FAT CHILDREN

Jarvis Cocker

There's nothing like starting the week with a nice, cheerful song, so here's a tune about a bloke who gets murdered by some tubby kids for his new mobile phone. Bet that's put you right in the mood for this week's reviews, hasn't it? Well, it should because this is a very, very good song indeed. The tune powers along - especially around the chorus, Jarvis is on top form and if it makes the Top 50 it'll be doing amazingly well. Chances are this isn't the sort of song that'll be played on the radio - can you imagine them following the latest listener-friendly pop tunes with some bloke from Sheffield singing "Fat children took my life"? It doesn't matter how good the tune is (and it does build up beautifully), it's not very likely to happen, is it? Shame really, because aside from the quite stunning video to Don't Let Him Waste Your Time, this is the best thing Mr Cocker's done in years.

OVERPOWERED

Roisin Murphy

Hullo, looks like this is starting to look like Best Song In Years Week. The last time Ms Murphy did a song as good as this, she was one half of Moloko. In a strange twist of fate, the song concerned (The Time Is Now) has been overplayed on Sky Sports so much in recent years that I could quite happily live my entire life without ever hearing it again. I don't think a similar fate awaits this little number, which is probably a good thing. If you like real musical instruments being employed to carry a tune, this really isn't going to be your cup of tea I'm afraid. It's a mid-tempo song that was probably created almost entirely on a computer, but it'll stick in your head like a pitchfork and that's the main thing. It's one of those songs I actually remembered after it had finished, and that sort of thing doesn't happen too often. Of course, that could be put down to my advancing years, after all I'm very nearly 33, and kids, trust me when I say the music really was better in my day. Oh dear God, look at me, I'm turning into my dad, that's a frightening thought. So anyway, the song - it's good, but it won't appeal to everyone, it's probably a bit slower than you might expect it to be. However, I like it and as this is my column, I get the final say.

WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT

Robyn with Kleerup

Do you know something, this could be a really good song when it's finished. It keeps building up gradually, only to come to a grinding halt, then it builds up again and then finishes, and when it ended my first thought was, "Where's the rest of the song?" What there is isn't rubbish, Robyn does what she can with the fairly limited lyrical content, and the tune keeps threatening to do something more, but it never does. Ah well, never mind.

1234

Feist

Oh great, just what I need. An unashamedly happy song coming along to try and put a little sunshine into my cold, blackened heart. Banjos, trumpets, a big finish, all the usual ingredients you'd expect to find on a happy-clappy song... except... this... actually works. That can't be right. It's that rarest of things, a cheerful single that doesn't make me want to throw up, and that's because it's genuinely happy. It's not aimed at the under-fives, it's not aimed at the elderly, it's aimed squarely at anyone who's interested. Mind you, the song's good, but the video is nothing short of amazing. I usually hate videos where people dance about, and that's all it is, but the whole thing's done in one shot with loads of dancers and any trickery is purely optical - no computers involved from what I can tell. All in all, one hell of a nice surprise. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to wallow in Joy Division for an hour or so in order to restore the universe back to the way it should be.