Major Lazer - Cold Water, single review

What better accompaniment to the sunshine than a brand new Major Lazer song...

But sadly, now that Thomas Wesley Pentz has one of the worlds most famous pop stars on speed dial after playing a key part in the career gentrification of Justin Beiber, Cold Water sounds more like a cross-promotional branding exercise than it does the manic Jamaica-centric electronic hybrid of old.

Ed Sheeran's fingerprints are all over the songwriting and the blueprints for world domination are highly evident in a mere three minutes.  Top flight producers, song writers and pop stars, plus emotive Love Yourself-style guitar and a tried and tested laid back summer vibe, draft in Lean On's breakout star MØ and you have a winning formula beneficial to all involved.  There are still some tell-tale elements of fusion that flow through the track, but it feels less like a new Major Lazer song and more like a new track primed for Beliebers with Diplo once again on production duty.  

It's not a bad track, not by any stretch of the imagination, and it will no doubt be unavoidable for the remainder of the summer, I just hoped that with such creative forces at play that we would be hearing boundaries being pushed rather than this bankable safe bet.

The Brits 2012

while much can be said for the annual flag-waving and chest-puffing of the Brit Awards, it just doesn't do it for me anymore.

quite why i felt any excitement, pre-awards, this year, i'm not entirely certain.


i think part of it may have been down to the guessing game, invented last year, of 'match wHe0wfo9wartist to the award they will win'

Coldplay's opening set was traded in for a Best Band Award, with similar accolades going to Bruno Mars, Rihanna, and of course Ed Sheeran and Adele.



but sadly, the reality of the Brit Awards was that it just wasn't as exciting as the pancakes being flipped in my kitchen, and that is a damn shame, considering this should be our chance to fly the flag for the UK and revel in the momentous spectacle of it.

instead we got a handful of 'shocking' moments to be blown out of proportion by twitter and the media.

'OMG! James Corden interupted Adele'

'OMG! Adele flipped the bird'

'OMG! Blur sound rubbish'



and yet no-one is calling out the largest embarresment in this years Brit awards.

no, not One Direction laying claim to having the Best British Single, but the Brit Award itself!

while last years statuette, designed by Viviene Westwood, was a very understated and graceful redesign, seeming to drape the figure in patriotic red, white and blue, for the 2012 ceremony, Sir Peter Blake, yes, he of Sergeant Pepper cover fame, decided to produce a far brighter overhaul, daubing the primary colours boldly as he went, which may have worked fine, if only he had held back and not felt the need to spell out the word BRIT in large descending block-capital letters, presumably just incase anyone was unaccustomed to the   long established and recognisable trophy.

so while Ed Sheeran may be immensely proud of his first Brits win, scooping Best British Male and best British Newcomer, i dare say that they will both be pushed to the very back of his trophy cabinet.

Ed Sheeran

seriously, who is Ed Sheeran?

the mainstream may recognise him as as the rusty haired troubadour that has made significant inroads with his radio friendly hits, catapulted into the spotlight with the gentle lulls of The A-Team (a surprisingly un-radio friendly song about prostitution, drug abuse and death, that hit big regardless) and is likely to be the only possible contender to be putting paid to an all out Adele whitewash at next weeks Brit Awards.

but the truth is, this is only just scratching the surface, as well as hanging around with the likes of Rizzle Kicks and reportedly writing for One Direction, Sheeran's street credentials are boosted somewhat when his no.5 collaborations project EP, released early last year, is taken into consideration, featuring a handful of grime artists and rappers including Devlin, Wiley, JME, Dot Rotten and Wretch 32.



Ed was rejoined by a handful of his collaboraters for a special live session for BBC 1xtra last December, and since then it seems that he is showing no signs of slowing down or allowing himself to be pigeonholed easily, as various sources throughout December and January confirmed that Ed Sheeran had been recording with American rapper Yellawolf, and has also recorded duets with both Example and Jessie J.

and this week saw Sheeran leak the aforementioned 4 track collaboration with Yellawolf, from the comfort of his twitter feed, racking up more than 100,000 downloads in under 24 hours and throwing another curveball to those that expect him to follow pop formulas since his debut album hit the UK top spot upon its release last September.



so while music snobbery may tell you to hate on those that become popular, Ed Sheeran still maintains his integrity and remains an anomaly.