Jess Mills: "End Credits"

Given how last week in London looked so much like act three of Harry Brown, it’s only fair someone should reattempt the theme tune. Original composers Chase & Status were unavailable—too busy pimping the Nero video where everyone’s quaffing Prozac—which means “End Credits” ’11 comes courtesy of Jess Mills, the Kentish Town vocalist for hire. Anyone sneering at her grime credentials should check last year’s bill for Rockness: Mills took to the stage with dance titans Leftfield and made a wavy new version of “Original.” Since then, she’s done work with Photek and Breakage, and even had a thank-you email from the Cure.

Her cover of the choppy revenger theme opts for slow-motion cinematics instead of the pow-pow-pow of the original. Nothing here to get your fists pumping and fill you with the urge to wipe out everything in a tracksuit: just Mills’ breathy vocal filling in for Plan B, backed by minimal, pounding percussion. Despite being stripped of the immediacy of the ’09 version it’s no less atmospheric, particularly when set against the context of the film and how quickly a group of people can go postal. Epic piano stabs last seen in Robert Miles’ “Children” and marginal violins add melodrama, but nothing overshadows Mills’ own vocal which here feels hymnlike, and lets you make some bullet-time insights as Michael Caine cleans up Tottenham. Perhaps it’s more prudent to ditch the grime chords when making a contemplative track about rampage. It’s a lot more sensible than bringing back curfews, or saying we’re going to send everyone to Afghanistan.