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:
‘Absence of Light’ by Maximum Balloon feat. Tunde Adebimpe
Aka, the song with half of TV on the Radio (which, mathematically, I know is not true). That voice, it’s just good, we know that already. And we know it is a working combination. Love how hooky you can dance to this, kind of reminds me of ‘Fight Song’ by Circlesquare in how it shoots those sounds at you. Probably you are familiar with Dave Sitek’s (aka Maximum Balloon) signature sound already, guitar wall heavy a bit I guess. I’m intrigued to see how he’s going to do this live, as I saw some live dates announced, which I never thought would happen. Also, when are we finally going to get a listen of that David Byrne track! I mean, half of the album can be heard, why keep that one under wraps! Shucks, that’s the one I’m looking forward to the most. And oh yeah, about this track, it is ace, high on atmosphere, emotion, and punch.
http://hypem.com/track/1200872/Maximum+Balloon+-+Absence+Of+Light+Featuring+Tunde+Adebimpe+
‘Art Vandelay’ by Ducktails
Clearest. Seinfeld reference. Ever. Well, probably not, but Art Vandelay is the name George always picks when he doesn’t want to say his own name. I don’t know if this can be related to the text or not, because I can’t make out a word he is saying. I do think I recognized a “I asked who do you think I was” or something to that effect. But the vocals are really low in the mix, which would be okay if the music is something special, but this is a rather straightforward acoustic guitar thingy. And if I can’t hear the words, and the music isn’t really anything special, then I’m not sure that I will be listening to it a few months on down the road.
http://hypem.com/track/1198269/Ducktails+-+Art+Vandelay
‘White Knuckle Ride’ by Jamiroquai (Penguin Prison remix)
To be honest, the only thing I remember regarding Jamiroquai is that ‘Virtual Insanity’ clip, so to say I’m an expert, not really, no. Because that was in the days you could still catch clips on television, and oh my, I think everyone who switched on a TV in the Nineties has seen that one. Anyway, love this Penguin Prison remix, because they turn this song into a vintage disco song and they make Jamiroquai sound like a frontman of a disco formation in the Seventies. Catchy rhythm, nifty bass line to get moving to, and the synthy additions are nice touches which give this its breezy, dreamy air. Nearing the end the song picks up in intensity a bit as well, and then it calms down with some guitar riffs and then just the drums to close it out. A pleasant surprise this one, for some it might not be the hippest names in town, but this sure does make for a pleasant song to listen and dance to.
http://hypem.com/track/1199793/Jamiroquai+-+White+Knuckle+Ride+Penguin+Prison+Remix+
‘And I’m (So In Love With You)’ by Andy Butler and Jason Kendig
So Andy Butler of Hercules and Love Affair is starting his own house label, and he is pretty precise in what he wants. And, since he made this himself, I’m assuming he wants stuff sounding exactly like this. So this is a good sample to see if I got to monitor this label’s every move. So you know, this is definitely house (the song itself even says so, so it must be true then, innit?), a seven minute song with hypnotic beats and synthy bleeps thrown in for the kaleidoscope effect. The real test will be when you go to a DJ set and this is thrown in there, because at home this will always sound a tad more flat. Like many House writers have said, it is something you have to feel in a club. Here, at home, not in a club, it doesn’t force me to get up and dancing. And believe me, I still do every time I hear a proper Marshall Jefferson track or something, but this one just doesn’t seem as body controlling as one would want from house.
http://www.xlr8r.com/news/2010/08/stream-new-track-hercules-love-a
‘Shelter’ by The XX (Tiga remix)
Tiga and The XX is not a combination I would’ve been on the phones about if I was in either management. Now I know why. Though the voice of she of the XX is definitely one that you can put on just about anything and it still sounds good, this remix has too many annoying moments. That strange noise during the verses for example, which to me sounds like a bird gone mad. I do like how some of it sounds a tad more haunting than in the original version (or more haunting than how I remember it in any case), but I just don’t think this will ever go down as a defining moment in Tiga’s oeuvre.
http://hypem.com/track/1200030/The+XX+-+Shelter+Tiga+Remix+
‘Confide In Me’ by Hurts (Kylie cover)
I’m not the biggest Kylie fan, so I’m not averse to people covering her, because I’m not really protective about stuff that I’ve only heard once or twice. His voice, it’s so deep and dark, and I think that with this particular instrumentation it rather sounds like a faux melancholy, a power ballad by the New Romantics or something to that effect. It also sounds probably more menacing than he intends it to be, because the recurring “confide in me”, if someone would say that to Ingrid Bergman in a movie in that tone, I would be screaming, nooooo, don’t, at the screen probably! After which poor Ingrid would probably fall into his arms and he would look into the camera with a wicked smile. I’m not too familiar with the lyrics, so if that is the intention, than kudos to them. But for some reason I don’t think that’s what the song is aiming for at all. With that voice I would love to hear him do something menacing though, something Pulp-ian or something, I think that would intrigue me more than this.
http://hypem.com/track/1195453/Hurts+-+Confide+In+Me
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