Lissie returns: Hooray for Lissie!!

AMAZING NEWS: Lissie, the country-pop-rock singer whose debut album Catching A Tiger crowned my Top 10 in 2010 is finally back with some new material. Her new single, Shameless, is rockier, angrier and slightly more Sheryl Crow than her earlier material... But I'm literaly too excited to write anything more coherent and sensible, so here's the press release:

Bristling with distorted guitars and fiery attitude, Shameless is a smouldering commentary on the culture of modern celebrity, introspectively examining what it takes to achieve fame and success in current times. Building towards its rousing climax, Lissie's raw vocals and gritty, heartfelt delivery make for a compelling and blistering return.

"We live in a society where terrible behaviour is rewarded with coverage and attention, where celebrity is seen as a talent in itself. I understand the allure of image and of a good story but i sometimes feel like it trumps the content. When i wrote Shameless i'd just been feeling so over how much bullshit style over substance there is to 'making' it in this business," said Lissie.

Coo-er.

The lyric video is below. Caution for swears.

Lissie - Shameless

Lissie is also playing at Dingwalls in London on 7th May. Tickets go on sale this Friday at this weblinky. See you there.

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New Selena Gomez: Come And Get It

The cover for Selena Gomez's new single is really quite something, isn't it? It's just a shame the song isn't quite as charismatic (ie 100% cuckoo bananas).

Come And Get It was hastily posted on YouTube over the weekend, after it leaked on SoundCloud. Certain types of website are frothing at the lyrics, which can be interpreted as an offer to reconcile with her ex-boyfriend Justin "absolutely not a twat" Bieber. Other websites have called it "world music with a twist of Selena" – by which they mean the producer has discovered the Tabla loop in Garage Band.

Is it worth the hype? I don’t know... Come And Get It is written by Stargate, so you're guaranteed a certain level of quality. But Selena sounds kind of bored by the whole thing. It's less "Come and get it" than "Oh God, not tonight. Do we have to?"

Audio ahoy.

Selena Gomez - Come And Get It

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Jessie Ware: Imagine It Was Us

As the headline suggests, this is the video for the song formerly known as Pom Pom Pom Special Delivery, Jessie Ware's new single Imagine It Was Us.

Whereas the previous version had a man from Radio One shouting all over the top, this is unadulterated, sophisticated soul. If someone invites you into their flat for a coffee and puts this on the stereo, you should prepare yourself for "the lunge": They are trying to seduce you.

Video-wise, we’re in a moody nightclub, and Jessie is putting chapters 1-6 of her choreography-for-beginners book to good use.

Jessie Ware - Imagine It Was Us

Imagine It Was Us is from the Gold Edition of Jessie's debut album, Devotion, which is out next week.

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One Direction's art-house movie trailer

When I saw One Direction at the Brits, they were being followed around by Super Size-Me director Morgan Spurlock, and one of those huge ring lights they use to make pop stars eyes go all sparkly. As we all know, that was in aid of One Direction 3D a hybrid concert / documentary that's due out in August.

But did you know that, at the very same time, the band were filming a foreign language art-house movie, loosely based on Lord Of The Flies? The trailer was released this week. It's strange, eerie and unsettling - and I know one thing for certain: Claudia Winkleman is going to be very, very confused.

One Direction - Film trailer

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Songs you may have missed: Dutch edition

Sorry for the lack of updates this week - I was off in Amsterdam working on the BBC's coverage of the Rijksmuseum relaunch (here's an example), which turned out to be a lot busier than I anticipated. Still, the music industry took an extended Easter break, so there wasn't much to catch up with on my return. Apart from these:

1) Chris Malinchak - So Good To Me
The press release calls Chris Malinchak a "legendary New York deep house producer" but I've never heard of him. Have you? No matter, because his new single is a hazy summer daydream that sent ripples through the Miami Winter Music Conference. A warm, casual groove with a nimble Marvin Gaye sample, maybe it can convince the sun to come out of hiding when it's released on 5th May.




2) Little Mix ft Missy Elliot - How Ya Doin?
Little Mix have been sponsored by something called "Live Colour XXL", which explains the ridiculous hair colours in this video.

Nothing can explain, however, this godawful single, which manages to tarnish the legacy of De La Soul* and Missy Elliot in a single, three-minute burst of crap.

*Yes, I'm aware the original was by Curiosity Killed The Cat



3) Wretch 32 - Blackout
It's not every day a rapper declares: "my vocabulary is shit", but Wretch 32 is not an every day rap star. Featuring vocals from Shakka, and truck-load of marimbas, Blackout is practically guaranteed for the Top 10 when it comes out next month.

If you like the studio version, you should also check out the super-cute acoustic version on SBTV, where Wretch can't hide his ever-increasing smile.




4) Florrie - Live A Little
Florrie is a graduate of songwriting powerhouse Xenomania, who played drums on Girls Aloud's The Promise. She's been self-releasing music - tons of it - ever since, to almost universal indifference (except in Spain, where one of her EPs went to number three).

But last year she took a couple of months off, signed to a major label and started work on a proper album. It's not clear whether this new track - a promo for Sony earphones - is part of that project, but it's a real step up from her earlier material - catchy, compact and swollen with attitude. The intro could do with an edit, though.




5) Snoop Lion ft Miley Cyrus - Ashtrays and Heartbreaks
This reggae-tinged new track from the artists formerly known as Snoop Dogg and Hannah Montana is simultaneously better and worse than you'd expect. With time, I think it'll become a guilty pleasure. Or maybe we'll pretend it never happened. History, as always, will be the judge.





6) Tussilago - Farewell
This is new from Lykke Li's little brother. Like Sigur Ros without the histrionics, it'll sound amazing with a cup of cocoa.




7) Rudimental ft Ella Eyre - Waiting All Night
All of Rudimental's videos seem to come with the tag "The following events are based on a true story". They're like the Channel 5 of riotous dance music.

Last time, we followed the career of B-Boy Mouse, who rose from the slums to become a dance champion. For the new single, Waiting All Night, the video chronicles the life and rehabilitation of BMX champion Kurt Yaeger, who lost a limb after a motorcycle collision in 2006. It's both thrilling and uplifting - if you only watch one video on this page, make it this one.

And that's your lot. Normal service will be resumed next week.

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Still not a proper single: Beyoncé's new song

OH GET ON WITH IT WOMAN.

The latest clip in the seemingly never-ending countdown to Beyoncé's fifth album is a minute-long excerpt of a new song called Grown Woman. It's the soundtrack to a new Pepsi advert, which (confusingly) goes by the separate name Mirrors. I'm writing this before it comes out, so delete anything that doesn't apply.

This is incredible / awful. A ground-breaking / woeful, sonic experiment / disaster. This elevates / tosses Beyoncé into the musical elite / pop dumper, where she will rub shoulders with the likes of Elvis / Olly Murs. We're glad / upset that she's back, and look forward to / have cancelled our pre-order for her new album.

The video looks like this.

Beyonce - Mirrors

PS This whole "Bey Here Now" hashtag - has Beyoncé never heard of Oasis? Or is this a tacit admission that her new record is a grandiose cocaine-fuelled failure?

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