Beyonce ft. Jack White
Don't Hurt Yourself
★★★★
The combative opening half of Beyonce's Lemonade album, in which she takes husband Jay-Z robustly to task for apparent infidelity, includes one headline-grabbing splash quote (Sorry's accusatory reference to "Becky with the good hair"), as well as one potential massive song of the summer (the faux reggae Hold Up.) But it is on this scuzzy rocker, that years of building private tensions explode most powerfully, and violently, into the public arena. "Who the fuck do you think I is?" she shrieks. "You ain't married to no average bitch, boy." The sample, fittingly, is from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks.
Portishead
S.O.S.
★★★
Portishead's first new recording in seven years is an ABBA cover version, recorded for the soundtrack of Ben Wheatley's High Rise film. Beth Gibbons could sing The Wheel On The Bus and make it sound like a Greek tragedy. So turning this kitschy 1970s smash into an harrowing litany of loss and betrayal was, no doubt, a complete doddle.
Update: At the band's request, the audio of the song has been removed from the internet. For consolation, here's the pretty-good original...
Fiction Peaks
In For a Penny
★★★
Up-and-coming Dublin band Fiction Peaks return with a second single that borrows its title from the old dictum "in for a penny in for a pound." A phrase that, I believe, if worth quoting, is worth quoting in full. Take a listen here
The Sons of Southern Ulster
The Pop Inn
★★★★
With cover art featuring an old IRA flying column, Shuffle almost dismissed The Sons of Southern Ulster's Foundry Folk Songs album as some hoary 1916 centenary tie-in when it landed on my desk. In fairness, the Cavan duo probably do just about qualify as hoary. (The Pop Inn chronicles a misspent youth soundtracked by Slade and The Rubettes.) But the sharp, evocative lyrics and deadpan delivery owe a debt to Irish alt-rock acts such as Whipping Boy and A House, rather than The Wolfe Tones. An (almost) overlooked gem.
