Polly Scattergood: ‘I Hate The Way’

The trouble with these ‘insane’ singer-songwriters is that they don’t always stay on the right side of self-conscious.

Following on from ‘Nitrogen Pink’ (one of those rare titles that precisely evokes the song’s sound, or vice versa), Polly Scattergood appears - rather worryingly - to be in the genuine camp. Her high, trembling voice stalks the threatening opening of the new single: “I hate the way I cry when you say you miss me.”

She sounds on the verge of breaking, the track becoming more dramatic as guitars crash in for the ironic ‘doo-de-doo’ chorus. It’s like a lighter, poppier ‘Rid Of Me’.

Released on 22nd September 2008 by Mute.

Written by Polis Loizou.