The Singles Jukebox

Pop, to two decimal places.

Divine Fits – Would That Not Be Nice

The most awkward song title in Singles Jukebox history?


[Video][Website]
[6.50]

Brad Shoup: Like a red shirt in the wash or cilantro, Britt Daniels contaminates everything he touches. The squinched-sphincter groove is back; you’d think he just pulled the key from a wind-up Sam Brown. The verses have an unfussy melodicism, which gets amped with each iteration (with a little help from the shivering synths, pushing him toward mania). The text has silly polysyllabic touches, the bassline is indelible, and the tracks spangles into something beautiful in the last :30. Not the single of the year (sorry, rock blogs), but a worthy entry.
[9]

Jonathan Bogart: Neo-neo-neo-neo-garage rock is goddamn exhausting. Point for the vintage synth solo, point detracted for the maracas.
[3]

Alfred Soto: I don’t know anybody in 2012 who wants Britt Daniels to loosen his top button, and when that steel cube of a rhythm section kicks in, it still sounds like 2002. But a vocal timbre as beguiling as his guitar tone doesn’t need echo — is this his idea of Stretching Out?
[6]

Anthony Easton: I hope that’s a maraca I hear, because there has not been enough maraca in rock and roll recently. Fantastic vocals and airtight production too.
[8]

Patrick St. Michel: I don’t know what separates this from what Spoon did on their last two albums – you could slide this into Transference and it would be just a run-of-the-mill Spoon song.  I’m also not complaining about that.
[7]

Iain Mew: “Would That Not Be Nice” and its indirect melodic approach is a bit like looking at a 3D screen image and not being able to fix to the right angle: you can just about make out familiar shapes, but they’re refracted and blurred in weird ways. When it does come together it’s really impressive.
[6]

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