Snap, Crackle (Fizzy) Pop: Weekly Catch Up 25th Sept ft Shayne Ward, Adam Tyler, Velvet Code, & much more

Boo :( I have toothache. This is probably entirely my own fault as is usually the case with toothache. I am seeing the dentist on Monday morning. He will glare at me with his smouldering eyes and make me feel bad for indulging in that toffee from the £5 special offer tin of Quality Street. Curse the supermarket price wars! They will be the ultimate downfall of my nashers. So I am powering through the weekend with co-codemol and ibuprofen. And some surprisingly effective baby teething gel! Magnif! Luckily, there is lots of music to get me through til Monday morning. Here is what you should be checking out (toothache sympathy in the comments please!)...

Songs to ease the toothache :)

• Shayne Ward ~ Gotta Be Somebody: Christ this is getting out of hand! First Westlife do Chris Daughtry, then Joe does Donkeyboy. Next we'll have JLS coming out with a cover of some Hoobastank song! Frankly I was mortified when I heard Shayne was coming back with a Nickelback song! Both him and Joe have tweeted so much about the amazing music they are making, then both pop up with cover versions. However, I have learnt not to make snap judgements and rather than a straightforward cover, Shayne has got a nice glossy pop/r'n'b arrangement rendering it significantly different from an original I really wasn't too familiar with anyway. The full version is actually quite engaging, and a solid return for Shayne that I'm more smitten with with each listen. Hopefully the general public will agree too...
• Adam Tyler ~ Operation: Adam Tyler is currently in the united kingdom and by all accounts having a whale of a time. That has no bearing on whether this track is good or not. I'm pleased to report however that it is rather bonza. It's a sleek, persistant electro groove - Adam's tapping his lower register on the vocals and his voice sounds great. It's very downbeat lyrically, about removing negativity of a failed relationship from his life - the middle 8 sounds particularly sinister when Adam sings "anesthesia" and the backing gets almost psychotic; it's bleeps and beats all over the place but held tautly together with some great production. Is this the outcome of living too long with his Friction addiction? Regardless, it works well as a sequel to that song or just a great piece of pop music. More per favor.
• Mohombi ~ Bumpy Ride: I can't believe it's taken me this long to write about Mohombi and his instantly infectious track Bumpy Ride. Basically he's a RedOne protege and he's crafted a fun, compelling summer anthem that will take you way into Autumn and beyond. It mixes smooth vocals with a slightly reggae infused track and comes across as a slightly more credible Start Without You. The video is a bit literal and reminds me at times of Peter Andre, but overall it's definitely an enticing tune that reels you in. Apparently lots more good Mohombi stuff is coming up (War Zone is brillo)....
• Magnus Carlsson ~ Best In Me: Oh my amazesticles! Magnus - always a reliable bet for some bonkers, gleeful pop majesty - has popped himself in a time machine, whizzed back to 1989 and produced one of the most thoroughly giddily enjoyable sparklingly fizzy pop treats of the year! It's not just inspired by Stock Aitken & Waterman, it's positively drenched in their influences. I'm pretty certain the backing track owes a huge debt to Love In The First Degree. It doesn't even matter. It's such a feel good piece of music and I can't wait to devour Magnus' "Pop Galaxy" next week. It could be absolutely immensicles...

• Charlotte Church ~ Back To Scratch: This is a very lovely, lilting return to pop for Charlotte. It totally follows on from more madcap numbers like Crazy Chick & Call Your Name, but represents a more mature reading from her - a reflection of what she has been through the past few years. Her voice remains well suited for this type of number and there's a sadness mixed in with the quite wonderful floating music. It's all pulled together very well and I'm ever so eager for her album next month. Love the multiple charlottes video above too! Amazes.
• Velvet Code ~ Follow You Follow Me: I first heard of Velvet Code on Larry Flick's Morning Jolt. It's synth pop at it's finest and is an insidious tune that soon weaves it's way into your synapses and refuses to let go. It's beautifully created music that shimmies with the knowledge that the person behind has a thorough understanding of what makes pop music great. The chorus in itself represents a simplicity of melody but with some complex electro instrumentation running behind it that elevates it to huge singalong status. Definitely one to watch

Top 21 singles of the week:

21 ~ Bright Light x 2, Love Part II
20 ~ Ace of Base, All For You
19 ~ Brandon Flowers, Only The Young
18 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Once Upon A Time
17 ~ Joe McElderry, Ambitions (NE)
16 ~ Eric Saade, Masquerade
15 ~ Darin, Lovekiller
14 ~ Jesse McCartney, Shake
13 ~ Charlotte Church, Back To Scratch (NE)
12 ~ DeeDee, Balls
11 ~ Kelly Rowland, Shake Them Haters Off
10 ~ Nadine Coyle, Insatiable
09 ~ James Blunt, Stay The Night (vid)
08 ~ Sophie Ellis Bextor, Not Giving Up On Love
07 ~ Kylie, Get Outta My Way
06 ~ Scissor Sisters, Any Which Way
05 ~ Jessie J, Price Tag
04 ~ Elouise, The Winner Takes It All
03 ~ Maroon 5, Give A Little More
02 ~ Gravitonas, Religious
01 ~ Robbie Williams, Shame (3 weeks)