What the hell is this?! I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no electronica connosieur but the German quartet Jeans Team have even to my virgin ears unleashed a brilliantly simplistic four-track remix single entitled “Keine Melodien”. It features, in essence, the words “ein, zwei, drei, fier!” repeated over and over again against pulsing synthesiser sounds and thick drum beat loops. On the Peaches remix of the song, we get some thick bass-and-guitar loops backing up sweetly spoken “ein, zwei drei, fier!”, this time by Peaches vocalist (ah, love the poorly pronounced Deutsch!). Hypnotic Johannes Heil remix rocks off into the Amiga-synthesque final “Op. Bastards” remix. Beautiful electronic pulsation; absolutely ‘go crazy’.
This charming little four-track EP showcases Belle and Sebastian at the height of their early years, released some six months after brilliant second full-length “If You’re Feeling Sinister”. Frontman Stuart Murdoch’s ability to create short/bittersweet, self-ironic narratives filled with tragically fated characters becomes evident throughout, particularly with the classic B&S confessional “The State I Am In”. Velvet Underground-reminiscent track “Belle & Sebastian” (although not in the bad sense of the comparison – without the chaotic fuzz spasms towards the end of the song, which seem to plague nearly every good VU song) makes for a delightful close to an entertaining disc full of great lyrics and loveable music. Even though the drums are a bit off on occasion and the guitar sound seems slightly off-key at times, this just adds to the “home-made” personal charm of Belle and Sebastian and their relaxed attitude to their listeners.
Meow! It’s Isobel Campbell, the wonderfully naive once-member of Glaswegian “Chamber Pop”-rockers Belle and Sebastian. First things first: her voice oozes ‘beautiful’ like almost no other contemporary female artist. The pure innocence she radiates and the ability to spell-bind her listeners is what alone sets her apart from other artists in the same genre, and in “Amorino” we hear her develop her sound and identity to heightened levels. Shedding the name of former solo-career project “Gentle Waves”, Campbell has created a record that bears the mark of some sort of a pop soundtrack to 1960s France; mellow, smooth, enticing and honest, she hits the mark again and again with pearls like “Monologue For an Old Lover”, “Johnny Come Home” and title-track “Amorino”.
This record’s pretty great. Despite Decemberists’ slightly nasal vocalist Colin Meloy, there isn’t much to say against the eleven tracks on the album “Her Majesty”. Meloy manages to weave words and images skillfully with all the careful craftsmanship of a talented songwriter in places like “Shany for Arethusa”, a paean to pirating and dreamy “I Was Meant for the Stage”, while still throwing in some good ol’ catchy pop-driven tunes like “Billy Liar” and “The Chimney Sweep”. There are even tidbits of urban utopia to be found on here; “Los Angeles, I’m Yours” will make even the lowliest country bumpkin want to go there and see what the fuss is about. Brilliant Meloy can even write and sing about love without getting soppy on his listeners, choosing to hail his woman’s greatness by focusing on something as truly bizarre as her “Red Right Ankle”.