I appear to have purchased a lot of singles recently so maybe we should have a closer look.....

Abrasive Trees - Now You Are Not Here

Every new song from Abrasive Trees seems to add something new to the musical palate - This time its the amazing vocals of Jo-Beth Young. Its a song about losing a loved one, but still manages to sound both somber and celebratory. As is the way with this band, its a song that doesn't follow any traditional verse/chorus/verse structure but chooses its own speed an direction. So looking forward to seeing this played live in October

Coldplay - Coloratura

I fell for it - Someone said they had gone all Pink Floyd on us and I bought it. To be fair, the single is over 10 mins long, quite spacey and there is a short sort of Gilmour style guitar solo but it's not enough. This still sounds too much like Coldplay to warrant repeated plays

Iron Maiden - The Writing on the Wall

It wasn't until Bruce Dickinson started singing that I realised this was Iron Maiden! It may be that I've not kept up with their output recently but there was a reassuring 'chug-chug' to all Maiden songs which is missing here. It's still a decent meaty hard rock song but not enough to have me pre-ordering the album

Guns & Roses - Absurd

This was surprise - The song has been knocking around since the Chinese Democracy sessions and even played live but now recorded with Slash, Duff and Axl it's been renamed and actually released.  It's an odd track, more in keeping with the Spaghetti Incident punk feel. Axl's vocals sound like they were shouted down a megaphone which makes him unrecognisable until the occasional scream. Definitely a band looking at new directions which is so much braver than retreading the past even if it won't be considered a classic track.

 Hannah Ruby - Lights Out

And lets end with something different. From the very 80's synths and percussive handclaps this is a very modern glossy pop song with the lyrics adding a darker undertone. The occasional layered vocals and the staccato beat are great and it's well worth 4 minutes of your time to listen to this.