CUT COPY
In Ghost Colours
(MODULAR)  A+

If you were somewhat underwhelmed by Cut Copy’s ace 2004 album “Bright Like Neon Love,” then there’s every chance that their sophomore effort contains that little something you may have thought was missing the first time around. Four years later (almost to the date!) since their now iconic debut record was released, Melbourne’s favourite indie-electro kids have truly trumped any connotations thrown at them of possibly being one-trick ponies. “In Ghost Colours” is a much more enjoyable, mature, delightful, melody-filled record than anything we’ve heard from the trio before, and boasts a refreshing slab of delicious electronic cuts, whilst containing more truly pop-infused tracks than they’ve ever attempted before.

“Feel The Love” lustfully opens the record with harmonious strums of the guitar and celebratory oooh oooh’s, which are immediately followed by a remarkably joyous chorus and sharp use of the vocoder. “Out There On The Ice” merges quite nicely into current single “Lights & Music,” which is fabulous but isn’t even this albums best moment. “Unforgettable Season” conjures up images of The Strokes or The Teenagers and, alongside previous single “So Haunted” (also included on the new album,) is Cut Copy’s most truly brilliant and convincingly Indie moment in their discography.

The long players most defining moments spawn itself over three tracks; the interlude “Voice In Quartz,” sliding into the truly mesmerizing first single “Hearts On Fire” (which contains the greatest use of a Saxaphone since any-given-scene in an 80’s Rob Lowe movie,) and the pulsatingly catchy “Far Away,” which carries the bands finest and poppiest chorus to date.

“In Ghost Colours” is the finished product of years of fine tuning, clever production, intensely astute writing and memorable lyrics. And all that hard work and effort shows; this is the years first sign of true album perfection. Van She; you are officially being given a run for your money..

As the Summer (or winter, depending on where you are geographically) season draws to a close, we inch closer and closer into the third month of 2008; it’s already going by so quickly.  It feels like just yesterday I was seeing in the New Year when in actual fact it was 55 days ago… oi vey!

I haven’t really popped up any sort of list containing the songs that have, thus far in, tickled my musical fancy, so I thought now was as good a time as ever.  In chart form, here are the 10 best songs 2008 - whether they be singles or album tracks - has brought us so far.

01.       Van She - Strangers
02.       Van She - Changes
03.       Axle Whitehead - I Don’t Do Surprises
04.       Róisín Murphy - You Know Me Better
05.       Pigeon Detectives - I’m Not Sorry
06.       Cut Copy - Lights & Music
07.       Ashlee Simpson - Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)
08.       Sam Sparro - Black & Gold
09.       Goldfrapp - Caravan Girl
10.       Duffy - Rockferry 

I cannot wait for people to hear Van She’s “Strangers” because it is so sublime.  The synths during the chorus are magnetic and fierce.  “Changes” is just as ace and is also single material (and now that I’ve realised how similar the words “strangers” and “changes” sound when said over the phone, I’m back to being unsure as to which of the two songs are going to be the NEXT Van She single. Boo!) - sounded exxxxcellent live on the weekend and the boys told me it was their favourite track from the new record.

Axle’s debut “I Don’t Do Surprises” still impresses me, as does the man himself.  I spoke to him on Friday afternoon and the interview will be online later this week; went really well and he was incredibly charming.  Miss Murphy’s “You Know Me Better” somehow manages to become a stronger song the more I listen to it; and I already loved it immensely.  I’m aware that the Pigeon Detectives song in my list was released in 2006 and then again last year, but I’ve only just discovered the guys in the last 2 months and that song is so brilliant, I just couldn’t leave it off.

Cut Copy’s new single is a delicious taste of what’s to come from their hotly anticipated sophomore album, and Ashlee Simpson’s bonkers “Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)” sounds like a stripped down homage to Madonna’s “Burning Up.”  I love it!  Both Sam Sparro’s “Black & Gold” and Duffy’s “Rockferry” were introduced to me by the lovely xolondon, who has just written a stellar review of the new Goldfrapp album, which the track “Caravan Girl” comes from.

Anyway, what are your favourite tracks of the year so far?

Here are numbers 11 - 20…

11.       Goldfrapp - A&E
12.       Van She - Talkin’
13.       Girls Aloud - Can’t Speak French (Jeremy Wheatley Radio Edit)
14.       Kylie Minogue - Carried Away
15.       Courtney Love - Never Go Hungry Again
16.       Duffy - Mercy
17.       Courtney Love - Happy Ending Story
18.       Lykke Li - Little Bit
19.       Utah Saints - Something Good ‘08 (Van She Radio Edit)
20.       Rihanna & Klaxons - Umbrella (Live @ The BRIT Awards)

2008 is shaping up to be the year of local Australian music. The first proper retail single from the brilliant new Cut Copy album “In Ghost Colours” - their first since 2004’s “Bright Like Neon Love” and will be released through Modular in Oz on the 26th of March - is called “Lights & Music,” and is what you would very much call a proper electropop synth-mad stomper. After hearing a fair chunk of the new album and catching them live on New Years Day at Hot BBQ, this is just another Aussie release I’m hotly anticipating.

Here is the song in question (in YouTube video format,) which sees a proper physical CD single release on March the 1st.

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A floor destroying chorus and what could possibly be the funkiest use of synths in Cut Copy’s history. I spoke to Mitchell, the Copy’s drummer, back in December, so expect that chat to end up on here at some point over the next few weeks. I can tell you now though that we talked about the recrafted version of “Hearts On Fire” that was going to end up on the new record… Bring on March 26th I say.

This makes the first three truly great songs of 2008 all by Australian artists. It’s going to be one helluva year…