on the stereo

Currently liztening to:

1. The Young Knives - Loughborough Suicide: Easily the best thing the thrilling 'Knives have done to date, this is just tremendous; an elegant, caustic little slice of small-town ennui which occasionally splutters into The Jam-style fury. The lyrics marginally edge it over the tune, with Henry spluttering "I'll never go down fighting" while House intones "Well, it's cold cold cold and I think I'm gonna die in here / considering Loughborough suicide, which I'm definitely going to do, this year / And if you take a look outside then the answer to your question is quite clear / that you may as well leave because there's nothing else to do around here". When the guitars briefly erupt into a kinetic little riff half way through something physical happens and I want to punch the air. Ace.

2. Lily Allen - Little Things: Apart from the luminous 'LDN', my favourite Lily Allen song so far, from the first wistful lines ("Sometimes I find myself sitting back and reminiscing / Especially when I have to watch other people kissing") to the way she alternates between sassy wit ("Drinkin' tea in bed, watching DVDs / when I discovered all your dirty grotty magazines") and girlishness ("the first time that you introduced me to your friends / and you could tell I was nervous, so you held my hand") - it's lovely. Best of all, obviously, is her voice, which is unshowy yet demonstrative, and totally convincing, especially when she sings lines like "I know it sounds lame but its so true". It is.

3. Midlake - Roscoe: Dan is loudly proclaiming Midlake's 'The Trials of Van Occupanther' as record of the year so far, and he mightn't be far wrong - it's a super little record, all beguiling harmonies, soft-rock piano riffs, buzzing synths and bucolic calm. It may seem lazy to pick the first track on the album as the best song, but it's really beautiful. Clincher is the escalating harmonies and the line "Whenever I was a child I wondered what if my name had changed into something more productive like... Roscoe", which triggers a little cascade of shivers. Soft rock need not sound like The Feeling.

4. Sol Seppy - The Bells of 1 2 LP: Another Dan-discovery, via last month's Wire Tapper, this is a lovely, insular record. You can test the water by downloading a track here. If you can't be bothered to do that, I'll just tell you that the album is strange and beautiful; acoustic folkiness switching with churning Velvets guitars, the odd glitchsome beat and some ethereal, rather gorgeous vocals. And Sol Seppy mainwoman Sophie Michalitsianos is kind of, erm, pretty, too. And stop looking at me like that. I would have said the same of the Young Knives if it were true.

5. Jarvis Cocker - Running The World: chiefly here because it proves that Jarvis can still do it, rather than because it's streets ahead of the other stuff I've been listening to this month (honorable mentions to Quarterstance, Tapes 'n Tapes, Herbert, Infinite Livez and Plan B); it's much as you'd expect, really - lots of keyboards, neat guitars and a het up Jarvis on fine lyrical form, claiming that it isn't cream that rises to the top in life but shit, and that the "cunts are still ruling the world". Neat, and right. You can download the song here if you're minded.