I've been lagging a little with my sporadic digests of lyrical, rhythmical and, indeed, musical delectations but with the new season upon us and after a weekend of opening all the windows and blaring out the years first King Tubby, it seemed appropriate to pick up the aural baton once more and cover it in advisory post-it notes of what I have been feeding my ears recently.
The Books - The Lemon of Pink.
The Books have been around for a little while now yet their experimentations always manage to sound fresh and innovative. This is a beautiful song, from the album of the same name, that incorporates some old-style country vibes into a wonky, beguiling and heady mix. A perfect accompaniment for any sunny day.
The Hot 8 Brass Band - Sexual Healing.
Now this is by no means a new tune, having been hardily blasted out and celebrated at the Hot 8 Brass Band's much talked about Cargo gig. Hailing from that boiling hotpot of jazz, New Orleans, this band were propelled into consciousness after Hurricane Katrina and Spike Lee's subsequent documentary When the Levees Broke, featuring them. This is a cover of the Marvin Gaye classic that, in my humble opinion, puts the original in the shade. All blaring horns and soulful, hiphop basslines.
Little Dragon - Twice
Hailing from Sweden and fronted by a Swedish-Japanese singer. Sounds like my kind of band already. This is the first track from their recent eponymous album and although the album has it's peaks and troughs, this is one of the most beautifully elegant songs I have heard in a good long while. The music video ain't bad either...
Susanna and The Magical Orchestra - Enjoy The Silence.
Unwittingly, I seem to be following a thread here. Another band of Scandinavian origins and another interpreted cover song. Susanna and The Magical Orchestra seem to make songs that run for no-one. Time seems to slow and grow and every note played or sung is deliberated over and perfected. This very personal cover will bring you a whole new dimension to the Depeche Mode classic...
Lambchop - Up With People
This will, undoubtedly, be extremely familiar to some of you already. In fact, I know it is. However, this is one of THE summer soundtracks and if I can turn just a couple of those unaware of it's presence, over to the genius of Kurt Wagner, then it'll surely put an extra half inch spring into my step today. Oh, yes...
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