Singles Club

Hello intrepid listeners. Last week One Direction successfully proved that vocal capability is directly proportionate to size of hairstyle, Owl City released yet another ringtone and Jessie J realised the invisible roof she'd been sold came with a few small defects. This week marks the start of the festive releases, with some old skool R'n'B thrown in for good measure.

Flo Rida - Good Feeling

Oh Flo Rida, when will you ever realise there's more to music than vapid club tunes? The beat here reminds me of (and may well be lifted from) house music of the early 00s, which is a neat idea, but then the Party Synth (a phrase I just made up, but something you may have heard before) kicks in along with some awful lyricism. Mr. Rida may have lacked an identity at the start of his career; but he seems to have settled happily into a persona of 'dumb muscle'.

"No trick plays / I'm Bill Gates / takes a genius to understand me" No, I don't think I believe that. For what it's worth, the music video is incredible for showing a picture of the Louvre when Flo Rida says "Taiwan". Incredible. - Nathan Blades

Mary J Blige - 25/8

Now there's a name from my childhood. Mary J was one of those skilled R'n'B solo artists who had a great hit (No More Drama), and then sadly lost her level of mainstream involvement. In that regard, 25/8 is a solid single, going for the punchy and uplifting angle, with rock organ and soul-clap filled bridge. Mary J's vocals handle the lyrics with punch, but I don't feel as thrilled as I was in 2001. It would be unfair for me to blame her for that, though. - Nathan Blades

Chase & Status & Subfocus feat. Takura - Flashing Lights

I normally listen to Subfocus for loud and aggressive Drum 'n' Bass that I can listen to when out and about so I can feel like a bass-throbbing god among mortals. So this Chase & Status collaboration caught me by surprise by it being rather relaxed and understated. The initial acoustic guitar riffs and (somewhat generic) vocal sample lead into something so laid-back, I was entirely unsuspecting by the loud and annoying Wubstep that kicks in for the last third. It's ugly and distracting; a real shame. - Nathan Blades

Serenades – Come Home

Are jolly singalongs or morose piano-led ballads not quite pushing your festive button? Upbeat and disguising a serious message with a catchy chorus, this song is interesting to say the least. ‘Come Snow, Come Home’ does sound like a winter driving-safety campaign though. Thank goodness for the stock Christmas bells sample, straight out of ‘Feed the World’, to clear up the confusion: this is actually a festive track! Released early enough so as not be swallowed up in the messy X Factor/nostalgia/anti-X-Factor feeding frenzy of the run up to Christmas, personally I would take note of the name and wait for the album. - Jane Catterall

Britney Spears – Criminal

Darn it Britney’s gone and fallen for a bad boy again. But it’s all ok, Mama, because she’s shamelessly advertising her own perfume in the process. A hilariously out of place flute motif is the only vaguely interesting thing about this track. Lyrics and melody are dull and repetitive, guess that’s why they had to spice up the video somewhat... lots of Britney nakedness going on there... - Lucie Vincer

Bit of a mixed bag this week, so here's a video of some owls at varying degrees of contentedness.

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