We’ll Be Living In Stardust

Mousse T (featuring Emma Lanford) “Is It Cos I’m Cool?” – This might be the best ego trip set to music since The Black Album. It’s hard not to get caught up in the sweep of this song as it shifts from post-punk bass chug to full-on glam rock to orchestral grandeur in the space of four minutes; amping up the drama and piling on the hooks every 30 seconds or so. Much like the Girls Aloud single from last week, this is a ruthlessly efficient song designed for maximum pop thrill. Unless you really fight it (and why would you want to do that?), you will have no choice but to love it. (Click here to buy it from Amazon UK.)

Alpha Zeta (featuring DJ Zeph and Azeem) “Here Comes The Judge” – Okay, I want someone who knows better than me to tell me if I’m crazy for hearing a bit of Afro-beat in this song. It would be a bit too kind to even call me a dilettante in that genre, given that most of my listening experience is limited to buying a few Fela Kuti reissues back when every magazine was running articles praising him up and down about four years ago. Even if I’m totally off-base in terms of musicology, it at least feels like a hip hop approximation of that sound to me on some level. At any rate, this is a great, soulful tune with some excellent lyrics, particularly the line about your feet falling asleep and dreaming the beat. (Click here to visit the Future Primitive site for more about DJ Zeph and Azeem.)

Elsewhere: Eppy has returned from a brief blogging hiatus with a detailed critical analysis of The Fiery Furnaces’ “Chris Michaels.”