Another week, another Lady Gaga remix by a trendy indie band. This time, it's those immensely talented guys from Metronomy who take the star's new single into eerie quasi-religious territory with ominous, brooding synths.
Chopped-up vocals and hissing, mechanical beats add to the overall unsettling feel of the mix; the whole thing feels like it's been conjured up in the basement of a Victorian steamworks.
As the track creeps past its mid-point, there's something of an early 80s epic OMD instrumental to it all too, twinkling, burbling little streams of electronic bleeps cascading across the moody backdrop.
While not as instantly appealing as the Wild Beasts mix, it certainly makes for another interesting variation on the song.
There's something reminiscent of epic 90s dance anthems in the blissed out expansiveness of Wild Beasts' moody take on Lady Gaga's You & I.
Coming from such an unlikely pairing, and getting to grips with one of the worst songs from the star's Born This Way album, there was major potential for the group to improve on the original.
And in a way, this does. The tranquil piano riffs and shimmering synths kind of float on a sea of ambient beauty, and while I'm not usually a fan of mixes that only use a little of the original vocal, this does so with just the right level of sensitivity.
The mix is certainly by no means amazing, but it without a doubt breathes new life into a song that really should never have been chosen as a single.
So, while I wait for the brilliant Scheiße or Hair to get released, this mix will have to serve as a diversion - a half-decent one too.
God bless The Pierces - for delivering one of the best albums of 2011. The feeling with You & I - their fourth record to date - is that as an album, it represents an intense personal relationship between us - the listener - and the two Pierce sisters; Allison and Catherine. You need only look at the tender beauty of tracks like The Good Samaritan to see that truth laid bare in their music.
You'll Be Mine, Love You More, Glorious - placed together in tandem here, we see the record's singles in a new light, and as the tour de force they really are. One of the reasons I've been so forward in championing The Pierces over the last year is that they deliver time and time again - and these three singles are proof of that.
You & I is by far one of the most consistent albums this year and in its fusing of indelible pop hooks, dreamy folk charm and the sheer personality of the sisters, it delivers a breathtaking winning streak from end to start.
Much has been made of the band's involvement with Guy Berryman of Coldplay, and his involvement is telling in the band's sound. In many ways, You & I is like a female companion piece to the very male majesty of Coldplay's Viva La Vida album - hints and essences of the 'Coldplay sound' glimmer everywhere across You & I; the finest of embellishments to an already highly accomplished record.
The sounds of 70s easy listening are back in a big way right now; just look at the success of Plan B and Adele. And if anything, The Pierces do it even better than these two, for their sound isn't attached to any contemporary music trend - instead, they are timeless; the album portraying a kind of alabaster beauty which never dulls or ages.
As such, You & I stands as a stellar collection of artistry. Functioning both as an ensemble of powerfully individual tracks - any of which could be a single - but also like a real 'album' of old. This is the story of The Pierces and it is writ for all to see in the tracks of this album.
If I had to pick a highlight, it'd be the epic Space & Time, with its simply divine chorus. The song just seems to open up in front of you like some kind of gateway to another dimension, the girls voices truly at their most angelic best here. We Are Stars, which previously served as a b-side to Love You More, is another standout.
A veritable treasure trove of remixes of one of the band's best tracks, they come from some unexpected sources including Eric 'Call On Me' Prydz and Stargate (them that did Rihanna's S&M). Quality stuff. Expect more electronic loveliness on the band's remix album out on June 6th.
The third Linkin Park single to feature on the soundtrack of a Transformers movie, Iridescent appears here in a slightly reworked form from its original album version. Nevertheless, it still represents Linkin Park at their most epic and emotional - a real tear-jerking rock ballad if ever there was one.
Last week we featured the girls' single Glorious as one of our picks of the week, and now we have the album! They are just *that* good. Blissed-out 70s charm and wonderful vocal harmonies, I expect this will swiftly become the soundtrack to many people's summers.
The fourth single from the band's second album, it isn't likely this track will set the charts alight, but I'm taking this opportunity to give it all the attention it deserves as it's by far the best song on the record and I've been waiting literally ages for them to release it as a single.
The third (or is that second??) album from the global chart-topper. We've all seen the risque reaction-baiting videos and heard her anthems for self-acceptance, now get hold of a whole album of the stuff with Lady Gaga's long awaited Born This Way. And yes, if you purchase this, you too can become a strange person/bike hybrid.
The Pierces - Glorious
The third in a series of absolutely stunning singles, the Alabama sisters (with a little help from Coldplay's Guy Berryman) are back with their joyous new track Glorious. Expect breathtaking Abba-esque vocal harmonies mixed with soulful country-tinged pop. And all this with a good dose of lurid 70s psychadelica.
The Saturdays - Notorious
The UK's hottest girl group are back and they've got their sights firmly set on the top spot with this infectious club anthem. Vocodered boasts of being a 'gangster on the dancefloor' back up a sizzling bassline that seems ready-made to knock back shots to.
Starlings - Sirens
One of our favourite new bands at the moment, Starlings represent a chic, streamlined return to the heights of the 80s New Wave sound. Anthemic choruses and glossy synth rushes inject new single Sirens with a real punch that serves as a fitting introduction to this brilliant Sheffield outfit.
With new track Glorious, The Pierces confirm their place as having one of the most brilliant run of singles in recent years. First Love You More, then You'll Be Mine... Glorious makes it a hat-trick. With a chorus of "God bless the world, it's so glorious", the track is suitably uplifting and sisters Allison and Catherine carry the whole thing off with ease.
The duo have a real knack of striking the precise balance between up-tempo toe-tapper and gentle balladic beauty. In the sweeping guitar licks and swelling string sections, we feel as if we are rushing across the plains of America to the girls' homeland. "It got so lonely when you turned away," they sing, but we are only left wondering at how anyone could turn away from a song as lovely and enchanting as this.
The Sun has the exclusive premiere of the track's video and even this seems imbued with this hazy sense of forgotten years that The Pierces have come to capture in their sound. There's pretty retro dresses, filmic sepia-toned touches and shots of packed music halls. In this track comes an intense rush of emotion, as with their previous singles, The Pierces have this mastery of hitting exactly the right spot to send shivers of delight and reverence down you. It's in the beautiful harmonies, it's in the twinkling guitar and percussion. Truly Glorious.
