes elsewhere, in a variety of edits and remixes.