New Pop Releases for December 2005

POP NEWS!

Some of the singles out this week ... and worth listening to (rated out of ***** 5 stars)

Babyshambles - 'Albion' ***

A song about running away from ... well ... everything. Self annointed indie poet Pete Doherty may not be able to deliver the vocal warm required here, but this journey through suburban London still paints a very vivid, picture of a lost world.

Rihanna - 'If It's Lovin' That You Want' *****

Rihanna's latest is entirely made up of one blamming dance-hall beat, some bum-quake bass, one slinky guitar riff, and about nine Rihannas weaving a gentle Caribbean spell around each other. That's all there is to it. What more do you need?

The Futureheads - 'Area' ****

Frenetic riffs. Loud and shouty singalong chorus complete with do-do-dos. Northernified vocals. Legs sore from pogo-ing like Roadrunner on a diet of jumping beans. Abso-frikin-lutely! The Futureheads' super-charged jitter-rock is like coffee and sherbert and fizzy cola all in the same cup, and they've got us dancing our little socks off, frankly. If you've heard their debut album, there's nothing new to report here. But then, if it ain't broke, SHAKE IT!

Oasis - 'Let There Be Love' ***

With every Oasis album you know there'll always be one song that sounds more like the Beatles than, erm, all the rest of the tracks. Well, this is the one! 'Let There Be Love' is an orchestrated, mushy singalong despite Liam's best Lennon snarl, and will provide the moment in their future concerts where the crowd joins in and holds up their lighters. Unlike the dirty rockfest 'Lyla' and the plod-a-thon melody of 'The Importance of Being Idle', this single is drowned in lush strings and sentiment. Liam and Noel even share the singing! Group hug in the mosh pit, anyone?

Out later this month:

BASEMENT JAXX - 'UNRELEASED MIXES' [12" Only]
CRAZY FROG - 'JINGLE BELLS/CAN'T TOUCH THIS'
DEPECHE MODE - 'A PAIN THAT I AM USED TO'
HOT PANTZ - '(I'D LIKE TO GIVE U) ONE 4 CHRISTMAS'
OZZY OSBOURNE - 'IN MY LIFE'
ROBBIE WILLIAMS - 'ADVERTISING SPACE'
THE WHITE STRIPES - 'WALKING WITH A GHOST EP'
GIRLS ALOUD - 'SEE THE DAY'
HARD-FI - 'CASH MACHINE'
KYLIE MINOGUE - 'SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW' [Download Only]
COLDCUT - 'MAN IN A GARAGE'
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - 'BURN THE WITCH'
RICHARD ASHCROFT - 'BREAK THE NIGHT WITH COLOUR'