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Listen Up!: The Singles Roundup - April 20, 2007

From the new Kelly Clarkson tell-off track to more dreamy Icelandic pop ballads and resurrected funk-soul songs, we're stacking up the best singles kitchen-sink style this week. Ladies and gentlemen, don your headphones...

Mya - "Lock U Down" feat. Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne's sly charm is a little like Bill Clinton's: it doesn't matter what he says, you just like it. His pleasantly confusing rhymes ("got me tied up like a three-piece suit") are the star of this track, though Mya's sugary-sweet chorus as the ever-devoted woman ain't half bad.

Xiu Xiu - "Hello from Eau Claire" (Gold Chains remix)
The lyrics of critically acclaimed indie weirdo Xiu Xiu might be called music to cut your wrists to, but with this Gold Chains reinterpretation, the sad-sacky/experimental track turns into a sort of take-charge dance cut, with goofball lyrics like "I can pluck my own mustache."

Electrelane - "To the East"
Verity Susman's warbly vintage-sounding vocals perfectly lead this track that builds from an ominous organ, bass, and drums to a tightly reigned rock out and a pitch-perfect pleading chorus. By the end, you'll want to head east.

Wax Tailor - "The Games You Play" feat. the Voice
Like technically talented DJs such as Kid Koala and DJ Shadow, Frenchman Wax Tailor create a seemingly effortless groove here, cutting up old movie dialogue samples, a sweet little flute melody, and a sensuous fluttering guitar part while Voice flows sleekly over top.

Fabolous - "Make Me Better" feat. Ne-Yo
The ubiquitous Timbaland is behind the boards, and you can hear his stamp in the alluring (slightly Arabian sounding) strings and simple beat. Fabolous' laid back flow and Ne-Yo's angelic voice tune well together, but its the breathy and repetitive backing vocals that make the song.

Kelly Clarkson - "Never Again"
This tell-off song could have been the prelude to Clarkson's unstoppable celebration of freedom, "Since U Been Gone." The slow-fast-slow-fast structure sees Clarkson revving up ("I hope the ring you gave her turns her finger green"), and then quickly launching into the undeniably rocking chorus.

Betty Davis - "Anti Love Song"
Bluesy piano, a seriously funky bass line, and Betty Davis' soulful yowl combine forces to create this freaky-magnetic song with a sound that perfectly captures its tryin'-to-say-no-to-love lyrics—Davis does sound like she's "climbing walls."

Sleeping in the Aviary - "Pop Song"
This Madison, Wisconsin trio's press notes are so funny we'll let them speak for themselves: "their sound could be described as the Thermals vacationing with some Buzzcocked White Stripes, sharing hot tubs with the Kinks and saunas with Nirvana." Anyway, more dirty rock than "pop," this song is good.

Bang Gang - "It's Alright"
Iceland continues to trot out bands that are old hands at music possessed of a certain special, ethereal romance. This simple song sails along limpidly, melting your heart little by little along the way.

- Jocelyn K. Glei
04.20.07

Click here to read last week's installment of Listen Up!