Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning

Two and a half years after the release of their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare, Arctic Monkeys are back.

The first single from upcoming third album Humbug was released on download this week, giving fans the first chance to hear what producer Josh Homme has done to their sound.

Just as Favourite Worst Nightmare was a totally different sound to their debut, Crying Lightning hints at another intriguing new direction. The single has Homme's influence all over it - a doomy bassline, some brilliant guitar licks that could have been lifted from a Tarantino film, and a huge, pounding chorus that manages to sound both sinister and uplifting at the same time.

It swoops and swirls around menacingly, while Alex Turner unravels a strange tale of flirting with a mystery woman over a bag of sweets ("my thoughts got rude, as you talked and chewed, on the last of your pick and mix"). His vocals sound a million miles away from the raw Sheffield accent of their debut - there's almost a croon to his voice now, perhaps a leftover from his side project The Last Shadow Puppets.

It even finds time to drop magnificently into a coda of hammering drums, before that chorus bursts in again and nearly rips your speakers off. It may take a couple of listens to work its magic, but once it has, this will be your new song of the summer. If this is even a hint of the quality of the upcoming album Humbug, then Arctic Monkeys fans could be in for a treat.

Crying Lightning is released on CD on August 17th, and is available for download now on iTunes.

Michael Jackson dies

Michael Jackson has died, aged 50, after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home.

The story first appeared on celebrity gossip website TMZ.com and was immediately picked up on Twitter.  The BBC, PA, AP and the LA Times later confirmed the singer had indeed passed away.  

The superstar had not been breathing when found and was taken by ambulance to the UCLA Medical Center, at which fans and media crews have started to congregate in large numbers.

The news comes just a fortnight ahead of the first of 50 scheduled dates at London's O2 Arena and caused Twitter to grind to a halt and the internet generally to slow down for over an hour.

A first reaction to Jackson's death, as the world generally comes to grips with the news: Michael Jackson Dies, Aged 50

Video: Skip James - Devil Got My Woman

This video (below) was recorded in 1966.  Skip James, the man with the guitar and the voice, died 40 years ago, back in 1969.

I'd added a version of Devil Got My Woman to my monthly playlist at the start of the year; this one I'd heard on the Beyond Mississippi compilation and it fitted beautifully alongside music by Nick Mulvey and Shearwater, none of which referenced his Deep South blues style but seemed to me to come from a similar, internal, human place.  His sound, with a slower tempo than the video suggests, remains timeless.

The video, at the time of writing, had been viewed nearly 200,000 times on YouTube.  With that kind of audience, Skip'd make a decent claim for stardom now, 107 years after his birth.

Video: Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity Of Huge

Jas and James are back with a new single, Audacity Of Huge, and Kate Moross has directed the video (see below).

The single is available from all good and legal places on 3rd August, with the parent album Temporary Pleasure following on 17th August.

This excites us just a little, what with its hugeness and everything. And if you can tell us what the purple liquid in the jug is, we'll consider awarding you a virtual gold star.

Here's what happened when we chatted with Jas Shaw last year: interview

We also met James Ford last year, but that was on a dance floor.

Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity of Huge from ISO FILMS on Vimeo.

Ornette Coleman's Meltdown

It's Meltdown time again, this year curated by Ornette Coleman, and in just over two hours the first of this year's events gets going at the South Bank Centre.  

Tony Allen (pictured), Afrobeat drummer par excellence of Fela Kuti and The Good, The Bad & The Queen fame, takes on The Front Room and gets the party started.  

Check out our review from his show earlier this year at Cargo, when he was joined by Damon Albarn, Baaba Maal, Natty and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, here.

Coleman plays two gigs later in the run, ahead of which Yoko Ono, former curator Patti Smith with A Silver Mount Zion, The Roots, Bobby McFerrin, Baaba Maal, Moby, Faith No More/Tomahawk lynchpin Mike Patton and Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid are amongst the thrills and spills on offer.  Check back to our gigs section for selected reviews as the festival progresses.

A full rundown and ticketing gubbins can be found at the website: meltdown.southbankcentre.co.uk