Playing Above Their Weight Class

Let's Wrestle have a song that begins with the line "I Wish I was in Hot Chip." [EDITOR's POST-PUBLISH NOTE: This is incorrect. The line is "I wish I was in Part Chimp.] " Hot Chip's forthcoming album has a song called "Let's Wrestle." [EDITOR's POST-PUBLISH NOTE: Also incorrect, it's just called "Wrestlers," though I do believe at the time (before the album came out) that it was called "Let's Wrestle." Anyway.] One had to be the direct result of the other, right? That sort of stuff doesn't happen by accident. [EDITOR's POST-PUBLISH NOTE: It does when this writer gets it all wrong.]

I don't know the answer to this conundrum, but I do know I like Let's Wrestle a lot. They're kind of like Los Campesinos or Art Brut, with a love and deep knowledge of pop music filtering their worldview. The London trio have been around for two years but only released their first single, "Song for Abba Tribute Record,"  back in May on the 7"-only label, Marquis Cha Cha, and features brokenhearted lyrics like "the position that I am in even genocide seems reasonable" with dissonant, Pavement-y jangle. It's b-side, "I Wish I Was in Husker Du," got most of the attention, though, and contained the aforementioned Hot Chip reference.

Now on Stolen Recordings (home of Pete & the Pirates and Screaming Tea Party), Let's Wrestle have released their second single, "I Won't Lie to You," and it's even better. Twice today I've listened to it four or five times in a row. Singer WPG is still having girl problems. "No matter how many records I buy, I can't fill this void." Within a minute the situation is worse: "The duvet's on fire, and so's your hair." The chorus is catchy and it's all over with in two and a half minutes.

MP3: Let's Wrestle - I Won't Lie to You