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:
‘Somebody To Love Me’ by Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. feat. Boy George & Miike Snow (Holy Ghost! remix)
If you are a regular reader then you must know I’ve got a soft spot for Holy Ghost!. These lads on the DFA label are just amazing. You might also know though that Mark Ronson is far from my favourite artist (that cover of The Smiths being especially cringeworthy in my opinion). This, however, is turned into a disco extravaganza by the two lads from Holy Ghost!, and that is just what the doctor ordered. I like the vocals by Boy George and Miike Snow, and the disco drums are pretty nifty as well. I wouldn’t mind hearing this when on the dance floor, because the rhythm is so catchy, and it’s just a well executed remix. It gets the vocals out of the mix around the four minute mark where they let the drums take over for a minute, and then they move it back in full swing just a little bit later. Seven lovely minutes as far as I’m concerned.
http://hypem.com/track/1245868/Mark+Ronson+The+Business+Intl+-+Somebody+To+Love+Me+Holy+Ghost+Remix+
‘Dreem’ by Perfume Genius!
Well, I had to do it, really. Because I just saw him live and he is touring Europe. Or at least he has recently toured Europe, one of the two. This is a live take of a new song he did on Q I believe, and it stays true to his sound. Which means that musically it is a combination of his piano and his voice, and lyrically it has a quite personal feel to it. I’m quite sure he did this one live as well at the gig I attended, because I seem to remember that waterfall like effect he gets on the piano at the end of the song. It only lasts two minutes, which is quite short, but you know, when it is that personal you might not want to extend a song with all kind of fluff. Then again, the way his show is right now, sometimes songs seemed to end a bit premature. But hey, it’s typically Perfume Genius, and if you liked the album this is quite a nice addition to that, also with that piano thing he does at the end which, as mentioned earlier, reminded me of falling water.
http://hypem.com/track/1239695/Perfume+Genius+-+Dreem
‘Sun’ by Caribou (Midland edit)
I’m up and down concerning Caribou. When this song started playing I did instantly recognize this song as being on the album, so that’s a good thing. What Midland did with it, I’m not sure. It’s a bit too clubby in my book. Which also means that when you’re on the dance floor this probably works better than that the original version would do. The start though, it kind of takes the nuance and experimental feel out of it in favour of the club beat, which pierces through everything to let everyone dance. Then sometimes the volume of the actual Caribou song shoots up which Midland consequently slowly fades out. I like the part in the middle though, where they for a moment don’t use the club beat and just play with the song a bit. That, by far, is my favourite part of this seven minute remix, which for on the commute doesn’t offer me much else.
http://hypem.com/track/1247369/Caribou+-+Sun+Midland+Re+Edit+
‘Over and Over’ by Allure
I’m not the biggest fan of Hot Chip, but to beat their ‘Over and Over’ you really have to come up with something special in my book. Because I’ve always felt that ‘Over and Over’ really was the song that mixes all the elements I like about the band. This song is quite different from Hot Chip’s song by the same name though (not surprisingly). It starts in a sort of botched up fashion, something which I always abhor. It kind of keeps that vibe, but when all the other stuff comes in, I feel that for the most part covers it up. I like the vocals, and I especially like it when the two vocals start crossing each other’s path. With that said, with a five minute running time it does feel a tad long for me personally, though I do appreciate it that in the second part they try to mix it up a bit.
http://hypem.com/track/1238973/Allure+-+Over+and+Over+feat+Mickal+To+
‘Moments of Excellence’ by Black Van
I do fancy this project by Kris Menace. I remember liking earlier tracks, and this is no exception. I like the beat, and love the Eighties sci-fi thriller vibe this gives me, especially early on. There’s a nice build up to the 1:40 mark, where I wouldn’t have minded a bit more acceleration at that point, but oh well, can’t win it all. It always feels as if it is on the verge of erupting, but Menace and his buddy (whose name I’ve momentarily forgotten, so if that person happens to read this, my apologies) show remarkable restraint to keep the whole song linked to the vibe they started out with (though I wouldn’t have been opposed to it actually erupting, mind you). But the atmosphere it gives is pretty cool, and it does a remarkable job in holding at least my attention.
http://hypem.com/track/1241503/BLACK+VAN+-+MOMENTS+OF+EXCELLENCE+Permanent+Vacation+
‘Spiral’ by Jamie Woon
Starts off with a kind of lullaby vibe with some electronics merged in it, but before too long this rather samey Soul acoustics come into play and then it’s kind of downhill for me from there. Not that I don’t like soul, mind you, I was brought up with blues, jazz, and soul/funk. And he has a nice voice and it’s nice and slow and dramatic. But stuff like “I can’t imagine living without you / I’ve build my whole life around you”, it has become tacky to my ears. There’s not much to the song itself either in my opinion, and it all just drearily wobbles along. Not my cup of tea really.
http://soundcloud.com/woon/spiral/s-baLKE
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten