TIN MAN- I’ve got my lithium ion you EP

When Michael Jackson was pronounced dead, I didn’t believe it. I thought he was in an underground bunker with Elvis and, one sweet day, they would both reappear for the comeback of all comebacks, like Dirty Den. Turns out I was wrong. He is actually playing guitar for indie popsters, Tin Man- led by ‘indie’ games developer, James Leeds- and hiding out in a small office above a shop run by John Peel’s daughter (naturelle-ment) where they peddle their wares on an old organ abandoned by a previous tenant, as if all this gives the trio further kudos. Sounds suitably Wacko anyway.



Tin Man’s music is far more tame, however. From opening track ‘Everyday I wake up with a different reason’, their sense of catchy, hook-laden songwriting is more than obvious, as bouncy as The Rapture or Bowie if either were also battery-powered, or what Franz Ferdinand would sound like with an extra few volts applied to the right places. The content is also generally familiar, appearing to attempt to make sense of broken relationships by sounding quite self-pitying, only really peeking out at their self-proclaimed “geek rock” in the title track, which apparently takes a pop at Google in its wry lyrics about big brother culture. With an edgy, Arcade Fire-feel to Leed’s voice at times, this is pretty much where the comparison ends- though, that said, ‘Born to let you down’ also rocks a bit. I’m not sure you can moonwalk to this EP, but you could do far worse than too at least give it a listen.

http://www.myspace.com/thetinman

Released 19th April, 2010.

CODEINE VELVET CLUB- Vanity kills

This single was first released back in November, 2009 but failed to chart. Neither did its follow-up, ‘Hollywood’. So Codeine Velvet Club can only be admired for their persistence. A quintet whose core lies in Jon Lawler of indie favourites, The Fratellis, and fellow Glaswegian, Lou Hickey, have taken that indie and raised it with a pop, winning recent support slots with the likes of John Mayer but still no commercial success, at least as yet.

So let’s try again.

thought i'd seen this before somewhere

Undoubtedly wiggling like the hips of a scantily clad burlesque performer, ‘Vanity kills’ claims to hark back to a more glamorous era, specifically the days of ‘60’s boy-girl duets, when Nancy Sinatra marvelled girlishly at Lee Hazelwood’s moustache and dramatic orchestral pop reigned supreme. But it doesn’t really. What you will find here is, indeed, a male and a female singing amidst a big band section and sweeping strings but with a modern day twist that leaves me undecided if this is merely some stale indie drivel or something that is going to get them noticed this time round. My gut feeling is that, as this is the first song the duo ever wrote together, Codeine Velvet Club may just have a little something better to offer.

http://www.myspace.com/codeinevelvetclub

Released 5th April, 2010.

Anna C