Aces!

We held off on posting this for a while because we thought we might write about Natasha's album at the same time, but as it turns out, the new Bat For Lashes album is possibly her best ever work, so that'll definitely get a separate post and probably a year end best of, too.

The above video and song are great, but they're just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the great quality of songs on The Haunted Man (in all good stores now!). We always yearned for Ms. Khan to take the excellent but sparse haunting folk work she started on her debut album and go EPIC with it. Go MAJESTIC. Go PANORAMIC and ORCHESTRAL. We hoped her second album might bring the goods, but it didn't. As lovely and charming and complex as it was, it still felt like it was holding back, like it was taking too much pleasure in its subtleties and restraint.

Fortunately Natasha has now abandoned a lot of her seeming coyness and her new record features the kind of lush, open, expansive scope we knew from the start that she could achieve. Seriously. It could be her best album yet.

Well done.

Nicki Minaj went from being our favourite new artist, and great credible new rap star, to the most irritating woman in pop. Really quickly. Her second album, whilst packed full of decent and listenable tunes, was so generic, pandering and free of the hyperactive clever-clever rhythms and rhymes that made us fall for her in the first place, that we handed in our fan membership and abandoned ship for good.

Well maybe we were too hasty because the lead single from the rerelease of her second album (yes, really) is a bizarre, structurally odd, electro hip hop banger replete with her best video since "Super Bass". So maybe all is not lost. Maybe she can reign it back in. We'll see. But for now we quite enjoy this.

Ooh... err... um... yes!

Girls Aloud are back back back back back and here is all you need to know. We mean, we're late on this, so you probably already know it, but we'll tell you anyway.

Above is their new video. It's ok. Some bits are cool, but mostly it's like a very fancy lyric video. Too much writing comin' atcha (Cleopatra). It'll doo though. The song is a bit of a mess. An exciting mess. But a mess. So the video sort of fits. That's a compliment, believe it or not.

With news of a new single and video comes news of a new tour and a new greatest hits album: Ten. The cover art looks like this (below) and it's exciting because they've FINALLY GOTTEN IT RIGHT after some of the worst album covers of all time:

Glorious. Classy. Sexy. Cool. Everything a girl band album cover should be. Of course there's a tracklisting too. You can (or at least you could at some point) vote for b-sides or fan favourites to be on the deluxe second disk, but this is the main cd:

1. "Something New"
2. "The Promise"
3. "The Loving Kind"
4. "Untouchable"
5. "Sexy! No No No..."
6. "Call The Shots"
7. "Can't Speak French"
8. "Something Kinda Ooooh!"
9. "Biology"
10. "The Show"
11. "Love Machine"
12. "I'll Stand By You"
13. "Jump"
14. "No Good Advice"
15. "Sound of the Underground"
16. "On The Metro"
17. "Beautiful 'Cause You Love Me"
18. "Every Now and Then"

Eagle-eyed observers will notice that there are three other new songs, alongside lead single, "Something New". Well come on let's have an album art progression just because. Here goes:

SLAY

There's not much to say about Peaches' long-awaited (can you believe it's been 3 years since I Feel Cream?) comeback: mostly because it's so fucking good. Produced by Boys Noize and Alex Epton, it's a very literal burst of frenetic electro that reminds us why she's the Queen.

B who?

The tragic genius of Solange, if our memory serves correctly, was one of the first topics we ever covered here at Shiny & New. The chances are, that if we're on the same page, you will already be aware of the outrage which surrounds this wonderful woman's total lack of commercial success so we won't delve too deeply. No matter - this girl's ambition and drive hasn't seemed to die in a pit of despair so we have a wonderful new track after a four year wait to enjoy. Exactly what we expected from her, an uplifting yet painfully pining melancholy RnB gem. Make sure you actually buy this from iTunes or whatever, she needs the cash.

We see what you did there...

Four days ago, on the day Marina Diamandis had previously stated her new video for "How To Be a Heartbreaker" would be uploaded, it wasn't. To explain the situation, Marina, much like many people of the modern era, took to Twitter to allay the fears of her fans. This was what she wrote:

So, someone at my record label wont let me release the video bc I look ugly in it apparently + we need more $ / time to paint out ugly parts
— MARINA &THE DIAMONDS (@MarinasDiamonds) September 24, 2012

To which Little Boots, who is also on the same label, and who similarly had problems with a video ("Remedy") that was deemed unacceptable by someone and quickly reshot, replied: "I think I know that guy!" (or something to that effect... the tweet has now been deleted).

We previously wrote an article, around about the time Ke$ha's aborted and then reshot "Blow" video came out. Basically, we want to know - because we're nosey and obsessed with pop - why these original videos were scrapped! In Marina's case, we want to know why the original video was deemed unacceptable. Marina's label were quick to assuage fans on twitter by saying that they love "M" and think she's not a 'minger'. So what was the reason? Perhaps we'll never know.

Anyway with regards to the final product itself: as always, Marina looks headturningly beautiful, if a little fake-tan streaky. We do wonder what the meeting to come up with the treatment for this was like though. Maybe someone drew a Venn diagram that had two overlapping circles. One said "lovers of gay porn" and the other said "Marina Diamandis fans" and they pointed to the large intersection and said: "THAT, is our concept".

All I wanna do is dispose of your body...

Christina has made a camp feast for the eyes. Well, someone has made a camp feast for the eyes and Christina turned up and went along with it because it probably sounded like a good idea and there was probably a buffet laid out for the occasion and who wouldn't turn up for a free buffet? We wouldn't turn an invitation down.

As well as managing to crowbar in product placement for a psychic website, have a disconap on a sunbed and change wigs at approximately 5 lacefronts per second, Xtina also chooses to glamorously and surreally murder men as a metaphor for one night stands/random hookups (!??). We won't ruin the 'plot' for you, but it doesn't make sense and heads metaphorically roll.

It's quite fun to look at.

Yeeeeehawww!

No Doubt have made a fairly basic and low-budget-looking video for "Push and Shove", their INCREDIBLE second single from their comeback album of the same name. It's not only their best single in yonks, it's one of the best songs of the YEAR (if we say so ourselves) so even if the music vid doesn't quite blow us away or change our lives, it's the kind of song that's so good it can carry 5 minutes of people larking around in black and white effortlessly.

*claps*

Nelly Furtado's current album campaign isn't going very well. The first single, "Big Hoops (Bigger The Better - No Innuendo, I'm Really Talking About My Earrings, Promise)" was a minor hit in the UK but a flop almost everywhere else, and despite being a bonkers piece of modern pop brilliance, its follow-up, the album's eponymous "Spirit Indestructible", was an even bigger flop.

So now she's pulling out the big guns before the label presumably completely give up and it's this. Well... it could be worse. It's definitely a grower, and although it hurt our heads the first time, we've now come round to it and are fans of the ditty and accompanying video, if not stans.

Unfortunately, the time for a moderate grower with only one riff, two hooks and no big euphoric moment is NOT at the point where you're supposed to be salvaging a major comeback from disaster.

Also, we love you Nelly, you keep the quirk at the centre of major label female popstars alive. But you really shouldn't have disappeared for almost 7 years at the point when it's most key to cement your legacy and status. Otherwise you end up with this: great pop music, mostly ignored, no rabid fanbase to propel you to the top and what will probably result in a tiny budget for your next project. 'Just sayin' as people seem to love to say.

Ok.......

This Tori Amos video was uploaded to youtube, then deleted, then reuploaded. We have no idea what happened but it's back now.

The comments are really depressing (aren't youtube comments always depressing?). Most of them centre on Tori's face and age. But really it's the music and the visuals that should be everyone's focus.

"Flavor" is an orchestral rework of the opening track from an album very few people bought (compared to her previous records) so really it doesn't have the right to be as BRILLIANT as it is. Seriously. It is sumptuous, dark and dramatic and addictive. Also totally better than the original. The video, too, is her best music video for years. It's not lifechanging, no. It doesn't hit the peaks that the videos of her youth did. But considering most ageing artists give up on music videos altogether, it's a rare treat to get one at all.

Also the pigeon moment is fierce.

OH OUR GOD

WELL THIS IS VERY EXCITING SO EXCITING WE HAVE LEFT CAPS ON AS A LITTLE TREAT TO CELEBRATE BEING EXCITED.

We're going to be honest with you. We love Martha Wainwright but we didn't even know she was working on a new album... We mean, it makes sense. She's an artist. She hasn't retired (to our knowledge). She hasn't released an album in a while. It was bound to happen. But, much as we love her, we'd sort of forgotten she'd existed... that is until NOW.

AND OH OUR GOD. Her come back song is greater and more beautiful and fragile and brilliant and overwhelmingly stunning than we ever would have imagined. I mean, Martha is always excellent in her ability to tug at heartstrings, but it's usually more subtle and less... 'showy' than this.

But it's great. Oh our god so great. Especially considering 2012 has been so drab for music so far.

Gosh we're excited.

The song is called "Proserpina" (oo-er) and it's taken from her new album Come Home to Mama which is apparently out on the 15th of the month known commonly as October.

