Our weekly look into the blogosphere where we talk about six tracks we found out about in the previous Wednesday-to-Wednesday seven-day period.Track of the week:
‘Spanish Sahara’ by Foals (Deadboy remix)
Like with every change of sound, the new Foals album had its supporters and critics. Every decision anyone makes can always count on people agreeing with it and not agreeing with it. It’s how the world turns, I guess. Deadboy, you know, I don’t really remember the name and his stuff, and if someone says “Deadboy” to me, I’m inclined to think something crude and hard will follow. Actually, this is the opposite, which not only surprises me, but it surprises me pleasantly. I love the woodblock kind of thingy he puts on it, and that combined with other subtle additions make this a worthwhile listen. Deadboy fills up the “break” in the song with some deep bass and then has it continue for a while. The vocals, which arguably are one of the things that have improved on the new Foals album, are high up in the mix, which I always tend to like. Add to that the bass, the woodblock and some nifty additional sequences, and I think Deadboy has made this track his own in quite a nice manner. Pleasant surprise. Even though I wouldn’t have mind it if he would’ve cut the last two minutes.
http://hypem.com/track/1143419/Foals+-+Spanish+Sahara+Deadboy+Remix+
‘Here Sometimes’ by Blonde Redhead
Welcome back Blonde Redhead! The threesome always manages to mix a more distorted sound with dreamy vocals while also being able to include a hint of sadness. I was a big fan of their album 23, and this is a song of their next album. The drums sound different from what I remember of 23. This is not that incessant drumming I remember of that album, but these are slow, hard hits that remind me of African sounds. When in a play for example you want to generate the feeling that something tragic is about to happen. Maybe that is why it is not as immediately captivating as I found most songs of 23 to be. In essence the synth sounds are layered over the drumming in a similar manner, and I’m not sure I can find a guitar in there somewhere. More organ, synth, and drums it seems, something to that effect. So I guess it’ll take some time to really get used to it and for it to have real resonance. Check back to me after the album.
http://hypem.com/track/1145732/Blonde+Redhead+-+Here+Sometimes
‘Lonely Sea’ by Alexis
I guess this one fits into that 80s sound of Soft Cell or perhaps even that band of ‘Sweet Dreams’ (dagnabit, forgot the name! How embarrassing). It starts with a bit more of a disco sound with finger snapping, and then it adds more of a beat to it, where I think, if you would continue with the original sound you might have something which sounds perhaps a bit less mechanic and interchangeable, but oh well. Personal preference I suppose. So it is kind of a mix between a mechanic, detached electro track and that 80s aesthetic. I like the kind of Italo spoken word bits, especially since this is definitely not an Italo song so it isn’t a corny by-the-numbers addition. Actually, after the more lengthy spoken word bit it also seems as if the vocals gain a bit more emotion, which I prefer over the start of the song.
http://hypem.com/track/1138574/Alexis+-+Lonely+Sea
‘Beyond the Satellites’ by Aeons (Ted’s remix)
Ted from Leo and Ted puts himself behind this remix of the Aeons track ‘Beyond the Satellites’, and I’m glad he did. Dancey it is with a nice beat, while the synth sounds fit really well with the title in my opinion. Add to that the dreamy vocal lines and vocals, and you’ve got a pretty nice mix. When the actual singing starts it feels as if it starts to lean a bit more to the clubby side, but it never loses its touch with the spacey side of things. With that said, there is nothing here that really stands out. The vocals are not that spectacular, there is no real pay-off somewhere that really would bring the house down in my opinion (you’ve got a run up to a break and subsequent release, but it’s quite a regular one I feel), and it is too much geared to parties to really dream away to. It’s a solid one, but not something that really has something special that makes this one stand on its own.
http://hypem.com/track/1145869/AEONS-Beyond+The+Satellites+%28Ted%27s+Like+Woah%21+mix%29
‘You Wanted a Hit’ by LCD Soundsystem (Soulwax remix)
Belgium’s pride, I guess that’s a label that fits Soulwax, as they are probably their biggest musical export product since a long, looong while (with the possible exception of rock band dEUS). I like how they lengthen the vocals, although it kind of sounds strange on the “s” sound. After that they start a-banging with some typical club noises. By now you can probably guess what Soulwax has to offer, and this is exactly the kind of song I guess would go down well during one of their upcoming festival performances. It is a nice mix of club banging and more stripped down parts where the focus is more on the altered vocals. There are some nice build-ups and abrupt switches between different parts, and to be frank I wouldn’t stand for anything less from these two brothers. Something to go mad to at their gigs, though as you probably know if you read this column regularly it’s a bit too crude for my personal taste.
http://hypem.com/track/1146085/LCD+Soundsystem+-+You+Wanted+A+Hit+Soulwax+Remix+
‘City to City’ by Historics (Pink Stallone remix)
Don’t let the start fool you in thinking this is something avant-garde or something. After the intro it goes stomping glam before it turns into something a bit more understated with the bass and the drums suggesting you might want to use your hips a bit. I actually would’ve liked it better if it had stayed in the glam-rock mode, now it seems a bit all over the place, also with the increase of hardness around the three minute mark. And then it gets a bit more dreamy again. Bit schizophrenic, though most of the genres that pass by are genres I tend to like, so personally I don’t mind really. It’s just that cramming it in a 4:41 running time might be a bit too much.
http://hypem.com/track/1138669/historics+-+City+to+City+Pink+Stallone+High+By+Foot+RMX+
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten