Singles of the Week: Oneohtrix Point Never, Disappears, Factory Floor, Omar Souleyman

This section has been expanded. Now I will cover a few tracks instead of just one each week.

Oneohtrix Point Never - "Problem Areas"
The new Oneohtrix Point Never album, R Plus Seven, will be released on the 30th September and will be the prolific producer's first for Warp Records. "Problem Areas" shows the unique spliced up samples of the last Oneohtrix album Replica being taken even further; the natural harmonics of double bass, piano and church organ being rearranged in increasingly unnatural ways, amongst other indescribable synthesizer creations. It's a masterful three minutes of music, with an almost Autechre-level of stylised, adrift navel gazing. Visit pointnever.com for something extra special.



Disappears - "Ultra"
Disappears are a group on kranky that are set to release their fourth album Era later this month. They're giving away "Ultra" in advance: a brilliant slab of skeletal post-punk that almost spans ten minutes. This combination of sturdy motorik rhythm and pounding dub bass is hardly anything new but sometimes it takes a reminder like "Ultra" to appreciate these minimal, simple sounds. It's crowned with a vocalist that suggests two of my favourite singers, Michael Gira and Angus Andrew caught up in a The Fly-style genetic synthesis.



Factory Floor - "Turn It Up"
I'm probably looking forward to the long-delayed Factory Floor album more than any other at the moment, and "Turn It Up" offers plenty of evidence as to why. It's one of, if not the shortest track credited to the group, and offers something not heard from them before. It's almost all drums and drum machines (the Roland TS-808 is clearly one of them) and were it not for Nik Colk Void's sickeningly mangled vocals might have taken longer to get used to, but if you expected anything less from Factory Floor by this stage you've clearly not been paying close attention.



Omar Souleyman - "Wenu Wenu"
Omar Souleyman is the closest figure that Syrian dabke has to being a household name in this country, and that's set to be even more so now that Kieran Hebden, a.k.a. Four Tet has lent his many talents into the production of Souleyman's debut studio album Wenu Wenu. The title track bears all the hallmarks of the style: a constant 4/4 beat with a hip hop toughness, underneath ultra-colourful keyboards kicking around Middle Eastern scales like nobody's business. It's like a street party in a pair of headphones (and sunglasses).

Single of the Week: Vampire Weekend - "Diane Young" / "Step"

Vampire Weekend are the band you may feel like punching at times, what with their gravel-handed approach to, well, everything. But they remain just agile enough to sidestep your misguided blows - that deserves credit. This double-A single, which takes two tracks from their upcoming third album Modern Vampires of the City, isn't too far removed from the band's regular territory, but even that seems to reach a pretty far distance. "Diane Young" is the faster of the two. I'm not sure if Vampire Weekend have been goofier than they are during these three minutes, but they've certainly come close. Thankfully they pull it off, with it being too loony to make it sour: Ezra Koenig's modulated Buddy Holly-ism's and a dangerously catchy inclusion of synth horns are the most characterful elements of this appeal, alongside the stuttered, rudderless instrumental section. The other side, "Step" is the steadier song. Producing a lyric video for this song may not have been a good idea, as Ezra's words aren't the most poetic or coherent, yet like Stephen Malkmus he has a way of making that factor not matter. It's still a pretty, carefree ballad with a strong melody, and I imagine it will translate well in a live setting. I don't this group are about to drop off any time soon.

Watch lyric videos for the two new Blur songs: "Under The Westway" and "The Puritan"

Earlier this evening Blur debuted their two new songs by way of a live webcast, filmed from a secret location atop a London rooftop. The webcast has finished, however both "Under The Westway" and "The Puritan" can be heard again below, accompanied by a lyric video for each: