Singles: April 2011

Words: Saam Das

April's been a bit of a ridiculous month for the singles round up with Record Store Day dominating proceedings. Several special, limited edition singles came out on April 16th this year and well, it'd be a nightmare going through all of those on top of my bursting lists of regular singles. So I might have missed the odd amazing single but here's a selection of very good ones anyway.

Auction - 'Statues' (18 April)

Things seem to have really started to pick up for Croydon's Auction since our Surfacing feature at the start of March. 'Statues' is dazzling tropical-synth-pop and the stand-out track of the month for me. Even better, download it for free via their Bandcamp widget above. SINGLE OF THE MONTH.

Purity Ring - 'Ungirthed' (12 April)



When I wrote my Surfacing feature on Purity Ring a couple of weeks ago, I said "angelic vocals lie majestically atop progressively distorted synthpop, coming together in a remarkably engrossing fashion". That's obviously still the case. Download the single for free from Transparent. SINGLE OF THE MONTH (RUNNER UP).

Jai Paul - 'BTSTU' (Edit) (21 April)



You might recall 'BTSTU' as the song that almost single-handedly propelled Jai Paul into the BBC Sound Of 2011. This new version is only subtly different, most notably adding some brass to the original's hypnotic electro-dream-pop, making it even better than before.

The Leisure Society - 'This Phantom Life' (25 April)



Spirited orchestral pop from this eight piece, with some particularly beautiful woodwind on offer. A kind of "Pimm's O'Clock" summery song. Lovely jubbly.

Tom Vek - 'A Chore' (18 April)

Sure, I've talked about 'A Chore' and the return of Tom Vek already. But this was arguably the most prominent "alternative" single to appear last month, and did so pretty much out of the blue. 'A Chore' also managed to overcome the hype and is well worth its spot in the best singles of the month.

Big Deal - 'Talk' (4 April)



I missed them at the recent Camden Crawl but I hear the duo of Alice Costelloe and Kacey Underwood went down rather well. And with such raw, emotive songs, that's no real surprise.

My First Tooth - 'Sleet & Snow' (11 April)



I'm not sure whether this is this song's first release seeing as I wrote about it three years ago. I'll (uncharacteristically) give it a pass though because it's joyous folk-pop, which deserves a wider audience.

Tim & Jean - 'Come Around' (18 April)

Australian duo who on this evidence sound a great deal like Passion Pit. I actually think that's quite a good thing though. I'll have a little boogie even if you won't. Exciteable electro-pop.

Melodica, Melody and Me - 'Come Outside' (11 April)



Well, ain't this just purty. Beautifully melodic folk from these Sarf Londoners. Such warmth. A bit like your best mate giving you a big old hug.

Spring Offensive - 'A Stutter And A Start' (11 April)



Spring Offensive have been on my radar for quite some time but I never quite got around to writing about last year's debut album, 'Pull Us Apart'. Another majestic Oxford band who will hopefully be propelled into the mainstream along with the likes of Fixers and Trophy Wife.

PREVIOUSLY ON FG:
4th April: FOE - 'Hot New Trash' EP // Entrepeneurs - 'Fuck Tactics'/'Bubblegunk' // Beau & The Arrows - 'Fix'
11th April: n/a
Record Store Day/16th April: The Strokes - 'Under Cover Of Darkness' // Wild Beasts - 'Albatross'
18th April: Antlered Man - 'Surrounded By White Men' // Valentina - 'Weights' EP // Team Me - 'Team Me' EP // Ana Lola Roman - 'Jigsaw'/'Klutch' (Download 'Klutch' for free before it's too late)
25th April: n/a

ALSO WORTH CHECKING OUT:
4th April: Paris Suit Yourself - 'Sometimes' // Friends Electric - 'Something You Should Know' // Fight Like Apes - 'Jenny Kelly' // Everything Everything - 'Final Form' // Belleruche - '3 Amp Fuse'
11th April: Tigers That Talked - 'Holy Saturday, Gloomy Sunday' // Rökkurró - 'Sólin mun skína' // Colourmusic - 'You For Leaving Me' // The Kabeedies - 'Santiago'
18th April: Foster The People - 'Houdini' // Polarsets - 'Sunshine Eyes' // Grubby Mitts - 'To A Friends House'
25th April: The Victorian English Gentlemens Club - 'A Conversation' // Steve Mason - 'All Come Down' // Blouse - 'Into Black' // Trogons - 'Contina'

Find previous singles round ups here.