The Music - Ghost Hands

I'm a big New Order fan, so any band who releases something that sounds like New Order, I will usually love. And The Music's final farewell single Ghost Hands has New Order stamped ALL over it, right down to a throbbing Peter Hook-esque bass solo. The band have even been kind enough to provide the song as a free download from their website. And you can't say fairer than that.

Kicking off with a club-ready, mechanical beat and a menacing synth bass, suddenly the track slams into fifth gear; accelerating away on that kind of anthemic riff Bloc Party have made a career out of. Singer Robert Harvey says of the song:

"We love the track and it just seemed a shame to leave it gathering dust for ever. It's good to go out with something positive and new and we think it deserves to see the light of day. Hopefully the fans will agree - again we want to thank everyone who's been with us on this journey and look forward to celebrating an amazing ten years this summer."

Harvey's proud vocals resound in a chorus about 'getting up and making history'. It's the kind of epic stadium packer that many bands would love to have in their discography; it's five and a half minute duration never feeling dull or tired. It's an expansive soundscape, a workshop of vibrant ideas; yet all wrapped round a beating heart of pop sensibility.

So often rock bands these days chuck a tune out there with no hint of a catchy hook or distinctive edge, but The Music come to the table with both in ample measures. Indeed, it feels a shame that the band are bowing out when this track, of such immense quality, when it suggests so much future potential.