Oh

P!nk is currently perfectly placed to do something really artistically daring and memorable. She's had such a commercially successful career so far and is so respected as a performer and songwriter (well... compared to the other major league major label divas anyway) that she can do whatever she wants now and it won't really harm or hurt her. But instead we get this. Black and white can be really beautiful and iconic but this just looks tacky and blown out like it was filmed on a laptop and edited on imovie. There's a story of sorts but it's not original or interesting enough to be gripping. P!nk looks beautiful we guess.

OOP!

Naked Natasha is naked. Um... not entirely sure what else to say about this. Not quite in keeping with her previous album covers is it? But we like it nonetheless. It's bold, certainly. It signals a new direction, or something. Not One Direction. But a new direction. How does it hold up chronologically? Let's find out:


Hmmm... it looks ok. Maybe it'll all make sense in time?

That's not all there is to froth at the gills about, though. NO, our dearest pals. There's a music video below, for a single. It's called "Laura". It's... more Antony & The Johnsons than Florence + the Machine if you catch our drift. It's more... Tori Amos than Kate Bush. It's more... Elton John than David Bowie.

Basically it's got a piano featured very prominently. It's nice and dramatic and catchy though. We like. What do you think?

Look

We know we shouldn't be making excuses for Madonna. But we will. Imagine that you've had a 30 year career spanning 4 different decades. Imagine that you've changed the pop landscape forever, not just with the high quality of your output, but by redefining what it means to be a female popstar. Imagine that you're the biggest selling female artist of all time, with the biggest grossing solo tour of all time. Imagine that you're 53 and still challenging sexist notions of how women should behave. Imagine you're the Queen of Pop with more innovation under your belt than 99.99999999% of artists achieve in their short careers.

You're allowed to phone it in a bit.

A very modern pop video

A lot (a LOT) has changed since No Doubt were last a viable pop commodity (since they were last together making music, basically). The pop landscape is now so different it's basically unrecognisable. But No Doubt don't seem to be stuck in the past, here's their brand spanking new video. It's got lots of things you expect to see in a music vid in 2012:

• product placement
• an unnecessarily long intro
• an unnecessarily long outro
• an epilepsy-inducing lighting setup
• super crisp and cool slo mo
• product placement

Also why is Gwen still keeping her sweatshop workers/Harajuku girls locked up in the back of her truck? RACISM. CONTRAVENING HUMAN RIGHTS LAWS. Joke, joke. But really.

Beautiful & boring

There's no doubt that this is masterfully crafted: beautifully shot, finely conceived and even well-acted. BUT IT'S JUST SO BORING. For ages it doesn't go anywhere and then by the time it suddenly does you've lost interest. Or at least we did.

Even though we're guilty of endlessly scrolling through tumblr (an experience very similar to watching this video) we still can't get too excited about it.

It is super pretty and very .gifable though.

Lolling in a pond

We've discussed the work of High Priestess of Tumblr Apollo on this here blog before and cannot ignore his latest cinematic venture; a video accompaniment to last year's goose-pimple-inducing "Rope". If you like lurid smoke bombs, nipples standing to attention, giving good face in the middle of a pond and flaw free peroxide locks this is for you. We're feeling Anjelica Huston in The Witches (fierce Anj, not nobbly demon gremlin from hell Anj obvs), we're feeling "not sure if we'd wear this barbed wire over our eyes down to Dalston Superstore but it works in a field", we're feeling FIRE FIRE FIRE. Fair play.

Cute

Regina Spektor's new song is an almost wilfully twee rework of one of her early 00s songs from a pre-label time. In her budget-strapped new video she gets cutesy and inventive in a hotel room.

Well, it's a complete departure from the Sturm und Drang of her previous single, "All The Rowboats". It's not exactly what we wanted or expected, but it's a fun watch and it'll do for now. There's lots more meaty, less silly stuff on her new album that probably - unlike this - wasn't recorded because the record label were desperate for a 'hit'.

Grosstastic

Fiona Apple's fabulous, beautiful, bewildering, sexual, revolting, violent, gentle, beguiling new video is up.

Do we think it means something or do we think she just got lost in a tumblr spiral of procrastination and ended up watching 2 Girls, 1 Octopus?

Breathtaking

Controversial French-by-way-of-American freak folk duo CocoRosie have a new video out and oh by gum it's beautiful and crazy, as one would hope and expect. Lots of things happening in slow motion (most notably people and crockery falling). Actually it's a shame it's really good, because if it was shit we could do a 'crockery or shit' pun. But we can't. Cuz it's quality. Shame.