Single Reviews by Michael Barwise 16/10/11

Single Of The Week:

Florence + The Machine – Shake It Out

82%

As much as I appreciated the subtle complexity of her last single "What The Water Gave Me", it felt as if it was missing something. Whereas new song, "Shake It Out", hits the sweet spot where WTWGM and other of her previous songs have failed to. The song starts with an organ in the background accompanying her magnificent voice as she sings about “reliving your darkest moments" and  "the ghouls come out to play". Very haunting indeed. As the drums kick in and the song starts to build up, Florence continues to drive the song forward with her enormous lungs. None of this, however matches up to that chorus. And what a chorus… “Shake it out, shake it out whoa!” Florence sings over crashing symbols and glittery synths. A superb song which takes Florence back on track to being the best female singer in Britain. Marvellous!

Matt Cardle – Run For Your Life

50%

Over 9 months after he had a Christmas number 1 with ‘When We Collide’, last year’s X Factor winner Matt Cardle is back with his first proper debut single ‘Run For Your Life’. Trying to shake off the X Factor tag that most of his predecessors' still haven't been able to get rid of, he tries a calmer and more subtle approach than Cher Lloyd for instance. However it ends up sounding like stereotypical “climbing to reach the impossible goal” X Factor rubbish. Harmless enough though.

Sak Noel - Loca People

3%

I don’t know who this 'Noel' thinks he is, but he should be sacked.

Coldplay – Paradise

78%

Coldplay’s new single is their poppiest to date with the help of heavy synths and one heck of a chorus (you’ll spend all day trying to get “para-para paradise” out of your head that’s for sure). The song shows a new side to Coldplay. They have moved away from their intimate and personal approach on their debut to a much more universal appeal on this song in particular. Even though I prefer the style of Coldplay’s earlier stuff, I cannot deny that “Paradise” is a huge song with beautiful melodic verses and an even bigger chorus. A great song which leaves me yearning to listen to their long awaited fifth album even more.

Real Estate – It’s Real

62%

When I first listened to the new Real Estate song, it seemed to me as if it was background music to a furniture shop. After listening to it more and more, it’s really growing on me and I feel as if I’ve been carried away by its subtly anthemic chorus. This song is an incredible piece of music if you just let it take over you. However if you show resilience, background music it will be.