New releases round-up - 4th May 2011

Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar

Silky smooth soul vocals and an infectious piano hook. With endorsements from US TV series, not only is this track a fitting anthem to the recession age, but it's a great pop tune too. Real class.

Download

Beyonce - Run The World (Girls)

The diva is back. Sampling Major Lazer's Pon De Floor, after a series of early versions of the track released, On Air/On Sale was triumphant once again, propelling Beyonce's come-back single straight into the charts. Fierce, feisty and one hell of a future club smash, Beyonce's firing on all cylinders here.

Download

Elbow - Open Arms

A return to the big, uplifting mood of One Day Like This for the arty rockers. After a stunning performance of the track on Comic Relief, the band release the song with new b-side Buffalo Ghosts... do buffalo's have ghosts? Do they haunt the still-alive buffalo's?

Download

Britney Spears - Till The World Ends (The Femme Fatale Remix)

All the Britney you want, with added Ke$ha and Nicki Minaj. Now there's a dream party line-up. This extended re-tweak packs a real punch. What with Nicki now formally confirmed as the support act for Britney's tour, it's easy to imagine we could see a live version of this mix in the near future too. Exciting times.

Download

Elbow - Open Arms

Everyone loves a bit of Elbow, don't they? There's something inherently charming about their innate English-ness and front-man Guy Garvey's everyman demeanor. And if Neat Little Rows was their new albums Grounds For Divorce, then surely Open Arms must be the new One Day Like This.

Let's have a look at the Elbow checklist. Big anthemic chorus. Twinkly guitars. A stomping, relentless drum beat. It's all there. One reason Elbow work so well is because their music is of the sort that, if you'll pardon the pun, opens its arms wide to the people. This is the sound of an arena of enraptured fans signing their hearts out to their idols. It's also the sound of a nation's emotions and spirit, captured perfectly in five minutes of delicate lyrical poetry. When Garvey calls out 'Everyone sing...', he calls out to us... you, I, and everyone we know. In one moment, a collective voice sings out; crystal clear and fine.

I think it took a performance like last night's breathtaking Comic Relief spectactular, complete with full choir, to make me fully realise the power of this song. In the context of the rest of Build A Rocket Boys! this is a triumphant late-album ballad, but taken on its own, Open Arms becomes the epic beauty it was always destined to be. Sometimes music speaks out to you, beyond any logic and reason; and this is one of those moments. Timeless and elegiac, this is Elbow once again hitting the heighest of heights.